– Theater slates special events along with play
Two River Theater at 21 Bridge Ave. is presenting “Your Blues Ain’t Sweet Like Mine” through May 3. Written and directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, the production is under the leadership of Artistic Director John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst.
In conjunction with the drama, which focuses on America’s relationship with race, the theater has scheduled three special events.
The exhibit, “Gene Alexander Peters Collection of Rare and Historic African American Artifacts” will take place in the theater’s lobby from 6-8 p.m. April 23. The exhibit chronicles five critical periods for African-Americans. Gene Alexander Peters, a cultural history consultant and collector, will speak about the collection from 7:15-7:45 p.m.
A Spanish-captioned performance of “Your Blues Ain’t Sweet Like Mine” will be presented from 2:30-4:45 p.m. April 26. As part of the theater’s Nosotros series, which makes theater accessible to Latino audiences, the drama will be translated into Spanish via a screen visible to the audience. While adults watch the play, children can enjoy stories, theater games and snacks in the theater lobby under the supervision of bilingual teaching artists and babysitters. Tickets for this performance are $10. Patrons should use the code “Spanish captions” when booking.
A panel discussion with Mayor Ed Johnson, former Gov. James McGreevey and Santiago-Hudson will take place from 4:45-6 p.m. April 26. The discussion will center on creating social change.
For more information, call 732-345-1400 or visit www.tworivertheater.org.
– Embroidery group hosts April exhibit
The Monmouth Chapter of the Embroiderers’ Guild of America will host the free exhibit of fine needle arts, “With Needle and Thread,” 10 a.m.-4 p.m. April 25 and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. April 26 at the Middletown Arts Center, 36 Church St., Middletown.
The exhibit will showcase various needlework styles, including crewel, canvas work, beading, quilting, bargello and cross-stitch. Projects completed by members will be on display, and there will also be embroidery demonstrations.
For more information, call 732-706-4100 or visit www.middletownarts.org.
– Sea Bright to host inaugural kite festival
The Sustainable Sea Bright Committee will hold its first annual Sea Bright Kite Festival at 11 a.m. April 25 at Sea Bright’s public beach.
Kite flying is for all ages, and the open space of the public beach provides an excellent place to accommodate this fun, community-building event. In addition, there will also be prizes and giveaways courtesy of local Sea Bright businesses.
The festival is the first of many activities planned by the Sustainable Sea Bright Committee.
– Healthy Kids Day slated for April 25
The Community YMCA will host Healthy Kids Day on April 25 at three locations. The free event is intended to inspire kids to keep their minds and bodies active. The community is invited to partake in physical games, arts and crafts, healthy snacks and more.
Healthy Kids Day activities will be held 9 a.m. to noon at the Family Health and Wellness Center, 166 Maple Ave., Red Bank; Camp Arrowhead, 521 Route 520, Marlboro; and Camp Zehnder, 3911 Herbertsville Road, Wall.
In celebration of Healthy Kids Day, the Y offers the following tips to help families develop healthy habits:
• Try, try, repeat: There are many great-tasting fruits and vegetables that many kids have never heard of, let alone tried. Grab a new fruit or vegetable, and encourage everyone in the family to try at least a bite.
• Play around town: Challenge the family to play on a different playground each week. Identify playgrounds at a variety of parks, and expand definitions of playgrounds to include nature trails, a nearby stream or bike path.
• Families at play for an hour a day: From walking to shooting hoops, make playful movement a part of the family’s day.
• Foster a passion for reading: Read to and with children at every age and every stage of their development.
• Make sleep a priority: Doctors recommend 10-12 hours of sleep a day for children age 5-12 and 7-8 hours per night for adults.
For more information, call 732-671-5505 or visit thecommunityymca.org.
– University to host women’s forum
Monmouth University will host the women’s forum, “The Unpaved Road to Success: How New Jersey Business Leaders Forged Their Path,” at 4:30 p.m. April 30 at the university’s Wilson Auditorium, 400 Cedar Ave.
Linda Bowden, Valerie Montecalvo and Karen Siciliano will discuss their experiences in overcoming gender stereotypes and becoming successful business leaders.
