Month of the Irish

Belmar Readies for 40th St. Patrick's Day Parade

Sunday parade, but events all weekend to celebrate Irish pride

Now in it's 40th year, the Belmar Lake Como St. Patrick's Day Parade has had plenty of practice getting ready: painting a green stripe down the parade route, approving street vendors, coordinating police presence as thousands of paradegoers swell into Belmar. But while this year's parade features many of the familiar signs of Irish pride and celebration the festivities are known state-wide for, this year also meant readying a borough dramatically impacted by Hurricane Sandy. And despite the continued rebuilding of the borough's waterfronts, boardwalk and infrastructure, Belmar declared it was ready in a special event where the public was invited to cheer staff as they painted the center green stripe down Main Street Friday. Among the …

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Hurricane Sandy

Fundraiser for Sandy-Hit Schools at Martell's March 2

Proceeds go to two schools and Shore 2 Recover

  A fundraiser for two schools and Shore 2 Recover will be held from 5 p.m. to midnight March 2 at Martell's on the Point Pleasant Beach boardwalk. The admission fee of $25, for non-stop live music and complimentary dinner buffet, will be donated as follows: $20 to Hugh J. Boyd Elementary School in Seaside Heights and Memorial School in Union Beach and $5 to Shore2Recover’s rebuild program. Shore 2 Recover was founded by Toni Pecunia, a resident of Point Pleasant whose home was partially-flooded by the storm, according to the organization's website. The organization has donated funds to various needs, including helping Sandy-impacted families and to St. Paul's kitchen in Bay Head that has been feeding free, hot meals to affected families …

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Local Artists Display at CBA Art Show

The art show at Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft.

Forty-one artists, many from the local area, are selling original paintings, historic items, jewelry, posters, blown glass and photos at the CBA Mothers' Club 38th Annual Fire Art and Antique Show, through Sunday afternoon, Feb. 3.  The show benefits the all-boys academy in Lincroft, NJ.  The sale is also supported by businesses who purchased ads in the journal, which contains a free ticket for the raffle. The progressive 50/50 will be announced today at 2 p.m. Last year, the winning won $6,000. Platinum sponsors include Classic F.A. Packers and Shippers of Teterboro, Salt Creek Grille of Rumson and Princeton, DesignNJ of Freehold. Gold sponsors are the CBA Alumni Association, Jersey SHore Arena of Farmingdale, Bill & Ed's Landscape …

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'Let It Snow 2013' at the Middletown Arts Center

Suddenly a snowy landscape goes perfectly with the show at the MAC through Jan. 27.

A special exhibit at the Middletown Arts Center coincides perfectly with a day when newly fallen snow transforms the view out of our windows into a stark visual landscape, where pearled lawns are painted with the bluish strokes of leafless trees.  An exhibit currently on view through Jan. 27 called "Let It Snow 2013" includes 40 pieces of art created by local community artists. Some of the local scenes are recognizable, and some of the artwork is available for purchase.  "We welcome the public into our warm gallery to view the beauty of winter," said MAC Curator Maggie O'Brien. This is the second year the MAC has invited the talented artists in the area to submit their favorite work for the show. "It was so successful last year, we wanted …

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A Literary Journal Draws Lots of Viewpoints At Middletown HS North

Students find a place to indulge a love for literature in creative afterschool club.

So much for the myth that the art of writing has been lost on texting teens. An after-school Literary Journal club at Middletown High School North doubled in size from last year, to 30 students. On Tuesdays, members are gathering to share a passion for the printed word as they work together to produce a small book of art and prose.  Co-Editor Sydney Forte, 18, said the club had become a sort of salon for creative thought for the young members. "They're discussing books, suggesting books and borrowing them from each other," she said.  Her 18-year old co-editor and running buddy, Cheyenne Zani, said, "When you come to Viewpoint, you read what you want to read -- not what you have to read," said "You share in a nice and warm environment, …

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NJarhead

9:44 am on Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Agreed. Very nice to read, thank you.   more ›

Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy's Concrete Barriers Become Works of Art in Belmar

