Calendar of Events
Sunday, November 15, 2009
"A2Sunday Runners": Two Dogs Running.
Every Sun. All invited to join informal runs of 5-7 miles along various scenic routes.
meet at Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea, Kerrytown. Free. 657-0214.
Sunday Rides: Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society.
Every Sun. Today: "Dundee Breakfast Ride," a fast/moderate-paced 60-mile ride to Dundee for breakfast.
meet at Wheeler Park, N. Fourth Ave. at Depot St. Free. 904-6431 unless otherwise noted.
22nd Annual Jewish Book Festival: Jewish Community Center.
Nov. 3-6, 8-13, & 15. Display and sale (at retail prices) of more than 2,000 new books by Jewish authors, ranging from cookbooks, expensive gift books, children's books, and reference books to books by local authors and new titles hot off the presses. (Publishers plan their releases for November, which is Jewish Book Month.) The fair also includes a number of talks and performances by various Jewish authors. Today: award-winning essayist Debra Darvick discusses her children's book I Love Jewish Faces (10 a.m.), and freelance journalist Bruce Feiler, author or the best-selling Walking the Bible, discusses America's Prophet: Moses and the American Story (12:30 p.m.), his exploration of the role of the Exodus story in American history.
Jewish Community Center, 2935 Birch Hollow Dr. (off Stone School Rd. south of Packard). Lunch available at the daily noon programs for $12 ($10 in advance). Free. 971-0990.
20th Annual Gaming Convention: UCon.
Nov. 13-15. 400-600 competitors are expected to turn out to play a wide spectrum of tabletop games, from board games of all kinds (including European family-oriented board games) and role-playing games (including some RPGA-sanctioned events) to collectible card games and miniaturized simulations of historical and fictional battlefields. A "Kid UCon" area features a variety of games and activities for kids. Participants also are invited to bring in games to play in an open gaming area. Representatives of game design companies are on hand to discuss and demonstrate their games. Also, a dealers' room with sale and demos of games. Registration begins tonight at 5 p.m. Note: People not affiliated with the U-M must arrive before 9 p.m.
various Michigan Union locations. Weekend pass $20 in advance, $25 at the door; $10 (Fri.) & $15 (Sat. & Sun.) daily admission at the door only. Also, $3 to play most games. Advance registration available on-line at ucon-gaming.org and by mail to UCon Gaming Convention, P.O. Box 4491, Ann Arbor 48106-4491. 930-6363.
22nd Annual Collectible Teddy Bear Show and Sale: Bright Star Promotions.
Weber's Inn, 3050 Jackson Rd. $6 (kids ages 3-12, $2). (502) 423-STAR.
"Crooked Lake Hike": Washtenaw Ski Touring Club.
Club member Carole Hann leads a 5-mile hike.
meet at the Silver Lake parking lot, Silver Hill Rd., north off Dexter-Townhall Rd. (1 mile north off North Territorial). Free. 662-SKIS.
"Full English Tea Service": TeaHaus.
With a brief talk by a TeaHaus staffer on the history of English tea traditions.
Cake Nouveau, 206 N. Fourth Ave. $26, $50 per twosome. Reservations required. 622-0460.
"New Balance Girls on the Run 5K."
Noncompetitive 5-km run and 100-yard dash for kids age 7 & under. T-shirts, medals, and goody bags for the first 1,000 runners.
St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Campus, 5320 Elliot Dr., Ypsilanti. $15 (kids dash, free) in advance by Nov. 13 at girslontherunsemi.org/events/GOTR-events.php; $20 day of race. 8 a.m. registration. girlsontherunsemi.org
"Cedar Lake Esker Outing": Huron Valley Sierra Club.
Local outdoorsman Barry Lonik leads a 4-mile hike.
Cedar Lake Recreation Center, Cedar Lake Rd. (off Cavanaugh Lake Rd, 1/2 mile west of Pierce Rd. north from I-94 exit 157), Chelsea. Free. 477-5715.
Ultimate Frisbee: H.A.C. Ultimate.
Every Sun. All invited to a very relaxed pickup game of this spirited team sport. Note: Overly competitive players are politely asked to leave.
Mitchell Field, south side of Fuller Rd. just west of Bonisteel. Free. 846-9418.
First Singles: First Presbyterian Church.
Every Sun. A weekly program open to all single adults interested in contemporary Christian topics, new ideas, personal growth, and social and physical activities. Today: a potluck and planning meeting.
