Hi there! Can you believe it’s Monday already? Hope you all had a great weekend and a happy Halloween! This week, there are lots of things to do in New Jersey that celebrate the arts. From ballet to jazz music to the visual arts to improvisational comedy, there’s something for everyone in New Jersey this week. Here are the top five picks for things to do in New Jersey this week…
1. The New Jersey Ballet: Peter and the Wolf/Beauty and the Beast
November 9
Sitnik Theatre at Centenary College
715 Grand Avenue
Hackettstown, New Jersey
2pm
Tickets: Adults/Students – $20 / Children (12 & under) – $17.50
Looking for things to do with the kids this weekend? Would you like an opportunity to introduce them to ballet in a kid-friendly venue? Then don’t miss the New Jersey Ballet’s delightful double feature performance of Peter and the Wolf and Beauty and the Beast. Children will be enchanted by as the dancers tell the story of these two classic family stories that extol the values of courage and kindness.
2. Exit 0 International Jazz Festival
November 7-9
Cape May, New Jersey
Summer may seem like a distant memory as the days get shorter and chillier, but there’s no shortage of things to do at the Jersey shore during the “off-season”. In fact, this coming weekend is a great time to visit as the Exit 0 International Jazz Festival returns to Cape May! Named for the Gardens State Parkway’s exit to Cape May, twice a year the Exit 0 International Jazz Festival transforms the quaint Victorian town into “a veritable jazz village” (Jazz Times Magazine) that features phenomenal jazz music and fine food and wine. The headliners for the 4th edition of the Exit 0 International Jazz Festival are internationally-acclaimed vocalist René Marie, Grammy Award winner Monty Alexander, sensational New Orleans pianist and bandleader Jonathan Batiste, and the fabulous players of The Cookers.
3. New Brunswick Jazz Festival
November 6-9
Free live jazz performances November 6–8 at restaurants throughout downtown New Brunswick, NJ.
Main Event – November 9
Hyatt Regency
2 Albany Street
New Brunswick, New Jersey
Another awesome jazz event kicks off later this week in New Brunswick, New Jersey with the 10th Annual New Brunswick Jazz Festival. Over a dozen jazz solo artists and ensembles will perform throughout the festival, with the main event featuring spectacular performances by The New Brunswick Jazz All-Stars, the Paula Atherton Band with special Guest Cindy Bradley, Hiroshima, and Gerald Albright. Visit the New Brunswick Jazz Festival online for more information regarding specific venues and to purchase tickets for Sunday’s main event.
4. Hoboken Artists’ Studio Tour
November 9
Various locations throughout Hoboken
12-6pm
Celebrate the arts in Hoboken with a free self-guided walking tour of artists’ studios, galleries, and group exhibition spaces. The event features over 100 participating artist displaying their art in many forms. Meet the artists, sculptors, photographers, and artisans and see the creative process at work. Poets, musicians, and other performance artists will also be on hand to make the day a memorable one. Hoboken is only a mile square, so the tour is easily walkable. Free tour maps will be available on the day of the tour at Hoboken City Hall (94 Washington Street).
5. The Second City Does NJ: Paved and Confused
November 7-8
The Victoria Theater at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center
One Center Street
Newark, New Jersey
Need a good laugh? Chicago’s world-renowned comedy enterprise, which launched the careers of comedy superstars such as Tina Fey and Mike Myers, visits the Victoria Theater at the NJPAC this weekend and presents hilarious customized sketches, songs, and improve numbers that will take aim at all things Jersey. The Second City Does New Jersey: Paved and Confused takes aim at local sports teams, the Meadowlands, the Boardwalk, the Capitol, Thomas Edison, and Tony Soprano, and will have you in laughing until you cry.
Featured Photo Credit: Kathy Vitulano via Flickr
