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 Interested
in the Commission's free publications? Visit the newly redesigned
Publications page by clicking on the "Free Publications"
icon on the Commission's Home page
 Celebrate
Mom!
Sunday,
May 11, 2008
at 2
pm,
East Jersey
Olde Towne Village
1050 River Road, Piscataway
Presenting
Celebrate Mom! annual
Mothers’ Day Program. Dressed in period clothing,
Stacey Roth of History
on the Hoof will explore the private thoughts and
popular image of women of the 18th century through songs,
quotations, poetry and prose. In this unique presentation audiences
will visit with humble heroines, brave Amazons, bold actresses,
wise wits, warriors in disguise, and backbones of society. Miss
Roth will sing songs by and about women from folk, historical, and
theater traditions, and illustrate the struggles, triumphs and private
thoughts of women, with a special emphasis on women of New Jersey.
ADA: After the Basics,
What Happens Next?
Tuesday, May 13, 2008, from 6 - 7:30 pm
East Jersey Olde Towne Village
1050 River Road, Piscataway
Middlesex County
Cultural and Heritage Commission presents,
ADA: After the Basics, What Happens
Next? This technical assistance workshop will be
led by Commission Executive Director, Anna
M. Aschkenes, and will focus on Programmatic Access (specific
to cultural events); Web Sites; Seating and Comfort; Historic Displays
and Art Exhibitions; and Labeling. This workshop is for arts and
history organizations, museums, municipal and civic groups, and
any organization that presents cultural programming to the public.
A light supper will be provided so participants can arrive directly
from work. The Workshop is free, but registration is required.
Anna M. Aschkenes
is the Executive Director for Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage
Commission, and one of the founding board members of the Cultural
Access Network, formerly known as the Arts Task Force for New Jersey.
Her agency has been the sponsor of Very Special Arts New Jersey
for more than 25 years. Ms. Aschkenes has long been considered one
of the national leaders regarding issues relating to persons with
disabilities. Ms. Aschkenes helped to prepare Access to the Arts:
An Arts Administration Guide for the National Endowment for
the Arts. She has been an ADA workshop presenter for the Endowment
and an ADA trainer throughout New Jersey for the past 15 years.
Bomba & Plena - The Drum Music of Puerto Rico
with Segunda Quimbaba Percussion &
Dance Ensemble
Sunday, May 18, 2008 at 2 pm
Crossroads Theatre
7 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick
Bomba and Plena are two distinct
musical rhythms that reflect Puerto Rico’s African heritage. Bomba
has a 300 year history on the island, and was the African community’s
interpretation of the Eurocentric dances of the 19th
century. Although not as old as Bomba, Plena is considered
the "sung newspaper" of Puerto Rico as the dances reflect
the daily lives of the working class.
Established in 1989, the Jersey City-based
Segunda Quimbamba Ensemble preserves
the music and traditions of Puerto Rico through performances and
workshops. Founder and director Juan Cartegena has been recognized
as a master folk artist by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
The Ensemble has performed at Jersey City Museum, Newark Public
Library, Princeton University, Rutgers University, NJN Public Television,
as well as at many local cultural festivals and events.
Coming
in June...
Celebrate Dad!
Sunday,
June 8, 2008, at 2 pm,
East Jersey
Olde Towne Village
1050 River Road, Piscataway
Save the date for Celebrate
Dad! annual Father’s Day storytelling program. Stories
are appropriate for all ages. Storyteller to be announced.
EXHIBIT CLOSING!
 Down
The Shore: The Coastal Heritage of New Jersey exhibition
is closing June 15th! To see
this unique interpretation of the history of the Jersey Shore, visit
the
Cornelius
Low House Museum
1225
River Road, Piscataway
Public Hours: 1 - 4 pm,
Tuesday - Friday & Sunday
Office Hours: 8:30 am - 4:15 pm
Monday - Friday
School & Group Tours by appointment
732.745.4177 for more info
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Down the Shore Lecture Series
Final Lectures in Series!
Middlesex County
Cultural & Heritage Commission and the Cornelius
Low House announce the final lectures in the Down
the Shore Lecture Series.
Both lectures take place at the Indian
Queen Tavern at East Jersey Olde Towne Village, 1050
River Road, Piscataway. The lecture series is free
and open to the public, but advance registration
is required.
