ON THE GREEN: IN MEMORY
Dozens of residents of the Greater Red Bank Green died in the horrific attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001.
Let’s not forget those who died, and their families.
ON THE GREEN: REMEMBERING SEPTEMBER 11
Red Bank-area residents will have several opportunities Wednesday to participate in commemorations marking the 18th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on America.
RED BANK: SECOND CLASSIC 5K DRAWS 1,200+
Runners and walkers, young and old, completed the 5-kilometer distance. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Much like the first, the second annual edition of the Red Bank Classic 5K once again ran under blue skies Saturday.
Organized by the Red Bank Business Alliance and the Red Family YMCA, the 3.1-mile event attracted more than 1,200 runners, walkers and a smattering of canines.
Were you in it, or do you know someone who was? See our photos below — and check out the guy who put on a great show for redbankgreen as he neared the finish line. Race results are here.
RED BANK: CLASSIC 5K READY TO RUN AGAIN
Runners warm up before last year’s inaugural race. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Red Bank Classic, which last year revived a downtown footrace tradition after a three-year absence, is set to run (and walk) its second edition Saturday.
Here’s what you need to know:
RED BANK: BOROUGH SHOWS ITS LGBTQ PRIDE
Red Bank is showing its pride this week, with a repainting of the crosswalk at Broad and Monmouth streets in the colors of the LGBTQ rainbow flag.
On Saturday, the Parks & Rec department hosts a Pride event in Riverside Gardens Park, featuring live music, family activities and more in celebration of LGBTQ pride. Check out details here. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
RED BANK: PARADE MARCHES BACK TO LIFE
Red Bank’s Memorial Day Parade, a onetime tradition that halted an indeterminate number of years ago, was back in full force Monday.
Under fabulously sunny skies, the Parks & Rec-organized event saw a stableful of therapy horses leading the way up Broad Street from Irving Place to the Veteran’s Monument on Monmouth Street. There, a short ceremony in commemoration of military victims of foreign wars was held.
Enjoy the 50-photo slideshow from both events below. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
RED BANK: MEMORIAL DAY PARADE SET
A shot from the Red Bank Centennial parade held May 17, 2008. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
If it seems like ages since Red Bank had a parade other than its annual Halloween costumefest, well yeah. Was the last civic parade really 11 years ago, to mark the borough’s first century as an independent entity?
The Parks and Rec department hopes to end the dry spell by bringing back a lost tradition two weeks from today: the Memorial Day parade.
The Red Bank council’s filled-to-bursting RED BANK: VETERANS’ ART TO GET SPOTLIGHT
Korean war vet George Weiss of Sea Bright at Ani Art Academy. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Returning home after a year’s service in Vietnam, Jim Black remembers landing on American soil after midnight. There was no welcoming committee, no formal expression of gratitude. U.S. authorities made sure the repatriations took place under cover of darkness, in part to shield soldiers from war protesters, he said.
It left Black and others other veterans feeling slighted, he said. It wasn’t that he and his fellow soldiers wanted a parade, but “just don’t hate me,” he said, choking up a bit.
That’s why a free art school for military veterans in Red Bank means so much to him: it makes him and other vets feel “welcomed” at last, he told redbankgreen Friday.
RED BANK: MARINE PARK PLAN UNVEILED
The plan calls for a new parking area on the current site of tennis courts, shown at upper left, and a new entry plaza, at lower left. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s Marine Park would lose its clay tennis courts to a parking lot in exchange for new green space under a concept plan informally adopted by the council Wednesday night.
RED BANK: MARINE PARK PLAN READY TO DROP
A consultant hired last year by Red Bank to reimagine the future of Marine Park is scheduled to unveil a new concept plan Wednesday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
RED BANK: BORDER ‘EMERGENCY’ DISPUTED
About 150 protesters gathered at Riverside Gardens Park in Red Bank at noon Monday, President’s Day, to oppose President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency on America’s border with Mexico.
RED BANK: BOYNTON ENTERING BOXING HALL
Regular attendees of the Red Bank council’s twice-monthly meetings know Freddie Boynton for his sparring sessions with the governing body over truck safety, storm sewer maintenance and issues particular to the West Side. But Boynton was once an actual pugilist, and later this month, he’ll be inducted into the New Jersey Amateur Olympic Boxing Hall of Fame.