Peter S. Reinhart, director of Monmouth University’s Kislak Real Estate Institute, will facilitate the panel discussion.
Bowden is the regional president of PNC Bank and has been named among the “25 Women to Watch” by U.S. Banker magazine and was recognized as one of the “Best 50 Women in Business” by NJBiz. She serves on the boards of the Drumthwacket Foundation, Newark Celebration 350, New Jersey Performing Arts Center and the William Paterson University Foundation. She is also a member of the executive committees of the Adler Aphasia Center, New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Choose New Jersey. She is a Fairleigh Dickinson University Pinnacle recipient, the highest honor awarded to alumni.
Montecalvo is owner and CEO of Bayshore Recycling Corporation (BRC), a nationally recognized and award-winning facility in Woodbridge. BRC’s Eco-Complex and Energy Campus have been coined the “Mega-Mall for Recycling” by former New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner, Lisa Jackson. Montecalvo has been an invited speaker, panelist and moderator for numerous symposiums and events for the “Going Green” campaign across New Jersey. She is a trustee of The New Jersey chapter of The Nature Conservancy.
Siciliano is president of Siciliano Landscape Company in Red Bank. She worked in finance for 18 years, serving as vice president of JP Morgan and Chase Manhattan Bank. After the 9/11 attacks, she left Wall Street to take over her family’s 80-year-old landscape business. Siciliano is an executive officer on the Board of Trustees for the Monmouth Medical Center Foundation, a board of director member for the Count Basie Theatre Foundation and a member of the advisory board for Investors Bank. She was the first female elected as president of the 35,000-member student body at Purdue University.
This event is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required by calling 732-571-3423 or visiting monmouth.edu/business-school/Womens-Forum-RSVP.aspx.
– Congregation to host talk by climate activist
The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Monmouth County will host Harriet Shugarman, who will present, “Women Motivating Climate Hope,” at its 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday services on April 26 at 1475 W. Front St., Lincroft.
All are welcome to the services, which will incorporate Earth Day recognition and be led by Unitarian Universalist Ministerial Intern, Craig Rubano, the congregation’s Climate Action Team and music director Louise Chernosky.
Shugarman, founder and executive director of Climate Mama, will discuss how climate disruption affects women and children first and most severely. She was designated the honored speaker for 2015 on behalf of the late Dr. Myra Zinke’s bequest to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation for an annual speaker on women’s issues.
Shugarman is on the board of the North Jersey Public Policy Network as well as her town’s Environmental Commission and other regional and local environmental committees. She has spent much of her professional life as an economist and policy analyst, including 13 years as a representative at the United Nations for the International Monetary Fund. For more information about Shugarman, visit www.climatemama.com.
For more information about the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Monmouth County, visit www.uucmc.org.
– Conference on environment April 25
Clean Water Action will hold its 29th annual conference, “Act4CleanWater,” from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. April 25 at the Warner Student Life Center at Brookdale Community College, 765 Newman Springs Road, Lincroft.
The conference will feature an environmental roundtable session with New Jersey’s top reporters and political leaders. Senators Ray Lesniak (D-Union) and Tom Kean Jr. (R-Morris), Assemblyman Dan Benson (D-Mercer) and Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande (R-Monmouth) are scheduled to speak on the panel.
There will be eight skills and issue workshops, networking opportunities and green vendors and organizations on site.
Environmental awards will be given to Ken Dolsky of the Coalition to Stop Pilgrim Pipeline (CAPP), Paul Miller of Franciscan Charities, Pinelands Commissioner D’Arcy Rohan-Green and Louise Usechak of the Monmouth County League of Women Voters.
Registration is $30 for adults and $15 for students. A continental breakfast and lunch are included. Low-income scholarships are available. For more information or to register, contact Jenny Vickers at 732-963-9714 or visit www.cleanwateraction.org/act4cleanwater.
– Learn about wool, sheep at historic farm
The Historic Longstreet Farm will host Wool Days/Sheep Shearing from 12-3 p.m. April 25 and 26 at 44 Longstreet Road, Holmdel.
