Three towns on the Greater Red Bank Green plan to participate in “National PrescriptionDrug Take-Back Day” for safe disposal of unused and expired medications Saturday.
The police departments in Little Silver, Red Bank and Rumson will accept the products from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. More information can be found on the Drug Enforcement Agency’s website. (Click to enlarge)
Live musical performances by acts including Peter V and Blues Train (above), plus displays of art by Grace Modla (below) and others, are on the bill this Saturday and Sunday, during the Creative Arts and Music Festival at Thompson Park.
It doesn’t tend to get the sort of advance press accorded parking-lot-packing events like Red Bank’s Riverfest and recent Beer Wine and Food Fest — but if you’re on the lookout for a casual, comfortable mid-spring weekend’s event in a setting that offers plenty of breathing room, free parking, free admission and a chance to join in the arty fun, you’d do well to check out the Creative Arts and Music Festival, the 2016 edition of which sets up at Thompson Park for a two-day stay, beginning at 11 a.m. this Saturday, April 30.
A presentation of the folks at the Monmouth County Park System, the rain-or-shine event spotlights the sights and sounds of some of the county’s most creatively oriented citizens, including an indoor stroll-through expo of some 20 visual artists and crafters. Also included: a slate of 14 musical acts on two stages (and in a variety of styles), with a schedule inside the park’s Theater Barn programmed by the nonprofit organization Musicians on a Mission.
Global Eatery’s mix-and-match international choices include Mexican enchiladas, Korean beef in a cabbage wrap and Italian meatballs. Below, a customer fixes a salad to go. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
By SUSAN ERICSON
With a focus on office workers and schoolkids in downtown Red Bank, Mark Arabadjis has gone global.
Araabadjis closed the Sicilia Café on Broad Street late last year, less than six months after he bought it, and has now opened Global Eatery in its place.
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Coming off the success of its first Father-Daughter Dance in February, the Red Bank parks & rec department plans to hold a mother-son event around the theme of “local heroes,” says director Charlie Hoffmann. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
CPA Scott Landau holds a ball he drew from a rotating drum as charter school business administrator Theresa Shirley records its number Thursday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
For the first time in its 17-year history, the Red Bank Charter School conducted a lottery engineered to give socioeconomically disadvantaged children a better shot at winning seats Thursday night.
But for parents hoping to enroll their children, the so-called weighted lottery, meant to address a lack of diversity that critics contend make Red Bank the “most segregated school district in the state of New Jersey,” now gives way to another kind of wait.
That’s because, in effect, there are no openings.
Press release from Red Bank Regional High School
On Friday, May 20, Red Bank Regional High School will be the setting once more, as the school’s Little Silver campus hosts the tenth annual edition of the Two Rivers Relay for Life.
A fun-filled overnight event designed to celebrate survivorship and raise money for research and programs for the American Cancer Society, Relay for Life is a community-driven project that involves students, residents and employees from Red Bank, Shrewsbury, Little Silver, Fair Haven, Rumson, Oceanport, Sea Bright and Monmouth Beach. RBR has hosted the signature fundraising event for the ACS since its inception.
In recent years, the Riverside Gardens concession booth has been open only during borough events in the park, and managed by borough employees and volunteers. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A local ice cream business has won the right to run the rarely open concession stand in Red Bank’s Riverside Gardens Park.
Gracie and the Dudes Organic Ice Cream, which has a seasonal store in Sea Bright and one in Long Branch that’s open year-round, won council approval Wednesday night to lease the borough-owned facility for two years.
Four and a half years after it won planning board approval, a Subway sandwich shop finally opened for business at 60 Broad Street in Red Bank Thursday morning.
