Jersey City, NJ –THE HAMILTON PARK CONSERVANCY presents the 7th Annual Hamilton Park BBQ Festival, Saturday, September 24, 2016, noon to 8 pm, at McWilliams Place, on the east side of Hamilton Park. The BBQ Festival is a fun, end of summer neighborhood event. Proceeds of the Hamilton Park BBQ Festival benefit the Hamilton Park Conservancy (501(c)(3) dedicated to assisting the city in the maintenance, improvement and preservation of the five-acre Victorian-era park in the historic district of Hamilton Park. The Conservancy is responsible for the Lawn Renovation Program, and maintenance of two community tennis courts. The park was named for founding father Alexander Hamilton by his friend and fellow federalist, John B. Coles. Continue reading 7th Annual Hamilton Park BBQ Festival Saturday, September 24th, 2016 Noon to 8pm
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2016 NEWPORT LIBERTY HALF MARATHON IN JERSEY CITY
The 2016 Newport Liberty Half Marathon is happening this Sunday September 18th along the Hudson River waterfront in Jersey City. Registration numbers keep climbing (upwards of 3,000!) and this year’s race will be the biggest one yet!
Runners will receive long sleeve t-shirts and finisher medals, not to mention the $3,000 in prize money that’s up for grabs. Beer and snacks from NJ Beer Co. and Cosi in Newport are waiting for participants at the finish line.
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Racers take their mark at 8:30 a.m. Registration opens at 6:45 a.m.
Newport Town Square
100 Town Square Place
Jersey City, NJ 07310
Continue reading 2016 NEWPORT LIBERTY HALF MARATHON IN JERSEY CITY
EAT, PRAY, LOVE…  La Festa Italiana 2016 promises Fun, Dancing and Great Food
Holy Rosary Church celebrates 113th Italian Festival in Downtown JC
By Sally Deering
August nights are a time to celebrate when La Festa Italiana, the Old World Italian Street Festival hosted by Holy Rosary Church turns Historic Downtown Jersey City into five summer nights of music, dancing, food and fun!
La Festa Italiana 2016 begins Wed, Aug. 10, and continues through Sun, Aug. 14, on Sixth & Brunswick Streets. On these five summer nights, the neighborhood surrounding Holy Rosary Church will come alive with rocking dance music, games of chance, kids’ activities, and a wide-array of delicious foods and libations. La Festa Italiana runs from 5 pm-11 pm Wednesday-to-Friday, and 3 pm-11 pm Saturday & Sunday. The last night (Sunday) at 11 pm, the “Super 50/50†Raffle winner will be chosen. Last year’s ticket-holder won over $10,200.
La Festa Italiana honors the veneration of Maria SS. Dell’Assunta & San Rocco, and offers the Downtown community the opportunity to party with its neighbors. This year’s La Festa Italiana features live bands, fun for the kids, food and souvenir vendors and Italian delicacies made by Holy Rosary Church parishioners like Fresh Hot Zeppoles, lemony Limoncello and “Our Famous Rice Ballsâ€. Continue reading EAT, PRAY, LOVE…  La Festa Italiana 2016 promises Fun, Dancing and Great Food
URBAN SHAKESPEARE Â Hudson Shakespeare Company plays The Bard in Hamilton Park, Jersey City
  Next Up: Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2
By Sally Deering
 Never mind getting upstaged by fancy swordplay or an actor taking too long for his death scene. Hudson Shakespeare Company’s adaptable actors must endure teens on skateboards, barking dogs, ambulance sirens, even low-flying helicopters while they project the dense and rhyming lines of The Bard.
Such is the actor’s life when performing with the Hudson Shakespeare Company, now in its 25th year. This summer, the ensemble puts on three Shakespeare plays and will bring Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 to Hamilton Park on Thurs, Aug. 18 at 7 pm. Admission is free thanks to support from the Hudson County Office of Cultural Affairs and other supporters of the arts.
On a recent Thursday evening, local park-goers gathered in Hamilton Park for Edward III.
In a quasi-amphitheater setting that turned the steps leading down from the gazebo into audience seating and the circular walkway surrounding the gazebo into the stage for the play, the actors adorned in capes, boots, breastplates and leather accoutrements acted Edward III against a moving backdrop of kids playing ball, people walking their dogs, and commuters heading home from a long day at the office. Continue reading URBAN SHAKESPEARE Â Hudson Shakespeare Company plays The Bard in Hamilton Park, Jersey City
KEEP ON TRUCKIN’Food Trucks on Parade in Jersey City
 Rotary Club of Jersey City to fundraise with Foodies
 
Foodies, get out your napkins! A motorcade of Food Trucks are heading to Exchange Place in Downtown Jersey City and they’re hauling meatballs, crab cakes, lobster rolls, deep-fried hot dogs, cheesecake, cupcakes and so much more. It’s a foodie feast on wheels
Circling the area known as Owen J. Grundy Pier, the food trucks will line up on Sat, Aug 6 from 12 noon to 7 pm for the Rotary Club of Jersey City’s first Food Truck and Music Festival.
Food trucks and live bands are just part of the extravaganza. There will be crafts, refreshments, activities for the kids and community partners sharing what they do for the local community.
