Daily Record from Morristown, New Jersey • 32

Daily Record, Morris County, N.J., Friday, August 14, 1998 CI 1 i TD1 4) and old esame Beguiles yo ting Music SESAME PLACE Langhorne, Pa. (215) 752-7070 4 byJanine mellini Daily Record New Jersey artists Hammell on Trial, Jack Tan-nehill, Jeff Tarayla, Grip Weeds, Flint Michigan and more are featured at the "Afternoon Folk Music New Sounds at Waterloo" from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Waterloo Village, 525 Waterloo Road, Byram. This eclectic musical event blends acoustic, country, blues, pop and roots-rock music. The program is free with admission to the village, which is $9, $8 for seniors, and $7 for children ages 6-15.

Call (973) 347-0900. LANGHORNE, Pa. There are some places you never outgrow. Fortunately, Sesame Place in nearby Bucks County is one of them. When my 12-year-old asked to go there re Specials TRIPPER WW fa il cently, I resisted at first.

Hadn't we left Grover, Big Bird, Cookie Monster and Elmo (my personal Muppet favorite) and the rest of the "Sesame Street" gang far behind several years ago? I guess not, because my family and I had as good a time as ever when we visited there recently. Sesame Place is the only theme park in the country based on the popular children's television program, "Sesame Street." Activities at the 14-acre park are geared mainly toward children ages 2 through 13. The main attractions at Sesame Place are water rides and various play See SESAME C4 7 AIM Hj 'hi" Sesame Place Vapor Trail, Sesame Place's new steel roller coaster, may be small but It provides a tumultuous ride. Jersey artist has gone to the dogs into like a person." Working in brushy passages with a softly glowing palette, Alexander managed to get Monty the pug on canvas. Inspired, she went on to do "Dog" the bulldog, "Bob" the Boston Bull, "Garbo," the Doberman, "Blue" the German Shepherd, "Knuckle-head" the Labrador.

Some of her subjects verge on LAURA ALEXANDER, NEW JERSEY ARTISTS SERIES Morris Museum, 6 Normandy Heights Road through September 1 (973)538-0454 By Marion Filler Daily Record i i i 1 I. 7 I V. 1 I. i i Ullil HI I i i -i in mmu aliil i i 1 1 1 111 i- the surreal such as "Prehistoric Dog" and "Koo Koo Dog." Another, "Bones," is definitely not someone's pet and could use a good home. Although each sitter has its own persona, the artist imbues all of her subjects with her particular brand of magic.

These dogs are alive. Movement is suggested by an abundance of surface texture and by the placement of the dog within the composition. Heads are askance, bodies are twisted, a face is thrust forward and a body all but obliterated in a sea of color. The portraits are abstractions to some degree, relating to another group of eight There are dogs and there are dog portraits, but few are as much fun as Laura Alexander's series of 10 oils currently on display as part of the New Jersey Artists Series at the Morris Museum. More than a mere likeness, the studies capture the quintessence of dogi-ness, touching upon the character of each canine while simultaneously revealing an exterior presence.

The are paintings first, portraits second, and eminently successful on both levels. How did an artist who began her career as a photo-realist The spirit of Daniel Boone lives at the two-day encampment of mountain men, pioneers, trappers and traders tomorrow and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Wild West City, Route 206, Byram. Re-enactors dressed in period clothes from 1740 through 1865 will demonstrate early American crafts, campfire cooking and black powder firearms.

Admission is $6.75, $6.25 for children ages 2-12. Call (973) 3478900. Join village artisans and special guests for a day celebrating the role of textiles In early America, 12 to 4 p.m. tomorrow at historic Waterloo Village, 525 Waterloo Road, Byram. Craft demonstrations include penny rug and rug hooking, bobbin lace, tatting, needlework and weaving.

The program is free with admission to the village, which is $9, $8 for seniors, and $7 for children ages 6-15. Call (973) 347-0900. Rare funerary objects from an Intact burial site near Jericho are on public display for the first time starting today In the "Cave of the Warrior" exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 8:45 p.m.

Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5:45 Sunday through Thursday. Admission is $8, $6 for seniors and students, and $4.50 for children 2-12. Call (212) 769-5800. If you dream of riding horseback by the light of the moon, tomorrow is your chance.

Lord Stirling Stables offers "Moonlight Horseback Rides" along 10 miles of trails at the stable at 256 South Maple Avenue, Basking Ridge. Check-in time is 8 p.m. for the 8:30 ride. Fee is $31. In-person registration is required, as well as an approved riding hard hat and boots with heels (rentals available).

Call (908) 766-5955 or TDD (908) If pastels are your pleasure, take In an art exhibit by Pastels Plus, a group of professional pastelists, at the Drue Chryst Gallery, 21 White Deer Plaza, Lake Mohawk. For more information, call (973) 729-0609. FairsFestivals Classic motorcycles, a dunking booth, a dance contest, a petting zoo, custom cars, the WDHA "vanzllla" and great food highlight Denville's "Rock Around the Block" Party tomorrow on Broadway from 6 to 11 p.m. Rain date is Sunday 4 to 9 p.m. Admission is $1, children under 12 free.

