Nerdy New Year: Things to Win, Support Local Radio

Special Independent Radio Edition:

Craft beer fans rejoice! WFMU will host a special beer nerd Meet-Up at Barcade in Jersey City (163 Newark Ave), where they'll tap a rare keg of Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout on Mon Jan 23rd at 7pm. Reserve a guaranteed serving by pledging $20 to WFMU (doesn't include drink price) and be sure to mention beer in your pledge comments. Space is limited to the first 50 pledges, so act quickly!

Make a pledge to WBGO and you could win a Big Party for the Big Game, Sunday February 5th. Set the place, invite your friends and WBGO News Director and Sports Jam host Doug Doyle will bring you all the food for your party, as you gather to watch football-s biggest night.
Not only will you be treated to an amazing array of tasty treats, but you and your friends will be featured on Doug-s program, Sports Jam, broadcast on WBGO Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. and podcast online at wbgo.org. It draws sports and music figures from all walks of life to tell their stories at the intersection of sports and music. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Monte Irvin, Tony Meola, Oksana Baiul, and so many others have been guests. Now it-s your turn, if you-re the winner!
No matter who wins the big game, you-ll never forget this night!
Pledge right now ( http://wbgojazz88.pmailus.com/pmailweb/ct?d=T5Jf-gBzAOEAAAQIAAW26Q ) to keep your station swinging, and be automatically
entered to win Doug-s Super Party.

At The Raconteur, celebrate the old days of radio with "Marx Brothers Lost Radio"--a live performance featuring "Welcome Back Kotter's" Bobby Hegyes.
8:00 PM, Fri. Jan 6
7:30 & 9:00 PM, Sat. Jan 7
Featuring acclaimed Groucho impersonator Ron MacCloskey (in full costume & makeup) and Welcome Back Kotter's Bobby Hegyes (Epstein) as Chico Marx. Reservations required, $10.

Things to Do for Nerds: December 17-18

The last big event ever (snif) at The Raconteur in Metuchen is this weekend--Movie Nerds, take note: Meet John Sayles! Book Nerds, seek solace, bargains, and rare finds, and raise a glass.

Holiday Nerds or Nerds with Kids can drive around and gawk at some of the outlandish light displays on houses, with this guide from Weird NJ, or just head down to your nearest downtown Main Street and admire the sparkliness. (Stopping along the way to support the local businesses, of course.) For a more detailed listing of the many Christmas-themed events and displays around the area, read more here. And if you're an Artsy Nerd looking to go all-out traditional, NJ Ballet's The Nutcracker will begin its run in Morristown this weekend.

Nerdy Jersey: Happy December!

Welcome to the madness, fellow nerds. Here are some ways to ramp up or chill out this weekend in New Jersey:

Friday, Dec 2:
Artsy and Crafty Nerds have plenty to keep them busy this weekend. First up is the Morristown Armory Holiday Craft Fair, starting today and running all weekend ($7 admission).
Book Nerds (and let's face it, Holiday Nerds) can experience an elaborate staged radio play version of A Christmas Carol at The Raconteur Bookshop in Metuchen ($10 suggested donation). This iconic shop will close next month, so check out their events while you still can.
Movie (and Media) Nerds may be interested in The Walton's 40th Reunion at the Loews Jersey City theater tonight, featuring a screening and some original cast members ($20)! Curiouser and curiouser.
Main Street Nerds can visit Boonton this evening for its Holiday Open House and Window Walk; stores will be open late, shoppers can vote on window displays for a chance to win money, and carriage and antique car tours of the holiday lights will be available. Central Jersey Main Street Nerds should get a curbside seat in Clinton as their annual Dickens Days continue with a Christmas Parade.
Activist Nerds will be happy to shop at the Gifts of Conscience Holiday Gift Fair at the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship tonight and throughout the weekend, featuring gifts from Ten Thousand Villages and other do-the-right-thing sort of organizations.
Nerds with Kids may want to visit the Turtle Back Zoo's Holiday Lights Spectacular, running throughout the weekend (FREE).

Saturday, Dec 3:Frelinghuysen Arboretum also hosts a craft fair this weekend, but the big draw is probably the outlandish gingerbread houses on display ($2 suggested donation).
Central Jersey Artsy Nerds should check out Off the Wall today at the West Windsor Arts Center, showcasing "affordable art exhibit" during which you can literally take your purchases off the wall (FREE admission).
See the Winter Wonders lights display at Grounds for Sculpture from a horse-drawn carriage (Grounds admission price).
Winter Holiday Festival at Lord Stirling Stable in Basking Ridge will include crafty things, hayrides, Santa, and displays of horse-riding prowess (FREE).
Morristown Armory Holiday Craft Fair ($7 admission).
A Christmas Carol at The Raconteur Bookshop in Metuchen ($10 suggested donation).
Gifts of Conscience Holiday Gift Fair at the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship.
Turtle Back Zoo's Holiday Lights Spectacular (FREE).

Sunday, Dec 4:
Ramapo Valley Railroad holds an open house so Nerds with Kids can see a "massive train layout with mountains, cities, rivers, yards, a windmill, and more, with plenty of trains, and plenty of free parking."
Morristown Armory Holiday Craft Fair ($7 admission).
Gifts of Conscience Holiday Gift Fair at the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship.
Turtle Back Zoo's Holiday Lights Spectacular (FREE).

