• Freehold Elks Lodge No. 1454, 73 E. Main St., Freehold, will hold its sixth annual Bike Show from 6-9 p.m. July 12. Prizes to be awarded in several motorcycle categories. No entrance fee. Live music, vendors and food for purchase. All are welcome to attend.
• The Freehold Elks Veterans Committee, with the help of Elk Brother and Hall of Fame artist Gary Cavico, will host a “BBQ and Blues Jam for the Brave” from 5-9 p.m. July 21 at the Freehold Elks Lodge, 73 E. Main St., Freehold. Proceeds to benefit local veterans. A $15 donation is requested. All are welcome to attend.
• The Monmouth County Board of Freeholders will host a blood drive at the Monmouth County Agricultural Building, Freehold Township, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 11. The Central Jersey Blood Center is offering $10 gasoline cards or Amazon gift cards to every person who donates blood that day. The CJBC reminds donors they must eat before donating. Donors must be healthy, at least 17 years old and weigh at least 120 pounds. Appointments are encouraged, but not necessary. Call 732-842-5750, ext. 243 and ask for Karen McGowan to make an appointment.
• The Marlboro Recreation Department will host concerts at the Marlboro Recreation Community Center, Wyncrest Road. All are welcome to attend and the concerts are free. On July 15 at 7 p.m., Garden State Radio will perform. The concert will be followed by a fireworks display. On Aug. 5 at 7 p.m., 1980s tribute band Rubix Kube will perform. Patrons are encouraged to bring a blanket or a lawn chair. No dogs, smoking or alcoholic beverages are permitted. Details: 732-617-0100.
• Residents of all communities are welcome to attend an outdoor Shabbat sing-along and child-friendly service at 6 p.m. July 6 at Temple Beth Ahm, 550 Lloyd Road, Aberdeen Township. Following the service, refreshments will be served, along with make your own cocktails. Details: Email [email protected] or call 732-583-1700.
• The Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District Board of Education will hold a committee of the whole meeting at 7:30 p.m. July 10 at 54 Main St., Englishtown. The meeting is open to the public.
• The Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District Board of Education will hold a regular action meeting at 7:30 p.m. July 24 at 54 Main St., Englishtown. The meeting is open to the public.
• New Jersey Blood Services will conduct a blood drive from 2:30-8:30 p.m. July 20 at the Co-Cathedral of St. Robert Bellarmine, 61 Georgia Road, Freehold Township. The blood drive is open to the public. Details: 1-800-933-2566.
• Hilltop Swim Club, a nonprofit swim club on Clarksburg Road, Roosevelt, will hold a potluck open house from 3-7 p.m. July 8. Anyone interested in joining the swim club is welcome to attend. New members must buy a share in the swim club for $600, and the cost can be spread out over three years, no interest. Members pay annual dues of $625 each season. The club is limited to 75 shareholder families. Details: Email Dianna Moore at [email protected] or call 609-488-7742.
• Center Players Dessert Theater has rescheduled its free dramatic play reading of “The Emperor’s New Duds,” an adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson’s “The “Emperor’s New Clothes,” for 2 p.m. July 7 at the historic Oakley Farm, 189 Wemrock Road, Freehold Township. The play is appropriate for families and children over 5 years old. This adaptation was written by Center Players’ Artistic Director Bernice Garfield-Szita. Audience members are asked to bring a blanket or lawn chair. The rain date is July 8 at 2 p.m.
• Coastal Jersey Parrot Head Club is presenting a fundraiser, “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer,” an evening with Peter Mayer, lead guitarist and vocalist for Jimmy Buffet’s Coral Reefer Band, and Brendan Mayer on July 14 at 7 p.m. at Lakewood Elks Lodge No. 1432, 711 W. Kennedy Boulevard, Lakewood. Tickets cost $45 and include entertainment and a barbecue dinner. Doors open at 4 p.m. Send checks made out to CJPHC-PM, P.O. Box 4038, Brick, NJ 08723 or www.itickets.com/events/ 399825.html. Other entertainers include Suburban Relics with guest Boomer Blake, Magic Twangers, and Nicky Fabbz. Details: Art Chikofsky, 732-929-1708.
• A blood drive will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 14 at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, 1 Phalanx Road, Colts Neck. Call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed. A blood donor card or a driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in.
• Companion Animal Rescue and Education will hold its next puppy adoption event at Petco, 95 Route 9 South (near Whole Foods), Marlboro, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 7. For more information and to see available puppies, visit www.carenj.com
• On July 15 from 10-11 a.m., The Hebrew Academy (formerly Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Monmouth County) will host a PJ Library program for children age 6 months to 6 years old. Families will celebrate National Ice Cream Day with a PJ Library themed book, crafts and ice cream snack. Sam Levine, the school’s music teacher and certified PJ Library songwriter, will entertain guests. This free event is open to the community. An RSVP is required to Linda Glickstein, [email protected] or 732-431-5525.
• The Freehold Borough K-8 School District Board of Education meetings originally scheduled for July 17 at the Freehold Learning Center, and Aug. 7 and Aug. 21 at the Park Avenue Complex will all be held in the Borough Council meeting room at Borough Hall, 51 W. Main St., Freehold Borough, at 7 p.m. on those dates. Immediately preceding the Aug. 7 meeting, there will be a Committee of the Whole meeting at 6 p.m. for the purpose of goal-setting for the 2018-19 school year. The meeting locations have been changed due to ongoing construction work at the Freehold Learning Center and at the Park Avenue Complex. The meetings are open to the public and action will be taken. Details: 732-761-2100.
