To celebrate the Bayonne’s 150th Anniversary, an exhibit about the Bayonne Girl Scouts is on display at the Bayonne Public Library.
The local Girl Scouts began at Calvary Episcopal Church in 1917 and continue their work in the city after more than 100 years.
On display are Girl Scout items that include uniforms, merit sashes with medals and badges, camping equipment, an array of handbooks, and newspaper articles, to name a few. It depicts the advance of scouting over the years and the wide range of activities for girls and young women. Girl Scouts are known for their volunteer work with service organizations, fund raising, and participation in the popular Cookie Sale each year.
The exhibit is the work of Christine Peters, a Girl Scout troop leader, volunteer and lifetime member. The materials came from her own collection and from legacy Girl Scouts in Bayonne as well as the “Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey Council.” The Council is dedicated to the mentoring of girls and to providing opportunities for community service.
Currently there are over 200 Girl Scouts in Bayonne. Ms. Peters’ daughters, Briel and Stephanie, both active in scouting, are Gold Award Recipients, the highest recognition by the Girl Scouts.
If you would like to join the Bayonne Girl Scouts as a member or as an adult volunteer, contact Jean Styles at 201-858-2296.
Mollie Thonneson, President of Pro Art JC, with one of her colorful hanging sculptures at Art Fair 14 C
Art Fair 14C Created Had Big Turnout at The Hyatt
in Jersey City
Two Floors of Art and Hundreds of Art Loving
Guests Attended
By Sally Deering
Imagine a high-end hotel
transformed into an art gallery with mobiles hanging in entranceways, sculptures
grouped on end tables, and paintings draped on easels made of bed pillows.
Creativity and artistry practically bounced off the walls at the Hyatt Regency
in Jersey City, last weekend, when artists exhibited their works, and networked
with other artists and art-lovers.
On
Friday March 15 and running through Sunday, March 17, the Hyatt Regency on the Jersey
City waterfront was where 50 galleries booked rooms on two floors of the hotel,
hung original art on the walls and flung open the doors to art-lovers. Guests
had the opportunity to roam the hotel’s 8th & 9th
floor and visit the galleries that exhibited some terrific paintings,
sculpture, mixed-media and more in their respective hotel rooms.
Penguins by Barbara Fiore
There was the group of “Penguinsâ€
by sculptor Barbara Fiore; the true-to-life “Red Fan†by Christopher Stott, and
alcohol art paintings by Bryant Small. Members
of Pro Arts in Jersey City, including president Mollie Thonneson, showed their
work including Thonneson’s colorful hanging sculptures that fluttered
gracefully when someone walked by.
Linda Streicher, Bryant Small, Mollie Thonneson and Christine Barney of Pro Arts at Art Fair 14C
As groups of art lovers strolled through
Pro Arts exhibition, Thonneson said that her experience at Art Fair 14C was
extremely positive. She was joined by artists Linda Streicher, Bryant Small and
Christine Barney.
Red Fan by Christopher Stott
The
event was sponsored by the Jersey City Arts Council and curated by volunteer Executive
Director Robinson Holloway, the founding Chair of the Board of Trustees of the
Jersey City Arts Council who stepped down in January 2019 to run Art Fair 14C. Holloway
created and runs two non-profit art galleries – the Gallery at 350 Bleecker in
New York City, and Village West Gallery on Newark Ave in Jersey City.
Jersey
City artist Theda Sandiford exhibited collages like her “Foxy Brown for
President†piece.
Foxy Brown for President Theda Sandiford Jersey city
David Barnett, who creates 2D-and-3D
collages and sculptures exhibited several works including a dog with mechanical
parts he created as an homage to his pup, Oscar; and a mechanized man in a hat.