“It’s our way to connect with as many community members as possible, and to get more people involved to do community service in Jersey City,†says Jersey City Rotary Club President-Elect Jennifer Aitken,, who works at New Jersey City University as Director of Specialized Services. “We want to raise awareness about Rotary and what Rotary does. As Jersey City continues to grow. We want to help those who need help.†Continue reading KEEP ON TRUCKIN’Food Trucks on Parade in Jersey City
BOUTIQUE ESPRESSO BISTRO Ground Connection opens at Harborside Financial in Jersey City
   Takes Java to New Heights
  Hint: Check Out the High Tech Espresso Machine
 By Sally Deering
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Barely open a few weeks and already Ground Connection at Harborside Plaza 10 in Jersey City has people streaming through the doors for espressos, coffees, Danish, muffins, sandwiches and salads. Owner Scott Gillman, who has been in the restaurant business for several decades and owns Markers restaurant also located at Harborside Financial, sees his new coffee bistro as a place where people can get a freshly brewed cup of expresso made-to-order and friendly service from the minute they walk in to the moment they leave.
“Our espresso is Toby’s Estate coffee in Brooklyn, one of the greatest coffee roasters in the country,’ Gillman says, amidst a flurry of customers lining up at the counter to get their daily javas. “Every cup gets hand-steamed milk and each espresso gets made with a different temperature according to its size.â€
Ground Connection is considered a modern day coffee shop offering small batch specialty coffee, full leaf and herbal teas, cold-brewed coffees and teas on tap. Sandwiches, sides, soups, pizzas and baked goods are prepared daily.
“Part of the reason we call it Ground Connection is the connection we want to make between our employees and our guests,†Gillman says.
JUST Beclaws Vietnamese Cajun Seafood in Downtown JC
Three Sibling Restaurateurs Focus on Quality & Freshness
By Sally Deering
The best place in the northeast for seafood is New England, right? They even named a chowder in honor of its seafood niche.
But who needs New England when Hudson has its own bustling seafood restaurant on First Street in downtown Jersey City: JUST Beclaws, a 60-seat Vietnamese Cajun seafood eatery has been open a little more than a year and already it’s the go-to destination for foodies who like their shellfish fresh and cooked to perfection.
three siblings and owners of JUST Beclaws.
What also makes the restaurant special are its three owners, siblings, Francis Tran, 32, Nambinh Tran, 27, and Aivy Tran, 34. The three grew up in Jersey City learning the restaurant business from their parents who owned Miss Saigon, a Vietnamese restaurant right up the street on Newark Ave.
“We like seafood,†Francis says. “We like to catch it –although we don’t serve what we catch.â€
Continue reading JUST Beclaws Vietnamese Cajun Seafood in Downtown JC
CAREPOINT HEALTH CONTINUES ASSISTING RESIDENTS DISPLACED BY BAYONNE AVENUE C FIRE
Jonathan Vargas (left) and family pose with Robert Wondolowski of CarePoint Health (center, rear) and Michael McCabe of McCabe’s Ambulance (right) after receiving their three gift cards.Â
Hudson County, New Jersey (July 2016) – A Bayonne Medical Center-CarePoint Health official recently met with some of those displaced by a five-alarm apartment house fire in June to provide additional assistance to them from the healthcare system.
Forty-seven residents of 455-461 Ave. C were left without a permanent place to live after the blaze totaled their building on June 18.
Fourteen of the former residents were gathered together on July 6 by Robert Wondolowski, CarePoint Health’s Bayonne community liaison, so he could present them with a $120 Walmart gift card per person to help them replace some of the items lost in the fire. Continue reading CAREPOINT HEALTH CONTINUES ASSISTING RESIDENTS DISPLACED BY BAYONNE AVENUE C FIRE
BOHO ARTSCENE 13 Artists to exhibit at Hendrickson’s Corner in Bayonne
July 16 & 17th -2-Day Show brings Boho Artscene Uptown
“Cheesesteak Stand” byÂ
Ken Delaney
 By Sally Deering
 On the weekend of July 16 & 17, Hendrickson’s Corner on 31st & Broadway will be serving its usual menu on its main floor while upstairs it will host a feast for the eyes when the “We the People†Art Show gets underway.
For two days, 13 artists will exhibit paintings, photography, jewelry and other crafts in the collaborative art show curated by artist and Bayonne resident Kevin Delaney whose Bar Napkin Art was recently trademarked by the U.S. Patent Office..  Continue reading BOHO ARTSCENE 13 Artists to exhibit at Hendrickson’s Corner in Bayonne
LONG GONE DADDY -Actor, Playwright Joe Gallo of Hoboken debuts New Play on Fatherhood
Mile Square Theatre’s Playwright-in-Residence Debuts new Solo Show
 By Sally Deering
opens July 20 at Mile Square Theatre in Hoboken)
 A life in the theater can be a wonderful journey if he or she sticks it out long enough and for actor and playwright Joseph Gallo, his long day’s journey in the theater continues to be mined with opportunities.  He just had two of his plays published by River City Books; and as playwright-in-residence at Mile Square Theatre (MST) in Hoboken, Gallo is about to debut his newest one-man show, LONG GONE DADDY directed by MST artistic director Chris O’Connor. Performances begin July 20 and run through August 7 in the company’s new theater on the corner of 14th & Clinton.
Prior to this, Gallo workshopped his play Two-Man Kidnapping Rule at MST. It was later produced by the New Ohio Theatre in New York, and published in Smith & Kraus’s anthology 2012 Best Men’s Stage Monologues and Scenes. As a solo writer/performer Gallo appeared in the original production of his one-man show My Italy Story at Penguin Rep in Stony Point, NY, which later had its debut Off-Broadway at the 47th Street Theatre in New York, starring Danny Mastrogiorgio (“…a compelling page turner.â€â€”The New York Times). An avid storyteller, Gallo won a StorySLAM championship at The Moth in NYC. Continue reading LONG GONE DADDY -Actor, Playwright Joe Gallo of Hoboken debuts New Play on Fatherhood