• The 28th annual St. Thomas Rosary Society Giant Flea Market, in memory of Marco Guarino, will be held from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Aug. 18 in the church parking lot, 1 St. Thomas Plaza, off Route 18 south, Old Bridge. Rain date is Aug. 25. All are welcome to attend.
• The 28th annual St. Thomas Rosary Society Giant Flea Market, in memory of Marco Guarino, will be held from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Aug. 18 in the church parking lot, 1 St. Thomas Plaza, off Route 18 south, Old Bridge. Rain date is Aug. 25. Spaces are $15 for one or $25 for two. Table rentals are $5 each. No refunds. No selling of food or drink concessions permitted. All trash must be removed. To RSVP, call Charlotte Guarino at 732-257-0721.
• Discover a variety of fish, crabs and other sea creatures when the Monmouth County Park System hosts Seining Along Sandy Hook Bay at Bayshore Waterfront Park, Port Monmouth, Middletown, from 11 a.m. to noon, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, June 25 through Aug. 24. This program invites area residents to join park system naturalists as they seine the water and identify the aquatic creatures caught. This free program is open to all ages, under 18 with adult. Participants should meet on the beach. Closed-toe shoes are required. Details: 732-842-4000.
• The Monmouth County Fair will be held at the East Freehold Showgrounds, Kozloski Road, Freehold Township, from July 25-27, 5-11 p.m., July 28, 3-11 p.m., and July 29, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will be 4-H exhibits, amusement rides, entertainment, home and garden competitions, opening night fireworks, and more. Admission is $8 per person; age 12 and under enter free.
• Join a Monmouth County Park System roving naturalist for a walk and discuss seasonal points of interest, search for signs of wildlife, and identify a bird or two at 9 a.m. July 7 at the Dorbrook Recreation Area, Route 537, Colts Neck. Meet in the soccer field parking lot. This is a 90-minute to two-hour program, but feel free to join in or drop out at any point. Dress for the weather as light rain is not a deterrent. The activity is free.
• Mill demonstrations at Historic Walnford, Walnford Road, Upper Freehold Township, will be offered on July 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22, 28 and 29 from 1-4 p.m. See the 19th century gristmill in action. The activity is free.
• The Monmouth County Genealogy Society invites the public to enjoy “Someone Must Wash the Dishes,” an anti-suffrage satire written in 1912 and performed by professional actress Michele LaRue at 2:30 p.m. during the July 8 meeting of the Monmouth County Genealogy Society at the Community Center, 72 Broad St., Eatontown. The program is part of the genealogy society’s 30th anniversary celebration. Details: 732-747-0090.
• The Italian American Association of Monmouth County will host an Italian culture enrichment camp from July 23 to Aug. 3 (Monday-Friday) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (included-lunch made by camper on premises) at the Reformed Church of Freehold, 67 W. Main St., Freehold. Cost per camper: $250 for child/grandchild of current IAA members; $300 for non-members. Age groups: 5 years old to teenagers. Activities: Italian language lessons, Italian crafts, Italian games, Bocce, Scopa, Tombola, cooking lessons and more. Details: Cheryl Scuorzo, 732-536-5832 or www.iaaofmc.com and click on Events/Meetings.
• 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 will be day stitch-ins at the Colts Neck Library from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 19 and, Aug. 16. Details: Toni, 732-462-5540, or www.mcega.org
• Jewish War Veterans of the USA Post 536, serving Marlboro and Manalapan, holds a breakfast meeting on the third Sunday of every month at the Covered Bridge clubhouse at 10:30 a.m. The post will pay a new member’s first year dues. All veterans who served during the Korean War, Vietnam War, Iraqi Freedom and Iraq/Afghanistan wars are welcome. Details: Email Leo Rosenzweig at [email protected] or call 917-848-2146.
• Disabled American Veterans Chapter 74, Freehold, will meet at 7 p.m. July xx at the American Legion, 62 W. Main St. Freehold. Chapter members, DAV members-at-large who are seeking a chapter and veterans with disabilities who are seeking assistance and advice are welcome to attend the meeting. Dinner of pizza and subs is provided.
• American Legion Molly Pitcher Post 434, Manalapan, is seeking individuals to join the organization’s regular membership, Sons of the American Legion, Ladies Auxiliary and Legion Riders. Membership is open to residents of any town. The cost of a new member’s first year of membership will be covered by the post. Details: 732-446-9872 (11 a.m. to 8 p.m.) or Facebook @al434
• The Manalapan-Englishtown Community Alliance to Prevent Alcoholism and Drug Abuse has launched its Project Zero website at projectzeromanalapan.com. Project Zero is the alliance’s initiative to reset the narrative in Englishtown and Manalapan regarding substance abuse. The website contains information about where residents can go for assistance.
• The Deep Cut Orchid Society meets at 7:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month 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.
• 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.
Items for the Datebook may be sent to [email protected]. Please send items at least two weeks prior to a scheduled event.