Dave McKenny of Shrewsbury in the wooden cab of his 1910 Ford Model T — a fabulous flivver scheduled to roll into the Middletown Lions Club Auto Show and Motorcycle Meet this Saturday.
As any year-round resident of the greater Green can tell you, the weeks after the end of summer are merely the starting gun for the real season of outdoor events; a prime-time panorama of runs, walks, bike tours, golf outings, race meets and other recreational activities — most if not all of them dedicated to a Done Good cause.
Even with the first bracing breezes off the local waterways, there’s still plenty going on under the skies of October country this weekend — and it begins tonight, with a simple stroll about town designed “to promote community wellness and safety.” A followup to a recent Talk About Red Bank public forum — organized in the wake of an August 8 altercation that left borough resident Larry Yarbrough dead of multiple stab wounds — the Community Unity Walk commences with a 6pm “meet and greet” inside Calvary Baptist Church at Bridge Avenue and River Street, after which representatives of co-sponsors Pilgrim Baptist Church, Count the Children Movement, Greater Red Bank NAACP, Iglesia La Mano De Dios, Nation of Islam of the Shore Area, Calvary Baptist Church and the PBC Men-of-Valor Street Walkers invite church and civic groups or individual citizens to join them on the streets of Red Bank. Additional info on tonight’s tour of positive reinforcement can be had by calling Pastor Terrence K. Porter at (732) 747-2348.
There’s more beneath October’s do-good moon, from a Fall Festival in Rumson and a charity Softball Tournament in Little Silver, to a songwriting contest in Fair Haven, a fundraiser Car Show in Middletown, and a slightly guignol-ish Blood Drive where the Banks run Red.
SATURDAY: Fall Festival at R-FHRHS. The Environmental Club at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School takes to the school’s practice football field on the morning of October 8 for a Fall Festival designed to “to raise awareness in the community about conservation, sustainability and to support our local organic farms and conservation organizations.” Running from 9am to 1pm, this first in what’s planned as an annual event mixes informational booths from student and nonprofit organizations with crafts, raffles, music and food (including organic produce and even a nitrogen ice cream stand). A number of local restaurants (including Undici, Salt Creek Grille and Starbucks) have donated prizes, and proceeds will be dedicated to a scholarship fund for students pursuing environmental studies in college , as well as OASIS, a nationwide organization that “supports inclusion and acceptance of autistic individuals by establishing farm centers that provide meaningful work, peaceful and healthy residences and community interaction.” For more info on the October 8 event, call Kate Okeson at (908) 347-2424.
SATURDAY: Boozin’ for Boobs in Red Bank. It’s not the most elegantly named event on the social calendar, but when the third annual “bar crawl” to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research bellies up to nine Red Bank watering spots Saturday afternoon, it will be a happening that’s become more popular than ever — with nearly 500 participants registered, and major sponsorships from Bud Light and 94.3 The Point.
Beginning at 12pm with a two-hour registration session at Brannigan’s (the tavern will feature food, raffles and 50/50s until 2pm), the crawl then visits borough landmarks The Globe, The Downtown, Red Bank Elks Lodge #233, The Dublin House, Jamian’s Food and Drink, Walt Street Pub, Red Bank Taste and FIXX, with Bud Light and “pink drink” specials at each stop. There’s a $25 registration fee, with all participants receiving a pink t-shirt and all proceeds going to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, American Cancer Society and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
As borough-based event organizer Jill Kinslow tells it, “I wanted to do something that would raise money but also allow people to have a good time…but all participants are not required to drink. There are plenty of people that just come out to socialize, raise money for a good cause and have fun.” More info can be obtained by emailing Jill.
SATURDAY: Blood Drive at Phoenix Productions. Move over Drac — Sweeney Todd wants your blood! In advance of November’s opening night for the popular Stephen Sondheim musical about the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Red Bank’s own Phoenix Productions partners with Central Jersey Blood Center for a blood drive at the Phoenix Rehearsal Center (right next to the Count Basie Theatre at 111 Monmouth Street). Cast members from that upcoming show about the razor-wielding revenger and the lady with those curiously popular meat pies (a show that Lincroft-based Premier Theatre will also be doing at the end of October in Asbury Park) are expected to be lurking about, and all pre-registered blood donors will receive one free ticket to the Phoenix staging of Sweeney Todd (November 11 through 20) at the Basie. Blood drive hours are 11am to 5pm; register at (732)747-0014, x2.
SATURDAY: Little Silver Mens’ Softball Tournament. The basepaths and backstops of Little Silver’s Borough and Library Fields will be the setting for the 12th annual late-season game of 40-and-over “Mr. Octobers.” This yearÂ’s event will help defray the cost of medications for borough teenager Lucas Viscomi, who for the past 10 years has been fighting a rare fatal disease called Metachromatic Leukodystrophy (MLD) with more than 20 different meds required daily. First pitch, scheduled for 1pm, will be thrown by sister Abby Viscomi to Mayor Robert Neff Jr., and Red Bank Regional High School student Maddy Monaghan will sing the National Anthem. A $20 family donation includes hot dogs, grilled chicken, hamburgers, lemonade and ice pops; sponsorship ($100 and $250) and donation checks can also be written to the Little Silver Family Pharmacy, 10 Church Street, Little Silver, with the notation Lucas Viscomi Account. For more info on the event, email here; to learn more about Lucas, visit his website.
SATURDAY: “Tunes for Tails” Event at Small Factory. The Emmy nominated, kid-commanded cartoon production studio known as Small Factory Productions (located, with Looney Tune logic, in Fair Haven’s Acme shopping plaza) invites Monmouth County first, second and third graders to take part in a free “day of fun, creative, musical activities” built around the Monmouth County SPCA‘s “Tunes for Tails” Songwriting Contest. From 1 to 3pm, kids will work on writing or recording a 60 second song about their adopted dog or cat, with the aim of submitting it to the song contest sponsored by PurrÂ’n Pooch. Three winning songs will be chosen, with winning songwriters working with Small Factory to create a 30-second radio jingle to be used by the Monmouth County SPCA to help increase adoption awareness. The winning song will debut on 94.3 The Point‘s Lou and Liz Show during the Monmouth County SPCA Adoptable Pet Segment, at 8am on Thursday, November 17th. Go here to download a contest application and for official rules, or call (732) 212-1088 for more details.
SATURDAY: Auto Show and Motorcycle Meet in Middletown. The sixth annual show of classic road flash will be hosted from 1pm on October 8 in the parking lot of Middletown Shopping Center (featuring Applebee’s) at Route 35 North and New Monmouth Road. Presented by Middletown Township NJ Lions Club, the event is dedicated to a local charitable organization that’s something of a classic itself, having recently marked its centennial anniversary. From the campus of Camp Happiness in Leonardo, the NJ Blind Citizens Association offers a variety of recreational, vocational and support programs to the blind and visually impaired — and proceeds from show sponsorships, registrations and on-site donations will be collected for NJBCA’s ongoing efforts in the community. There’s still time to pre-register a vehicle for the judged event (or drive it in and sign up on the spot for $15); prizes will be awarded and there’s a rain date of Sunday, October 9. To find out more about registering for or sponsoring the event, call NJBCA executive director Doug Scott at (732) 291-0878, email — and take it here for an informative video interview with the org’s trustee Trish St. George.
