• Freehold Elks Lodge 1454 Motorcycle Committee will host its fifth annual Bike Show/Bike Night from 6-9 p.m. July 13 at 73 E. Main St., Freehold. Bikes will be judged and trophies will be awarded in eight categories. Live music featuring Jen Barnes and the Great Unknown. Admission is free. Raffles, food and drinks will be available for purchase. All are welcome.
• Freehold Elks Lodge 1454 Veterans Committee, with the help of Elk Brother and Blues Hall of Famer Gary Cavico, will host a BBQ and Blues Jam for the Brave from 5-9 p.m. July 15 at 73 E. Main St., Freehold. A donation of $10 is requested. All are welcome. Details: Mary, 732-489-0510.
• Embroiderers’ Guild of America-Monmouth Chapter welcomes stitchers of all levels. There are sit and stitch tables at each meeting, as well as special projects. Evening stitchers will meet from 7-9 p.m. Aug. 7 at the Colts Neck Library, 1 Winthrop Drive. Sunday’s group will not meet in August. Day stitchers will meet from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 17 at the Colts Neck Library. Details: Toni, 732-462-5540, or www.mcega.org
• The Monmouth County Audubon Society will host a summer evening bird walk on Sandy Hook in northern Monmouth County at 6 p.m. Aug. 24. Meet in parking lot M (5.7 miles from the entrance gate). Follow Hartshorne Drive, the main park road, north to Atlantic Avenue, then right on Ford Road to parking lot M. All are welcome to attend. Advance registration is not required. This trip will involve walking in sand for about one-third of a mile each way along Fisherman’s Trail at the northern tip of Sandy Hook. Details: http://www.monmouthaudubon.org or email [email protected]
• A car show, concert and fireworks will be presented at the Manalapan Recreation Center, Route 522, at 6 p.m. July 21. Registration for the car show is $5 in advance or day of show. Prizes will be awarded and plaques given to all participants. Free admission to concert and fireworks. Entertainment by the Route 80’s Band at 8 p.m. (music of the 1980s). Food and drinks will be available. Bring chairs and blankets. For car show information, email [email protected]
• The Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District Board of Education will meet on July 25 at 7:30 p.m. for a regular action meeting at 54 Main St., Englishtown. The meeting is open to the public.
• Companion Animal Rescue and Education (CARE) will hold a puppy adoption event at Petco, 4345 Route 9 North (Pond Road shopping center), Freehold Township, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 15. For more information and updates, or to see available puppies, visit www.carenj.com
• The Deep Cut Orchid Society meets at 7:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month (Aug. 8) at the Monmouth Reform Temple, 332 Hance Ave., Tinton Falls. There is a speaker, refreshments and a discussion of plants on the show table. There is no cost to attend and everyone is welcome.
• The Italian American Cultural Society of New Jersey invites members of the public to its July 13 dinner meeting at Basile’s Italian Restaurant, 536 Park Ave., Freehold. Special guest Candice Guardino will speak about her new play, “Italian Bred,” coming to Asbury Park this summer. The July 13 dinner is $35 per person for society members and $45 for non-members. Cash is preferred, no credit cards. To reserve seating, call Anthony Grassi at 917-743-3311 or Richard Favara at 732-861-9465.
• The Freehold Borough K-8 School District Board of Education has made changes to its meeting schedule. The July 17 meeting will be moved to 7 p.m. July 18 at the Freehold Learning Center. The Aug. 7 meeting will be moved to 7 p.m. Aug. 8 at the Park Avenue complex. The Aug. 21 meeting will be moved to 7 p.m. Aug. 22 at the Park Avenue complex. The Oct. 9 and Oct. 23 board meetings are cancelled. The board will meet on Oct. 16 at the Freehold Learning Center.
• The fourth annual PJ Library Summer Carnival will take place at Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Monmouth County, Marlboro, from 10-11:30 a.m. Aug. 6. The carnival will feature inflatable rides, games, face-painting, prizes, snacks and special guest appearances. Admission is free, but advance registration is required to attend. Details: Linda Glickstein, 732-431-5525.