First Presbyterian Church Curtis Room, 1432 Washtenaw. Free. 662-4466, ext. 43.
"Sciencepalooza: We've Got Chemistry": Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum.
Family-friendly science demos and hands-on activities. a "Sciencepalooza: We've Got Chemistry."
Hands-On Museum, 220 E. Ann. $9 regular admission (members & infants, free). 995-5439.
"2nd Annual Lights Out Invitational": A-Square Fight Club.
Nov. 13-15. Tournament featuring top amateur boxers from the U.S. and Canada in various age divisions, from bantams (ages 9 & 10) to adult (age 17 & over).
138 Jackson Plaza (off eastbound Jackson just west of Wagner). $10. 585-8823.
Ann Arbor Go Club.
Every Sun. & Thurs. except Nov. 26. Players of all skill levels invited to play what's regarded as the world's most difficult board game. No partner necessary. Boards and stones provided.
Espresso Royale, 322 S. State. Free. 417-5547.
"Amigurumi Happy Fun!": Ann Arbor District Library.
Hands-on introduction to the Japanese art of crocheting small stuffed toys, for adults and teens in grade 6 & up.
AADL 4th-floor meeting room. Free. 327-8301.
Magic: The Gathering Tournament: Get Your Game On.
Every Sun.-Fri., except Nov. 26. All invited to compete in tournaments of this popular collectible card game using standard constructed (Sun. & Thurs.), vintage (Mon.), Elder Dragon Highlander (Tues.), Legacy (Wed.), and booster draft (Fri.) decks. Prizes. Bring your own cards. Sun.-Thurs.
Get Your Game On, 709 Packard. $5. 786-3746.
Storytime: Liberty Borders.
Every Sun. A Borders staffer reads stories for kids.
Borders, 612 E. Liberty. Free. 668-7652.
"The New UMMA": U-M Museum of Art.
Every Sat. & Sun. beginning Nov. 7. Docent-led tours of the recently renovated museum.
UMMA, 525 S. State. Free. 764-0395.
U-M Detroit Observatory.
Nov. 6 & 15. Half-hour docent-guided tours of photographs and artifacts in this restored 19th-century observatory museum. Also, a chance to pull the rope and rotate the telescope dome.
U-M Detroit Observatory, 1398 E. Ann at Observatory. $5 suggested donation (U-M students, free). 763-2230.
Tour: Kempf House Museum.
Every Sun. Guided tours of this restored 19th-century Greek Revival home, named for the family of German American musicians who occupied it at the turn of the 19th century.
Kempf House, 312 S. Division. Free; donations accepted. 994-4898.
Gaming Tournaments: Ann Arbor District Library.
Nov. 13-15. Video game tournaments. Today: Mario Kart Wii for all ages.
AADL multipurpose room, 343 S. Fifth Ave. Free. 327-8301.
U-M Exhibit Museum Planetarium.
Every Sat. & Sun. and Nov. 27. Three different audiovisual planetarium shows. The Sky Tonight (1:30 & 3:30 p.m., plus 11:30 a.m. Sat. and Nov. 27 only) explores the current night sky. Stars of the Pharoahs (12:30 p.m. Sat. only) explores the use of science in ancient Egypt to tell time, make a workable calendar, and align huge buildings. Two Small Pieces of Glass: The Amazing Telescope (2:30 p.m. Sat., Sun., & Nov. 27) explores how telescopes work and what they can do
U-M Exhibit Museum, 1109 Geddes at North University. $4.75. 764-0478.
"Yarns: Stories That Weave the Web of Life": Ann Arbor Storytellers Guild.
Nov. 14 & 15 (different locations). Area storytellers present a storytelling program, interwoven with Celtic harp music for adults & youth age 14 & over (Nov. 14) and for families with kids age 4 & over (today).
AADL Pittsfield Branch, 2359 Oak Valley Dr. between Scio Church Rd. and Ann Arbor-Saline Rd.
"Escanaba": Purple Rose Theatre Company.
Every Wed.-Sun. (except Nov. 26) Sept. 17-Dec. 19. See review. Guy Sanville directs the world premiere of Jeff Daniels' comedy, the third in his deer-hunting Yooper trilogy that includes the hugely successful Escanaba in da Moonlight and Escanaba in Love. This installment reveals the origins of some of the Soady family's time-honored deer camp traditions. Stars Julian Gant, Wayne David Parker, and Tom Whalen.
