Week two of this summer’s Movies in the Park series in Red Bank features an entry from the ‘Star Wars’ catalog. Below, Layonne Holmes fronts the Motor City Revue in a return to Sandy Hook Wednesday.
There’s a chance to imagine yourself as part of the biggest franchise in film fantasy history. Some power pop on the dock. A heat-blast of Latin-flavored jazz in the park. A little beach-music soul on the sands. And one of the world’s most beloved plays on yonder grassy knoll.
It’s all going on beneath the setting sun and stars of the Greater Red Bank Green — and all fabulously free of charge in the evenings to come.
It all starts tonight with the second installment of the Summer 2017 Movies in Riverside Gardens Park series, sponsored by Red Bank Parks and Recreation — an occasion that carries a curiously “cosplay” call to action.
As with last week’s presentation of Grease, tonight’s showing of 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story boasts a costume contest, with attendees invited to compete for honors by dressing as their favorite character from any entry in the Star Wars cinematic universe. The fun gets underway around 8:30 p.m., complete with that picture-perfect riverfront vibe, some cool treats from the on-premises Gracie and the Dudes Organic Ice Cream, and an ongoing invitation to bring nonperishable food items to be donated to Lunch Break and other local charities.
Follow Shore Flicks on Facebook and Twitter for up-to-the-minute information on weather-related cancellations or other schedule changes — and take it here for redbankgreen‘s rundown of the remaining Tuesday series schedule.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 19, 6 p.m.: The 2017 Sandy Hook Beach Concerts continue with an encore performance by Motor City Revue, the classic-soul showband whose chanteuse Layonne Holmes has previously headlined the Jazz in the Park series at Riverside Gardens (and who can claim credits ranging from Holiday Express to Matt O’Ree to a certain journeyman troubador by name of Bruce Springsteen). The big band purveys its top-shelf salute to the great hits of Motown and Stax out at Beach Area E; check the Sandy Hook Foundation’s website for weather-related updates, and get more intel on the annual series right here.
THURSDAY, JULY 20, 6-9 p.m.: After 17 years of filling downtown Red Bank’s summer Saturday nights with musical surprises, the Red Bank Street Life series brought its eclectic mix of musicians and variety-act entertainers to town for select Thursday evenings here in 2017. On July 20, the business-district buskers will once more enhance the borough’s sidewalks, storefronts, blacktops and bumpouts. It’s brought to you by the folks at Red Bank RiverCenter, so check their website for details on Thursday’s featured performers and locations — as well as info on this Saturday’s Street Life session and other open-air entertainments throughout the summer.
THURSDAY, JULY 20, 7 p.m.: The free Jazz in the Park at Riverside Gardens continues with another big-band bash brought to you by Red Bank Parks and Rec, and programmed by borough-based Jazz Arts Project. This week, David Cedeño and his Latin Jazz Orchestra light up the waterfront at sundown with their signature hot sounds. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own lawn-top seating. Get weather-related updates by checking the Parks and Rec Facebook page — and go here for details on the rest of the summer jazz schedule, from redbankgreen.
THURSDAY, JULY 20, 7:30 p.m.: The threat of rain forced the postponement of the July 6 inaugural for the 2017 Fair Haven Dock Concert series — but this Thursday, local band The Wag makes good with a set of original pop-rock sounds, out on the borough’s Municipal Dock at the north end of Fair Haven Road. Call (732) 747-0241 x216 for weather updates and details, and take it here for more on the Fair Haven series from redbankgreen.
THURSDAY, JULY 20 through SUNDAY, JULY 23, 7 p.m.: You’ve got four more opportunities to catch a free performance of a crowd-pleasing favorite from one of the most talked-about playwrights in the business — as A Midsummer Night’s Dream continues its enchanting engagement as this year’s Shakespeare on the Lawn offering at the Lincroft campus of Brookdale Community College.
It’s the 16th season for the old-school open air productions, presented on the Great Lawn adjacent to the school’s Performing Arts Center building (park in lots 1 or 2), and no reservations are necessary — just add your own lawn chair, blanket and picnic-style refreshments (snacks also available for purchase). Cancellations will be made in case of tempests or “cataracts and hurricanoes,” so direct weather-related inquiries to (732) 224-2411 — and get thee here for more on this annual “Bard in the Yard” attraction.
