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is your go-to spot for reviews, announcements and information about northern and central New Jersey theater, music, dance, museum exhibits and activities for adults, kids and their families. Click the tabs to find an event, or scroll down to the Labels at the bottom of the page to find what you are looking for.
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Live Panel SHOW! (and Tell):
DESPERATE MEASURES
WHEN: Monday, June 1, 7:10 PM
WHERE: Zoom
Join us for our fifth Virtual Company Reunion in our Live Panel Series, with a discussion of The York's 2017 hit musical DESPERATE MEASURES.
York's James Morgan, and theatre historian Charles Wright will moderate a live panel discussion with creators David Friedman and Peter Kellogg, director Bill Castellino, along with original cast members including Lauren Molina, Nick Wyman, Gary Marachek, and more!
CLICK HERE TO MAKE YOUR FREE RESERVATION
A Zoom link will be sent with your reservation confirmation.
On May 5, New Jersey lost preservationist and philanthropist Betty Wold Johnson, at 99 fruitful years of age. D&R Greenway President and CEO, Linda Mead (left, with Betsy Wold Johnson), warmly remembers many facets of the land trust’s enthusiastic supporter: “Betty Wold Johnson’s heart was always in the land and community of Hopewell, where she lived on land she permanently preserved with D&R Greenway.” On the other side of the borough, “Her partnership was key to the success of our campaign to save the land that had been the site of the St. Michaels Orphanage, now the 415 acre St. Michaels Farm Preserve. Betty saw this open land as key to conserving the bucolic character of this special community.”
D&R Greenway announces a short video, found on its website, drgreenway.org, featuring Betty Wold Johnson filmed in her Hopewell home speaking about why it’s important to save land now.
Linda Mead remembers her professional friendship with Mrs. Johnson, focusing on how she came to permanently preserve the 800 acres she had assembled on the northwest edge of the village of Hopewell. D&R Greenway held a legal education program on land preservation at its Johnson Education Center, and Mead invited Mrs. Johnson to attend. At over 90 years of age she listened closely and then turned to Mead and said, “Let’s get busy.” A few weeks later, Mead was invited on a tour of Mrs. Johnson’s land.
“On a sunny fall day in 2013, Betty Wold Johnson drove her golf cart up a hill built in a wide, open field on her Hopewell land. At that time, she was 92 years young. It was just she and I circling to the summit, where two swings were too inviting to resist. We swung side-by-side, looking out over land where General George Washington and the Continental Army once encamped. The conversation we had while overlooking this historic land was revolutionary. Within months, Betty donated a conservation easement on her 800+ acres of land, ensuring it would remain forever as she loved it.”
With Mrs. Johnson’s commitment and crucial support, today a total of 1,200 acres of preserved land brackets Hopewell Borough. D&R Greenway invites the public to celebrate the legacy of Betty Wold Johnson by walking on lands she helped preserve, especially at St. Michaels Farm Preserve on Princeton Avenue in Hopewell. Mrs. Johnson was the first to donate to the creation of the David Knights Bridge over Bedens Brook, which leads from the Preserve’s iconic red barn to the Charles Evans Overlook with high, idyllic views of the historic town. Mrs. Johnson joined D&R Greenway and friends from the community on the day that the new bridge was dedicated.
Land for Life is a phrase used by D&R Greenway to describe its mission of preserving and caring for land. Ensuring clean water, local farms and conservation lands to create a quality of life for the people and wildlife of the region was a goal held in common with Mrs. Johnson. Mead shares, “Recently, as D&R Greenway faced the reality of dwindling public funding to preserve land, Betty’s substantial gift enabled the first transaction of our Land for Life Revolving Land Fund. Fifty-two threatened acres were purchased and permanently protected with an agricultural easement. This property was recently sold to a family who now farms the land. The Fund has been replenished to ensure preservation of further properties. Betty's gifts continue to give, again and again.”
Johnson’s support ranged from McCarter Theatre to the Metropolitan Museum of Art; from the Hun School to Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center. Most recently, she supported the Princeton Area Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Relief Fund to help regional nonprofits supporting residents with food, shelter, and other services during this crisis.
Linda Mead says of her: “Betty was the best she could be, and expected no less from the organizations and people she supported. She cared about the causes and those who did the work. Our staff still remembers a crisp fall day when Betty and her ‘right hand’ Kyle VanArsdale made a surprise visit to our ca. 1900 barn, which had belonged to her father-in-law General Robert Wood Johnson. They arrived bearing a wooden crate filled with the first apples of the season, to share with all the staff.”
