FARRAH MAFFAI Team spirit was in attendance as Shore Regional High School moms Lisa Waldman (l) and Carol Brady made signs to show their support for their daughters during a soccer game against South River Nov. 15. Shore came away with the win, 4-2.
The Red Bank Senior Activity Center, 80 Shrewsbury Ave., provides many services for seniors such as educational classes, daily transportation, weekly grocery shopping trips, medical transportation for local doctor appointments, a daily nutritional meal, health programs and weekly seminars, social and recreational activities and holiday parties, as well as local senior clubs that meet monthly at the center. For information, seniors are welcome to stop by any time or call (732) 747-5204.
The Red Bank Senior Center will be closed Nov. 28-29 for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Red Bank Senior Center will be holding the following events in December: Salvation Army Teddy Bear & Doll Tea, Dec. 5; The Nutcracker ballet trip to the N.J. Performing Arts Center, Newark, Dec. 7; and Annual Gift Auction, Dec. 14. Sign up now for these holiday events. Call (732) 747-5204 for information.
St. James Elementary School, 30 Peters Place, Red Bank, is having SantaLand Saturday, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. in the cafeteria. Start your holiday shopping with a variety of great gifts, including raffles on sporting tickets, a $500 mall gift certificate, and much more while the kids enjoy plenty of food, crafts and activities.
The Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School will host its annual holiday concert in the school auditorium on Dec. 19 at 7:30 p.m. The concert is open to the community at no charge. Performances by the symphonic band, Tower Singers, jazz ensemble, and Band of the Two Rivers.
The Monmouth Civic Chorus will present "This Great American Land," a star-spangled musical revue, Dec. 1 at 2 p.m. at the Eastern Branch of the Monmouth County Library, 1001 Route 35 in Shrewsbury. The free concert celebrates America’s musical heritage from barbershop to doo-wop, from "Oklahoma" to "Ragtime."
Holiday events abound in Red Bank this season, where holiday glow is supplied by the lighting of trees and menorahs, music and camaraderie of streetside concerts, Santa arriving by train, and a festive parade of elves and those who’ve been naughty or nice.
The traditional, season-opening Holiday Express concert will take place Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. at a new location this year. The concert has been moved to Broad Street and Peters Place to provide a wider area for people to enjoy the concert. Broad Street (from Monmouth Street to Harding Road) will be closed for this event from 4:30-9:30 p.m.
In a cooperative venture, RiverCenter and the Arts & Antique District have timed the run of the annual Santa Express Train to coincide with the Holiday Express concert.
The family train ride will leave the Little Silver Train Station at 4:45 p.m., arrive in Red Bank at 4:50 p.m., and will conclude with a parade down Monmouth Street to Broad Street. Monmouth Street (from Bridge Avenue to Broad Street) will be closed briefly from 5:30-6 p.m. for this event.
On Dec. 1, the annual menorah lighting will take place at the Red Bank Train Station. Rabbi Levin, of Congregation B’nai Israel in Rumson, will lead the celebration of the Festival of Lights with song, dance and prayer, beginning at 4:45 p.m.
On Dec. 8 a "Picture with Santa" event will take place at the Red Bank train station from 1-3 p.m. The photo op is a joint effort of the Red Bank Parks and Recreation Department, the Red Bank Drug Alliance and First Night Red Bank. There also will be clowns, music and refreshments. First Night buttons will be on sale at a special low price. For more information, contact Parks & Recreation at (732) 530-2782.
On Nov. 30, Red Bank’s art galleries will be kicking off the holiday shopping season with an evening of fine arts during the Red Bank Holiday Art Walk. Browsers can enjoy work in all media — print, paper, glass, wood, metal, textiles, oil, watercolor, stone sculpture, animation cels and more — showcasing leading regional, local and international artists.
The free and self-guided Art Walk will take place from 6-9 p.m. Maps and gallery listings are available through RiverCenter at 20 Broad St., (732) 842-4244.