Sculpture by David Barnett
“I like
merging the idea of humanity and technology,†Barnett said. “Where one begins,
the other ends.â€
 – The Kennedy Dancers Inc., is hosting its 2nd Annual International Folkloric Concert entitled “Dances from the Diaspora” at 6:30 pm on April 4th, 2019, at the Brennan Courthouse, located at 583 Newark Avenue, Jersey City NJ 07306. Dances From The Diaspora is an evening of international folk from migrant peoples, and will include introductions and a brief histories by renowned Anthropologist, Folklorist, and Professor of NJCU, Dr. William Westerman to give us contextual backgrounds to these diverse and rich cultures, their traditions, and means of furthering these through dance! Learn and enjoy performances by The Kennedy Dancers, MDN Latin Dance, The Hellenic Dancers of NJ, Mosaic Dance Theatre, Reaction Dance Company, and Ennobled Dance Ensemble. Experience traditional cultural dance from Greece, Mexico, Venezuela, Italy, India, and more! The performances will be followed by an intimate reception with light refreshments.  Tickets are general admission for $15 and the show is suitable for all ages.  Tickets can be purchased on line using the link below.  Ticket purchase includes attendance to the performance as well as access to the reception following the performance, which includes light refreshments. https://squareup.com/store/the-kennedy-dancers/item/dances-from-the-diaspora
The Hellenic Dancers of New Jersey is a group of 40 young adults who are first, second, or third generation Greek Americans, and are dedicated to perpetuating their heritage through enthusiastic performances of the regional folk dances of Greece.  Under Master Instructor Eleeni Chakalos more than 300 dances, songs, and related traditions have been preserved .  These are indigenous to mainland Greece, its island and Asia Minor, and have been passed on to two generations of Greek Americans and the American Public.  Their traditional music and folk dance is representative of a cross-section of these divers regions, past and present.   Performed in authentic ethnic dress, the Hellenic’s wardrobe represents the 20 regions from which the dance originated including: Macedonia, Thrace, the Pelopennese, Epiros, Roumeli, Crete, Cyprus, the various island groups; and Pontos, Cappadocia, and Ikonion in Asia Minor.
The event includes a
reflection session on Station Eleven plus
a
family yoga workshop.
The Hudson County Community College (HCCC) Art of Yoga “Zen Survival Session†combines a reflection on the New York Times best-selling book, Station Eleven, with an emotional- and physical-survival, family yoga workshop that is inspired by the book. Station Eleven was selected for Jersey City’s citywide participation in the 2019 “Big Read,†an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.
This
event is free and open to the entire community. A limited number of yoga mats
will be available; bringing one’s own mat is strongly recommended.
The HCCC Department of Cultural Affairs is the event host.
The
Educational Arts Team will lead the reflection on Station Eleven. The group helps urban youth improve their literacy,
increase their self-worth, discover their individuality, and heighten their academic
achievement by providing cultural, social and recreational experiences.
Jamie
Wilson Murry of Mindful Play Yoga will conduct the family yoga workshop. Mindful
Play Yoga is committed to inspiring children ages 3 -15 and families to be
curious lifelong learners.
Thursday, March 21, 12 to 2 p.m.
HCCC Dineen Hull Gallery, 71 Sip Avenue – Sixth Floor, Jersey City, NJ.
Mayor Jimmy Davis announced that the
City of Bayonne will hold a ceremony in March to mark its 150th
anniversary. The event will take place
on Saturday, March 9, at 2:00 p.m., in the gallery on the second floor of the
Bayonne Public Library, which is located at 31st Street and Avenue
C. Mayor Davis will serve as master of
ceremonies and will offer remarks about the City of Bayonne at 150. Mayor Davis said, “Bayonne can take great
pride in our residents’ contributions to the world since 1869. We look forward to observing our 150th
anniversary on March 9, and celebrating at other events in the coming months.â€
Jersey City Ethical Charter School 95 Broadway will honor the memory of Bayonne native Bruce Piechocki, February 28th, at a 4:30 pm at a halftime Commemorative presentation of its girls basketball team.
Piechocki passed away from Cancer on March 3rd, 2016.
Through a Memorial Fund established by Piechocki’s step-father Keith Rennar and family in 2016 and a donation made in October 2018 to Ethical Charter’s Schools Girl Basketball team; the Green and White uniforms for the girls basketball team were purchased.
The Bruce Piechocki Memorial Fund has been instumental in doing some good work througout the State of New Jersey.
Since its beginning it has sent six children to the Bob Hurley Summer Pocono Basketball Camp for a week.
Donations went to assorted groups: Newark Fresh Air Fund, Jersey City Baptist Church Christmas Help for Needy Families, Bayonne Mike Micelis Christmas Give a Kid a Smile Shopping Trip for Models and other donations.
February 20th event is open to the entire community; there is no charge for admission.            A “Playwright Lecture,†hosted by the Hudson County Community College (HCCC) Library Makerspace, which will feature a nationally acclaimed playwright, screenwriter and actor.
The lecture is open to all members of the community, free of charge.
Prolific writer and actor Martin Casella, whose plays and musicals have been staged in the United States and abroad.Â
Mr. Casella attended the California Institute of the Arts (Cal Arts). Following his graduation, he worked as Steven Spielberg’s assistant on the films Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The Director’s Cut, Used Cars, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. He has also written for film and television productions for Steven Spielberg, Lasse Hallstrom, Kerry Washington, Whoopi Goldberg, Disney, Universal, Warner Brothers, ABC, CBS and HBO.
