• iPlay America, Freehold Township, will host an American Red Cross blood drive from 2-7 p.m. Oct. 24. The event will be sponsored by the Sunrise Optimist Club of Freehold. Appointments to donate are preferred, however, walk-ins are welcome. Individuals interested in donating blood may call Maureen at 732-616-2193 or email [email protected]
• Companion Animal Rescue and Education will hold its next puppy adoption event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 12 at PetValu in the Epicentre, 55 Route 9 South, Manalapan (between Wegmans and Target). To see photos of pets available for adoption, visit www.carenj.com
• Freehold Elks No. 1454 Motorcycle Committee will host a bike raffle drawing party and bike show from 1-6 p.m. Oct. 12 at 73 E. Main St., Freehold. A $20 donation includes food, drink and live music. Raffle tickets for a 2019 Harley Davidson Soft Tail Deluxe Motorcycle will be available, as well as tricky tray prizes. Bike show trophies will be awarded in six categories. All are welcome to attend.
• Temple Beth Shalom, 108 Freehold Road (Route 522), Manalapan, will hold its fall vendor event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 27. Vendors will be selling jewelry, clothing, sports memorabilia, children’s products, books, makeup, household goods, art, crafts, etc. Details: 732-446-1200.
• Freehold Elks Lodge No. 1454, 73 E. Main St., Freehold Borough, will serve their “All You Can Eat, Made to Order Breakfast” from 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 20 (last seating is 11:30 a.m.) Cost is $9 for adults and $5 for children under 12. All are welcome to attend.
• CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township, is inviting women of all ages to the lecture “Sugar, Stress and Sex” featuring women’s wellness speaker Deb Kern and humorist and professional organizer Jamie Novak from 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 12 at the Star and Barry Tobias Ambulatory Campus. Participants will learn how the sugar-stress cycle affects them. Space is limited and registration is required. To register, call 732-308-0570.
• New Jersey Blood Services will conduct blood drives which are open to the public: Oct. 27, 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Temple Shaari Emeth, 400 Craig Road, Manalapan. To donate blood, call 1-800-933-2566 or visit nybloodcenter.org
• The Monmouth County Park System is hosting “Hula: Sacred Dance of Hawaii” from 6-7 p.m. on Mondays, Oct. 28 through Dec. 2, at the Dorbrook Recreation Area Activity Center, Route 537, Colts Neck. The class will be taught by a native Hawaiian instructor. The cost is $80 per person and pre-registration required. To register, call 732-842-4000, ext. 1.
• A fall turkey supper will be held at the First Presbyterian Church of Englishtown, 50 Main St., Englishtown. All are welcome to attend on Nov. 2 for a buffet style turkey supper. There will be one seating at 5 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults. Children (5-12) are $5. Children under 5 are free. For tickets, call 908-385-0203.
• The Colts Neck Shade Tree Commission will hold public meetings at 7:30 p.m. on the following dates in the meeting room at Town Hall, 124 Cedar Drive, Colts Neck: Nov. 7 and Dec. 5. Details: 732-462-5470.
• The Monmouth County Park System will sponsor The Casual Birder on Oct. 17 at 9 a.m. at Dorbrook Recreation Area, Route 537, Colts Neck. Meet in the soccer field parking area; and on Oct. 31 at 9 a.m. at the Manasquan Reservoir, Howell. Meet in the Environmental Center parking lot. Join a naturalist for a laid-back morning bird walk. Open to ages 8 and up; under 16 with adult. This is a free event. Details: 732-842-4000.
• “Real Information About Childhood Vaccines: What You Should Know” will be presented by registered nurse Vicki Keller-Warnock at 7 p.m. Oct. 10 at the Freehold Public Library, East Main Street, Freehold Borough. The public is welcome to attend; no registration required.
• The Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County presents “Louis Bamberger and the Rise of the Jewish Community in Newark,” an illustrated talk by Linda B. Forgosh, executive director of the Jewish Historical Society of New Jersey, at 1 p.m. Oct. 23 at the Jewish Community Center of Jersey Shore, 100 Grant Ave., Deal. Admission is $4 for museum members and $6 for non-members. To make a paid reservation (non-refundable), call 732-252-6990.
• The 2019 Discussion Series will continue with “Positive Parenting (Grand Parenting) Strategies” from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Oct. 28 at the Co-Cathedral of St. Robert Bellarmine, 61 Georgia Road, Freehold Township. Shari Carpman, a licensed professional counselor and registered play therapist, will be the presenter. The series is sponsored by Kathy Lo Bue, managing director, Glen Eagle Advisors. The series is free, non-sectarian and open to the community. RSVP to 732-866-6660.
• The Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County, 310 Mount’s Corner Drive, Freehold Township, will present a talk by Susan Addelston, “The Elite Eight Jewish Supreme Court Justices,” at 2 p.m. Oct. 27. Admission is $8 for museum members and $10 for non-members. To make a paid reservation (non-refundable), call 732-252-6990, or visit www.jhmomc.org
• The Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District Board of Education will hold the following meetings: Oct. 15, 7:30 p.m., regular action meeting, 54 Main St., Englishtown; and Oct. 29, 7:30 p.m., 54 Main St. Englishtown. Regular business will be conducted. The meetings are open to the public. Details: 732-786-2500.
• The Monmouth County Park System will present Thompson Park Day from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 20 at Thompson Park, Route 520, Lincroft. There will be pumpkin painting, wagon rides, children’s races, entertainment and more. Some activities have a fee. Admission and parking are free. Details: 732-842-4000.
• The Monmouth County Park System will present mill demonstrations on Oct. 12, 13, 19, 20, 26 and 27 from 1-4 p.m. at Historic Walnford, Walnford Road, Upper Freehold Township. See a 19th century gristmill in action. This is a free event. Details: 732;842-4000.
