RED BANK: FOOD FESTS OUT, CONCERTS IN
The Weeklings, who’ve performed at past food festivals in town, will get a starring slot at a concert in Riverside Gardens Park. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The sun has set on the possibility that downtown Red Bank will host one or maybe even two food festivals this autumn.
Instead, business promotion agency RiverCenter has put six outdoor concerts on the district’s dance card – but you’ll have to pay to attend.
RED BANK: BASIE TAKES OVER MOVIE THEATER
For several months, posters outside the pandemic-idled Bow Tie Cinemas have read: “This is not a Hollywood ending. This is a Red Bank beginning.” (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Despite facing an uncertain post-pandemic future itself, Red Bank’s Count Basie Center for the Arts has added a two-screen movie theater to its portfolio.
The entertainment juggernaut has taken over the former Bow Tie Cinemas venue on White Street, the Basie said in an announcement Monday.
RED BANK: SIDEWALK SALE RETURNS
Unlike the 2017 event, above, this year’s Sidewalk Sale will require social distancing and face coverings. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Delayed one month by COVID-19, the 66th edition of the Red Bank Sidewalk Sale is set to kick off its three-day run Friday.
RED BANK: MURPHY, BON JOVI BREAK B2 BREAD
Governor Phil Murphy, whose dining choices have fueled some debate during the COVID-19 crisis, returned to Red Bank accompanied by some star power in the form of neighbor Bon Jovi Wednesday evening.
RED BANK: FOG, SUN, RAIN & BAGPIPES
Though the outlook for performances remains hazy in the lingering pandemic, members of the Pipes and Drums of the Atlantic Watch met under foggy conditions in the parking lot of the Red Bank Middle School to rehearse Thursday evening, generating a sound that cut through the mist.
The Greater Green heads into the weekend with a dense fog advisory in effect until 10 a.m. Friday, according to the National Weather Service. And for the rest of the weekend – which includes the official start of summer, at 5:44 p.m. Saturday – expect a spotty mix of partial sunshine and threats of thunderstorms.
Check out the extended forecast below. (Video by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
RED BANK: BASIE PLANS DRIVE-IN CONCERT
Jersey shore favorites Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes will play for an audience watching from parked vehicles. (Video by Basie Center. Click to enlarge.)
Darkened by the COVID-19 pandemic, Red Bank’s Count Basie Center for the Arts is taking its act to the track.
The storied venue plans to host a July 11 drive-in concert by Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes at Monmouth Park in Oceanport on July 11.
RED BANK: TWO FALL FESTIVALS? MAYBE…
The annual Guinness Oyster Fest in September could be followed just three weeks later by the International Beer, Wine & Food Fest, usually held in April. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
With a calendar decimated by the COVID-19 crisis, Red Bank appears to be in for an unusually quiet summer.
But as summer edges into autumn, two of the town’s largest annual food festivals could occur within three weeks of one another, redbankgreen has learned.
Here’s a lookahead at the pandemic’s impacts on the summer calendar.
RED BANK: THEATER CONSIDERS NEXT ACT
How long after the COVID-19 pandemic ends will theatergoers return to their seats? And how do venues hold their attention until then?
NEWS12 New Jersey reporter John Bathke checks in with John Dias, artistic director of Red Bank’s nonprofit Two River Theater, for his thoughts. Check out the video here.
RED BANK: BASIE FILM FEST GOES VIRTUAL
Wondering how to fill the hours while housebound by the COVID-19 pandemic? You might binge on the 27 bitesized movies in the Count Base Center for the Arts Teen & College Film Fest, which this year is a virtual affair.
Here are three entries, one from each category: middle school (above), high school and college (below).
After you’ve watched these, hop over to the festival page, watch the 24 others, and cast your vote for the your favorites.
RED BANK: BAGPIPER CLOSES THE DISTANCE
Maintaining a safe distance from passersby, bagpiper Doc Saphire plays a bit of ‘Danny Boy’ outside his Red Bank home Wednesday evening.
Because they can’t get together to perform and practice under COVID-19 directives, Saphire and his fellow members of the Pipes and Drums of the Atlantic Watch have embarked on a 100-day campaign of playing a song each night through the Fourth of July, he said. Wednesday night’s performance was his first from his Prospect Avenue porch.
“Once the crisis is over, anybody who wants to learn, we’re giving free lessons,” Saphire said. “If I can do it, anybody can.” (Video by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
RED BANK: MARQUEE TOUTS OPTIMISM
Its lineup of shows canceled under the near-lockdown we’re living with to slow the spread of COVID-19, the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank has repurposed its marquee.
The marquee now displays messages of “optimism from our local heroes,” the Basie said in a press release. They include quotes from part-time borough resident Jon Stewart and other New Jersey stars.