Participating galleries are: Afridesia, 25 Bridge Ave,; Altomonte Imports, Arrivee, and Lloyd’s Gallery, and John Lawrence Gallery, Broad Street; Art Forms, Art Alliance of Monmouth County, CEL-EBRATION Animation Art Gallery, Inheritance Gallery, Mayfair House, Monmouth Street; Kingsley Art Gallery, The Galleria, Laurel Tracey Gallery and Beacon Fine Arts Gallery, White Street; and Chetkin Gallery, Wharf Avenue.
A Colonial Christmas in Shrewsbury is the theme of this year’s annual Christ Church Lantern Tour and Christmas Bazaar, which begins Dec. 6. Tours are scheduled at 6 and 8 p.m.
The lantern tour, which begins at Christ Church, 338 Sycamore Ave., is a guided walking tour that includes visits to the historic Allen House, the Quaker Meeting House of Shrewsbury, and the Presbyterian Church of Shrewsbury. Actors and actresses dressed in period costumes escort participants through candle-lit passages that date back to the 17th century.
Reservations for the popular tour are required and can be arranged by calling (732) 671-3353. Tickets are: adults $10 and children $5. Following the 6 p.m. tour, participants will be invited in for warm mulled cider.
The Christmas bazaar at Christ Church is open Dec. 6, 5:30-9 p.m. and Dec. 7, 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. These holiday events will round out a year of celebrating the tercentennial of this historic church.
The bazaar offers good hot food, jewelry, gifts and hand-made crafts by local crafters including Linda Wall, floral arrangements, Linda Brokke, painted wood decorative arts. There will be a silent auction, raffles, crafts for children, a used book sale, hand-made wreaths, poinsettias, and a scrumptious baked goods.
American Red Cross Armed Forces Emergency Services (AFES) helps soldiers who are deployed communicate with their families. Every 20 seconds the Red Cross relays a message between armed forces emergency service centers, stations, and ships at sea and American Red Cross chapters throughout the United States to inform soldiers of the death or serious illness of a family member, the birth of a child, and other family emergencies.
The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Active duty service members stationed in the U.S., as well as military personnel overseas, and their immediate families can call the toll-free phone number, which is available through base/installation operators and from local on-base Red Cross stations to contact a loved one. The AFES workers are also sent to areas of conflict where military personnel are deployed. When calling the Red Cross to send an emergency message to a family member, please have ready: service member’s full name, rank/rating, branch of service, Social Security number, military address where deployed, home base unit /duty phone number.
The Upper Mid-Atlantic region of Starbucks has announced a month-long employee program in conjunction with the American Red Cross Armed Forces Emergency Services (AFES) that aims to provide nearly 2,000 pounds of donated Starbucks coffee to American troops serving abroad.
Starbucks employees in over 90 participating stores, including nine in the Monmouth County region, will donate the 1-pound of coffee they receive each week as a perk of working for the company. The program began Oct. 21 and will last four weeks; each week different groups of stores in the region will take turns participating.
Red Cross national headquarters is coordinating the shipments of coffee from the stores. Through a donation from Federal Express, the coffee will be shipped abroad to military deployments in the Balkans and the Middle East and will be distributed directly to U.S. service men and women by Red Cross AFES workers.
The Monmouth Conservatory of Music will present its Children’s Opera Chorus Holiday Celebration Concert on Dec. 20, 7:30 p.m., at St. Michael’s Church, 800 Ocean Ave., Long Branch. The program will include excerpts from Handel’s Messiah, settings of popular carols and other holiday works. Admission is $10, $5 for children and seniors. For information call (732) 741-8880
The winter solstice, which marks the shortest day of the year, will be celebrated on Friday and Saturday evenings, Dec. 20 and 21, with the presentation of "Vessels of the Sun," a composition by Jim Scott who will appear with the Unitarian Universalist Singers at the UU Meeting House, 1475 W. Front St., Lincroft.
A former member of the Paul Winter Consort, Scott will join with the choir led by Elaine Vander Plate in a program of music, dance, drumming and dramatic readings. Last year’s celebrations, at which Mr. Scott also appeared and performed his "Missa Gaia" (Earth Mass), were sold out. This year’s proceeds will be shared with the Jersey Shore Chapter of the Sierra Club, Clean Ocean Action, and Monmouth Friends of Clearwater as the program is dedicated to the care of the earth and the environment.
