The Princeton Jazz Orchestra will be performing this weekend at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
The Philadelphia Jazz Orchestra is comprised of the best high school and college jazz musicians in the Greater-Philadelphia and New Jersey regions.
PJO, under the direction of Joe Bongiovi, is entering its ninth season in 2011. Since its formation, PJO has played for audiences all over the world.
The following musicians from Cranbury are in performing with PJO at the Kennedy Center — Alex Anderson, Ivy Miller, Max Dickey and Max Currier.
The PJO also will be performing in Princeton at the high school Friday, Aug. 5, at 7 p.m. The performance will be the closing session of the PJO Jazz Camp, which many younger Cranbury musicians participate in over the summer.
PJO plays regularly in Philadelphia at Chris’s Jazz Café, located on Sansom Street. The orchestra will be at the café again the first two Wednesday evenings in August.
PJO has traveled to Italy for the past two summers and is preparing for a 10-country tour of Europe in the summer of 2012.
Laura Burke, a teacher at Cranbury School, invites the community to attend the August FUNdraiser for Raising Hope for Others Inc.
The event will take place Sunday, Aug. 14, from 2 to 5 p.m. at 461 Tennent Road in Manalapan.
A petting zoo, dunk tank, pony rides, crafts and a silent auction are all part of the fun.
Laura helped to establish Raising Hope for Others Inc to help her cousin, Kathleen, through treatment for pancreatic cancer. The group’s first fundraiser in 2007,”Raising Hope for Kathleen,” allowed her additional treatment options not covered by her insurance.
Although Kathleen passed away that next winter, her legacy continues.
In recent years, the group has established a scholarship in memory of Philip Frank, a young man from Matawan who died serving in Iraq.
This year’s FUNdraiser will benefit Tara Palaima, who is battling breast cancer.
Funds also will be donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation in memory of Chad Michael Horne, of Freehold, who was killed by a drunk driver.
For more information visit the organization’s Facebook page or website at http://raisinghopeforothers.blogspot.com/.
The August exhibit at the Gourgaud Gallery will feature the work of Zara Fina Stasi, Cranbury resident and artist, whose show is titled, “21 Years of Painting: Travels and Experiences From around the Globe.”
Meet the artist Friday, Aug. 5, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the gallery.
Zara is a rising senior at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg Virginia, where she is majoring in studio art, concentrating on painting, and history.
Zara began painting at a young age and continued throughout her time at Cranbury School, showing her paintings in a variety of juried art shows. At William and Mary, Zara has been recognized for her painting and art history research for which she has received two research grants that allowed her to study and paint in France and Italy.
Zara’s work can be found at the West End Garage in Cape May, New Jersey, where she and her sisters have a boutique showcasing her artwork, handmade jewelry, vintage items and other home furnishings.
Her work can be viewed at inspiaggia.wordpress.com or zarafinastasi.wordpress.com.
Zara’s paintings in the Gourgaud Gallery show are for sale with 20 percent of each sale going to support the Cranbury Arts Council and its programs. Cash or a check made out to the Cranbury Arts Council is accepted as payment.
New dates have been added for walking tours of historic Cranbury, beginning next Thursday, Aug. 4, and Aug. 11 and 18 (Thursdays) plus Tuesday, Aug. 23 and 30.
Tours take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., weather permitting. To sign up e-mail your name, cell number and number in your party to [email protected].
The tours are presented by the Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society and begin at the Cranbury Museum, 4 Park Place East, behind Cranbury Bookworm.
Residents can reach Ms. Sedor by phone at 609-655-3386, by e-mail at [email protected] and by mail at 32 Evans Drive, Cranbury, N.J. 08512.
