Music Nerd Alert: May 6 and beyond

Fridays-on-the-Green concert series kicks off this week in Morristown and continues throughout May. It's FREE, but you have to be able to get there on your lunch hour: concerts start at 12:15 and are only half an hour each.

Movie Nerd Alert: May 6-7

The update from our friends at Raconteur Bookshop:

8 PM, Fri. May 6
ROBUS 1, RAY STRIFE, & LADY IN THE RADIATOR
CD release Party
Live Music
Indie rock and rap.

6 – 7:30 PM, Sat. May 7
WILLIAM LUSTIG
Pre-MANIAC Reception
Some serious New York grit is about to get all up in Metuchen when legendary cult director and Blue Underground head honcho William Lustig invades the The Forum with a brand new 35 mm print of Maniac. Join the Raconteur for a Dixie cup of comp wine and some up-close conversation with Lustig, then trot on down to the theater for the 8 PM screening and Q&A (brought to you by Crystal Plumage films). But be warned, this is strictly for fans of the genre. To read more about this event, click HERE and scroll down.

Sports Nerd Alert: May 6 and beyond

It's opening weekend for the Somerset Patriots! Nothing like the minor leagues to see a game on the cheap without any parking hassles. There's also the wacky spirit of camaraderie and the bizarre on-field contests between innings, not to mention the excuse to eat fried food in the outdoors.
$ (ticket prices range from $7-14)

Nerd Alert: Fireworks!

We'll also be keeping our eye on the Newark Bears, whose season begins later this month. We were sad to learn that the Sussex Skyhawks won't be operating this year.

Nerd Loves a Bargain: May 6, 7, 8

Many thanks to local nerds who tipped us off to the Visiting Nurse Association of Somerset Rummage Sale at the Fairgrounds in Far Hills this weekend. The website promises "75,000 square feet [of] clothing, appliances, antiques, sporting goods, furniture, dishes, books..." etc.

Nerd Alert: Sunday is half price day!

Music Nerd Alert: May 7

An eclectic mix this coming weekend for a music nerd to choose from: Kinnara, a madrigal-style ensemble performing in Summit ($20), WAMFest continues at FDU Florham with Owen (FREE), and the Raritan River Music Festival offers Tempesta Di Mare, a chamber baroque group, at Prallsville Mills in Stockton, an interesting structure in itself (advance tickets $19, $12 for students & seniors). Or you could always see what's going on at The Stanhope House ($10 or less).

Nostalgia Nerd Alert: May 7

If you'd like to go poking around a cool old town in a competitive sort of way, Watson Adventures is offering their Hidden Hoboken Scavenger Hunt, which promises "native son Frank Sinatra’s homes and places he sang; the location of Elysian Fields, where the first baseball game was played; locations from the movie On the Waterfront; cobblestone streets and a literal yellow-brick road."

$$: Tickets are about $20 and a typical hunt lasts a few hours
Nerd Alert: It sure sounds cheesy, but we can vouch for the company's "Princeton Prowl" hunt as pretty challenging and architecture-focused. We did not win, but still had fun and discovered beautiful parts of (and interesting things about) the university campus. Good for a small group; otherwise be prepared to be teamed up with some randoms.

Garden Nerd Alert: May 5-7

Here's hoping you got some good ideas from Nerd Alert's inaugural weekend. Coming up, more opportunities to dig in the dirt with garden club sales around the area:

Maplewood Garden Club's 74th annual sale: May 5 (noon-8pm), May 6 (8am - 8pm), May 7 (8am - 4pm).

Friends of the Frelinghuysen Arboretum plant sale: May 7 (9am - 3pm) at the arboretum in Morris Twp.

The Short Hills Garden Club sale: May 6 (1pm - 7pm), May 7 (8am - 1pm).

Friends of the Laurelwood Arboretum: May 7 (9am - 3pm) at the arboretum in Wayne.

Not for nothing, but Mother's Day is coming up this weekend. You may as well go all traditional and buy her a plant, but maybe this year make it some herbs for the kitchen window.