Speaking of the Johnson Education Center, now D&R Greenway’s home, Mead says that, “Betty smiled when I showed her the finished RWJ Auditorium that she named. She took one look at the yellow chairs, and told me she was so glad that we chose those because they were a ‘happy color’.”
“Betty’s lifetime gifts to this region will live on forever,” declares Mead, who continues. “Betty will always be First Lady of Land Preservation. We are all the better for her having been among us.” Mead gives the nod for this title to pro Football Hall-of-Famer Curtis Martin. Speaking for the New York Jets, --owned by Johnson’s sons--, he reveals: “We called her ‘The First Lady of the Jets.’ If you look at everything [Betty Wold Johnson] did for others, you could write a book on her from a philanthropic standpoint. She had such a charitable heart and a charitable way about her.”
To see and hear Betty Wold Johnson speak about the Johnson Education Center and the importance of saving land in New Jersey, go to www.drgreenway.org.
D&R GREENWAY LAND TRUST IS IN ITS 31ST YEAR of preserving and stewarding natural lands, farmlands and open spaces throughout central and southern New Jersey. These properties remain protected and ecologically healthy in perpetuity. D&R Greenway thus continues to nurture a healthier and more diverse environment for people and wild species in seven counties.
Accredited by the national Land Trust Accreditation Commission, D&R Greenway’s mission is to preserve and care for land and inspire a conservation ethic, now and for the future. Since its founding in 1989, D&R Greenway has permanently preserved 21,000 acres, including 36 miles of public trails.
The Johnson Education Center, a circa-1900 restored barn at One Preservation Place, Princeton, is D&R Greenway’s home. Through educational programs, nature art exhibits and related lectures, and gallery rental to outside organizations, D&R Greenway continually inspires greater public commitment to safeguarding land. www.drgreenway.org, One Preservation Place, Princeton NJ 08540 609.924.4646
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Our founder, Audrée Estey, believed that dance should be available to everyone.
That’s why we created a ballet class for children with disabilities, inspired by a girl who happens to be named Audrey too.
“Ballet has profound meaning for many people, but especially for anyone who communicates primarily through movement. For these special individuals like Audrey, who may be cognitively impaired and/or physically disabled, movement means everything.” — Lisa Lacroce Patterson, Audrey’s mother
Did you know that Audrey’s Class was recently featured in Pointe Magazine? Read the full article HERE.
Audrey’s Class
WHEN: Mondays from 3:00-3:45 pm
WHERE: through Zoom
Current students, please contact: princetonballetschool@arballet.org
New students who are interested in a free trial class, please contact Aydmara Cabrera, School Director: acabrera@arballet.org
WHEN: June 1-7
WHERE: HERE
ADMISSION: free
Virtually Yours, the free online performing arts series from The Princeton Festival, will offer a song from The Sound of Music featuring Festival artists, a podcast interview, a talk on opera, two recordings of concerts from 2013 and 2019, and a streamed video of its hit 2018 production of Puccini’s opera Madama Butterfly during its first week.
“We invite all of our valued patrons, along with those who have never experienced one of our live performances, to enjoy the variety of a typical Festival season in this online format,” said Richard Tang Yuk, Executive and Artistic Director. “And there’s more to come in the following three weeks.”
Most events will be available through the Festival’s website or its Facebook page from the day they launch through the end of June. As indicated in the schedule below, however, two performances will be streamed only once, at a specific time.
More details on these events, plus a full list of “Virtually Yours” events in the remaining three weeks of the season, may be viewed at https://princetonfestival.org/virtually-yours/.
About The Princeton Festival
The Princeton Festival is a multi-genre festival of the performing arts. Its June 2020 public performance season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. In its place the Festival is offering free online access to archived performances from past seasons as well as other performing arts events, several of which have been created especially for this “Virtually Yours” series.
For information visit www.princetonfestival.org or call 609.759.1979.
We here at MPAC are committed to opening our doors as soon as it is safe to do so, and we look forward to welcoming you back to the theatre for great concerts, amazing musicals and fun family events. Below you can check out 2020-2021 season shows currently on sale. Many of these performances are rescheduled from the spring, and great seats are still available. Stay tuned for new show announcements next week! |
FROM VANTAGE TRAVEL:
The Armchair Traveler
Travel from the comfort of your living room!
Every season brings new reasons to celebrate, such as spring tidings in India for the Holi festival, summers full of competition with traditional games in Mongolia, and the wintry landscapes that bring inspiration for holiday celebrations in Antarctica. This week, join in on the festivities of the colorful, vibrant, and awe-inspiring holidays and festivals that are revered across the globe.
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See the rainbow of Holi, the Festival of Colors, which marks the beginning of spring and is celebrated all across India during this time of year.
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