More below. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
RED BANK: JAZZMAN VISITS FORTUNE CENTER
Gilda Rogers, right, led saxophonist Branford Marsalis on a tour of the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center in Red Bank Wednesday afternoon.
RED BANK: FORTUNE SETS ‘BASIE 2020’ SKED
Images of William ‘Count’ Basie on display at the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center last week. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center, built to honor a pioneering African-American journalist with Red Bank ties, plans to spotlight the borough-born musical giant William ‘Count’ Basie through 2020.
The occasion is the 85th anniversary of the formation of the Count Basie Orchestra, which is still touring 36 years after its founder’s death.
RED BANK: APARTMENT REVIEW BEGINS
An elevation showing the Monmouth Street side of the proposed Salerno project. (Rendering by SOME Architects. Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
[UPDATE: The February 20 hearing for this project has been rescheduled at applicant’s request. No new date yet.]
By JOHN T. WARD
A proposed 59-unit apartment project should be allowed to exceed Red Bank’s height and density limits based on the objectives of the borough’s master plan, its architect testified Thursday night.
RED BANK: APARTMENT PLAN UP FOR REVIEW
A rendering of the Monmouth Street side of the project proposed for the Monmouth Street site, below. (Rendering by SOME Architects. Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
On the Red Bank zoning board’s agenda Thursday night: a 59-unit apartment project proposed for the onetime site of Clarence Clemons‘ Big Man’s West rock venue.
Also up for review: a restaurant instead of a laundromat on Shrewsbury Avenue.
RED BANK: SCAVONE TO LEAVE RIVERCENTER
Jim Scavone, left, with Mayor Pasquale Menna and Visitors Center director Margaret Mass at the opening of RiverCenter’s offices on Broad Street in October, 2018. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Jim Scavone, who led Red Bank RiverCenter for the past six years, is leaving the downtown promotion organization.
He won’t be going far, though: he’s taking a job at Hackensack Meridian Health at Riverview Medical Center, just on the edge of special improvement district he managed.
RED BANK: HOLIDAY SEASON GOES LIVE
Crisp weather provided an ideal setting for the unofficial start of the Christmas season in downtown Red Bank Friday night.
With Tim McLoone-led Holiday Express working its musical magic for the 27th time, several thousand kids and kids-at-heart crowded a stretch of Broad Street, singing along and counting down to the light-up of downtown trees.
Check out redbankgreen‘s photos below to see if you recognize any smiling faces underneath all those fun hats. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
RED BANK: HOLIDAY EXPRESS TO LIGHT IT UP
The Red Bank Holiday Express concert and Town Lighting is on for its 27th annual showing under what appear to be seasonally ideal conditions Friday night.
Details are below.
RED BANK: WRECKING BALL FOR BIG MAN’S?
The onetime home of Big Man’s West would be razed accommodate a proposed apartment building. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Plans for a proposed 62-unit apartment project in Red Bank call for razing a building that holds a place in rock ‘n roll history: the former Big Man’s West, a concert venue owned by late saxophonist Clarence Clemons.
RED BANK: APARTMENT PROJECTS PLANNED
A rendering of the Monmouth Street side of the project proposed by Michael Salerno. (Rendering by SOME Architects. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Sixty-nine new apartments would be built on the edge of downtown Red Bank if two projects pending before the planning and zoning boards win approval.
One would replace a building that holds a place in rock ‘n roll history as the home of Big Man’s West, a club owned by late saxophonist Clarence Clemons.
RED BANK: TENTH OYSTERFEST ROCKS THE LOT
Sunshine and feels-like temperatures around 80 degrees put thousands of visitors in a dancing, eating and drinking mood at the 10th annual Guinness Oyster Festival in Red Bank Sunday.
This year’s event, held as always in the White Street parking lot, raised funds for three Red Bank-based benefactors: Monmouth Day Care Center, T. Thomas Fortune House, and Red Bank RiverCenter, the event sponsor.
Were you there? Look for yourself and your friends in redbankgreen‘s photos. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
RED BANK: REMEMBERING VICTIMS OF ‘MALICE’
Eighteen years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on America, Red Bank Police Chief Darren McConnell led a pledge of allegiance for about two dozen participants in a memorial service held in Riverside Gardens Park Wednesday morning.
SANDY HOOK: PLOVERS PROLIFERATE
Music-lovers may have had to sacrifice their summer beach concerts at Sandy Hook this year to safeguard piping plovers, but the interruption helped ensure “another successful breeding season” for the endangered birds, park officials said Monday.
RED BANK: SUNSET CONCERT PICTURE-PERFECT
A golden sunset on the Navesink River, pillow-soft breezes and the soaring sounds of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra combined to create a picture-perfect summer’s evening in Marine Park in Red Bank Sunday.
Were you there? Check out redbankgreen‘s photos below to spot familiar faces, and let us know what you thought of the event, which was organized for the third consecutive year by Red Bank RiverCenter. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)