• The Monmouth County Park System will present “Here Lies . . . Historical Headstone Carving” from 1-4 p.m. Oct. 26-27 at Historic Walnford, Walnford Road, Upper Freehold Township. Watch a craftsman carve a traditional slate headstone while sharing some early American social history about customs for passing from this life to the next. This is a free event. Details: 732-842-4000.
• Freehold Memorial Day Parade Committee, in conjunction with Jersey Freeze, Freehold, will host a fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Oct. 15. Jersey Freeze will donate 20% of a customer’s pre-tax check to the committee to aid in putting on the parade in 2020. Tell the ladies you are there for the parade fundraiser when you pay (restaurant or ice cream). Visit www.freeholdmemorialdayparade.com, to download the flier.
• Pink Ribbons of Central New Jersey will host the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Walk on Oct. 20 at the Renaissance at Manalapan adult community, 24 Derry Meeting Drive. Check-in starts at 8:45 a.m. and the walk starts at 10 a.m. Minimum donation to register for the walk is $25. Breakfast follows the walk for paid registrants only. Details: Helene Cohen, 732-577-0303.
• A craft fair will be held at the Freehold Township Senior Center, 116 Jackson Mills Road, Freehold Township, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 9. Vendor tables are available ($15 for a 6-foot table). A variety of craft and holiday items will be available for purchase. Details: 732-294-2029.
• Embroiderers’ Guild of America-Monmouth Chapter is dedicated to teaching and sharing the joys of needlework. Stitchers of all levels are welcome to attend a meeting. There are sit-and-stitch tables at each meeting, as well as special projects. Day stitchers will meet from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 17 at the Colts Neck Community Church, 25 Merchant Way, Colts Neck. Details: Toni, 732-462-5540, or www.mcega.org
• Meet a wolfdog in person when the Monmouth County Park System hosts “Wolves in Freneau Woods” from 7-8 p.m. Oct. 17 at the Freneau Woods Park Visitor Center, Aberdeen Township. There will be wolfdogs from Howling Woods sanctuary. This program is open to all ages; those under 18 with adult. The cost is $12.50 per person. Pre-registration is required. To register, call 732-842-4000.
• The 24th annual Monmouth County Archives and History Day will be held on Oct. 12 at Monmouth County Library Headquarters, 125 Symmes Drive, Manalapan. At 1 p.m., actress and writer Michele LaRue will present her interpretation of contemporary writing from the late 19th and early 20th centuries in a piece entitled “Someone Must Wash the Dishes: An Anti-Suffrage Satire.” Details: Visit MonmouthCountyClerk.com/Archives or call 732-308-3771, ext. 3776.
• Monmouth County will hold a paper shredding event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 12 at Colts Neck Town Hall, 124 Cedar Drive, Colts Neck. County residents may bring up to 100 pounds of documents to be shredded. Details: See the recycling section of the county website at www.VisitMonmouth.com or call 732-683-8686, ext. 6721.
• The Lakewood Historical Society and the Lakewood Heritage Commission are inviting the public to “An Afternoon with Boxing Icon Joe Louis” presented by boxing historian Eamo Clyne from Dublin, Ireland, at the Lakewood Historical Museum, Pine Park, at 2 p.m. Oct. 27. During World War II, Joe Louis lived and trained in Lakewood. He competed from 1934-51 and was the world heavyweight champion from 1937-49. Tickets are $5 and include light refreshments. For tickets, contact Sheila Hager at 848-240-5184 or [email protected]
• Samaritan Center, a joint ministry of St. Thomas More and Old Tennent Presbyterian churches, operates a food pantry to provide supplementary food for those in need in Manalapan, Marlboro, Englishtown and Millstone Township. For information, call 732-446-1142 and make an appointment. Pickup dates are Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30-11:15 a.m. and Saturday from 9-11 a.m. Volunteers will gladly carry food to a client’s vehicle. Donations of funds and food are gratefully accepted to support the operation of the center. Volunteers are always welcome.
• The New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, will present “Preserving the Pinelands: Albert Horner’s Portraits of a National Treasure,” opening Oct. 12. The exhibition features images by photographer Albert Horner which capture the quiet beauty and intimate landscapes of New Jersey’s Pinelands National Reserve. A number of artifacts and scientific specimens from the museum’s collections help tell some of the stories of the land, animals, people and industries that make this unique area a state and national treasure. “Preserving the Pinelands” will be on view through June 28, 2020. Details: www.statemuseum.nj.gov
• The Jewish Home for Rehabilitation and Nursing, 1151 W. Main St. (in the Pond View Professional Park), Freehold Township, hosts a free monthly support group called the Jewish Caregiver’s Experience. The group meets at 7 p.m. on the last Tuesday of each month. Caregivers of all ages seeking support, resources and a Jewish perspective on managing their responsibilities are welcome to attend. Kosher refreshments served. Details: Jolie, 732-202-1000 or email [email protected]
• The New Jersey State Museum, 205 W. State St., Trenton, is presenting “Many Inspired Steps” to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Currently on view through Nov. 10, the exhibition uses a variety of objects and images to examine the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union, the pioneers of space travel and other state connections to the landing and the space program. Admission is free; donations requested. Details: 609-292-5420 or visit statemuseumnj.gov
• “New Jersey Baseball: From the Cradle to the Major Leagues” is on exhibit at the Morven Museum and Garden, Princeton, until Oct. 27. The exhibition tells the story of New Jersey’s role in the history of early organized baseball through artifacts, text, images and other visuals. There are interactives that offer educational opportunities, as well as demonstrations with hands-on experiences. Details: morven.org
Items for the Datebook may be sent to [email protected]. Please send items at least two weeks prior to a scheduled event.