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
Cellar 335 in JC, Asian American Fusion with a Side of Polynesian Kitsch
By Sally Deering
The buzz on Newark Ave in Jersey City continues to be: when will White Eagle Hall open and when do the bands come on? Meanwhile, just a few steps beneath the White Eagle hall entrance, Cellar 335 has just opened and it’s a cool looking place.
Cellar 335 is the newest addition to Jersey City’s downtown restaurant and bar scene, a cool new eatery designed in urban industrial décor and with a kitschy “let’s have fun†vibe. A darkly-lit Tiki bar stands out in the dark mysteriousness of the bar area as soon as you step in from outside. The bar flanks the left side of the bistro with roomy space between barstools and lots of space for standing and mingling. To the right, there’s an enclosed dining room – the type where you make an entrance – that offers dark wood tables, a muted red background and overhanging lights that slide on wires above, so the lighting can change in an instant. Continue reading I KNOW A COOL, SECLUDED PLACE Cellar 335 in Jersey City
 VISUAL ARTS
MANA CONTEMPORARY, 818 Newark Ave, JC, (201) 604-2702, www.manacontemporary.com. Through Feb. 25, 2017; hosted by Mana Contemporary’s Middle East Center for the Arts (MECA): TEXTILE – TERRITORY – TEXT; a group show that examines “concepts of identity, belonging, abjection, and exile in contemporary textile art works by Middle Eastern artists Etti Abergel, Andi Arnovitz, Asad Azi, Hila Lulu Lin Farah Kufr Birim, Fatma Shanan Dery, Mervat Essa, Leor Grady, Buthina Milhem, Yoav Raban, Farid Abu Shakra, Tal Shoshan, Nevet Yitzhak, Amira Ziyan. Curated by Irena Gordon, the show features video installations, animation, painting, photography, and sculpture.
DEEP SPACE GALLERY, 77 Cornelison Ave, JC (201) 777-0166. Opening Oct. 15 GLOSSBLACK, solo exhibition. “Raised in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, Jimmy is an American graffiti writer who began painting in the early 2000s. Today, with over a decade of work under his belt, he has solidified himself as a nationally recognized practitioner of the art. As graffiti culture rises in popularity, he manages to continually find new territory, creating pieces that are instantly recognizable. Working predominantly in aerosol and oil paint, his dynamic lettering styles, layering techniques, craftsmanship, and dedication to detail result in striking works of art.†For more info, www.glossblack.org.
Continue reading NOVEMBER ARTScene  Cultural Happenings in & around Hudson
 Standing up for Those Who Serve and Those who have Fallen
 By Sally Deering
In these troubled times, the U.S. turns to its military, the men and women (and four-legged, bomb-sniffing soldiers) to protect America’s freedom and democracy.
On Sat, Nov. 12, starting at noon, Jersey City Mayor and U.S. Marine Veteran Steven M. Fulop and the Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs, local U.S. military men and women and other dignitaries will lead the 2nd annual Parade of Veterans and Heroes followed by a Veterans Resource Fair that will be held at City Hall until 5 pm.
The Parade of Veterans and Heroes is open to anyone who would like to march, especially men and women who are serving and have served in the military. Registration for participants will begin at 10 am at the Historic Jersey City Harsimus Cemetery on Newark Avenue near Dickinson High School. (You can also register online.) Continue reading HONORING HEROES Â Jersey City Veterans Day Parade kicks-off Sat, Nov. 12 at noon
   Film a Big Surprise; Rights & Royalties a Bigger Mystery
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 By Sally Deering Â
The story starts with two brothers and a couple of friends from Bayonne who wrote and recorded a song called Bim Sala Bim back in the 1970s. They took the title from “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson†when Carson played fortune teller Carnac the Magnificent. He and Ed McMahon would say “Bim Sala Bim†as a greeting to each other.
Lou Gomez wrote the lyrics and his brother Richie Gomez wrote the melody and Ralph Cohen wrote the arrangements to Bim Sala Bim when they were in the 70s band “Hudson Countyâ€. The band eventually broke up, but the song lives on. Fast forward to 2016, Gomez finds out from a friend that Bim Sala Bim is on the soundtrack to the new Robert DeNiro movie, HANDS OF STONE.
“The group became known for its funk sound,†Gomez says, from his home in Sayreville. “We were signed to RCA records by Warren Schatz and asked to produce some material for a compilation album and a single release. Our single was “Heaven’s Here on Earth” and we were told it would be released at the same time Vickie Sue Robinson was to release Turn the Beat Around. At that time we also recorded Bim Sala Bim. Forty years later I get a call from a friend that Bim Sala Bim is a big underground hit in Europe especially Greece and Italy. It was later found out that the song was bootlegged by some unknown group called Fantastic Soul Inventions who just slapped their name on our recording.†Continue reading WHOSE SONG IS IT ANYWAY?Songwriter Lou Gomez’s BIM SALA BIM surfaces in new Robert DeNiro Flick
Original 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. Â 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
  Father & Son Owners duplicate successful Haledon Eatery in Mile Square City
 
By Sally Deering
 Joe and Chris Schiavo may be new to Hoboken, but they’re not new to the restaurant biz. The successful father & son team own The Shepherd & The Knucklehead craft beer bar and steakhouse in Haledon and it’s so successful, they branched out here in Hudson.
They just opened “The Shep†a little more than a week ago on Willow Avenue between 13 & 14 Streets. A huge space – it seats 125 – with 23 flatscreen TVs all turned to a sports channel lining the walls. The bar is long with 60 taps and a flatscreen above that has the latest crafts available. Cocktails are crafty, too, Joe Schiavo says, because the bartenders squeeze fresh juices and make all the syrups from scratch. Continue reading THE SHEPHERD & THE KNUCKLEHEAD
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
  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
 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
