Take a step back in time to the year 1900 at Howell Living History Farm with its special Saturday events. Try Canning & Pickling on Saturday, August 17; a Fiddlin’ Contest and Picket Fence Art Show on Saturday, August 24; and the 41st annual Plowing Match on Saturday, August 31. The events are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the farm, a facility of the Mercer County Park Commission, located at 70 Woodens Lane in Hopewell Township. more
View the colorful flowers in the private garden and more at Pretty Bird Farm in Rosedale, Hunterdon County, on August 24 through the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program. The farm will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a $10 donation to the Conservancy. more
Kids and adults alike who love the amusements in Ocean City take note: Gillian’s Wonderland Pier will close after this season.
A letter on gillians.com from owner Jay Gillian states that he is retiring after 47 years. Wonderland and 6th Street Pizza (the complex is at 600 Boardwalk) will be open through the summer, but visitors to Ocean City might want to visit and take advantage of some specials:
Until August 30, there are unlimited rides “after dark” on Sunday nights from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. for $25.
Wristband Days are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; $25 for unlimited rides from 4 to 6 p.m.
And Tuesday through Thursday, from 4 to 6 p.m., rides are three tickets each. more
Get out your pots and start collecting your seasonings for the Princeton Community Chili Cook-off on Sunday, September 22 from 12 to 3 p.m. at Updike Farmstead, 354 Quaker Road, sponsored by the Historical Society of Princeton and the Arts Council of Princeton. more
(Photo courtesy of Visit Bucks County)
Nearby Bucks County, Pa., is the home of 12 picturesque covered bridges, with locations along the Delaware River and inside state parks. Take a self-guided Bucks County Covered Bridge driving tour, crossing the county’s remaining covered bridges with the help of a map or a mobile app courtesy of Visit Bucks County. more
Tigertown Classic Jazz, a six-piece band that plays traditional jazz music from the 1920s to the 1940s, will perform at Hinds Plaza on Sunday, August 11 from 4 to 5 p.m. as part of Princeton Public Library’s “Listen Local 2024.”
Tigertown Classic Jazz plays music during this concert that explores the roots of jazz, including the music of New Orleans, Dixieland, and swing. It’s been called nostalgic and relevant at the same time, and appeals to all ages. more
Two unique events are coming up at the Roebling Museum, 100 Second Avenue, Roebling.
On Friday August 2, at 7 p.m., the first historic cemetery tour gets underway. Stories of both remarkable and everyday people who lived in the company town and worked at the mill will be highlighted. Attendees are asked to meet at Holy Assumption Cemetery. Tickets are $20.
If you are curious about the living conditions for laborers in a historic company town, take the behind-the-scenes tour “Step Inside a Roebling Rowhouse: Building a House Museum” on Saturdays in August and September from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Visitors can view newly donated artifacts, and see what it takes to transform a house into a museum. Six dates are available. Tickets are $20, $5 for members.
Shop the Arts Council of Princeton’s yART sale for creative bargains and one-of-a-kind finds, all handcrafted by local artisans, on Saturday, August 3, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
This flea-market style event will be held outdoors in the Arts Council’s parking lot and around the Paul Robeson Center for the Arts, 102 Witherspoon Street. Working in ceramics, jewelry, printmaking, painting, and more, 30-plus vendors will sell seconds, misprints, discontinued designs, and one-of-a-kind items at studio clean-out prices. more
The annual Community Night Out in Princeton is on Tuesday, August 6 at the Community Park Pool, 400 Witherspoon Street, from 5 to 8 p.m.
Stop by for a free night of swimming; grilled hot dogs; and all kinds of information, swag bags, and fun stuff from Princeton area vendors. Meet members of the Princeton Municipal Government, Princeton Recreation Department, Princeton Police Department, Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad, Princeton Fire Department, Princeton University Department of Public Safety, and more, who will be on hand to demonstrate some of the equipment and services they provide. more
(Photo courtesy of Palmer Square)
If you ask, “Do you know. . .?” You may hear, “Hum a few bars and we’ll play it.” Have your song requests ready, because the dueling piano players probably know them.
Sing, dance, and laugh along to this high energy, all-request, interactive dueling piano show performed by the Flying Ivories every Thursday on the Green at Palmer Square through August 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. more
Good news for carousel lovers: Ocean County and Seaside Heights have reopened the 1910 Dr. Floyd L. Moreland Carousel after a long restoration.
