Category Archives: Cover Story

ZEPPOLES, RAFFLES, DANCING— LA FESTA IS BACK!!!  

 

  La Festa Italiana 2017 Rocks On in JC

  Holy Rosary Church Celebrates Great Food, Fab Drinks, and Live Music

 Lafesta Italiana Jersey City 2017

By Sally Deering

 At every turn you’ll see a familiar face at La Festa Italiana Jersey City 2017, Holy Rosary Church’s 114th annual “Old World” Italian Street Festival to be held in Downtown Jersey City. For five consecutive days and nights, from Wed, Aug. 9th through Sun, Aug. 13th, Sixth & Brunswick Streets will be rockin’ with live bands, swinging soloists, fabulous foods, thirst-quenching drinks and frolicking fun for the kids. (Hours are Wed-Fri, 5 pm-11 pm; Sat & Sun, 3 pm-11 pm.) Continue reading ZEPPOLES, RAFFLES, DANCING— LA FESTA IS BACK!!!  

GIRL GROUP GROOVES

Vicki Kristina Barcelona to Perform in the Parlour at Fox & Crow

Band Returns for a Swinging Night of Tom Waits & Original Tunes

 By Sally Deering

girl group grooves
Terry Radigan, Amanda Homi, and Rachelle Garniez are the Vicki Kristina Barcelona band

Girl groups are a rare breed of women doing their own thing in the male-dominated music world; they create their own unique sound and groove just as cool as the boys.

Vicki Kristina Barcelona fits those stilettos perfectly – a girl group with its own style, doing music their way. The three singer/songwriter/musicians – Amanda Homi (percussion), Rachelle Garniez (accordion/guitar) and Terry Radigan (guitar) – sing original tunes they wrote and a Tom Waits’ repertoire. They perform throughout the Metropolitan area and are returning to the back parlour at Fox & Crow on Thursday, June 22 at 8 o’clock for another show.   Continue reading GIRL GROUP GROOVES

ROCKY STAR Former Heavyweight Champ Chuck Wepner’s Life Now a Major Motion Picture

POSTER FOR “CHUCK”
Poster for Chuck
CHUCK WEPNER IN 2011
CHUCK WEPNER IN 2011

  Film Premieres in Bayonne at Frank Theatres, Friday, May 12

 â€œSometimes life is like a movie; sometimes its better,” – Chuck Wepner as portrayed by Liev Schreiber in the new film, CHUCK

By Sally Deering

Like the Rocky character Sylvester Stallone created based on Chuck Wepner’s 1976 loss in the ring to Muhammad Ali, Chuck Wepner’s match with Ali has been a huge part of his life. Five years ago, the documentary The Real Rocky aired on PBS and coming up on Fri, May 12, CHUCK starring Liev Schreiber premieres at the Frank Theatres at South Cove Commons in Bayonne. Directed by Philippe Falardeau, the film follows Wepner’s life before and after his March 24, 1975 fight with Muhammad Ali. MAD MEN star Elizabeth Moss, Naomi Watts, and Ron Perlman co-star; and according to IMDB, CHUCK’s writing credits go to Jeff Feuerzeig, Jerry Stahl, Michael Cristofer and Liev Schreiber.

Leiv Schriber as Chuck Wepner

Live Schreiber as Chuck Wepner in the new

film CHUCK Continue reading ROCKY STAR Former Heavyweight Champ Chuck Wepner’s Life Now a Major Motion Picture

LEADING LADY Meredith Burns takes on the role of Art House Productions’ Executive Director

 

   A New Home (TBA) to Set the Stage for Popular Arts Center

Leading lady
Meredith Burns                                               Photo by Sally Deering

 By Sally Deering

 

Stepping inside Art House Productions’ performance space behind One PATH Plaza in Jersey City, Meredith Burns tiptoes through rows of stage lights, piles of discarded scenery and the ghosts of plays, musicals, art exhibits and dress-up fundraisers that took place within its walls all these years. But the past is the past and Art House Productions is about to take up residence in a new space with Burns as its new executive director. There’s still lots to be done and some big shoes to fill.

Those shoes belong to Christine Goodman, who served as Executive Director of Art House since the non-profit first opened its doors 15 years ago on McWilliams place near Hamilton Park, then moved to bigger digs on Magnolia Street near Journal Square. As Art House’s executive director, Goodman – who is leaving to spend more time with family – directed most of Art House’s plays, oversaw the INKubator writers’ workshop and STAGES! program for kids ‘bitten by the acting bug.’

leasing lady

Changing of the guard:

Christine Goodman, Meredith Burns,

and a young fan.

 â€œMeredith is exactly the kind of visionary we need to bring us into this next phase of growth,” Goodman says. “Our Board of Trustees did a thoughtful, in-depth search to find the best fit for our organization, and I believe they found the right person. I have always believed in succession planning as a hallmark of an organization’s long-term success. It is truly an exciting new day at Art House.”

Continue reading LEADING LADY Meredith Burns takes on the role of Art House Productions’ Executive Director

ART MATTERS Galleria Hudson Jersey City Celebrates Black History Month

  New Owners offer Framing, Photo-Printing & Venue for Artists

 Art Matters

 

Art Matters

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paintings by the late Elmira Wood and photographs by Mickey Mathis on view at Galleria Hudson in Jersey City.