RED BANK: SKATING INTO WINTER
Red Bank RiverCenter brought bit of seasonal sparkle downtown Sunday with its first-ever Winter on Broad Street event, which included a portable ice rink and giant snowglobe for family-sized selfies. Check out redbankgreen‘s photos. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
RED BANK: WINTER WONDERLAND ON BROAD
A synthetic-ice rink will be installed on Broad Street between Wallace and White streets, above. Below, an example of one of the vendor’s giant snow globes. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A stretch of downtown Red Bank will be turned into a one-day winter wonderland complete with skating on Sunday.
Dubbed ‘Winter on Broad Street,’ the plan also calls for a walk-in snowglobe families can use for selfies and a shopping bazaar featuring locally made items.
RED BANK: TREE LIGHTS UP CORNER & SPIRITS
Santa Claus arrived by firetruck amid blaring horns and flashing lights at the annual Tree Lighting in Johnny Jazz Park in Red Bank Monday night.
The jolly one’s appearance capped an evening of music and amusements in the park, at the corner of Shrewsbury Avenue and Drs. James Parker Boulevard. Check out redbankgreen‘s photos from the event below. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
RED BANK: GETTING READY FIR LIGHT-UP
Against a brilliant late-autumn backdrop, Ed Matthews of Powerhouse Signs got down to the business of decorating Red Bank’s official Christmas tree in Riverside Gardens Park Wednesday morning.
RED BANK: CENTENARY OF ARMISTICE MARKED
At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, Red Bank area residents gathered Sunday to observe Veterans Day and the centenary of the Armistice that ended World War I in 1918.
Mayor Pasquale Menna and a National Guard officer laid a small memorial at the Veterans Monument at Monmouth Street and Drummond Place to honor the 10 borough “boys” who lost their lives in WWI.
See redbankgreen’s photos from the event below. . (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
RED BANK: NEW RIVERCENTER VISION & HQ
RiverCenter executive director Jim Scavone, left, with Mayor Pasquale Menna and Visitors Center executive director Margaret Mass at the office’s opening last week. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank RiverCenter embarked on a new mission last week.
The manager of the town’s special improvement district nailed down a fresh set of priorities that calls for greater emphasis on leveraging the town’s Navesink River waterfront as a draw for visitors and investors.
It also opened its new offices to Broad Street.
RED BANK: HALLOWEEN PARADE BLUSTERS ON
A blustery, chilly autumn afternoon provided ideal conditions for the the 71st annual Red Bank Halloween Parade Sunday.
Check out redbankgreen‘s photos from the event below to see who you recognize, or sort-of…
RED BANK: ANTI-KAVANAUGH RALLY SLATED
Opponents of Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the United States Supreme Court plan to rally in Red Bank’s Riverside Gardens Park as part of a “walk-out” movement Thursday afternoon, redbankgreen has learned.
RED BANK: NONPARTISAN ELECTIONS? NOT YET.
Mike Whelan, center, and Mark Taylor, seen here on the night of their election to the Red Bank council in 2015, spearheaded the referendum effort. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank voters eager to eliminate partisanship from local elections and governance won’t get their wish this year.
A referendum initiative calling for non-partisan elections and a change to the form of local government lost steam over the summer and won’t be on November’s ballot. But its foremost advocates say they’re not giving up.
RED BANK: RIVERCENTER ‘VISION’ SHARPENS
Bill Fontana speaking at the Two River Theater Monday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
After four months of public meetings, Red Bank RiverCenter‘s effort to redefine its vision began coming into focus Monday night.
Topping a list of six priorities that the downtown promotion agency should focus on is a “reimagined, redeveloped and reinvigorated riverfront,” a consultant told several dozen business owners and borough residents at the Two River Theater.
IN MEMORY: SEVENTEEN YEARS LATER
Red Bank-area residents will have several opportunities Tuesday to participate in commemorations marking the 17th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
RED BANK: HRAC TO LAUNCH ANTI-HATE DRIVE
Marchers heading along Shrewsbury Avenue to an anti-hatred rally in Red Bank in August, 2017. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The recent discovery of Ku Klux Klan recruiting fliers in two Red Bank locations has inspired a drive to eliminate hate and tone down divisive rhetoric in town.