Pencil This In: November 23-27
As most of the Americans around town are well aware, it's Thanksgiving week! Warm up for the fun with another round of the Shanghaiist Scrabble Happy Hour on Tuesday, stuff your face silly on Thursday, then emerge from a tryptophan coma in time to help raise money for The Library Project. Whatever you do, enjoy the time with your friends and family! Love, your friends at Shanghaiist.
Monday: Jazz Jamshow
It's time again for Jazzstars Jamshow, a monthly open mic of sorts where jazz musicians strut their stuff with the backing of the Shanghai Jazz Orchestra. Check out new sounds from some not-yet-discovered artists, or go and jazz out a bit yourself. Interested cool cats and Daddy-Os should email jazzstars.jamshow@gmail.com.
7:30-9 PM. Shanghai Concert Hall, 523 Yan'an Dong Lu near Longmen Lu (延安东路523号 近龙门路)
Tuesday: Shanghaiist Scrabble Happy Hour, URBN photography exhibit, Charity Silent Art Auction
Show off your Scrabble prowess at this week's Shanghaiist Happy Hour, featuring a custom-made 31 x 31 Scrabble board! It's the same Happy Hour you know and love, with fun company and 2-for-1 drinks, but this time you'll get five Scrabble tiles to play with for every drink. Turn the tiles into words on our giant board and the person with the most points at the end of the night wins a ¥250 drink voucher at Cotton's! Which, of course, you could use at our next Shanghaiist Scrabble night....
6-10 PM. Cotton's, 294 Xinhua Lu near Fanyu Lu (新华路294号 近番禺路) No cover
URBN is hosting "encounters and impressions," a photography exhibition by Kunal Sinha, executive director at Ogilvy & Mather Greater China. Despite his long career in advertising, Mr. Sinha is also a well-traveled author and photographer. We can get behind anyone who can escape the cubicle and appreciate the beauty in our surroundings, especially in China.
7-9 PM. URBN Hotel, 183 Jiaozhou Lu near Beijing Xi Lu (胶州路183号 近北京西路)
Shanghai Sunrise and The Library Project are teaming up with local businesses in a charity silent art auction to raise money to build school libraries and provide three years' worth of tuition assistance for local students. For 88 RMB, you get two glasses of wine, complimentary appetizers, some good looking art up for silent bidding, and a nice warm feeling deep down somewhere. If you eat a sit-down meal, you get a 20% discount and a complimentary bottle of wine.
7-10 PM. New York Style Steak & Burger, No. 22, Lane 155 Jianguo Lu near Ruijin Er Lu (in Tianzi Fang) (建国路155弄22号 近瑞金二路)
Wednesday: Twice Upon a Time
Ever wonder what would happen if puppets suddenly realized they were being controlled? Yeah, us neither. But if you're interested, Austrian theatre group Karin Schäfer Figuren has the answer in a performance where real puppets gain hypothetical independence in a surreal world. Like Pinocchio, mixed with Pan's Labyrinth. English with Chinese subtitles.
7:30-8:30. Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, 288 Anfu Lu near Wukang Lu (安福路288号 近武康路) ¥100-200
Thursday: Thanksgiving!
If you don't already have Thanksgiving plans with your friends and/or family, pretty much every restaurant in town has a meal for you. Unless you prefer turduckens or tofurkeys- then you're on your own.
Friday: Eurovision Karaoke Night, Library Project Charity Dinner
Le Cheile, the Irish community association in Shanghai, is taking over Paddy Wang's (formerly Dan's Old Farmhouse) and throwing a karaoke night to celebrate the spectacle that was 1980s Eurovision. That's right, the European competition that gave birth to Riverdance and was won by the Irish so many times that they eventually sent a turkey as their representative. We'll repeat that again: karaoke, Riverdance and turkeys.
7:30-11 PM. Paddy Wang's Irish Bar, 318 Julu Lu near Shanxi Nan Lu (巨鹿路318 号 近陕西南路)
The Library Project is serious about reaching their funding goal of at least $15,000, so they're holding a second fundraiser this week: a charity dinner at the Hyatt on the Bund. Tickets cost ¥280 per person, with half the proceeds going to The Library Project, and includes delicious food, fun games, free giveaways and both silent and live auctions. Contact Tom Stader at tom@library-project.org to RSVP.
6:30-9:00 PM. Hyatt on the Bund, 199 Huangpu Lu near Wuchang Lu (黄浦路199号
近武昌路)
