View the colorful flowers in the private garden and more at Pretty Bird Farm in Rosedale, Hunterdon County, on August 24 through the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program. The farm will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a $10 donation to the Conservancy. more
Kids and adults alike who love the amusements in Ocean City take note: Gillian’s Wonderland Pier will close after this season.
A letter on gillians.com from owner Jay Gillian states that he is retiring after 47 years. Wonderland and 6th Street Pizza (the complex is at 600 Boardwalk) will be open through the summer, but visitors to Ocean City might want to visit and take advantage of some specials:
Until August 30, there are unlimited rides “after dark” on Sunday nights from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. for $25.
Wristband Days are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; $25 for unlimited rides from 4 to 6 p.m.
And Tuesday through Thursday, from 4 to 6 p.m., rides are three tickets each. more
Wine Wednesdays are underway at The Perch at the historic Peacock Inn every Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. Savor three wines from around the globe, each paired with a tasting menu created by Wine Director Chris Scully and Chef Mark, inspired by the featured wine region and sourced by local ingredients. more
Get out your pots and start collecting your seasonings for the Princeton Community Chili Cook-off on Sunday, September 22 from 12 to 3 p.m. at Updike Farmstead, 354 Quaker Road, sponsored by the Historical Society of Princeton and the Arts Council of Princeton. more
(Photo courtesy of Visit Bucks County)
Nearby Bucks County, Pa., is the home of 12 picturesque covered bridges, with locations along the Delaware River and inside state parks. Take a self-guided Bucks County Covered Bridge driving tour, crossing the county’s remaining covered bridges with the help of a map or a mobile app courtesy of Visit Bucks County. more
Tigertown Classic Jazz, a six-piece band that plays traditional jazz music from the 1920s to the 1940s, will perform at Hinds Plaza on Sunday, August 11 from 4 to 5 p.m. as part of Princeton Public Library’s “Listen Local 2024.”
Tigertown Classic Jazz plays music during this concert that explores the roots of jazz, including the music of New Orleans, Dixieland, and swing. It’s been called nostalgic and relevant at the same time, and appeals to all ages. more
Two unique events are coming up at the Roebling Museum, 100 Second Avenue, Roebling.
On Friday August 2, at 7 p.m., the first historic cemetery tour gets underway. Stories of both remarkable and everyday people who lived in the company town and worked at the mill will be highlighted. Attendees are asked to meet at Holy Assumption Cemetery. Tickets are $20.
If you are curious about the living conditions for laborers in a historic company town, take the behind-the-scenes tour “Step Inside a Roebling Rowhouse: Building a House Museum” on Saturdays in August and September from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Visitors can view newly donated artifacts, and see what it takes to transform a house into a museum. Six dates are available. Tickets are $20, $5 for members.
Shop the Arts Council of Princeton’s yART sale for creative bargains and one-of-a-kind finds, all handcrafted by local artisans, on Saturday, August 3, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
This flea-market style event will be held outdoors in the Arts Council’s parking lot and around the Paul Robeson Center for the Arts, 102 Witherspoon Street. Working in ceramics, jewelry, printmaking, painting, and more, 30-plus vendors will sell seconds, misprints, discontinued designs, and one-of-a-kind items at studio clean-out prices. more
The annual Community Night Out in Princeton is on Tuesday, August 6 at the Community Park Pool, 400 Witherspoon Street, from 5 to 8 p.m.
Stop by for a free night of swimming; grilled hot dogs; and all kinds of information, swag bags, and fun stuff from Princeton area vendors. Meet members of the Princeton Municipal Government, Princeton Recreation Department, Princeton Police Department, Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad, Princeton Fire Department, Princeton University Department of Public Safety, and more, who will be on hand to demonstrate some of the equipment and services they provide. more
(Photo Courtesy of Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival)
There is still time to enjoy the long-running summertime Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival at DeSales University in the Lehigh Valley, Pa.
The musical The Color Purple runs until August 4. This year’s “Extreme Shakespeare” play is the romantic adventure Cymbeline, also running until August 4. A children’s show, Winnie-the-Pooh & Friends, runs until August 2, and “Shakespeare for Kids” until August 3.
This season, co-leaders Jason King Jones and Casey William Gallagher curated a lineup centered around the theme of “Persistence of Love,” reflected in each play or musical selected. more
(Photo courtesy of Palmer Square)
If you ask, “Do you know. . .?” You may hear, “Hum a few bars and we’ll play it.” Have your song requests ready, because the dueling piano players probably know them.