Turning the barriers to beachfront attractions into art attractions themselves

The drab gray of concrete barriers block off Ocean Avenue in Belmar, as construction progresses behind the waist-high slabs. These barriers signal to "Keep Out," that vehicles can't get through, that this area is off-limits and damaged by Hurricane Sandy. But not long after the concrete barriers arrived, the Belmar Arts Council helped hatch a plan to have local artists paint them, transforming a symbol of flux and prohibition into one of beauty and hope. Now, more than a dozen of the barriers feature hand-drawn mermaids, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz on the beach, and messages of pride for the Jersey Shore. Bleak concrete gray was painted vibrant blue as a base color, one that ended up the color of ocean in local artists' paintings of the …

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Today is Deadline to Submit Artwork To MAC Exhibit

Drop-off for artwork is Wednesday, 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.

ELIGIBLE WORK: Winter themed artworks in all media accepted. Two-dimensional pieces must be suitable for hanging. All entered works of art will be displayed but work unsuitable in subject matter may be rejected at the discretion by the MAC Executive Director. Artists are invited to submit a brief biography and promotional items along with their work. FEES: $5 per entry (limit 5) ENTRY FORM: Click here or visit www.middletownarts.org Drop Off Submissions: Wednesday, January, 2nd, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. Opening Reception: Saturday, January 5th from 2 – 4 p.m. Exhibition Dates: January 5th through January 27th, 2012 Pick Up: Monday, January 28th, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.

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NJPAC Hosting Kwanzaa Celebrations this Week

Marketplace, 'Spirit' dance performance among holiday attractions

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark is celebrating Kwanzaa with The Spirit of Kwanzaa, a performance incorporating tap, hip-hop and ballet produced  by IllStyle & Peace Productions. There will also be a  Kwanzaa Children’s Festival. Both events are on Dec. 22.  A Kwanzaa Marketplace, where patrons can pick up last-minute gifts, is open in NJPAC’s Prudential Hall lobby Dec. 21 and 22 as well. Philadelphia’s high-octane Illstyle & Peace Productions celebrate The Spirit of Kwanzaa in NJPAC’s Victoria Theater on Saturday, Dec. 22 and 2pm and 5pm.  Their performance is a blend hip hop dance styles with tap, ballet, DJing and beat boxing. Founded in 2002 by Brandon “Peace” Albright, this multicultural troupe has toured to critical …

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Music's Biggest Names Come Together for Sandy Relief

The lineup for tonight's 12-12-12 concert features Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Roger Waters, The Who, Kanye West, Dave Grohl, Bon Jovi and more.

One of the most prestigious pop music lineups ever assembled is slated to perform for a Hurricane Sandy benefit concert Wednesday at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Called the 12-12-12 Concert for Sandy Relief, the long-sold out benefit show features a lineup that includes Jersey Shore rock stalwarts Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi. Proceeds from ticket sales and donations will benefit the Robin Hood Relief Fund, which has distributed approximately $10.5 million in grants to more than 100 different Hurricane Sandy-related groups. Springsteen and Bon Jovi are being joined by Eric Clapton, Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, Billy Joel, Alicia Keys, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Eddie Vedder, Roger Waters, Kanye West, the Who, Paul …

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Differences Between Real Nucky Johnson and HBO's Nucky Thompson Go Beyond the Fictionalized Name

"Boardwalk Empire" is a hit television show that shares the same name—and a few facts—as the nonfiction book that inspired the HBO series.

What's in a name? When it comes to comparing Nucky Johnson, Atlantic City's real-life politics and racketeering boss, to HBO's fictionalized "Nucky Thompson"  in the series Boardwalk Empire, the answer is more than just the TV character's fictionalized name. Author Nelson Johnson, who literally wrote the book on the real Enoch "Nucky" Johnson, says HBO's Terence Winter has said the fictionalized character created for the TV version of Boardwalk Empire is 70 percent drawn from Johnson's 2002 book of the same name. When I told Johnson, a state Superior Court judge whom I've known for more than two decades, that it strikes me that the percentages are more like 60 percent fiction and 40 percent fact in the HBO series, he laughed and quickly …

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