I hope everybody had a fantastic Christmas.  The day may be over, but the holiday season is not.  This Saturday is New Year’s Eve in Maplewood.  That means lots of celebrating still to be had.  If you’re in the Maplewood area on New Year’s Eve, you may want to bring the family down to Maplewood Middle School (17 Burnet St) beginning at 4:30pm for circus performances as well as arts and crafts.  There will even be a fireworks celebration at 7:15pm in Maplewood Memorial Park.  Livingston Taylor will then perform a special program at 8:00pm.

Singer-songwriter Livingston Taylor performs his own hits as well as others, including Broadway tunes, jazz, gospel, folk music and even pop.  Along with his musical compositions, listeners will be tantalized by his fascinating stories and warm anecdotes.  He is an artist in every sense of the word.  So, you don’t want to miss this special New Year’s Eve performance.

For 20 years now, local entrepreneurs have been hosting First Night to ring in the New Year in the Maplewood/South Orange area in a fun, family-friendly manner.  Wristbands for the event can be purchased at Kings Supermarket (159 Maplewood Ave in Maplewood, NJ), Maplewood’s Main Branch Library (51 Baker St in Maplewood, NJ), Cold Stone Creamery (3 Sloan St in South Orange, NJ) or the South Orange Library (65 Scotland Rd in South Orange, NJ) for just $10 each.  You may also purchase your wristbands online for $11 by visiting the First Night website here.  If you wait until New Year’s Eve, wristbands will be available at the door for $15 each.   The special performance by Livingston Taylor is only available via special preferred seating.  Tickets for the concert are only available online (click here).  For $22, you will get a reserved seat to the concert as well as a wristband for admission to First Night.  Kids under 3 years old can attend the concert for free when accompanied by a paid adult but will need to sit on the lap of the adult for the duration of the concert.

Enjoy a family-friendly New Year’s Eve in Maplewood-South Orange this year by attending First Night at Maplewood Middle School.  There will be circus performers, hands-on arts and crafts, fireworks and music.  Ring in the New Year with your family in this fun, unique way.  Happy New Year, everybody!

Francine Lichtman, Real Estate Beyond Four Walls, New Jersey Homes