NEWARK, NJ — Columbia Bank recently sponsored the 2022 Historically Black College or University Scholarship Ride, an annual 216-mile bike ride from Newark to Howard University in Washington, D.C. The program was instituted to raise scholarship monies awarded to high school graduates in Newark who will attend an HBCU, and help bridge the gap between […]
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Watershed Literary Events, a spoken-word series sponsored by the Department of Cultural Affairs in South Orange, will host two award-winning poets in-person at the Skate House, corner of Mead Street and Meadowbrook Lane, on Sunday, Sept. 18, at 3 p.m. The featured poets are Anne Marie Macari and Anton Yakovlev. The […]
NUTLEY, NJ — The world’s largest grassroots fundraising movement, Relay for Life mobilizes communities throughout the country to celebrate people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and provide participants with an opportunity to fight back against cancer. Nutley once again held a communitywide Relay for Life event, on Friday night, Aug. 19, at […]
EAST ORANGE, NJ — The Darren Clark Jr. Memorial foundation hosted a Back-to-School Mental Health Day at Watsessing Park in East Orange on Saturday, Aug. 27. The event served more than 100 underserved students from Essex County, providing backpacks or messenger bags filled with age-appropriate school supplies to students who participated in the four activities […]
BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The release of a butterfly, symbolizing the spiritual flight of a loved one’s soul, but also an escape from personal mourning, took place Saturday, Aug. 27, at Van Tassel Funeral Home in Bloomfield. Approximately 20 local people, including Bloomfield residents and children, attended the event, which, notwithstanding its novelty, was solemn and […]
ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — The Essex County Correctional Facility civilian task force will host an in-person public meeting on Saturday, Sept. 17, from 10 a.m. to noon at the New Jersey Reentry Corp. building, 936 Bergen St. in Newark, during which professionals will discuss mental health and addiction issues, focusing on medicine addressing substance use […]
BELLEVILLE, NJ — On Aug. 11, Belleville residents came out for a night of music, dancing and funk at the town’s dance party with the Alternate Groove Party band held outside Belleville High School. Attendees brought lawn chairs and blankets, settling in for an evening of good vibes and community. Photos by David VanDeventer
GLEN RIDGE, NJ — Alto saxophonist and composer Kenny Garrett, a Glen Ridge resident, has been named a 2023 Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts. The recognition comes with a $25,000 stipend for Garrett, 61, a Grammy Award winner and eight-time nominee. Two other musicians were also named 2023 Jazz Masters by […]
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — “5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche,” a comedy about five women in 1956 is the third and final show in The Theater Project’s “Three Plays in Three Months” summer season at the Maplewood Burgdorff Cultural Center, 10 Durand Road. The play, by Evan Linder and Andrew Hobgood, is set for Sept. 8 through […]
WEST ORANGE, NJ — On Aug. 31 in West Orange Township Council chambers, business administrator John Gross, left, and construction sub-code official Tom Biondi Jr., right, presented a proclamation to electrical sub-code official Mike DeFrino, center, in gratitude for his service. DeFrino has retired after 30 years and four months of service to the township. […]