Purple Rose, 137 Park St., Chelsea. $25 (Sun. eves., Wed. & Thurs.), $33 (Sat. & Sun. matinees), & $38 (Fri. & Sat. eves.) in advance and at the door. 433-7673.
"The Marriage of Figaro": U-M Opera Theatre.
Nov. 12-15. Robert Swedberg directs U-M opera students in Mozart's popular opera buffa noted for its stirring, lovely melodies. Bored by his wife, Count Almaviva eyes her maid Susanna, who is engaged to his valet Figaro. When the count decides to exercise his feudal rights, Figaro, Susanna, and others are thrown into frenzied attempts to thwart his lecherous scheme. Italian, supertitles. Kenneth Kiesler conducts the University Symphony Orchestra.
Power Center. $18 & $24 (students, $9) in advance at the Michigan League Ticket Office and at the door. 764-2538.
"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee": Dynamic Stage Productions.
Nov. 12-15. This area theater company presents William Finn's Tony-winning musical comedy about 6 teenage outsiders who vie for the county spelling bee championship. Most performances involve audience volunteers who join in the spelling bee on stage.
Riverside Arts Center, 76 N. Huron, Ypsilanti. Tickets $15 at dynamicstageproductions.com and at the door. 480-2787.
Cheryl A. Vatcher-Martin: Barnes & Noble.
This Detroit-area fiction writer and poet reads from her award-winning children's ghost story The Cornstalks Are Whispering. Followed by a Q&A. Signing.
Barnes & Noble, 3235 Washtenaw. Free. 973-1618.
"Ann Arbor Railroad": Washtenaw County Historical Society.
Talk by local attorney Dan McClary.
Glacier Hills Retirement Community Hanson Room, 1200 Earhart. Free. 662-9092.
"Euchre for Cheaters Tournament": 826michigan Fund-Raiser.
2-person teams play euchre for donations. The more money teams raise, the more "cheats" they earn. Michigan-themed prizes. Spectators welcome.
Conor O'Neill's, 318 S. Main. Free admission. To register, email angela@826michigan.org. 761-3463.
Open House Bazaar: Palestinian Aid Society.
4148 Spring Lake Blvd. (south off W. Ellsworth). Free admission. 747-6865.
"The Lens of Impressionism": U-M Museum of Art.
Nov. 4, 7, 8, 11, 15, 21, 22, & 29. Docent-led tours of the current exhibit.
UMMA, 525 S. State. Free. 764-0395.
Dinosaur Tours: U-M Exhibit Museum.
Every Sat. & Sun. 30-minute docent-led tour of the museum's dinosaur exhibits.
U-M Exhibit Museum, 1109 Geddes at North University. Free, but limited to the first 15 people to sign up for each tour. 764-0478.
"Oklahoma!": Pioneer High School Theatre Guild.
Nov. 7 & 8 and 13-15. U-M theater student Mary-Michael Patterson directs Pioneer High School students in the landmark Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, a sentimental love story set in the Oklahoma Territory on the eve of statehood. The show's many well-known songs include "I Cain't Say No," "People Will Say We're in Love," "Surrey with the Fringe on Top," and the rousing title chorus.
Pioneer High School Schreiber Auditorium, 601 W. Stadium at Main. Tickets $12 (seniors age 65 & over and students, $9) in advance at Morgan & York (1928 Packard) and at the door. 994-2191.
Waterloo Natural History Association.
Nov. 1 & 15. Today: "Creatures of the Night." Howell Nature Center staff display several live nocturnal birds and discuss their habits and adaptations to the dark.
2 p.m., Eddy Discovery Center, Bush Rd. (west from Pierce Rd. off I-94 exit 157), Chelsea. $2 (family, $5). $6 vehicle entry fee. 475-3170.
Family Dance: Pittsfield Union Grange.
All children and their parents or grandparents invited for contra and square dancing with live music.
Pittsfield Grange, 3337 Ann Arbor-Saline Rd. $12 per family. 769-1052.
"Annie Get Your Gun": Skyline High School.
Nov. 13-15, 20, & 21. Anne-Marie Roberts directs Skyline students in the popular Irving Berlin musical, a fictionalization of the life of sharpshooter Annie Oakley, a country girl and crack shot who joins the traveling Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and falls in love with a fellow entertainer who's intimidated by her superior shooting skills. Berlin's score is one of his finest and includes "There`s No Business like Show Business," "You Can't Get a Man with a Gun," and the humorous competitive duet "Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)."
Skyline High School, 2552 N. Maple. Tickets $8 (students, $6) in advance at showtix4u.com and at the door. 994-6515.
