Five Things You Need to Know Today, July 15th

Today is July 15th, and as we kick off another exciting weekend, the weather looks great and the list of things to do is endless.

Here's five things for your Friday.

1. Mount Carmel Feast Continues Tonight: On the 102nd anniversary of the Feast of Mount Carmel the only thing that matters more than outdoing last year's show is that families have more fun than ever.

The town's biggest party has made a big effort to be more family friendly by offering more rides and live music. A special kids night fireworks spectacular called BaDaBoom! will be held on Friday, July 15th at 9:30pm.  There are also two new additions this year: beer and wine gardens.

There is free admission to the feast Wednesday through Friday; Saturday entrance is by paid admission. 

2. Mountainside Pool Carnival: The Mountainside Community Pool will host its annual Family Carnival Night on tonight. The event, located at the pool off Mountain Avenue, is free and open to members only. Popular returning activities include a Moon Walk, Sports Radar Cage, kids’ tattoos, and other carnival games. Participants can earn tickets towards fun prizes such as candy, plush dolls, and racing toys. Music will be played and food will be sold at the event, which begins at 7 pm. The zero-depth pool will close later that evening, at 8:30 pm. For more information, contact the Mountainside Community Pool at (908) 232-0132 or the Mountainside Recreation Department at (908) 232-0015.

3. The Mountainside Public Library will have a Book Discussion Group for students in grades 6th, 7th and 8th.  This discussion will be from 3:00-4:00pm on Fridays and registration is required. Limit is 15. The library is on Watchung Ave.

4. Penni Penniworth Takes the Stage: The Theater Project, a 17-year old Central New Jersey-based professional theater company, will present its summer production, the hysterical satire “Penny Penniworth” by Chris Weikel.  These performances will take on Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8:00pm and Sunday's at 3:00pm beginning tonight and run through Sunday, August 7, 2011.  This production will take place at the the New Jersey Arts Incubator at the Essex Green Shopping Center, 495 Prospect Avenue, West Orange.

A fast-paced and loving satire of Dickensian literary conventions, this hilarious parody features four actors portraying 14 different characters and spoofing such familiar topics asMasterpiece Theatre, Nicholas Nickleby and the collected works of Charles Dickens. Familiar award-winning New Jersey actors Harry Patrick Christian, Rick Delaney, Jenelle Sosa, and Terri Sturtevant take on the multiple roles, physical comedy, silly accents, and quick-witted wordplay.

Tickets range from $10-25 and are available at Brown Paper Tickets at 800-838-3006 or atbrownpapertickets.com. More information is available at TheTheaterProject.org and NJAI.org or by calling (908) 809-8865.