Community Calendar

A candlelit journey into the Upside Down featuring the music of Stranger Things, iconic 80s hits, and legendary rock classics performed by an NJFO string ensemble, narrated by Maestro David Wroe. 

Saturday, July 25 at 5:00 PM & 7:00 PM
The Presbyterian Church Chapel, Westfield

Sunday, July 26 at 2:30 PM
Sieminski Theater, Basking Ridge

Tickets: www.njfestivalorchestra.org/concerts

The Gallery at Mercer County Community College is hosting the Mercer County Artists Exhibition through July 1 .

This annual juried exhibition showcases the remarkable talent thriving within our local community. Each year, artists who live, work, or study in Mercer County are invited to submit their work for a chance to be featured at the West Windsor Campus Gallery and receive several distinguished honors, including Best in Show, Juror's Choice, and the prestigious Mercer County Culture and Heritage Commission Purchase Award.

This year's event drew nearly 200 submissions, with 30 pieces by 27 distinct artists selected for display. The works are a vibrant and dynamic mix of size and media, ranging from traditional painting and drawing, to printmaking, ceramic and other mixed media works, highlighting the diverse voices and creative depth of Mercer County's artistic community.

Sponsors are the Mercer County Culture and Heritage Commission and Blick Art Materials. The 2026 juror was Elizabeth Massa.

The exhibit can be viewed during the Gallery's regular hours:

Monday/Wednesday 12:00PM - 6:00PM

Tuesday/Thursday 10:00AM - 4:00PM

Friday 12:00PM - 4:00PM

TOMS RIVER – Join writer/performer Alex Dawson and folk singer Arlan Feiles as they perform spoken word and ballads from their Room to Swing an Ax song cycle from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday, July 27 at the Toms River Branch of the Ocean County Library.

Like Waylon Jennings’s Man Called Hoss, Dawson and Feiles use spoken word and half a dozen biographical ballads to pull you through the mud and blood of a flinty, magical life on a haunted horse farm in rural Alabama.

Room to Swing an Ax begins the morning Dawson’s stepdad, a rancher named Doc, hit him in the head with a five-pound Fireside Friend. It ends with the old man dead, buried by bucket loader, among his horses. There are witches in the woods, snakes in the lake, ghosts in the barn, and trapped in every bent tree is the soul of someone who died wrong.

Stylistically, Room to Swing an Ax is Big Fish meets Blaze Foley, and Daivd Allan Coe meets Edgar Allan Poe.

Registration is required for this free program. To register, visit tinyurl.com/DawsonOCL, call 732-349-6200, or stop by the branch at 101 Washington Street.

The Gallery at Mercer County Community College is hosting the Mercer County Artists Exhibition through July 1 .

This annual juried exhibition showcases the remarkable talent thriving within our local community. Each year, artists who live, work, or study in Mercer County are invited to submit their work for a chance to be featured at the West Windsor Campus Gallery and receive several distinguished honors, including Best in Show, Juror's Choice, and the prestigious Mercer County Culture and Heritage Commission Purchase Award.

This year's event drew nearly 200 submissions, with 30 pieces by 27 distinct artists selected for display. The works are a vibrant and dynamic mix of size and media, ranging from traditional painting and drawing, to printmaking, ceramic and other mixed media works, highlighting the diverse voices and creative depth of Mercer County's artistic community.

Sponsors are the Mercer County Culture and Heritage Commission and Blick Art Materials. The 2026 juror was Elizabeth Massa.

The exhibit can be viewed during the Gallery's regular hours:

Monday/Wednesday 12:00PM - 6:00PM

Tuesday/Thursday 10:00AM - 4:00PM

Friday 12:00PM - 4:00PM

The Gallery at Mercer County Community College is hosting the Mercer County Artists Exhibition through July 1 .

This annual juried exhibition showcases the remarkable talent thriving within our local community. Each year, artists who live, work, or study in Mercer County are invited to submit their work for a chance to be featured at the West Windsor Campus Gallery and receive several distinguished honors, including Best in Show, Juror's Choice, and the prestigious Mercer County Culture and Heritage Commission Purchase Award.

This year's event drew nearly 200 submissions, with 30 pieces by 27 distinct artists selected for display. The works are a vibrant and dynamic mix of size and media, ranging from traditional painting and drawing, to printmaking, ceramic and other mixed media works, highlighting the diverse voices and creative depth of Mercer County's artistic community.

Sponsors are the Mercer County Culture and Heritage Commission and Blick Art Materials. The 2026 juror was Elizabeth Massa.

The exhibit can be viewed during the Gallery's regular hours:

Monday/Wednesday 12:00PM - 6:00PM

Tuesday/Thursday 10:00AM - 4:00PM

Friday 12:00PM - 4:00PM

Mercer County Community College is hosting a Farmers Market on campus beginning June 10, open to both the Mercer community and the public. This market reflects the college's ongoing commitment to supporting local agriculture across the region and provides a wonderful opportunity to engage community members and invite them to grow with us through our Horticulture and other degree programs.

The market will be held every other week through September 16, rain or shine, in the parking lot next to the University Center.

Local vendors will be selling a variety of products, including fresh produce, jams, cold-pressed juices, breads, pastries, teas, honey, books, pickles, artisan soaps and more. The market will also be selling ice cream, donated by The Bent Spoon in Princeton, with all proceeds supporting the MCCC Food Pantry.

