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Onstage

The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, located at 841 Barretto St., presents Los Nutcrackers: A Christmas Carajo, a self-proclaimed “queer,” comedic play centered on a couple’s journey through Christmases past.  Tickets are $20 and runs Dec. 3, 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12 at 8 p.m.  For more information, call (718) 842-5223.

The Bronx Library Center, located at 310 E. Kingsbridge Rd. off Fordham Road, hosts Latin Jazz with Chris Washburne and the SYOTOS Band, Dec. 5 at 2:30 p.m.; and Doo Wop with the Valentinos, Dec. 12 at 2:30 p.m. For more information, call (718) 579-4244/46.

The Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, located at 250 Bedford Pk. Blvd. W., presents Navidad para el Pueblo, featuring the legendary Yomo Toro, along with “El Topo” Antonio Caban Vale, Zon del Barrio and folkloric dance troupe Danza Fiesta, Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. ($30 to $45). For more information, call (718) 960-8833.

The Mass Transit Street Theatre presents Ain’t Easy, a play featuring film and rap based on true stories about lives of Bronx teens and their involvement with violence, to be held at the Hostos Center for Arts & Culture, 450 Grand Concourse (at 149th Street), Dec. 3 and 10 at 10 a.m. and noon. Tickets are $6. For more information or for tickets, call (718) 512-8519 or visit ainteasytheplay@gmail.com.

Events

The Harlem River Ecology Center, located at the southern end of Roberto Clemente State Park, presents Nature in the Urban Wild, Saturdays from 2 to 3 p.m., featuring live encounters and demonstrations with volunteer environmental educators of the Harlem River, followed by a movie matinee on the river from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Living Dinosaurs of the Urban Estuary will be featured on Dec. 5. For more information, call (347) 224-5687/5828.

Lehman College alumnus Steven M. Ackerman, professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts Boston will deliver the keynote address at the 30th annual Arthur Sweeny, Jr. Memorial Lecture, free, on Dec. 4 at 5 p.m. in room 306 of Lehman’s Music Building, located at 250 Bedford Pk. Blvd. W. For more information, call (718) 960-8146.

Wave Hill, located at West 249th Street and Independence Avenue, offers two family art projects: Seasons Greeting, to make holiday cards with pop-up scenes, Dec. 5 and 6; and It’s a Wrap, to make special wrapping paper, Dec. 12 and 13; both in the Kerlin Learning Center. For more information, call (718) 549-3200 or visit www.wavehill.org.

The New York Botanical Garden presents several events this fall: The Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden offers Gardens ‘Round the World featuring Caribbean Garden, a pinwheel-shaped plot garden featuring Caribbean crops. The Holiday Train Show will take place through Jan. 10 and features a display of New York landmark replicas created out of plant materials, as well as large-scale model trains. A complementary program in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, Gingerbread Adventures, featuring a display of gingerbread houses, is a hands-on activity for children, including grinding and examining ingredients under a microscope, decorating pots with faces, and planting wheat seeds to take home. The entire family can enjoy a gingerbread jazz band, ice skaters, and farmer in the Discovery Center. The Little Engine That Could Puppet Show, presented by puppet master Ralph Lee, will take place weekends through Dec. 20 at 2 and 3 p.m., and daily from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1 at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. in the Arthur and Janet Ross Lecture Hall. For more information and a detailed schedule, call (718) 817-8700 or visit nybg.org.

The Bronx River Art Center, together with the NYC Department of Transportation, present an abstract wooden art sculpture, Aurora, 14 feet tall, 11 feet wide and 11 feet deep, to be on view for 11 months at the center of West Farms Square Plaza located at the base of the West Farms Square/East Tremont Avenue subway station on the corner of East Tremont Avenue and Boston Road, one block away from BRAC which is located at 1087 E. Tremont Ave. For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/urbanart.

The Bronx County Historical Society presents Forgotten, But Not Gone, an urban archaeology tour-led trek of the original Bronx River Parkway, which lies hidden within the park systems of the Bronx, will take place on Dec. 12 Wear comfortable shoes for this 5-mile walk, which may be slightly muddy in places. Meet at the Rainbow Diner, 2195 White Plains Rd. (south of Pelham Parkway), leaving promptly at 10 a.m. The tour, which runs about two hours, is $10 for BCHS members and $15 for non members. For more information and to reserve, call (718) 881-8900.

Exhibits

The New York Botanical Garden presents Ex Libris: Treasures From the LuEsther T. Mertz Library, highlighting some rarely seen items demonstrating botany and horticulture from the 12th century to the present, through Jan. 10, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and The Presence of Trees, photographs of trees in all seasons, by Larry Lederman, in the Ross Gallery (ongoing exhibit). For more information, call (718) 817-8700 or visit nybg.org.

The Museum of Bronx History, located at 3266 Bainbridge Ave. (at 208th Street), presents The Bronx: Then and Now, a comparison of the Bronx of today with that of the 19th century, via prints and photographs; and Edgar Allan Poe – A Bicentennial Celebration,.to learn about Poe, his life and his time spent in the Bronx; both through April 15. For more information, call the Bronx County Historical Society at (718) 881-8900.

Beyond Appearances, an exhibition bringing together a group of approximately 40 artists, includes painting, drawing, sculpture, video, and installation, will be on display Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., through Dec. 11 at the Lehman College Art Gallery, Fine Arts Building, 250 Bedford Pk. Blvd. W. For more information, call (718) 960-8731.

The Bronx Museum of the Arts, 1040 Grand Concourse at 165th Street, presents an exhibition series commemorating the Grand Concourse’s centennial, through Jan. 4, featuring The Grand Concourse Commissions and The Grand Concourse Beyond 100. Originally called the Grand Boulevard, the Grand Concourse celebrates its 100th year in 2009. For more information, call (718) 681-6000 ext. 120, or visit www.bronxmuseum.org.

Library Events

The Bronx Library Center has events for all ages:
For children and preschoolers, there is Preschool Story Time, Dec. 3, 10 and 17 at 11 a.m.; films, Dec. 9 and 16 at 4 p.m.; and Family Time, Dec. 12 at 11 a.m.
Also, for school-aged children, there is Rudolph Card Making, Dec. 3 at 4 p.m.; Perfectly Penguin, Dec. 5 at 2 p.m.; “A Christmas Carol,” Dec. 13 at 2 p.m.; and Sled Ornament Making, Dec. 17 at 4 p.m.
The Center is located at 310 E. Kingsbridge Rd. off Fordham Road. For a detailed schedule, call (718) 579-4244/46 or visit www.nypl.org.

The Mosholu Library, located at 285 E. 205th St., hosts Toddler Story Time, Dec. 3 at 10:30 a.m.; Reading Aloud, Dec. 7 and 14 at 4 p.m.; and Preschool Story Time, Dec. 10 at 10:30 a.m.; all for children. For more information, call (718) 882-8239.

The Jerome Park Library, at 118 Eames Place, presents Yoga for Parents and Preschoolers, Dec. 4 at 11 a.m.; Arts & Crafts, Dec. 8 at 4 p.m.; Making Music, Dec. 11 at 11 a.m.; films, Dec. 15 at 4 p.m.; Toddler Story Time, Dec. 18 at 11 a.m.; and Reading Aloud, Fridays at 4 p.m.; all for children. For more information, call (718) 549-5200.
 
A HAPPY AND HEALTHY CHANUKAH TO ALL OUR JEWISH READERS!
                                                                                                     
NOTE: Items for consideration may be mailed to our office or sent to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org, and should be received by Dec. 7 for the next publication date of Dec. 17.

Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.

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