 Arthur
Pryor: Ragtime Pioneer
Sunday
May 18, 2008
2 pm
Rick Benjamin
Although
his name is no longer well known, Arthur Pryor (1870-1942)
was once one of America’s most important musical figures. He was
a great trombonist, a celebrated conductor, and the composer and
promoter of some of the most popular tunes of the early 1900s -
the emerging ragtime style. At the turn of the century ragtime,
a hybrid of African American syncopation and European melodies was
sweeping the country. Arthur Pryor, as assistant conductor for John
Philip Sousa, introduced this new musical genre to the Sousa Band,
and ragtime acquired a patina of respectability. Pryor later made
Asbury Park his home base, where he and his own band became famous
performing at the band shell for Victorian tourists each summer.
Pryor was truly Asbury Park’s first musical superstar.
Rick Benjamin
has built a career on the discovery and performance of American
music from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
He is the founder and director of the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra,
which uses his extraordinary 9,000 title collection of antique theater
and dance orchestra music (c.1875-1925) as the basis of its repertoire.
In addition to his work with Paragon, Mr. Benjamin maintains active
careers as a musician and guest conductor, as well as researcher,
lecturer and author.
New
Jersey Shipwrecks
Wednesday
May 21, 2008
7 pm
Margaret T. Buchholz
New Jersey’s coast was a magnet
for wayward ships, especially in the 1800s, when 4000 wrecks were
documented. During a storm, any northeast gale would blow an inbound
sailing vessel onto shore – the Jersey shore.
The prevailing northeast wind and the configuration
of the coastline, plus the large numbers of immigrant and commercial
trade vessels coming into New York Harbor with its constantly shifting
shoals, made getting in safely a gamble in the best of weather.
Many of the wrecks that are documented, often through the testimony
of survivors, and photos of the wrecks will be discussed with other
maritime disasters like submarine warfare off New Jersey in two
world wars, the Morro Castle fire and early airship crashes offshore.
The development and growth of the US Coast Guard will be included
in the discussion.
Born in Manhattan during the Great Depression,
Margaret Thomas Buchholz was
brought by her parents to Harvey Cedars, New Jersey, just in time
to be evacuated by the Coast Guard during a northeaster storm. After
college, she purchased The Beachcomber, a Jersey Shore weekly
newspaper, and published it seasonally for 35 years. Ms. Buchholz
is co-author of Great Storms of the Jersey Shore (1993, Down
The Shore Publishing), which The New York Times called "one
of the best documented compendiums ever published of what it meant
to be there."
Did you miss
The Rise, Fall & Resurrection
of New Jersey Doo Wop Architecture?
Click
here to view historian
Stephanie M. Hoagland's
Power Point presentation.
Used with permission. All rights reserved.
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Commission Featured on WCTC
Festival of the Arts
On the January 20, 2008,
edition of Festival of the Arts,
a live WCTC radio program hosted
by Linda Toborowsky every
Sunday at 5 pm, Commission Executive Director Anna Aschkenes
was invited to talk about cultural diversity in the arts, and how
it is celebrated here in New Jersey.
Click here to listen to the interview:
part 1,
part 2, part 3,
part 4, part 5
For info about Festival of the Arts,
visit:
http://festivalofthearts.50megs.com/index.html
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Thank you for voting
The Cornelius
Low House Museum
One of the Best
museums in central Jersey for 2005,
2006 & 2007
in the
Home News Tribune Readers’ Choice Best of Central Jersey Poll
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The
January - August 2008 Cultural Calendar is now available.
Call the Commission to request a copy, 732.745.4489,
or visit your local library or Senior/Community Center.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you would like to be added to our
mailing list, please call the Commission,
732.745.4489 and select: Newsletter, Cornelius
Low House Museum, Folklife, East Jersey Olde Towne
Village, or any combination of those choices.
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Programs are
offered free of charge unless otherwise specified.
Please Note:
Registration is required
for all events, as space is limited. Please call 732.745.4489
for registration information and directions to event
locations. Persons with hearing disabilities may call, 732.745.3888
(TTY users only), or 711, the New Jersey Relay System.
Program
sites are accessible. An Assistive Listening System
is in use and available during all programs. An American Sign
Language interpreter can be provided with a two-week advance request.
Wheelchairs are also available upon request
at the Village and Low House for visitors who may need assistance
from the parking lot to the programs.
All event dates, times and locations are subject to change.
Please call for more information.
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