By Sally Deering

Downtown Jersey City, on the corner where Jersey and Newark Avenues meet, Galleria Hudson frame shop just got a little more interesting. John and MaryJean Frohling and MaryJean’s son Henry Greenfield took over Galleria Hudson just a few months ago and made some changes. Along with framing services, and large-format photo-printing, Galleria Hudson now offers local artists a venue to show their work.

Art Matters February is Black History Month, and the Frohlings and Greenfield are spotlighting local photographer Mickey Mathis, a Jersey City resident who can be seen, camera in hand, strolling through local neighborhoods capturing light as it spills onto buildings, and freeze-framing moments in time. Mathis has been chronicling Jersey City’s neighborhoods for more than 20 years. He made his mark as a New York photographer taking pictures of celebrities and big events like the Ali-Frasier fight. Continue reading ART MATTERS Galleria Hudson Jersey City Celebrates Black History Month

KOBRA & BOWIE Int’l Muralist KOBRA paints 18-story David Bowie in Jersey City

Art Transforms Cast Iron Lofts Hi-Rise into Urban Landmark

 KOBRA at Loft Iron

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Sally Deering

 Photos by Fermín Mendoza

International artist Kobra in Jersey City
Kobra and Jersey City Mayor Steven M. Fulop

You can see it from Rt. 139 feeding into the Holland Tunnel or catch it from downtown Jersey City as you head into Hoboken. David Bowie’s image 18-stories high on the side of the Cast Iron Lofts in Jersey City, painted by international muralist Eduardo Kobra.  Bowie passed-away January 10th of this year, but his music and artistry live on throughout the world; and Kobra’s mural is now part of the Jersey City landscape, an urban landmark and the latest addition to the Jersey City Mural Arts Program.

On Fri, Nov. 4, Mayor Steven M. Fulop, members of the City Council, local real estate developers, and local artists welcomed Kobra to Jersey City and thanked him for painting the dazzling, eye-catching image of David Bowie. Mayor Fulop held the press conference on the building’s 5th floor deck where visitors could get an up-close look at the mural, and meet and take pictures with Kobra who spent the past few weeks painting from a scaffold hanging 180-feet off the side of the Cast Iron Lofts hi-rise on Jersey Avenue.   Continue reading KOBRA & BOWIE Int’l Muralist KOBRA paints 18-story David Bowie in Jersey City

HOB ART 37-37th Hoboken Artists Studio Tour

City to Celebrate its Painters, Sculptors & Artisans

 

Alex Morales
“La Isla” watercolor by Alex Morales of Hoboken

By Sally Deering

 Over the years, Hoboken’s become a pricey place to hang your hat, but on the bright side. Hoboken’s artist population has not withered due to the city’s high cost of living. Through good and bad economic times, Hoboken’s artist community continues to thrive, entertain and nourish the city’s need for culture, ideas and visions expressed outside the box.

Continue reading HOB ART 37-37th Hoboken Artists Studio Tour

HOPE RISES New Play by Speranza Theatre & Women Rising explores Domestic Violence

 

ho-riOriginal Play features Stories of Survival and Hope at Art House Productions in JC

 By Sally Deering

 Power and control – two red flags of bad behavior when it comes to relationships, but sometimes a person doesn’t know what they’re getting into until it’s too late. Situations like this are the basis of a new collaborative play by Jersey City’s Speranza Theatre Company and Women Rising, a refuge, resource and referral for survivors of domestic violence.

WOMEN RISING, Stories of Hope, directed by Diana Basmajian, will run Thurs, Oct. 20-Sun, Oct. 23 at Art House Productions in Jersey City.  A compilation by playwrights Megan Lohne, DeLora Whitney, Caren Skibell, Merri Biechler, Lia Romeo, and Dania Ramos, under the guidance of lead writer Jennie Contuzzi, the play is a series of monologues and scenes that focus on the survivors of domestic abuse. It features original music by Drama Desk Award nominee composer Estelle Bajou. Continue reading HOPE RISES New Play by Speranza Theatre & Women Rising explores Domestic Violence

ART CITY    Jersey City Art & Studio Tour Weekend kicks-off Sat & Sun, Oct. 8 & 9

Jersey City Art Studio Tour

 

 

 

   A Thousand Artists Display Works in Hundreds of Venues

 By RVO Staff

Art lovers everywhere are invited to share in the love that is the 26th annual Jersey City Art & Studio Tour where more than 1,000 artists will fling open the doors to hundreds of venues for viewers to see their paintings, sculptures, mixed-media and other exciting works.

The Jersey City Art & Studio Tour (JCAST) takes place Sat & Sun, Oct. 8 & 9, from 12 noon to 6 pm throughout Jersey City. (For a map of who’s who and where to go visit Jersey City Hall, local restaurants, clubs and other business establishments in the city.) The JCAST is presented by Jersey City Mayor Steven M. Fulop, the JC Municipal Council and the Office of Cultural Affairs. Continue reading ART CITY    Jersey City Art & Studio Tour Weekend kicks-off Sat & Sun, Oct. 8 & 9