The debut ends a saga that included years of inactivity, an eviction by the landlord and the signing of a second Subway franchisee. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
The Monmouth SPCA’s Dog Walk and Pet Fair returns to the Brookdale campus Saturday. Local rockers the Wag, below, will be there to set tails a-wag. (Photo below by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
Back for its 22nd annual edition — the third since finding a “new leash on life” as a springtime event — the Monmouth County SPCA Dog Walk and Pet Fair commandeers the Lincroft campus of Brookdale Community College for a colorful five-hour festival Saturday.
A benefit for the programs and services of the MCSPCA, the “Paws for a Cause” walk is just the centerpiece of a slate of activities for adults, kids and canines, bolstered by some 100 vendor booths, adoption and microchip clinics, a 50/50 raffle, food trucks, face painting, “pupparazzi” photos, “cutest tricks” contest and even a “Canine PUPtials” wedding chapel.
The co-chairs of The Guild of Creative Art in Shrewsbury are among the individuals and organizations recognized by the Monmouth County Arts Council for their contributions to arts education, during a May 9 ceremony.
Press release from Monmouth County Arts Council
Each May, as the school year comes to a close, The Monmouth County Arts Council recognizes outstanding arts educators, arts organizations and arts advocates who support our mission of enriching the community by inspiring and fostering the arts in Monmouth County.
Sponsored by OceanFirst Foundation, the annual Arts Education Awards and Showcase will be held on Monday, May 9, and will be hosted at the award-winning, state-of-the-art facility of the Middletown Arts Center.
Kids are invited to pet baby animals, play games and make crafts during a Young Animal Expo at Thompson Park on Saturday, May 7. Presented by The Monmouth County 4-H Association’s Livestock Club and the Monmouth County Park System, the free event runs between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The County 4-H and the Park System have also announced the dates for the 2016 Monmouth County Fair, with this year’s event scheduled for July 27 – 31.
Fees for parking in downtown lots would double, while metered spots on the street would see a 50-percent increase. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s council laid two controversial proposals on the table Wednesday night:
• a budget that debuts with a 5.5-percent property-tax increase
• and a plan to soften the blow to taxpayers with a sharp increase in parking fees.
The backlash to the parking plan was immediate, both in the audience and on the governing body’s dais.
Cat Tierney, seen at right with the other Daughters of Triton, stars as Ariel in the staging of “The Little Mermaid that begins a Red Bank run Friday night. (Click to enlarge)
After rising to the occasion last year with such gravity-defying entertainments as Mary Poppins and Peter Pan, the folks at Phoenix Productions in Red Bank dive deep for their inaugural production of the 2016 season: the Disney musical The Little Mermaid, which surfaces for a two-weekend run at the Count Basie Theatre.
Rumson-Fair Haven’s top all-time scorer Brendan Barry will continue his basketball career at Dartmouth, Shore Sports Zone reports. Check out the video showing the secret to Barry’s success here.
The potentially severe thunderstorms that weather forecasters warned of proved little more than a drizzle on the Greater Red Bank Green Tuesday. Wednesday’s outlook: cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 57, according to the National Weather Service.
Above, a row of trees edging the Fair Haven Fields Natural Area proclaims the season. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Press release from Little Silver Recreation
This Saturday, April 30, Little Silver Recreation will present a Spring Sports Parade event, starting at 1:00 p.m. Lacrosse, softball, and baseball players from the borough’s programs will march wearing their team uniforms from the Little Silver Fire House to the Borough Fields, and will be led by members of the Little Silver Police and Fire Departments.
The parade will be followed by a ceremony presided over by Mayor Robert Neff, who will present the “Little Silver Spirit Award” to Kathleen Hoffman, who is retiring after coaching for over 15 years. Coach Hoffman has supervised all girls’ recreation sports programs in the borough, including lacrosse, which she was instrumental in starting eight years ago. Also being honored will be “Breast Cancer Survivors” whose continued good health will be celebrated.
The National Weather Service issued a “severe thunderstorm watch” for the region that includes the Greater Red Bank Green Tuesday. Storms capable of producing damaging winds and large hail are possible until about 9 p.m. Tuesday, according to the forecast. (Click to enlarge.)
