JERRY WOLKOWITZ staff Bill Boesenberg holds “E-lizard-beth,” a monitor lizard, at a reptile demonstration at the Red Bank Primary School on Nov. 14 The Presbyterian Church at Shrewsbury, on Sycamore Avenue, in Shrewsbury, will hold a Christmas bazaar from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6. Items for sale will include gifts, handmade crafts, greens arrangements, poinsettias and home-baked goods, as well as jewelry, books, nearly new toys and more.
All the crafts are made by Christian crafters in third world countries, and all proceeds are returned directly to them. Children can have their picture taken with Santa. Shoppers can have their purchases wrapped while enjoying coffee and donuts, or lunch. All proceeds are dedicated to local, national and international mission projects. For more information, call (732) 842-3570.
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"It’s His Birthday, Mr. Scrooge!" a musical drama for Christmas will be presented with a live band and chorus at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 12, 13 and 14 at the First Assembly of God, 220 Sycamore Ave., Shrewsbury. Doors open nightly at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free, however, a love offering will be taken. For more information, call the church at (732) 741-0048.
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The Monmouth County Park System will celebrate its annual "Holiday Happening" from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 7, at Thompson Park on Newman Springs Road, in the Lincroft section of Middletown. The event includes visits with Santa, wagon rides, kids’ races, a holiday sing-along and family entertainment. The stage presentations begin with a performance of the First Presbyterian Church Chapel Bell Ringers from 12:30-1:15 p.m., and conclude with a holiday sing-along from 4:15-5 p.m. There also will be strolling entertainment, and an arts and crafts show. Admission and parking are free. For more information or directions, call (732) 842-4000.
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The FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean County, based in Neptune, is in great need of food donations for the upcoming holidays. It hopes to reach a goal of 10,000 turkeys and hams to fill the needs of local food pantries, kitchens and other charities throughout the holiday season and coming months. As of this week, it had received about 3,500 turkey donations.
The FoodBank distributes emergency food to more than 230 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and other charities, which feed the needy throughout all of Monmouth and Ocean counties. In addition to frozen turkeys and canned or frozen hams, the most needed items include holiday trimmings such as stuffing, broth or gravy, cranberry sauce, canned fruits and vegetables, pie or muffin mix, beets, yams, instant potatoes, instant pudding, jelly and dry milk, as well as tablecloths, napkins, disposable roasting pans and can openers.
Donations may be dropped off at the FoodBank facility on Route 66 in Neptune, Monday through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, Nov. 8, 15 and 22, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Donations also can be left at several drop-off points, including both Windmills in Long Branch, Grossman’s Deli in the Oakhurst section of Ocean Township and Ice King in Tinton Falls (nonperishable only).
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Four distinctive private homes in Rumson and Little Silver will be featured on the 2003 Holiday House Tour, sponsored by the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey. The tour, now in its 33rd year, takes place from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Dec. 5, and benefits the VNA of Central Jersey hospice program.
On tour day, an optional luncheon, is offered at the Rumson Country Club, Rumson, and the Navesink Country Club in Middletown. A holiday boutique will be held at Bingham Hall, 40 Bingham Ave., Rumson, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The boutique will offer holiday
greens, plants, fresh arrangements and holiday gifts.
On Dec. 4, the eve of the house tour, a cocktail reception will be held at "Rohallion," the Rumson home of Anne and Walter Sinopoli.
The houses on the tour include the British colonial home of Robert and Leslie Bocchino, in Rumson; the riverside Dutch Colonial home of Isamu and Sachiko Sakane, in Little Silver; the English Tudor home of Peggy Sheridan, in Rumson; and the elegant open-plan home of Frank and Anne Delaney, in Rumson.
The beauty of the homes will be enhanced by holiday arrangements created by area garden clubs, which will be judged by the Garden Club of New Jersey.
The general chairman of the tour is B.J. Henderson of Rumson.
Tour tickets are $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, at $30 per person, must be prepaid.
Tickets to the cocktail reception the night before are $75. For tickets or additional information, call the VNA of Central Jersey Development Office, 176 Riverside Drive, Red Bank, at (732) 224-6791.
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The Monmouth Arts Foundation Music Association will hold its monthly musical coffee hour at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11, at the Monmouth County Library Eastern Branch, on Route 35 in Shrewsbury.