  Professor Joseph Gallo Builds a Dream Theater for Students
Hudson County Community College Opens New Black Box Theater
By Sally Deering
Hoboken
playwright and Theatre Arts Professor Joseph Gallo knows first-hand the trials
and tribulations of putting on plays. He does it as resident playwright for Hoboken’s
Mile Square Theater, and as Theatre Arts Coordinator for Hudson County
Community College’s (HCCC) Theatre Arts program, where Gallo teaches acting,
playwriting and film courses to hundreds of students who have passed through
its doors. Gallo has directed all the student productions in HCCCs academic classrooms
— until now.
Professor Joseph Gallo conducts an Acting Class at HCCCÂ Â Â (Photo:Â Brion Luetjen)
On Fri,
Jan. 25, HCCC debuted its newest addition to the college: a beautiful and
intimate, 40-seat ‘black box’ theater like those found Off Broadway and on other
college campuses. The newly-transformed space, which used to be a classroom with
Formica tables and white plastic chairs, now has 28 new theater lights, a
raised ceiling with a grid for the lights, a state-of-the-art lighting and
sound booth that’s mobile, a prop closet, a tech closet, a film screen/SMART
Board, newly-painted black walls, black curtains and gray chairs that can seat
40 theater-goers at every performance.
Ask any
drama teacher, putting on plays in classrooms and makeshift venues has its
drawbacks. That’s all changed at HCCC. Theatre
Arts students can now rehearse plays, perform improvs, and recite monologues in
a real theater space. This makes Gallo’s accomplishment – a beautiful theater
classroom in HCCCs library building on Sip Avenue in Jersey City – an
incredible feat of perseverance and dedication. Gallo never gave up on his
dream, and with his persistence, and funding from HCCCs Foundation, Gallo
gained support from HCCCs newly-installed President Dr. Christopher Reber, as
well as Vice President Dr. Eric Friedman – and they helped Gallo’s dream become
a reality.
Gerard
Carbone of Mast Construction in Jersey City, and theater designers Herb
Alicandri and Matthew Fick of Hoboken are the ones responsible for turning the
5th floor classroom into a theater.
“I’m
proud to say we came in on time and under budget,†Gallo says, leading a tour of
the theater. “We started construction Dec. 20 and opened Jan. 25.â€
Twice a
year, at the end of each semester, Gallo and the theater students hold a play festival
in the Scott Ring Room on the 2nd floor of the Culinary Arts
Building. From now on, Gallo and the students will present their end-of-semester
play festival in the new theater, and instead of one performance, the students will
put on two shows.
“This
theater takes the Theatre Arts program and elevates it to another level,†Gallo
says. “I see this as a jumping off
point for the next plateau of the program.â€
The
Theatre Arts program currently has 40 students who declared Theatre Arts as
their major, Gallo says. The new theater enhances the educational component of
the program.
“We can
be a first-stop training option for any potential theater student,†Gallo says.
“The tech will make our performances different. It’s our own space, so we can
create here and don’t have to pick up and go somewhere else.â€
The
school’s new black box theater was well worth the years of hard work to make it
happen, Gallo says, and it’s one of his greatest accomplishments.
Mayor
Jimmy Davis announced that there will be a St. Patrick’s Day Kick-Off event to
benefit the Bayonne Economic Opportunity Foundation (BEOF), Bayonne’s community
action agency. The event will take place
on Thursday, March 14, at 6:00 p.m., at the Bayonne Masonic Lodge, 888 Avenue
C. A $35 donation to the BEOF will cover
Irish food, beverages, and musical entertainment. The live band will be The Screaming Orphans,
a popular, four-woman group from County Donegal, Ireland. The Screaming Orphans have their roots in
Celtic music, and incorporate pop, rock, and international styles into their
tunes. Mayor Davis said, “Throughout the year, the BEOF provides social
services for seniors and people of all ages who are in need. Please join us in celebrating the St.
Patrick’s season by supporting the BEOF and enjoying The Screaming Orphans.â€
The
Screaming Orphans are the four Diver sisters from Bundoran in County
Donegal. In addition to their vocals,
the group’s musical instruments include bass, violin, drums, keys, and
accordion. The band has toured in
Europe, Africa, and North America.
Their hit song, “Taproom,†was named 2017 Folk/Pop/Rock Album of the
Year by Folk ‘n’ Rock Magazine.
The
event will feature an Irish soda bread contest.
First, second, and third place finishers will win Shop-Rite gift
cards. Raffles to benefit the BEOF will
also take place at the event.
Interested parties should visit www.beof.org for information about purchasing
reservations. Anyone who would like to
purchase a physical ticket may do so at the Office of the Mayor during regular
business hours, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The
lodge is located at 40th Street and Avenue C.
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