Trustees of the library say local taxpayers would still have to foot the cost of the borough facility on West Front Street, above, with access to fewer resources from Monmouth County. (Photo above by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
The question pops up periodically, and did so several times last year in a user survey: would Red Bankers be better off if their library was part of the Monmouth County library system?
According to the Red Bank Public Library’s trustees, the answer is “no,” and it’s not a close call.
Children’s book author Audrey Vernick (above) helps River Road Books celebrate Independent Bookstore Day Saturday afternoon, two days after Aaron Zwas (below) shows us how to ‘Transition to Independence.’
In case you haven’t marked your calendar accordingly, this Saturday is Independent Bookstore Day — a day when we toast the success and spirit of your friendly neighborhood (non-chain, mom and/or pop) purveyor of dreams for lovers of the printed page.
Here on the Greater Red Bank Green, it’s a role that’s been filled for the past decade by River Road Books, the Fair Haven corner shop that’s taken the lead among area booksellers when it comes to meet-and-greet opportunities with authors of all persuasions. And the store has a spring bounty lined up in coming weeks.
Jackson Russicci pitched five innings in relief and scored on a walk-off bases loaded walk in the 11th inning to give Rumson-Fair Haven its fifth straight win Monday. Watch the highlights from a well played game at Shore Sports Zone. (Video courtesy of Shore Sports Zone.)
Former Red Bank Regional players prep for their first alumni football game against their oldest rival Long Branch, scheduled for May 14 at Count Basie Field.
Press release from Red Bank Regional High School
It’s considered the oldest football rivalry in the New Jersey Shore Conference — and on Saturday, May 14, alumni from Red Bank Regional High School will face off against their counterparts from Long Branch High School, in their first-ever Alumni Game.
Scheduled for kickoff at 4 p.m., the game will take place at the Count Basie turf field, located at 11 Henry Street in Red Bank. It’s a fitting bookend to a year marked by great athletic success for the current RBR team, which went undefeated and made it to the state championship for the first time in decades.
Press release from Monmouth County Park System
This summer, go on Butterfly Walks, play Zombie Laser Tag, and enjoy an Ice Cream Sundae and Boat Tour with the Monmouth County Park System. Other upcoming offerings include an Evening Watercolor Workshop, Summer Solstice Paddle, and Graveyard of Ships Kayak Tour.
Check out the Park System’s summer issue of its Program Directory for these and other upcoming arts & crafts, nature, recreation and sports programs. Available in most county parks on Friday, April 29, the Summer 2016 Program Directory lists all Park System special events and programs offered during June, July and August at local sites including Thompson Park and Sunnyside Equestrian Center (Lincroft), Bayshore Waterfront Park (Port Monmouth), Tatum Park and Deep Cut Gardens (Middletown).
The stolen vehicle, obscured by darkness at left, traveled up the driveway and struck the side of a house on Drs. Parker Boulevard. The impact tore out the electrical service and caused structural damage to the house, as seen below. (Photo below by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Eight people were said to have been displaced Monday after a stolen vehicle, fleeing police, crashed into their Red Bank home early Monday morning.
As previously reported by redbankgreen, the unidentified driver fled the scene on foot after racing a stolen sedan south on Bridge Avenue and smashing into the house at 133-135 Drs. Parker Boulevard at about 1:10 a.m. Middletown and Red Bank police had attempted to intercept the car, but couldn’t catch it, authorities said.
Red Bank business owner Dean Ross, seen here in 2014, is among six alumni tapped for induction into RBR’s Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Six graduates of Red Bank Regional High School or its predecessor, Red Bank High School, have been named for induction into the school’s Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame this week.
Included are three people who work in human health; a financial advisor; an Army captain; and a local retailer.
A police pursuit of what turned out to be a stolen vehicle ended in a rollover crash in Red Bank early Monday morning, police Chief Darren McConnell told redbankgreen.