Sing, dance, and laugh along to this high energy, all-request, interactive dueling piano show performed by the Flying Ivories every Thursday on the Green at Palmer Square through August 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. more
Good news for carousel lovers: Ocean County and Seaside Heights have reopened the 1910 Dr. Floyd L. Moreland Carousel after a long restoration.
For the past nine years, Seaside Heights has worked with volunteers to restore the Wurlitzer organ, carousel, and carvings, and refurbish the mechanics of the carousel, bringing it back to life for riders of all ages to enjoy. more
Explore Lambertville, and visit a city that is ranked among “50 of the Most Charming Small Towns in America” by HGTV.
For this feature, the Home and Garden Television Network selected one small town from each of the 50 states, with Lambertville named as the New Jersey selection. Known as “The Antiques Capital of New Jersey,” the online article says that Lambertville is “home to a variety of talented artists and crafters whose shops and galleries sit alongside the scenic Delaware River. This town of 4,000 residents, founded in 1705, also boasts federal townhouses and Victorian homes, a restored 19th-century train depot, Zagat-rated restaurants, and award-winning hotels and B&Bs.” more
Save your spot for a history and nature hike led by the Historical Society of Princeton (HSP) in the Institute Woods, at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), on July 20 or July 27 from 4 to 6 p.m. each day.
The tour exploring bits of history and the sights and sounds of the serene setting will meet at the Princeton Battlefield parking lot at 500 Mercer Street. more
Juicy corn, sweet blueberries, succulent tomatoes, and crunchy cucumbers are among other produce and homemade breads, pies, salads, and specialty stands at the Trenton Farmers Market in Lawrence Township.
A farmer-owned cooperative since 1939, the market is New Jersey’s oldest continuously running farmers market. Located on Spruce Street since 1948, it also carries Amish meats and poultry, kielbasa, cheese, and barbecued rotisserie chicken as well as homemade entrees at vendors such as Pulaski Meats, which specializes in Polish, German, Hungarian, Ukrainian, and Russian food items. more
Be among the first audiences to view a never-before-performed play at the historic Phillips’ Mill in Bucks County, Pa. The Phillips’ Mill Community Association is presenting a Premiere Showcase production of The Half of It by Domenick Scudera, a Pennsylvania playwright. The play runs July 18-21 and is directed by Phillips’ Mill Theater Resident Griffin Horn. The Half of It is inspired by the life and work of Bert Savoy, a Vaudeville drag artist who was active in the 1910s and early 1920s and who, until now, has been largely forgotten. The Half of It runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7 p.m., with a 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday, July 21. more
Dear Readers,
Welcome to your Summer issue of Princeton Magazine.
Normally, this letter would come from Editor-in-Chief Lynn Adams Smith, but given my long life in Princeton, Lynn thought that I would be a better person to review this issue of the magazine with you. Rather than the usual summary of what you can expect to read in the pages that follow, I thought I would write this letter as a more personal recollection of experiences related to the stories in this issue. more
Barbara Piasecka Johnson, widow of J. Seward Johnson Sr., celebrates her “victory” in front of her mansion gate in Princeton, N.J., June 4, 1986. (AP Photo/Jack Kanthal)
By Anne Levin
Last fall, the luxury golf club Jasna Polana was listed for sale. Set on 222 park-like acres bordered by Route 206 and Province Line Road, the property boasts an 18-hole Tournament Players Course designed by golf great Gary Player, and a palatial, 46,000-square-foot clubhouse.
Jasna, pronounced “yasna,” has earned a reputation for its meticulously manicured fairways, lush setting, challenging greens, and pricey entrance fee. But the expansive, gated property is best known — or notorious — for the chapter of its history that preceded the creation of the golf club in 1998. more
By Wendy Greenberg | Lead photo from shutterstock.com
On a recent overcast day, the cows at Cherry Grove Farm on Route 206 in Lawrence Township were lying down in the meadow expecting the rain that eventually came. Cherry Grove, on land owned by the same family since 1902, is one of the few dairy farms in Mercer County and nearby. The farm doesn’t bottle milk, as many local farmers used to, but in 2002 the Hamill family began making farmstead cheese in-house. more
By Donald H. Sanborn III
Thomas Edison famously said, “Genius is 1 percent inspiration, 99 percent perspiration.” Of the many scientists and innovators from New Jersey who have contributed to technology and many other fields, Edison (1847-1931) obviously remains one of the most renowned. Besides developing the first commercially viable version of the incandescent light bulb in 1879, his famous inventions include the electrographic vote recorder (1868), phonograph (1877), an electric locomotive (1880); and a camera that could capture motion (1888). more
