Tim’s Picks: A townie Thanksgiving edition
Tim’s Picks: A townie Thanksgiving edition
Five of the best ideas heading into your holiday Greater Lafayette weekend.
Thanks today to sponsor Purdue Convocations. Elevate the holiday season with the Purdue Convocations Black Friday Sale! Give the gift of unforgettable live performances and create memories that will last a lifetime. Get $5 off our biggest shows including 2024 GRAMMY nominee Lakecia Benjamin & Phoenix, A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Actors From The London Stage, Counterpoint with pianist Conrad Tao and tap dance Caleb Teicher, Broadway’s Tony Award-Winning Musicals HAIRSPRAY, COME FROM AWAY, and SHREK THE MUSICAL, GRAMMY and Dove Awards winners for KING + COUNTRY, and GRAMMY Award winner Kronos Quartet’s Five Decades Tour. SHOP BLACK FRIDAY SALE
Support also comes from Purdue’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, presenting the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Jan. 16, at Elliott Hall of Music, in a 2024 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. commemorative event. For free tickets and group orders, check the details below.
And now, with five of the best ideas heading into your weekend, here’s …
By Tim Brouk / For Based in Lafayette
An Improvised Greeting Card Xmas Special with One Size Fits All, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 24, Civic Theatre of Greater Lafayette, 313 N. Fifth St., Lafayette — Tired of the same old “Christmas Story?” Is “It’s a Wonderful Life” still all that wonderful? Do you wish the all-business marketing executive on the Hallmark Channel returned to the big city to further her successful career instead of throwing it away to help her hunky old high school boyfriend save his pumpkin farm? Let the improvisationally hilarious holiday elves in One Size Fits All produce a new, one-of-a-kind Xmas Special with your help, of course. Lafayette’s own improv players already have a cheesy Christmas show framed out, but it will be up to the audience to see just how merry things get. $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Tickets.
Indiana Makers Market Holiday Pop-Up Shop, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 25 and 26, Wea Creek Orchard, 5618 S. Country Road 200 East, Lafayette — Give the gift of Hoosier art this holiday season when the artisans behind the Indiana Makers Market set up shop at Wea Creek Orchard this weekend through Dec. 10. This holiday shopping boutique is situated inside the Orchard’s historic barn, and it will showcase local and regional artists’ creations for sale in the form of hand poured candles, pottery, glass, jewelry, hand dyed yarn, leather, home décor and children’s toys. EMT Food Truck will be on hand Saturday afternoon for those that hunger during this fantastic, one-stop shopping experience that fulfills what Small Business Saturday is all about.
Thanks for reading Based in Lafayette.
Townie Takeover with Mucklo, The Enstrangers and The Cheswicks, 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 25, North End Pub, 2100 Elmwood Ave., Lafayette — With thousands of Purdue University students back home enjoying Thanksgiving break, the townies have officially taken over. Traffic is lighter, restaurant waits are shorter and lines at the bar are minimal. The soundtrack to this experience can be heard Saturday night when a trio of local bands take the North End Pub stage. Punk rockers The Enstrangers, guitar-driven grunge revivalists The Cheswicks and Mucklo, indie rock with a psychedelic tinge, will celebrate homegrown sounds. And we can’t forget about the many, many Lafayette natives returning home for the holiday. If you haven’t been back in a while, check out these bands to hear how much the scene has improved the last couple years. $10.
Thankful Throwback, 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 25, Rat Pak Venue, 102 N. Third St., Lafayette — We are always thankful for old school hip-hop and R&B, and the Rat Pak Venue will give us a dancefloor to show our thanks courtesy of a bountiful banquet of booty shaking. Lafayette’s own DJ Sunn will bring the beats while local emcee P-Sullee hosts.
Leo Lovechild with Ben Ezra, 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 28, People’s Brewing Company, 2006 N. Ninth St., Lafayette — New York singer-songwriter Leo Lovechild will make his Lafayette debut at People’s. With an unkempt sound that would appeal to fans of Kurt Vile, Father John Misty and Bob Dylan, Lovechild has decades of experience and is touring in support of his recent singles, “Bad Behavior” and “Your Love,” as well as his upcoming album, “Sad Songs to Make You Happy.” While Lovechild will be a new face in town, a familiar one will open the show. Ben Ezra, the young, 6-foot-7 singer-songwriter cut his teeth in West Lafayette more than a decade ago. Performing festivals, bars and all-ages gigs, Ezra played solo and sometimes with a band. These days, Ezra is a visual artist based in Chicago, but he has kept up his country and folk chops up on the solo side as well as with his band, Sears Tower of Folk, which featured another former Lafayette singer-songwriter in Mike Reeb on drums. Ezra’s inspiration stems from classic country and folk heroes — Hank Williams, John Prine, Johnny Cash — and that should be evident next week for his triumphant return to a Lafayette stage. $10. Tickets.
Tim Brouk is a longtime arts and entertainment reporter. He writes here (almost) weekly, tracking things to do for Based in Lafayette.
BONUS CUT, THANKSGIVING STYLE: Lafayette Urban Ministry will host its annual Community Thanksgiving feast from noon-2 p.m. today/Thursday at Central Presbyterian Church, 31 N. Seventh St. in downtown Lafayette. The dinner is open to anyone, with more than 800 people expected again this year and to-go meals available. Entertainment will come from West Lafayette High School orchestra students, Blue Moon Rising and Chris Gipson. The meal is free. No reservations necessary. For more information or to donate to the dinner, here’s your link.
Thanks, again, to sponsor Purdue Convocations, offering its Purdue Convocations Black Friday Sale.
Thanks, also, to Purdue’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, presenting the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Jan. 16, at Elliott Hall of Music. Get tickets here.
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING BASED IN LAFAYETTE, AN INDEPENDENT, LOCAL REPORTING PROJECT.
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