New Acts Added: Tickets On Sale For Family Oriented First Night

The Township of Montclair has added two new acts to its annual First Night Montclair 2011 festivities—Client No. 9 and pianist Jonathan Drucker.

Tickets can be purchased today, Thursday, and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 205 Claremont Avenue, as well as on Friday from 4 p.m. at Hillside School, 54 Orange Road. 

Tickets also can be purchased online at www.brownpapertickets.com.

A full description of all acts is below.

The Department of Recreation and Cultural Affairs, which runs the popular New Year's Eve event, has had to rely on the financial support of generous donors such as the Rosen Foundation, Fresh Direct, MCIA, Essex County, and other sponsors to continue First Night Montclair activities for another year.

"This year is a scaled-down version of previous years," said Robin Schlager, co-coordinator of the event. "It is very family oriented and all events are in one central location—Hillside School and the Unitarian Universalist Congregation."

Even so, this year's First Night program features a full slate of events involving: the Big Apple Circus to Go, Magician Joe Fischer, Wild 'n Wacky, Jazz House Kids, and Terry's Serendipity Café. A full listing is below.

Tickets will cost $15 for the Big Apple Circus to Go (which includes general admission), and $5 for general admission (to all performances except Big Apple Circus to Go).

Jazz House Kids and Terry's Serendipity Café will hold shows at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Montclair, 67 Church Street, Montclair.

For questions related to donations and sponsorship please call the Department of Recreation & Cultural Affairs at 973-509-4911.

List of events:

The Big Apple Circus to Go
Big Apple Circus, Circus to Go! presents an evening of fun & mayhem hosted by the Hey Ya Brothers! The Hey Ya Brothers slapstick comedy antics and circus fun will be joined by the elegant Miss Olivia on Aerial Silks, the acrobatic Human Spoke, Balancing prowess straight from Nanjing of the Happy Chef, slinky hula hoops of Irina and not to be missed Miss Markova and her performing Poodles!
Where: Hillside School Auditorium, 54 Orange Road, Montclair.
Performance times are: 5:00, 6:30 and 7:45 p.m.

Wild 'N Whacky
One of the most popular party games shows around, the Wild n Wacky Challenge is loaded with hilarious and crazy stunts where audience member compete against each other in a series of unique, on-on-one and interactive group challenges. Watch out for the famous homemade sludge and pie wall, ready to make a mess out of some lucky contestant. Join in the fun as a professional game show host and referee gather teams and individuals to compete against one another balancing plates, breaking balloons, tossing rings and participating in lots of other fun-filled challenges.
Where: Hillside School Gymnasium, 54 Orange Road, Montclair.
Performance times are: 5:30, 7:00 and 8:15 p.m.

Magician Joe Fischer
Joe Fischer presents a magic program that will astound, baffle, delight, thrill and entertain your audience. This fast-paced show has the perfect blend of magic, audience participation, comedy and excitement. Joe has an outstanding rapport with children - ability to communicate on their level is what makes this show real magic.
Where: Hillside School Cafeteria, 54 Orange Road, Montclair.
Performance times are: 5:15, 6:45 and 8:00 p.m.

Client No. 9
Montclair's own Client No. 9 is an alt-rock band delivering upbeat original tunes with bold attitude. With their blend of pop, punk and funk, they've been compared to Liz Phair, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pat Benatar. Client No. 9 features Aviva Patz on vocals, David Janowski on guitar, Greg Carson on bass and David Weil on drums. They can be seen performing at Parents Who Rock shows, clubs in NYC, Tierney's and other local venues. Their song, "Love As Far As I Know It" appears on the Parents Who Rock compilation CD, "Let 'Em Play."  Check out their myspace page: myspace/com/clientno9rock.
Where: Unitarian Universalist Congregation Sanctuary, 67 Church Street, Montclair.
Performance time: 5:00 p.m.

Jazz House Kids Big Band
Swing in the New Year and enjoy the great sounds of the big band jazz era when the new Jazz House Kids (JHK) Big Band – under the direction of Julius Tolentino – will get the house clapping, snapping, and dancing to the JHK's classic big band repertoire as well as modern jazz standards. Check out the fabulous Jazz House Kids on their website: www.JazzHouseKids.org
Where: Unitarian Universalist Congregation Sanctuary, 67 Church Street, Montclair.
Performance times are: 7:00 and 8:00 p.m.

Pianist Jonathan Drucker
Pianist and composer Jonathan Drucker grew up in Montclair. Born into a musical family in New York City in 1987, Jonathan began to take piano lessons at age six. While in high school, Jonathan devoted more time to the piano, and leading up to and during college was when he decided to pursue a career as a musician. Jonathan attended Skidmore College, where he was awarded the Louis Edgar Johns Outstanding Pianist Award. In 2008, he was fortunate to have the opportunity of studying in Paris, and he studied piano and composition at the École Normale de Paris. He currently is pursuing his Masters Degree in classical piano performance at Manhattan School of Music, studying with Daniel Epstein. Jonathan believes that music serves as a reflection of life's many experiences, and as the history of music progresses, it's up to us as musicians and listeners to continually communicate our appreciation for the music we love.
Where: Unitarian Universalist Congregation Sanctuary, 67 Church Street, Montclair.
Performance time: 9:00 p.m.

Terry's Serendepity Café
Terry's Serendipity Café is a project begun by Montclair High School students in the spring of 1995. It provides a place for our town's young people to listen to performances by a wide variety of artists, poets and musicians here in town. Terry's Serendipity Café is run by the students themselves, with adult volunteer advice and supervision. The café presents all types of performances and music from classical to rock, from jazz to hip hop. We have "open mic" time set aside at each café for people to come up on stage and perform. It is a great place for new artists to present their material to a live audience.
Where: Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Fletcher Hall, 67 Church Street, Montclair.
Performance time: 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.