Our weekly story of places to go and things to do includes real story tellers, a new play by Donald Margulies, an old play by Tom Stoppard, a barn dance, a hootenanny jam, two blues shows, a coffee house, opera, chamber music, Restaurant Week and the season’s first Santa sighting. Here’s your Fri-Sun rundown for Nov 13-15.

by LeeAnn Mailly

Friday

  • Santa sleighs to the Palisades Center for a Tree Lighting Ceremony followed by a performance byBRS_BarnDance_Flyer_2015 the NYC Trombone Trio and vocalist Sophia Sarrubbo. 6p on Level 1 in the East Court near H&M & Uniqlo.
  • Renowned electronic cellist Ashley Bathgateperforms with light and sound installations, including projections by M. Henry Jones. 6:30p at Garner Arts Center, 55 W Railroad Ave, Garnerville.
  • Blue Rock School hosts their annual old-fashioned Family Barn Dance from 7-9p at Congers Lake, Memorial Park Auditorium, 6 Gilchrest Rd.
  • Attend the Nyack High School Coffee Houseshowcasing the music of talented students. 7-9p at Nyack High School
  • GraceMusic presents Ghostlight, an elite chamber choir whose repertoire spans the 16th to 21st centuries. Meet-the-Artist reception following the concert. 7:30p at Grace Church, 130 First Ave, Nyack.

Saturday

fall_fiesta

  • Take part in a Hootenanny Group Jam Session. In the spirit of Pete Seeger, participants will be swapping songs and singing our hearts out. Bring along your singing voice, guitar, banjo, fiddle, or whatever! 1:30p at Valley Cottage Library, 110 NY-303, Valley Cottage.
  • Come for an Autumn Blues Concert with guitarist Paul Rose, jazz bassist Mark Egan and drummer Richie Morales. 7:30p at Torne Valley Vineyards, Torne Valley Rd, Hillburn.
  • The Children’s Shakespeare Theatre presentsRosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard. 2 & 7p at Children’s Shakespeare Theatre, 32 Old Tappan Rd, Tappan.
  • Don’t miss the ArtWorks Fall Fiesta – an evening of food, drinks, dancing, auctions, prizes, and fun! Tickets are $35 in advance or $40 at the door. 8-11p at Casa del Sol, 104 Main St, Nyack.
  • Nyack Center holds their annual Legacy Gala. This year’s Legacy honorees are Chris & Bert Hughes and Sally & Roger Seiler. For ticket and journal information visit Nyackcenter.org

Sunday

  • Everyone loves a good story. Check out the Rockland County Storytelling Festival and hear professional storytellers, high school student tellers as well as story crafts for kids. 1:30-5p at the Haverstraw King’s Daughters Public Library on Route 202 (behind CVS), Garnerville.
  • The Burr Johnson Trio brings their blend of jazz, funk, blues, and rock to the Valley Cottage Library, 110 NY-303 at 1:30p.
  • The League Residency at Vyt presents an exhibition featuring Marilyn Friedman,Karen O’Neil and John Varriano. 2-5p at Vyt, 241 Kings Highway, Orangeburg.
  • TuxPkGtNature_ReflectTuxedo Park has Nature by the Numbers: 450 species of trees and plants, 150 species of butterflies and moths, 200 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, all despite bordering on Big Number 87: the NYS Thruway. Author/photographer behindTuxedo Park: The Gift of Nature book talk at the Tuxedo Park Fire Department, 3p. Free, online registration required.
  • The Ridgewood Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company puts on a concert version of Ruddigore, a humorous musical opera with a ghostly theme. 2p at Finkelstein Memorial Library, 24 Chestnut St, Spring Valley.
  • It’s Sight Unseen, a play by Donald Margulies, author of Time Stands Still and Dinner with Friends. 7-9p at the Nyack Library, 59 S. Broadway.
  • The Historical Society of the Nyacks’ Fall exhibition features the photographs of the construction of the original Tappan Zee Bridge taken between 1952 – 1955 by Leonard Cooke of Nyack. Exhibit runs every Sunday through Nov 29. 1p at 50 Piermont Ave, Nyack.

Next Week

It’s Fall Hudson Valley Restaurant Week, an opportunity to dine out with prix-fixe menus at a discounted price.  $20.95 lunch; $29.95 dinner. Participating Nyack restaurants include Two Spear Street, 8 North Broadway, Broadway Bistro, Hudson House, Prohibition River, Sour Kraut, Velo Bistro Wine Bar and Wasabi.

Thursday

Reflections of Einstein is a feature documentary based on personal interviews with friends and colleagues of Albert Einstein. The film will be presented by Wally Glickman, Prof. Emeritus of Physics, Long Island University, Brooklyn who produced and directed the film. 7p at Nyack Library.

The Nyack Weekender is published every Friday in collaboration with Nyack News & Views — Nyack’s #1 source for local news and information.