Advance tickets may be purchased for $15 at the Meeting House or from the beneficiary organizations. Tickets at the door will be $20 and $12 for students and seniors. The programs will begin at 8 p.m. and will be followed by a reception with refreshments. For more information, call (732)747-0707.
Five distinctive homes in Rumson, Fair Haven and Little Silver are featured on the 2002 Holiday House Tour sponsored by the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey which will be held between 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Dec. 6. A holiday boutique offering holiday greens, plants and fresh arrangements will be held at Bingham Hall, 40 Bingham Ave., Rumson, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in association with the tour. An optional luncheon at the Rumson Country Club, Rumson, also is available.
Tour tickets cost $50 per person ($40 for those 65 and older) and may be ordered by mail or purchased on the day of the tour. Luncheon tickets are $30 per person and must be prepaid. In addition, on the eve of the house tour, a cocktail reception at the Rumson home of Dan and Barbara Todd will launch the festivities. Tickets for the reception are $75 per person. All proceeds benefit the VNA of Central Jersey’s hospice program.
For tickets or additional information, contact the VNA of Central Jersey Development Office, 176 Riverside Ave., Red Bank, or call (732) 224-6970.
Little Silver’s Turkey Bowl 2002 benefiting Jason’s Dreams for Kids, with a 7-on-7 touch football tournament and family fun, will be held on Nov. 30, rain or shine, at Sickles Field and the Woman’s Center in Little Silver. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. there will be the 7-on-7 touch football tournament, a DJ, face painter and clowns to entertain, and hot dogs, hamburgers, soda, popcorn and cotton candy to fill everyone’s tummy. Then from 3 to 6 p.m., Santa Claus will visit. The DJ will again entertain and there will be refreshments and a buffet, along with an award ceremony. Cost is $50 per player and his family, and $20 for a spectator family. Checks should be made payable to Jason’s Dreams for Kids and sent to 20 Monmouth St., Red Bank, NJ 07701. For more information, call (732) 758-0060.
The Woman’s Club of Little Silver will hold its holiday luncheon at noon Dec. 4 at The Village Bistro restaurant in Little Silver. The club will hold is regular monthly meeting at 1 p.m. on Dec. 11 at the Woman’s Club building, now owned by the borough, at Church Street and Rumson Road. The program will consist of holiday songs presented by Nancy Schaarf, singer/guitarist. New members are welcome. For more information on either event, contact Rita Ulan at (732) 747-3339.
The Little Silver Garden Club will meet at 9 a.m. Dec. 5 at the Little Silver Borough Hall. The members will be decorating evergreen wreaths and creating evergreen arrangements for the borough offices. For membership or guest information, call (732) 842-7169 or (732) 758-8030.
The Presbyterian Church at Shrewsbury on Sycamore Avenue will hold a Christmas Bazaar, "Angels of Peace," from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 7. Items for sale will include gifts and handmade crafts. Crafts from SERRV will be featured. These are items made by Christian crafters in Third World countries and all proceeds are returned directly to the crafters. Children can have their picture taken with Santa Claus and shoppers can have their purchases wrapped while they enjoy coffee and donuts or lunch. All proceeds are dedicated to local, national and international mission projects. For more information, call (732) 747-3557.
A free community workshop on stress will be held at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 10 at the Sea Bright Public Library. A lecture presented by Dr. Tyler M. Richards, of Long Branch, will allow the participants to discover how stress affects the body and simple things they can do at home to reduce the negative effects of stress. To register, call the library at (732) 758-9554.
The Victoria’s Smile Foundation will present Breakfast With Santa on Dec. 22 at the Little Silver Firehouse. Two seatings are available for the pancake breakfast: 8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. The cost is $5 for children (kids under 2 are free) and $10 for adults. Proceeds from the breakfast will fund future leukemia research aimed at finding a cure as well as development of an interactive Web site to help spread information about leukemia. Checks can be mailed to Victoria’s Smile Foundation, P.O. Box 155, Rumson, NJ 07760, and must be received by Dec. 15.