Campus Band: U-M School of Music.
John Pasquale conducts this ensemble of nonmusic majors in James Barnes' "Yorkshire Ballad," Alfred Reed's Armenian Dances, Brahms' "Blessed Are They," Ticheli's "Nitro," Arnold's Four Scottish Dances, no. 3 from Clifton Williams' Symphonic Dances, and Malcolm Arnold's Four Scottish Dances and Prelude, Siciliano, and Rondo.
Hill Auditorium. Free. 764-0594.
"All Childish Things, Episodes I-III": EMU Theater Department.
Nov. 13-15. Shannon Ferrante directs a staged reading of local playwright Joseph Zettelmaier's 2009 New American Play Award-winning trilogy of drama about 3 lifelong friends, linked by a mutual obsession with Star Wars, who are still struggling with the nature and meaning of adulthood as they enter middle age. Each night is a different play in the trilogy. Adult language.
Sponberg Theater, Ford St. (off Lowell from Huron River Dr.), EMU campus, Ypsilanti. Tickets $7 in advance and at the door. 487-1221.
"A Puppet History of Ypsilanti": Dreamland Theater.
Nov. 15, 22, & 29. The Dreamland Puppet Troupe presents its kid-friendly marionette and shadow puppet show about Ypsilanti history, from the formation of the Great Lakes to the founding of the Ypsilanti Underwear Company in 1904.
Dreamland, 26 N. Washington, Ypsilanti. $5 (kids age 3 & under, free). 657-2337.
The Chenille Sisters: Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra.
AASO music director Arie Lipsky conducts the symphony in a family concert featuring this popular local vocal trio. Singer-songwriters Cheryl Dawdy, Connie Huber, and Grace Morand are known for their breathtakingly precise and resonant vocal harmonies, impish playfulness, and delightfully eclectic repertoire. Today they draw on their repertoire of kid-oriented songs, including a lot of interactive material, to the accompaniment of a full orchestra. Also, the local song-and-dance team of young twins Ariel & Zoey 8|premiere Lansing songwriter David Barrett's "Build Your Dreams Slowly." Preceded at 2:30 p.m. in the lobby by a "string instrument petting zoo" and a chance to make your own instrument to play along with the show.
Michigan Theater. Tickets $15 (kids, $6) in advance at the AASO office (200 E. Huron, suite 470), a2so.com, and (if available) at the door. 994-4801.
Michigan Baroque Ensemble: Academy of Early Music.
Note: This performance has been postponed.
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 306 N. Division. $15 (seniors, $12; students, $5) at the door only. 528-1838.
Emerson School: Barnes & Noble.
Students from this local private school present a fun-filled evening that includes face painting and tattoos, singing, a theatrical production, kids activities, and a raffle for teens.
Barnes & Noble, 3235 Washtenaw. Free. 973-1618.
Ann Arbor Morris.
Every Sun. All invited to try this boisterous, jingly English ceremonial dance based on the 15th-century Spanish moresca . Wear athletic shoes.
Gretchen's House VII barn, 1580 Dhu Varren Rd. Free. Email a2morris@umich.edu to confirm. 747-8138.
Team USA Under-18 vs. Chicago Steel.
The Ann Arbor-based USA Hockey national development team plays this U.S. Hockey League rival.
Ann Arbor Ice Cube, 2121 Oak Valley Dr. at Scio Church Rd. $12 (seniors, students, & children, $6; kids under 5, free). 327-9251.
Signe Karlstrom Festival of Nordic Arts 2009: U-M Scandinavian Studies/Residential College Players.
Nov. 13-15 (different locations). Three days of music, theater, and dance from Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland. Tonight: "Nordic Edge." Classical chamber music by contemporary Scandinavian composers, including Jouni Kaipainen's Gluehende Bumen die Aussicht, Lotta Wennakoski's Gulla d'Aria, and Per Magnus Lindborg's Tusalava. The performers include musicians from the DSO, the New Music Detroit Ensemble, the Muse Ensemble, and the local Brave New Works.
Kerrytown Concert House, 415 N. Fourth Ave. $10 & $20 (students, $5) includes an afterglow with Scandinavian foods. 276-4906.
U-M Ballroom Dancers.
Every Sun. Ballroom dancing to recorded music, including fox-trots, waltzes, cha-chas, rumbas, tangos, swing, and more. No partner necessary. Preceded at 7 p.m. by beginning lessons and practice.
Michigan League Ballroom. $3. 763-6984.