For the past nine years, Seaside Heights has worked with volunteers to restore the Wurlitzer organ, carousel, and carvings, and refurbish the mechanics of the carousel, bringing it back to life for riders of all ages to enjoy. more
Save your spot for a history and nature hike led by the Historical Society of Princeton (HSP) in the Institute Woods, at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), on July 20 or July 27 from 4 to 6 p.m. each day.
The tour exploring bits of history and the sights and sounds of the serene setting will meet at the Princeton Battlefield parking lot at 500 Mercer Street. more
Juicy corn, sweet blueberries, succulent tomatoes, and crunchy cucumbers are among other produce and homemade breads, pies, salads, and specialty stands at the Trenton Farmers Market in Lawrence Township.
A farmer-owned cooperative since 1939, the market is New Jersey’s oldest continuously running farmers market. Located on Spruce Street since 1948, it also carries Amish meats and poultry, kielbasa, cheese, and barbecued rotisserie chicken as well as homemade entrees at vendors such as Pulaski Meats, which specializes in Polish, German, Hungarian, Ukrainian, and Russian food items. more
By Stuart Mitchner
The sea never changes and its works, for all the talk of men, are wrapped in mystery.
—Joseph Conrad (1857-1924)
A well-traveled old friend once told me, “If you want to know what it’s like to command a sailing ship, read Conrad’s The Secret Sharer.” In fact, the story has less to do with the unnamed narrator’s command of an unnamed ship than with the author’s command of the suggestive psychological nuances of the captain’s relationship with the fugitive he rescues and hides in his living quarters. Formerly the chief mate of a ship anchored nearby, the man had been hastily accused and confined for killing a rebellious crew member during a violent storm. After a single conversation, the captain believes the other’s story and empathizes with him, even to the extent of imagining the fugitive as a double of himself. He takes advantage of his status as commander to help conceal his “secret self” from the crew, even when his choices are risky and suspect, most eventfully when he steers the ship dangerously close to an island so that the fugitive can safely escape, “a free man, a proud swimmer striking out for a new destiny.” more
For those who want to see if “our state fair is the best state fair,” as the Rogers and Hammerstein song declares, New Jersey’s State Fair Meadowlands is open through July 7, with fireworks on July 3 and 4. As the song concludes, “it’s the best state fair in the state.” more
A big outdoor movie weekend is coming up in Princeton. On Friday, July 12 at 8:30 p.m., enjoy a family-friendly movie Honey, I Shrunk the Kids under the stars on the Palmer Square Green. Then, on Saturday, July 13, enjoy Jurassic World Dominion at 8 p.m. on the lawn at the Princeton Shopping Center, 301 North Harrison Street. more
Art All Night Trenton, the capital city’s signature 24-hour annual community art gallery, will transform its new home — the Trenton War Memorial on Memorial Drive — into a hub of artistic expression featuring local artists, live music, interactive workshops, and more.
In-person programming will take place at the War Memorial building on Saturday, June 29 from 3 p.m. to midnight, and again on Sunday, June 30 from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. During the overnight hours, the in-person event will close and a virtual component and online art gallery will take center stage via the Art All Night website and social media channels. more
Batter up on Saturday, June 22 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for a look back at America’s favorite pastime when the Princeton Historical Society presents its annual vintage baseball game.
The game between the Flemington Neshanock and the Monmouth Furnace teams will take place at Greenway Meadows Park, 275 Rosedale Road. The competitive match of barehanded baseball using 1864 rules (no gloves) will also feature period uniforms.
The event is free; registration is not required. Spectators are welcome to bring a blanket or lawn chair, and stop by for an inning or the whole game. After the game they are welcome to try out the authentic replicas of the 19th-century equipment. more
Celebrate Juneteenth with activities at local venues including Morven Museum and Garden, the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum, and Washington Crossing Park. The observance commemorates that it took until June 19, 1865 for Union troops to arrive in Galveston, Texas, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863. more
Dance under the stars with members of the Central New Jersey Dance Society, who will demonstrate basic steps and lead an evening of dance to recorded music of all kinds.
The event takes place at Hinds Plaza from 7 to 10 p.m. on Fridays — June 7 and 21, July 5 and 19, August 9 and 23, and September 13 and 27. more
