Nature photography by Colin Seitz is on the program for the first annual Spring Arts Festival at Thompson Park, May 2 and 3 — part of a weekend in which the county Parks System debuts its directory of summertime programs and activities.

Press release from Monmouth County Park System

Go on a kayak birding exhibition, build a fairy house in the garden, enjoy a twilight adventure around the campfire. It’s all within reach this summer, as the Monmouth County Park System introduces its annual summertime slate of arts & crafts, nature, recreation and sports programs.

Friday sees the publication of the Park System’s Program Directory summer issue.  Available at most parks in the county system  — including Thompson Park, Tatum Park, Deep Cut Gardens and Bayshore Waterfront Park, all in Middletown Township — the directory lists all special events and programs offered during June, July and August. Registration for summer programs begins on Wednesday, May 6 at 8 am. Online registration is available for most programs. Take it here or consult the directory for details about registering online, by phone, by mail or in person — and take it around the corner for details on an exciting all-new event going on during the first weekend in May.

Held at Thompson Park between the hours of 11 am to 6 pm on Saturday and Sunday, May 2 and 3, the first annual Spring Arts Festival assembles a display of pottery, photography, jewelry, paintings, and other works created by specially selected artists artists from around the Garden State. Participating creators include woodturner Bruce Perlmutter (Red Bank); photographers Susan Fairgrieve (Atlantic Highlands) and Colin Seitz; painters Yvonne Hjelte-Rodrigues (Tinton Falls) and Grace Modla (Holmdel), jewelry designers Leslie Eaton (Shrewsbury) and Stacy Pritchard (Highlands); ceramicists Barbara Venanzini and Christina Carlson and several others.

Robert and Elisabeth McKay of Red Bank’s McKay Imaging Photography  joined Holmdel-based painter Joyce Urbanski as judges for this first in what’s planned as an annual spring-season attraction at the Park System’s Lincroft flagship. There’s live music on hand as well, courtesy of The Danjo’s, This Old House Band, Peter Myers, Downstream, and The Ravine Crossing Choral. Admission and parking are free.