Events will include sheep-shearing activities and demonstrations by sheep-herding dogs. Visitors can enjoy wagon rides to a neighboring site, the Monmouth County Historical Associations’ Holmes-Hendrickson House, where staff will demonstrate the way wool was used in Colonial America with spinning and weaving activities.
Admission and parking are free. For more information, visit www.monmouthcountyparks.com or call the Park System at 732-842-4000. For persons with hearing impairment, the TTY/TDD number is 711.
– Chamber of commerce sets networking event
The Eastern Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce (EMACC) will hold a Burgers, Brews and Networking event from 5:30-8 p.m. April 30 at Dive Coastal Bar and Food Joint, 1072 Ocean Ave., Sea Bright.
The networking schedule for the upcoming summer season will be presented at this event, which will feature a varied menu and cash bar.
EMACC’s networking events are designed to encourage real-time relationship building with people in diverse business categories. Future networking opportunities will be scheduled at various venues in Long Branch and Highlands.
Advanced registration is $25 for members and $35 for nonmembers. To register for this event or learn more information, call 732-741-0055 or visit www.emacc.org.
– Maternal mental health topic of film
Births, Babies and Beyond will host a screening of the documentary, “Dark Side of the Full Moon,” at 6 p.m. April 29 at 620 Tinton Ave., Building A, Suite 203, Tinton Falls.
The film focuses on maternal mental health and the inconsistencies of care when new motherhood meets complications, such as postpartum mood and anxiety disorders and psychosis. The film also addresses the failure of the medical community to effectively screen, refer and treat the more than 1.3 million mothers who suffer from mental health complications each year in the United States.
Coleen Markey, LCSW, will lead a post-film discussion. Refreshments will be served.
Tickets are $15 and available at www.tugg.com/events/13576. For more information, call 732-460-1300, ext. 302 or visit www.birthsbabiesandbeyond.com.
– Chorale group to hold garage sale fundraiser
The Shrewsbury Chorale will hold its giant annual garage sale from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday, April 25, at First United Methodist Church, 103 Monmouth Road, Oakhurst.
Proceeds will benefit The Shrewsbury Chorale, which performs a varied repertoire in an annual series of subscription concerts in addition to performances for various community organizations.
The sale will feature hundreds of items and baked goods available for purchase. For more information, call 732-513-8413 or visit www.shrewsburychorale.org.
– Evening of poetry readings slated
Congregation B’nai Israel (CBI) will host a “Café Pinsky 2015, The Poet Next Door” event at 7 p.m. April 27 at 171 Ridge Road, Rumson. The evening will feature readings by local Jewish poets.
Named for Long Branch native, Robert Pinsky, who served as the U.S. Poet Laureate from 1997-2000, the free event will feature poetry readings, music, light refreshments, coffee and tea. All are welcome to attend.
For more information, contact CBI Director Emilie Kovit-Meyer at 732-842-1800, ext. 203 or visit www.cbirumson.org.
– Garden club to meet April 23
The Oceanport Garden Club will meet 10:30 a.m. April 23 at the recreation building at Blackberry Bay Park on Port Au Peck Avenue, Oceanport.
The floral design theme is “Greetings from Special Places in New Jersey.” After the business meeting and a brown bag lunch, members will depart for a tour of the historic Longstreet Farm in Holmdel.
At the last meeting, 110 small spring arrangements were presented to residents of the Oceanport Gardens building.
For more information, call Penny at 732-229-8274.
– Synagogue to host gala April 25
Congregation B’nai Israel (CBI) will host a “Bene Fete Fundraiser and Gala” at 7:30 p.m. April 25 at 171 Ridge Road, Rumson. The event will honor congregants and raise essential funds for the synagogue. All are invited to attend.
This year’s honorees include Gloria and Gene Landy, Jody Woolley, Anne and David Zack and Stacey Rassas Klinge.
Tickets are $136 each and include cocktails, dinner, dancing and a silent auction. Tickets for the raffle are available for an additional $10. For tickets and detailed sponsorship information, visit benefete.cbirumson.org.
For more information about CBI, contact Emilie Kovit-Meyer at 732-842-1800, ext. 203 or emilie.kovit-meyer@cbirumson.org.