• The Old Bridge Toastmasters Club meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month from 7:15-9 p.m. at the Sayre Woods Bible Church, 2290 Route 9 South, Old Bridge. The club seeks to help individuals become better speakers and better leaders. There is no cost to attend a meeting and residents of all towns are welcome to attend. Details: 908-906-4926 or http://oldbridge.toastmastersclubs.org/
• The Monmouth County Audubon Society will host a bird walk on Sandy Hook in northern Monmouth County at 6 p.m. July 20. Open to society members and non-members. Meet at 6 p.m. in parking lot M. Follow Hartshorne Drive (the main park road) north to a right turn onto Atlantic Avenue, then right on Ford Road to parking lot M. No cost to participate. Bring binoculars and dress appropriately for the weather. Insect repellent is recommended. Details: http://www.monmouthaudubon.org or email [email protected]
• Embroiderers’ Guild of America-Monmouth Chapter is dedicated to teaching and sharing the joys of needlework. Stitchers of all levels are welcome. There are sit and stitch tables at each meeting as well as special projects. Evening stitchers will meet July 17 from 7-9 p.m. at the Colts Neck Library, 1 Winthrop Drive, Colts Neck; Day stitchers will meet July 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Colts Neck Community Church, 25 Merchants Way, Colts Neck. Details: Toni, 732-462-5540, or www.mcega.org
• The Monmouth County Fair will run from July 26-30 at the East Freehold Showgrounds, Kozloski Road, Freehold Township. Admission is $8 per person. Children 12 and under are free. The fair gate will be open from 5-11 p.m. July 26-28; from 3-11 p.m. July 29; and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 30. Entries will be accepted for the Home and Garden competition. To download a brochure, visit www.MonmouthCountyFair.com
• The Italian American Association of Monmouth County is accepting registration for an Italian Summer Enrichment Camp to run from July 23 through Aug. 4 (Monday-Friday), 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (included, lunch made by camper on premises) at St. Rose of Lima, Freehold Borough. Cost: $300 for child/grandchild of an IAA member; $350 for non-member. Ages: 5 years old to teenage. Activities include Italian language lessons, Italian crafts, Italian games, cooking lessons and more. To register, download a form at www.iaaofmc.com. Details: Cheryl Scuorzo, 732-536-5832.
• The Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth Country, Freehold Township, announces its next journaling series, “Our Stories, Ourselves – Jewish Journaling and More,” facilitated by Michele Bernstein Klausner. This series is based on the museum’s new exhibit, “Three Centuries of Growth and Change: A History of Jews in Monmouth County.” The workshop is held Tuesdays from 10:30 a.m. to noon. The fee is $5 per session. Details: 732-252-6990.
• Look for turtles, egrets, herons, ospreys and other wildlife during a boat tour of the Manasquan Reservoir, Howell. Each 45-minute tour leaves from the Visitor Center, Windeler Road, Howell. Tours are offered at the top of the hour from 2-5 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, May 6 through Sept. 4. Wednesday tours are offered at 2, 3 and 4 p.m. from July 5 through Aug. 30. Evening tours are offered on the first Friday of each month May through September; call 732-751-9453 as times vary for the evening tours. All tours are weather and water level dependent. The fee is $6 per adult and $4 per child age 12 and under.
• The Essential Tremor Support Group meets from 7-9 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month (Aug. 3) at the Jack Aaronson Conference Center at CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township. Details: 732-462-8304, after 10 a.m.
• New Jersey Blood Services is in need of volunteers to work blood drives in Ocean and Monmouth counties. Tasks include assisting donors with registration, watching donors for post-donation reactions and responding to their needs. Details: Jan Zepka, 732-616-8741.
• The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance will meet in the spiritual center of St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, 1 Phalanx Road, Colts Neck, from 7:30-9 p.m. every Thursday. Details: 732-536-5826 or 732-320-0029.
Items for the Datebook may be sent to [email protected]. Please send items at least two weeks prior to a scheduled event.