And as we tumble headlong into this holiday season, an admonition from one nerd to another: Shop local. Shop Main Street. Make a day of it and enjoy the unique character of our cute Jersey towns, instead of the barren sameness of a mall parking garage. Walk around outside, instead of in recycled air. Make friends with shopkeepers, instead of dealing with surly teenagers. Help preserve small businesses, instead of giant corporations. And most of all, find truly unique and interesting gifts (or gift certificates) for those you love.

Nerds in Fall: November 11, 12, 13

Book & Movie Nerds hit the jackpot this weekend: Between the Teaneck International Film Festival, the Holy Batvention event at the Landmark Loews Jersey City, and Gertrude Stein Radio Drama at the Raconteur in Metuchen, nerdy events are happening all over the North/Central Jersey map for you.

And on the Sports Nerd/Curiouser and Curiouser End: The Garden State Rollergirls host their last bout of the year in Wallington.

All unique, all nerdy, all in the $10 range, all in New Jersey.

Nerdy New Jersey: October 28-30

Boo! There are a LOT of Halloween-themed things happening around northern and central Jersey this weekend. We cannot cover them all and do them all justice, but we urge you to stroll around any Main Street of any of our adorable towns. They've all got something going on that's good for kids and Halloween nerds in general. While you're there, SHOP and support the local economy. Are malls charming, community-oriented and life-affirming? Heck no! Go downtown.

That said, here are some notable nerdtastic Halloweeny highlights:

Liberty Science Center's Spooktacular (Friday and Saturday, Jersey City, $15 & under)
Attend a traditional 19th-century style funeral at Historic Speedwell in Morristown (Friday and Saturday evenings)
Raconteur's Haunted Bookshop featuring scary literary characters (Metuchen, Saturday and Sunday, $5)
Classic scary (and campy) Halloween flicks at Loew's Jersey City (Friday, Saturday, Sunday, $7 and under, see website for details)

And for the disinterested, something non-Halloween-related:

Sugarloaf Craft Festival comes to Somerset (all weekend; click here for a discount on the entrance fee)

And whether you're in the Halloween spirit or no, we'll leave you with something seasonal to think about from one who thought a lot about these things:

"One need not be a chamber to be haunted,
One need not be a house,
The brain has corridors surpassing
material place."
-Emily Dickinson

Nerdy Things to Do: October 21-23

All weekend: Travel to Hawaii (figuratively, of course) through "Kulanihako'i: Living Waters" at Peak Performances in Montclair ($15). Also, the mother of all north Jersey craft markets returns to the Morristown Armory.

Friday and Saturday: The famous Clinton Haunted Mill is back open for business. The place did appear on an episode of Ghost Hunters, so it's a good spot if you like that sort of thing. Newark Bears are hosting something called Stadium of Screams every weekend this month.

Saturday and Sunday: It's here at last! The Last Fling Pumpkin Sling is all the nerdy goodness you could ever want. Check it out 9 am - 6 pm ($5/$3). Nerds who love a bargain should see what's for sale at the Playwright's Theatre of NJ Rummage Sale, from 9 am - 2 pm.

Saturday only: It's Pumpkin Patch Day at the Liberty Hall Museum in Union. They are charging $10 for adults and $6 for children (pumpkins not included), so something pretty special must be (better be) going on there. Morris County School of Technology has a similar thing going on with their Spooktacular Fun Fest in Denville, with a similar pricing scheme. For the grownup Book Nerds, The Raconteur in Metuchen hosts former High Times editor Mike Edison, reading from Dirty! Dirty! Dirty! "his wild and uncompromising history of four infamous magazines and the outlaws behind them." (This event is FREE.) There's also a Rummage Sale/Flea Market in Maplewood.

Sunday only: Crafty Nerds find their kinsmen (and -women) at the Teaneck Creek Conservancy EcoArt Day and Craft Fair, 11 am - 4 pm. The Morris K9 Campus hosts its Fall Festival; dogs welcome.

Heads up for the week ahead: On Thursday, former NJ Governor Richard Codey will speak, answer questions and sign copies of his book at FDU in Florham. It's free, but register if you're interested by contacting fdualumni (at) fdu (dot) edu.

Fun Things for Nerds to Do: October 8-9

Saturday:
Grounds for Sculpture hosts a pumpkin carving demonstration AND an Oktober Fest, or you can visit Oktoberfests in Verona Park and Warren (or just go to Zeppelin Hall in Jersey City).
Garden State Rollergirls host a home bout in Wallington ($10 advance/$12 door)
Pig Roast and Live Music (and pumpkins, and apples) at Peaceful Valley Orchards in Pittstown.

Saturday & Sunday:
The Dancing Henry V in Montclair ($15): Like Shakespeare? Like avant-garde performances? Like an inexpensive but impressive date? Check the website for details.
Korean Harvest Festival in Ridgefield. It will feature the Village People. What more need you know?
An all-female arts festival begins its run in Newton this weekend. It's a partnership between the Smithsonian, the NJ Council for the Humanities, and others, so it's no slouch.

Sunday:
Check out the Summit Street Fair from 11 - 5.