A painting by Ocean Township third-grader Jenny Lee is on display at the Monmouth Museum as part of Children’s Art Month. Local student artists will be honored at a reception at the Monmouth Museum, Lincroft, by the Art Educators of New Jersey on Sunday, March 21, 2-3:30 p.m. For the 11th year the Monmouth Museum will celebrate Children’s Art Month with the exhibition, Children’s Art: Water, Water Everywhere, which will run through April 8. The marine motif of the museum’s WonderWing provides the theme for this year’s exhibition. Art teachers have selected the artworks of their preschool, elementary and secondary-school students.
The exhibition is organized by Helene Boedart, art educator in the Long Branch elementary school system, and is publicized statewide through the Art Educators of New Jersey Bulletin. Schools in Atlantic Highlands, Freehold, Holmdel, Howell, Long Branch, Ocean, Manasquan, Red Bank, Rumson and Spring Lake will be represented in the show.
The Monmouth Museum is located on the Brookdale Community College in Lincroft section of Middletown, at parking lot No. 1. The Lower Gallery where the Children’s Art will be on exhibition is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5. The Museum is closed on Mondays. Call for hours for the WonderWing and the Becker Children’s Wing, 732-747-2266. Admission is $5.
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Women’s History Month events at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft include two, one-woman shows.
On March 23, "Tea for Three: Lady Bird, Pat and Betty" will be presented in the MAN building, Room 105, from 10-11:30 a.m. The free event, sponsored by the Student Life Board and Women Students’ Organization, provides an intimate look at three first ladies, women who found themselves thrust into the public eye. Emmy Award-winning actress Elaine Bromka will star in the production, which was written by Eric H. Weinberger with Bromka.
March 30, Cecelia "Cece" Antoinette will star in a Lunchtime Theater production of "Watermelon: Git It While It’s Hot!!!" The production delves into Cece’s roots and her childhood in a segregated neighborhood in Dallas. The performance will take place in the Warner Student Life Center. Tickets, which include lunch, are $10, $5 for staff and may be reserved by calling (732) 224-2788 or 224-2315.
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Brookdale will host the 23rd Annual Black Maria Film and Video Festival and Tour March 24, beginning at 7 p.m. in the NAS building, Room 100. The free event is open to the community. The annual open competition for independent film- and videomakers presents a highly varied and provocative collection of new works. For more information about the event, call (732) 224-2601. For information about the festival, visit www.blackmariafilmfestival.com.
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Harry’s Roadhouse, Cookman Avenue, Asbury Park, will host an original music showcase featuring four up-and-coming original bands March 24. Titled "Joe’s Garage," the event will give the bands the stage and the opportunity to showcase their music to fans of new music and to be a part of the blossoming music scene in Asbury Park.
"Joe’s Garage" is designed to bring together musicians creating the area music scene and those who support it. Bands performing on March 24 have styles that lean toward the lyrical and melodic side of rock music and have established themselves as respected original bands. The schedule is as follows: 8:30 p.m., Chance of Rain; 9:30 p.m., The Ayes; 10:30 p.m., The Commons; 11:30 .p.m. Ether. Doors open at 8 p.m. and admission is $5.
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Spring arrives March 20 and Sickles Market will celebrate the first day of spring with its annual Back to the Garden Open House, an all-day event designed to help gardeners learn about the latest gardening techniques and trends. All gardening programs are free, but registration is required. Sign up in person at Sickles Market, 1 Harrison Ave., Little Silver, or online at www.sicklesmarket.com or call (732) 741-9563.
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The Alumni Association of Brookdale Community College is seeking submissions for its 18th Annual Juried Art Show. Entries will be received May 10, noon – 8 p.m., in the Center for Visual Arts Gallery. Hope R. Proper, curator of exhibitions, Perkins Center for the Arts, Moorestown, will judge entries.
For the first time this year, the BCC Alumni Association Juried Art Show Committee will award a scholarship to a Brookdale art student.
Selected artworks will be on display May 14-June 16 in the CVA Gallery. The public is invited to a free opening reception in the gallery May 14, 7-10 p.m. For information, call (732) 224-2705.
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The Performing Arts Center at Brookdale Community College, Lincroft, will present "The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood" by Middletown playwright Mary Lynn Dobson. Production dates are April 17 and 24 at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and April 18 and 25 at 2 p.m. Tickets for the comical spoof on the original "Tale of Robin Hood" are $5. The production is a comedy for all ag-es. Both adults and youn-ger children will be drawn to the physical humor and soph-isticated story sit-uations. John Bukovec will direct a student and community ensemble that includes Cass E. Otten, of Shrewsbury, and Carolyn Hodge, of Fair Haven. For tickets, call the box office at (732) 224-2411.
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In a bold stroke, the Two River Theatre Company has chosen to set a classic play in an unusual setting. TRTC’s adaptation of "Miss Julie" features an interracial cast and places the legendary tale of gender and class struggle in the post–Civil War South. One of the most popular works of modern drama, "Miss Julie" was written by August Strindberg more than 20 years later and was banned in the author’s native Sweden. Jane Page will direct the drama about an erotic game of power, money and betrayal between two people separated by class and hereditary backgrounds. Heather Lee Anderson will play Miss Julie, Ed Blunt will portray Jean, and Nedrah Banks will play Kristine. Performances are today through April 4 at the Algonquin Arts Theatre, Manasquan. Tickets are $19-$35 and $12 for students and may be reserved by calling the box office at (732) 345-1400 or visiting www.trtc.org.
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The Rumson Country Club will present a program, "Putting Personality in Your Garden," by horticulturist David Wilson April 22 at 11 a.m. The program will profile Garden Splendor perennials, shrubs, vines and grasses, as well as varieties suited to the Jersey Shore area and include ideas and suggestions to apply to home gardens. Admission is $40 and includes luncheon and raffle. The event is a prelude to the Two Rivers Antiques Show and Garden Tour, which will take place June 11-13 in Rumson. For reservations, contact the Monmouth Medical Center Foundation at (732) 923-6886.
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The Monmouth Conserva-tory of Music will present a 75th birthday concert in honor of one of its faculty members April 18 at 3 p.m. at the Red Bank Middle School on Harding Road and Branch Avenue. The tribute to composer/conductor/pianist Gilman Collier will include performances by pianists Helen Benham, Jan Dash, conservatory director Vladislav Kovalsky and Collier; baritone Jeremy Lees; oboist Jeffrey Hale; English horn player Ilonna Pederson; trumpeter David Dash; and a string quartet. For ticket information, call the conservatory at (732) 741-8880. The concert will be repeated April 21 at 8 p.m. at the Ruth Hyman Jewish Community Center, 100 Grant Ave., Deal Park. For information, call the JCC at (732) 531-9100, ext. 129.
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April Cool, an evening of live jazz, great food, cocktails and stimulating conversation will take place April 1, 7-10 p.m., at Al Mare, 95 West End Ave., in the West End section of Long Branch. The event is a benefit for The Center in Asbury Park. Proceeds will benefit The Center’s campaign to raise funds to build Center House, a 25-unit facility to house people living with HIV/AIDS. Chuck Lambert Bank, a five-piece combo, will be featured. Tickets are $125 per person and include open bar, hors d’oeuvres, a buffet, coffee and dessert. Reservations, limited to 100 guests, can be made by calling (732) 946-2711.