The speaker will be Dhriti Bagchi, an educator at the South Asian Centers for Language and Heritage in Manalapan and Franklin Township, Somerset County, who will present an illustrated program on the folk music and dance from regional areas of India. Bagchi, a resident of Manalapan, was born in the Madhya Pradesh province of Bengal. She has studied in India with a master of folk songs.
The coffee hour is free and open the public. For more information, call (732) 741-7237.
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The Monmouth County Cotillion Committee Inc., which provides scholarships to deserving seniors either graduating from a Monmouth County high school or living in Monmouth County, has announced three events leading up to its Debutante and Escort Scholarship Cotillion on April 14.
On Sunday, Jan. 4, an orientation tea will be held at Branches, West Long Branch. Sunday, Feb. 22, is mentor day at Asbury Park High School.
On Sunday, March 7, a fashion and talent show will be held at Asbury Park High School.
The cotillion, the 54th to be presented by the non-profit organization, will take place at 3 p.m. on April 24 at Convention Hall in Asbury Park.
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The Deep Cut Orchid Society will be holding its Eighth Annual Orchid Show, Feb. 26-29, at Monmouth Mall in Eatontown.
The displays will invoke fantasy gardens, rain forests and beautiful woodland paths overhung with majestic orchids. Over 23 landscaped displays, ranging in size from 25 to 150 square feet, will offer actual scenes painstakingly arranged to show the beauty of the plants in their natural environments.
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The Sea Bright Library is hosting an art show for three new artists — Mary Lynn Murphy, Tina Carnevale and Eileen Butler — throughout the month of November.
All three artists are professionally trained and are local residents. Murphy and Butler work in pencil, oil, pastels and lithography, while Carnevale is a potter.
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The Harvest Dinner-Dance, a fund-raiser for the Sea Bright Public Library, will be held on Nov. 22.
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The Monmouth Civic Chorus opens its 55th season Saturday, Nov. 22, at the First Presbyterian Church in Red Bank with a preview of its new CD, "Grace Notes," featuring favorite choruses from masterworks by Brahms, Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Rossini, Vivaldi and more. The chorus also will perform "Filius Prodigus," (The Prodigal Son) by the 18th century French composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier.
The program is offered under the chorus’ award-winning artistic director, Mark Shapiro. The concert beings at 8 p.m. at the church on Tower Hill at 255 Harding Road.
Tickets are $25 for general admission, $20 for seniors and students, and $18 for groups of 10 or more.
The CD may be pre-ordered for $15. Call (732) 933-9333.
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St. James Elementary School, Peters Place, Red Bank, will hold its annual Holiday Fair on Saturday, Nov. 22, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will feature holiday items, crafts, children’s accessories, baked goods, children’s games and crafts, and Santa Claus.
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The Campership of Monmouth County is holding a holiday luncheon on Dec. 11 at 11 a.m. at the Molly Pitcher Inn, Red Bank. There will be a chance auction and an opportunity to purchase the centerpieces. Fee is $40. All profits go toward sending physically, emotionally, mentally and financially challenged kids to summer camp. For reservations or more information, call Judy at (732) 758-1162.
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The Red Bank Elks Lodge will host its annual Hoop-Shoot contest on Dec. 7 at the Red Bank Regional High School Gym for kids ages 8-13. All entry applications must be in by Sept. 21. For more information, call Tom VanLaarhoven at (732) 291-3068.
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Christopher Wantuck, Joseph Melina and Arnold Silverberg will be honored at a testimonial dinner at the Red Bank Elks Lodge. $15 fee includes filet mignon, music and dancing. Formal attire is requested. For reservations, call (732) 737-1386 or (732) 741-0388.
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The Jersey Shore Charter School, which is taking a planning year after failing to secure a building in which to hold classes, is starting a new round of informational meetings for prospective students and parents.
The charter school will start with fifth, sixth and seventh grades and add an eighth grade in its second year. It plans to open in September with a maximum of 180 students. The school’s charter is to serve residents of Eatontown, West Long Branch and Oceanport, but it will accept students from other towns if it doesn’t fill all of the open slots with children from the core area.
The informational meetings are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Dec. 2 at the West Long Branch Library, 95 Poplar Drive; 7:30 p.m. Dec. 8 at the United Methodist Church meeting hall, 50 Main St. in Oceanport; and 7 p.m. Dec. 15 at the Eatontown Community Center, 58 Main St.
Joseph E. Lyons, a member of the school’s board of trustees, said the search for a building is on the back burner now, but the board expects to start looking again on the first of the year.