Call (973) 586-3461. Free concerts by The Duprees tonight and The Drifters tomorrow highlight the 10th anniversary of Rockaway Township Days which runs 6 to 11 p.m. today and 3 to 11 p.m. tomorrow at Peterson Field opposite Rockaway Townsquare Mall. This year's extravaganza also features fireworks at 9:45 tonight, free pony rides and petting zoo tomorrow, plus rides, games and food.

Admission is free. A ticket for unlimited rides costs $12 per night. Call (973) 983-2841. Enjoy an old-fashioned country turkey and ham dinner along with children's games, the Women's Association quilt table, home-baked goods, watermelon and lemonade at the 126th Church Country Fair starting at 2 p.m. tomorrow at Schooley's Mountain Presbyterian Church, Heath Lane and 12 Pleasant Grove Road.

Admission is free. For information or dinner reservations, call (9,08) 850-8281 or (908)852-8690. bbd How to reach us: Mike Tschappat, TGIF Editor, (973) 428-6665, 800 Jefferson Road, Parsippany, N.J. 07054. Our e-mail address is featuresdailyrecord.com.

"Bob" by Laura Alexander, large pieces in the adjoining gallery, also by Alexander, which are pure passages of color and texture. The portraits are part of a previous exhibit in the See DOGS C4 turned abstractionist get into the doggie trade? It all began in the old Levelor Building in Hoboken where Alexander maintains a studio. "Everyone here has a dog," says the artist. "One day the studio door was open and a little pug was standing there watching me paint. He had a certain intensity that I wanted to tap JOHN BEU.

Daily Record John Lardieri's unique guitar style will be on display tonight at 7 In Montville and Sunday at 9 In Madison. Lardieri finds new ways to play accoustic guitar Hersheypark's Great Bear has plenty of growl 1 By Joseph McLaughlin Daily Record i. By Lin Weisenstein Daily Record HERSHEY, Pa Great food, shopping, the Amish. The Pennsylvania Dutch country is a great place to visit for many reasons. Add one more thrills.

The Great Bear, the newest roller coaster at Her-sheypark, will have you seeing stars. Named for the seven-star Ursa Major constellation, the inverted steel thriller is pure heaven for coaster crazies. Riders, feet dangling, roar at 60 miles per hour through seven different drops, loops curves and barrel rolls for almost three heart-pounding minutes. Although it isn't the world's longest, tallest or fastest coaster, Great Bear could be the most unique. The Great Bear takes good advantage of Hersheypark's hilly terrain.

Riders plunge 125 feet into Comet Hollow before ripping into a 100-foot loop that's frightfully close to a stream. But that's not all. The Bear snarls through the sky ride, the Coal Cracker log flume and the another steel coaster, giving screaming riders the illusion they could lose their legs at any time. This is especially true as riders are thrust through the heartline spins. One barrel rolls to the right and the other is a rare left-handed flip Riding the Great Bear is a pure pleasure and is Do you know what an acoustic guitar sounds like? Maybe but in the hands of John Lardieri, a guitar can sound like nothing you've ever heard.

The 23-year old Montville native plays the instrument, traditionally relegated to coffee house ballads, like a drummer banging out a rhythm and a funk bassist plucking a smooth groove. Lardieri brings his wizard-like guitar abilities and original songs to two Morris County venues this weekend the Montville Amphitheater today at 7 p.m. and the Sweet Dreams Cafe in Madison two nights later at 9 p.m. after returning home from dates in New York City and Baltimore. "There's so much you can do with an acoustic guitar above and beyond just strumming it real sweetly," Lardieri said during a rehearsal break.

"It's the most aggressive instrument that there ever was. Lardieri combines this aggressiveness with a blend of pop, funk, and jazz to create an amalgamated style that is as original as it is ingenious. This weekend, the singer-songwriter will bring his innovative music to new audiences and pro- Lin Weisenstein Daily Record The Great Bear roller coaster (pink cars) Intertwines with several rides at Herseypark. just about painless if you don't count the butterflies and white knuckles. It's very smooth and isn't, a head-banger, despite the shoulder restraints.

Although there isn't a bad seat on the 32-pas-senger trains, wait for the first car at least once. The flying sensation up front is out of this world. While you're there, check out Hersheypark's five other roller coasters. The twisted Wildcat is one of the finest wooden scream machines in the country and the Comet is another wooden classic. Like heights? The 110-acre park also has the Kissing Tower observation deck, an enormous double-ended ferris wheel and the tallest spash-down boat ride you'll find anywhere.

Hersheypark offers more than 50 rides and attractions including a zoo. And don't forget that Chocolate World tour with the free samples. Hersheypark is 150 miles southwest of Parsippany. For information, call (717) 534-3900. See GUITAR C4.