The Weekender: Eat, Invent, and Walk the Dog

As the days of summer bliss draw to a close, there's plenty to do before the kids go back to school.

Downtown after Sundown continues to offer music on both Fri. and Sat. evenings in South Orange. Dine outdoors at one of our local favorites, and enjoy the music.

Host an invention convention on Sat. and Sun. in West Orange, as the Thomas Edison lab and home are open to the public free of charge.

Sunday is the final concert in Millburn's Taylor Park concert series with The Characters. The group has appeared all over New Jersey since they joined forces in 1982. Members are Danny Solazzi on vocals and guitar, George Messina on drums, Rob Traegler on keys and guitar, Craig Colandro on bass and Frank King of guitar. The concert is at 7-8:30 p.m. Admission is free.

Interested in supporting young artists? On Saturday in Orange, ORNG Ink, a summer program for young artists in the community, will be hosting an arts festival, Inkalicious. The festival is at 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in their studio grounds at Ironworks. Events include performances, a salad making competition, music recordings, photography, lessons in t-shirt printing and more. The festival is free.

Have a dog? Take it for a walk this weekend with the South Mountain Conservancy. This Sunday, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., they will be hosting a dog walk through South Mountain Reservation. Participants should meet at the dog park off of Crest Drive. Dogs must be kept on leashes.

This weekend also marks the opening of a new play at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in Madison. The play, "No Man's Land," is not by Shakespeare, but author Harold Pinter could be called one of today's most important playwrights as the winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize for Literature. The play runs from August 11-19. Tickets can be purchased here for a variety of show times and price ranges.

On Friday the Millburn Public Library will be having a movie night for children ages 4-12 years old. "Tale of Despereaux" will be a free showing, but registration is required here The movie will begin at 6:30 p.m. and should end around 8:30 p.m.