Vendor inquires may be sent to FarmersMarket@mccc.edu.

LAVALLETTE – Transport yourself back in time with “The Music that Defined the Big Band Era” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 29 at the Upper Shores Branch of the Ocean County Library.

Listen to Ortley Beach’s own Tony Corrao as he brings the audience to an era of sophistication, swing, style, and Sinatra. Corrao blends classical appeal with modern flair, using his captivating voice and magnetic stage presence. He was selected by the Count Basie Theatre in 2012 as a cast member for the Sinatra Birthday Bash. In 2015, he won first place in the Sinatra Idol competition in Hoboken.

This program is generously sponsored by the Friends of the Upper Shores Branch. The Friends are volunteers who help preserve, strengthen, and support the library through supporting branch activities, sponsoring fundraisers, and attending community and civic events as library advocates. Visit theoceancountylibrary.org/oclfriends or stop by your local OCL branch to learn how to get involved.

Registration is required for this free program. To register, visit tinyurl.com/BigBandOCL, call 732-793-3996, or stop by the branch at 112 Jersey City Avenue, Lavallette.

The Gallery at Mercer County Community College is hosting the Mercer County Artists Exhibition through July 1 .

This annual juried exhibition showcases the remarkable talent thriving within our local community. Each year, artists who live, work, or study in Mercer County are invited to submit their work for a chance to be featured at the West Windsor Campus Gallery and receive several distinguished honors, including Best in Show, Juror's Choice, and the prestigious Mercer County Culture and Heritage Commission Purchase Award.

This year's event drew nearly 200 submissions, with 30 pieces by 27 distinct artists selected for display. The works are a vibrant and dynamic mix of size and media, ranging from traditional painting and drawing, to printmaking, ceramic and other mixed media works, highlighting the diverse voices and creative depth of Mercer County's artistic community.

Sponsors are the Mercer County Culture and Heritage Commission and Blick Art Materials. The 2026 juror was Elizabeth Massa.

The exhibit can be viewed during the Gallery's regular hours:

Monday/Wednesday 12:00PM - 6:00PM

Tuesday/Thursday 10:00AM - 4:00PM

Friday 12:00PM - 4:00PM

Boston-based British/American modern blues powerhouse Bees Deluxe are buzzing back into Tuckerton New Jersey with their electrifying live show, landing at The Lizzie Rose Music Room on Friday July 31st at 8:00 PM. Fresh off advancing to the semi-finals this year at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis.
The Lizzie Rose Music Room is a special stop for the band. “It feels like home to us,” says guitarist Warre. “We’ve made so many friends there, and we always look forward to playing the Lizzie Rose."

An intimate, world-class listening room the Lizzie Rose is an intimate live performance venue in a beautifully restored 1860 Sea Captain’s House, located in the small coastal borough of Tuckerton that hosts every kind of music genre: blues, folk, jazz, rock, bluegrass, and singer-songwriters. .
Bees Deluxe is a four-piece electric band touring relentlessly from Maine to Miami and as far west as the Cleveland House of Blues. Regulars at premier venues including Daryl’s House Club, The Lizzie Rose Music Room, The Bull Run, Black Eyed Sally’s, and Boston City Winery, the band seamlessly blends classic blues (Etta James, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Otis Rush) with modern icons like Robert Cray, Jimi Hendrix, and ZZ Top—plus striking originals of their own. Founding member Warre was in a high school band with Paul Kossoff, of the band Free. He toured Europe with Joe Jackson and The English Beat, then moved from London to New York where he became a fixture on the stage at the legendary CBGB’s. In Boston, he formed Bees Deluxe to celebrate the music he fell in love with while touring and playing legendary London clubs like Rainbow Theatre, Ronnie Scott's, Dingwalls, The Music Machine and the Moonlight Club. Before forming Bees Deluxe he was Production Manager for Rykodisc the first music audio CD company in the States where he worked directly with Frank Zappa, Yoko Ono, Richard Thompson, David Bowie, Mickey Hart and others. Carol Band is a classically trained pianist who was recruited while playing jazz in Boston’s club scene. She also writes tunes and wows audiences with her blazing harmonica solos.

Opening the evening is Eclipse - Original Progressive Jazz Fusion, the Cape May based eclectic ensemble at 7:30 pm.

The Gallery at Mercer County Community College is hosting the Mercer County Artists Exhibition through July 1 .

This annual juried exhibition showcases the remarkable talent thriving within our local community. Each year, artists who live, work, or study in Mercer County are invited to submit their work for a chance to be featured at the West Windsor Campus Gallery and receive several distinguished honors, including Best in Show, Juror's Choice, and the prestigious Mercer County Culture and Heritage Commission Purchase Award.

This year's event drew nearly 200 submissions, with 30 pieces by 27 distinct artists selected for display. The works are a vibrant and dynamic mix of size and media, ranging from traditional painting and drawing, to printmaking, ceramic and other mixed media works, highlighting the diverse voices and creative depth of Mercer County's artistic community.

Sponsors are the Mercer County Culture and Heritage Commission and Blick Art Materials. The 2026 juror was Elizabeth Massa.

The exhibit can be viewed during the Gallery's regular hours:

Monday/Wednesday 12:00PM - 6:00PM

Tuesday/Thursday 10:00AM - 4:00PM

Friday 12:00PM - 4:00PM