Chris Kelly Richard Deutsch, a chef from the Salt Creek Grill, Rumson, prepares a serving of seared Mahi tuna canape for the 2002 Food for Thought food- and wine-tasting benefit held at the Sheraton-Eatontown Hotel and Conference Center on April 30.
Concerned residents of Wardell Circle fighting to save the trees which line the street hired their own expert to give an evaluation on what trees should remain. A report generated by Aspen Tree Expert Inc., Jackson, after an inspection of the 40 some trees stated that only three trees needed to be removed. The report also recommended that the rest can be saved, and those remaining should be pruned. The report also outlined a 10- to 20-year plan which addresses the removal of the trees over the next few years and replaced with a more appropriate species.
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The annual Lions Strawberry Fair in Oceanport will be held May 21-26 from 6-11 p.m. This year the festival will be held at a different location. It will still be on Port-au-Peck Avenue but on racetrack property, across the street from last years location.
The fair will also sponsor an art contest for grades three through five with a theme entitled "America." Grand-prize awards will be presented to one student from each grade who will win a $100 gift certificate to the Monmouth Mall. The Oceanport Lions Club will also donate a personal computer to each of the grand prizewinner’s school. For more information call (732) 935-1256 or 732-918-0552 or www.strawberryfair.org.
Peter Morales, above, and his daughter Marilyn, 2, of Fair Haven decorate flower pots at Sickle’s Garden Center Kids Day on Sunday. At right, newly hatched chicks are on display. PHOTOS BY VERONICA YANKOWSKI
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Oceanport will once again be celebrating Memorial Day with a parade, which will be May 27 at 10 a.m. at the Blackberry Bay Park. From there it will proceed to Comanchee Drive onto Monmouth Boulevard to finish at Borough Hall. The community center will host refreshments — pizza and cake — as well as an environmental poster contest, soccer signup and a softball game. The Garden club will also send flowers.
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Actors of all ages can audition for several local theater companies at an open audition May 4. Hosted by the Theater X-Change, an association of Monmouth County theater groups, the auditions will take place from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Youth Temple on Pilgrim Pathway in Ocean Grove. Participants are asked to prepare a two-minute monologue and be prepared for a cold reading. Singers are asked to bring a taped accompaniment. Theaters casting spring, summer and fall shows include N.J. Repertory Co., Long Branch; First Avenue Playhouse, Atlantic Highlands; Center Players, Freehold; Spotlight Players, Matawan; Act! Theater, Marlboro; Fellowship Theater, Ocean Grove; and Jewelbox Theatre/Hitman Murder Mystery, Brick.
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Monmouth County Friends of Clearwater invites families to bring children to a Family Day May 5 at 2 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation Meeting House at 1475 West Front St., Lincroft. The group will host a talk on the environment geared to a child’s perspective. Members as well as nonmembers are invited. For more information, call (732) 897-7742.
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How does your garden cope? Gardeners can get answers to problems ranging from the drought to hungry grubs at a Garden Day hosted by the Tinton Falls Public Library May 11 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the library, which is located at 664 Tinton Avenue. The library will celebrate spring by presenting a help-line table manned by Master Gardeners of Monmouth County who will field questions about horticulture. Activities for children will be provided. For more information, call Jayne Cleveland at (732) 542-3110.
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Monmouth County Friends of Clearwater is offering volunteers the chance to get their hands dirty in the name of making a hands-on environmental contribution. MCFC will hold a cleanup of Deal Lake in Asbury Park May 11, from 9:30 a.m.-noon. Participants will meet in the park at the corner of Seventh Avenue and Main Street at 9 a.m. Old clothing, and sturdy waterproof boots, sun screen, insect repellent and a bottle of water are suggested gear. An optional Dutch treat lunch at a local eatery will follow. For more information, call Ann Roemmele at (732) 291-5304.
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Red Bank’s Riverside Gardens Park has received another award. At last week’s Borough Council meeting, Administrator Stanley J. Sickles announced that the West Front Street park was the recipient of this year’s Excellence in Downtown Development Award. The honor was awarded by Downtown New Jersey, which cited the borough’s use of open space. Riverside Gardens Park has received other awards, including an Excellence in Designing, by the N.J. Recreation and Parks Associations, the Charles M. Pike Award for Parks and Recreation, and an award from the N.J. Concrete Institute, according to Sickles.
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Red Bank Mayor Edward J. McKenna Jr., and the Borough Council also took the opportunity of that meeting to honor the borough’s own Tahj Holden, who helped the University of Maryland win the NCAA finals this year. Holden graduated Red Bank Regional High School in 1999 and is attending Maryland on a full scholarship, majoring in communications, according to McKenna.
"Many of us in Red Bank were thrilled to see Tahj and Maryland get into the finals and win the NCAA," the mayor said. "Our only regret is that he couldn’t be here this evening," McKenna said.
"To his credit he is in school working very hard," the mayor told the audience as he presented Holden’s mother with the resolution commending Holden.
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Little Silver Garden Club is participating in a statewide project with the Garden Club of New Jersey and Rutgers University, New Brunswick, to save the wildflowers and native plants of the state.
"Operation Wildflower" will renovate the wildflower and native plant garden at Rutgers. The project has been made possible with a $1,000 grant from the Shell Grant program and the National Garden Club.
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The Monmouth County Retired Education Association, Tinton Falls, will hold its installation luncheon May 21 at noon. The luncheon will be held at the Colts Neck Inn located at the intersection of routes 537 and 34. For more information, call Betty at (732) 493-0453.
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The Monmouth Conservatory of Music, Red Bank, will hold a recital by visiting students from the Synchrono Conservatory, Greece, May 5 at 2 p.m. The free recital will be presented at the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House, 1475 W. Front St., Lincroft section of Middletown.
The conservatory’s adult chorus, Choral Arts, will perform the 1610 Vespers by Monteverdi on May 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the Lutheran Church, 150 River Drive, Red Bank. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.
For more information, call the conservatory at (732) 741-8880.
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The Catholic Daughters of St. James Roman Catholic Church, Red Bank, will sponsor a bus trip to see The King and I at the Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn, on May 8 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Cost is $60, which includes lunch at Charlie Brown’s. The bus will depart from the parking lot at the Church of the Nativity, Hance Avenue, Fair Haven.
For more information, call Jo at (732) 747-5004.