• The Heart of New Jersey Chorus is holding open auditions in all voice parts. The chorus rehearses every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Millstone Township Primary School, 18 Schoolhouse Road, Millstone Township. Individuals who are interested in auditioning may call 732-446-9782.
• Ongoing sessions of “Dancing by the Peddie Lake with Candace Woodward-Clough,” offering instruction in swing, foxtrot, waltz and Latin dancing, will be held at 112 Etra Road, Hightstown. Classes will run continuously on Thursday and Friday. Beginner/Intermediate class starts at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $15 per person for the one-hour class. Pre-registration is required by calling 732-995-4284 or email [email protected]
• Monmouth County Park System will host a Splendid Spring Stroll from 10-11:30 a.m. March 25 at Clayton Park, Upper Freehold Township. Join a park system naturalist on a peaceful trail walk. Sturdy footwear is recommended as trails used may have inclines or tree roots to step over. This is a free program. Details: 732-842-4000.
• Monmouth County Park System will present “Functional and Fanciful, the History of Aprons” from 1:30-3 p.m. March 8 at Historic Walnford, Upper Freehold Township. Explore the historic and sociological implications of this item of everyday wear. Attendees are encouraged to bring a favorite apron and share its story in this informal yet informative program. This is a free program. Details: 732-842-4000.
• Monmouth County Park System will present “World War II Women on the Home Front” from 1:30-3 p.m. March 14 at Historic Walnford, Upper Freehold Township. Discover the important and varied roles women filled during World War II and learn how this period in history began an era of change that is still being experienced today. This is a free program. Details: 732-842-4000.
• Judy Russell, the Legal Genealogist, will speak at the Monmouth County Genealogy Society meeting on March 8 at the Community Center, 72 Broad St., Eatontown. Russell will speak on “Doing Time – Prison Records as Genealogy Resources.” There will be refreshments and networking at 1:30 p.m., followed by the business meeting and
speaker at 2 p.m. Admission is free and the public is welcome. Details: 732-747-0090.
• A class reunion for all Lakewood High School graduates will be held on Aug. 22-23. All proceeds from the event will benefit students with financial difficulties so they may attend college. On the afternoon of Aug. 22, there will be guided tours at the Sheldon Wolpin Historical Museum, Lakewood. From 7-11 p.m. Aug. 22, there will be a casual get-together at the Lakewood Country Club. Cost is $50 per person. From 10 a.m. to noon Aug. 23, there will be a continental breakfast at the historical museum. Cost is $10 per person. Details: Judie Bloom Singer, 732-364-7854 or [email protected] or June Passadin D’Elia, 732-363-4695 or [email protected]
• Sue Kozel will delve into the murder of Wench Betty, a New Jersey slave, and her murderer’s subsequent court proceeding during a program at the Allentown Public Library, 16 S. Main St., at 7 p.m. March 19. The program will discuss the disregarded lives of slaves while exploring the Revolutionary War ideas of freedom and liberty. Space is limited and registration is required. Kozel will be a residential fellow with the International Center for Jefferson Studies this year. Details: 609-259-7565.
• Registration is open for the spring 2020 HEWYBL flag football season. The league is open to boys and girls ages 4 to 18. Registration deadline is March 15 and the season will run from early April until early June. Games are played at Disbrow Hills Park in East Windsor. Registration ranges from $85 to $160, depending on division. There will be player evaluations and a draft. Register online at www.HEWYBL.com. Select Register in the upper right corner and follow the instructions. Details: Eric Updegraff at [email protected]
• Allentown’s free annual rabies clinic is scheduled for 9-11 a.m. March 7 in the municipal annex on Church Street (across from La Piazza). People who bring their pet for a rabies shot do not have to be residents of Allentown, but must be residents of Monmouth County. Borough staff will be on hand to process animal licenses.
• The Land Conservancy of New Jersey is accepting applications for its 2020 scholarship
program. Potential candidates must be New Jersey residents currently enrolled in (and in good standing at) an accredited college or university, with at least 15 credits completed and an academic average equivalent to a 3.0 or higher. The scholarships are for residents who are pursuing degrees in environmental science, natural resource management, conservation, park administration and related fields. Deadline to apply is April 1. Applications can be downloaded from www.tlc-nj.org or obtained by calling 973-541-1010, ext. 14.
• The fifth annual Home Garden Symposium presented by the Rutgers Master Gardeners of Monmouth County will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 28 at the Rutgers Cooperative Extension, Monmouth County Agriculture Building, 4000 Kozloski Road, Freehold Township. There will be lectures, demonstrations, exhibits about invasive species and more. Pre-registration ($10) is required. Vist tinyurl.com/HomeGarden2020. Details: Email [email protected] or 732-303-7614.
• Monmouth County Park System will present the Casual Birder at 9 a.m. Feb. 27 at Crosswicks Creek Park, Upper Freehold Township (meet in the Province Line Road parking area). Join a park system naturalist for a bird walk. No experience identifying birds is required. Dress for the weather (including light rain or snow). Free. Details: 732-842-4000.
• The Fresh Air Fund’s Friendly Towns Program is seeking local families to host children from New York City this summer. The Fresh Air Fund has provided free summer experiences to more than 1.8 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877. First time Fresh Air children are boys and girls, ages 7 to 13, who live in New York City. Details: Karen Medlin, 732-740-0449, or visit www.FreshAir.org
• Forsgate Country Club, Monroe Township, will host Camp Forsgate in weekly sessions from June 29 through Aug. 14 for children ages 5-10. Camp runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Before-care and after-care will be available. Camp activities include golf, fitness, swimming, arts and crafts, STEM and more. Weekly tuition: Members, $330; Non-members, $370. Details: www.kecamps.com
• The New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, is presenting “Preserving the Pinelands: Albert Horner’s Portraits of a National Treasure.” 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. Details: www.statemuseum.nj.gov
• 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.
• “Fine Feathered Friends: Birds as Mainstay and Muse” is open at the New Jersey State Museum, Trenton. The exhibition brings the fun of bird watching indoors through nearly 200 rarely seen artifacts and specimens exploring birds as an ecological mainstay and their role as a design-inspiring force, or muse, for New Jersey artisans. The exhibition will be on view through Sept. 13. Museum hours are 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday; closed on Mondays and state holidays. Details: www.statemuseum.nj.gov
Items for the Datebook may be sent to [email protected]. Please submit items at least two weeks prior to a scheduled event.