Additional Events this Weekend…

 

1. Somerset Patriots Opening Night - TD Bank Ballpark
2. Spring Plant Sale & Earth Day Celebration, Leonard J. Buck Garden
3. 4-H Spring Carnival, Ted Blum 4-H Center
4. Earth Day with Rainforest Canopy, Children's Museum of Somerset County
5. Arts & Crafts Festival, Downtown Somerville
6. Boots and BBQ : Earth Day Celebration, Greg Morris' Riding Ring - Peapack
7. Walk on the Raritan Power Canal, Duke Island Park
8. Earth Day Stream Clean Up, Multiple Locations in Somerset County
9. Westminster Bell Choir, Music in the Somerset Hills
10. Square Foot Organic Gardening, Duke Farms

Check out our full calendar of events!

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CELEBRATE EARTH DAY 2017 @ VISUAL ARTS CENTER OF NJ IN SUMMIT’S FESTIVAL

2017 Earth Day Festival at VACNJ

WHEN: Saturday, April 22nd, 2017, from 10 AM to 2 PM
WHERE: The march (walking on sidewalks) begins gathering at 9am at PromenadePark (next to Mondo Marketplace) in Summit  and sets off to its end point at the Art Center, 68 Elm Street, at 9:30am
ADMISSION: Free

The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey is hosting an Earth Day Festival. The event features an array of workshops, educational booths, food and activities. The Festival will be held in the museum, art studios, and the sculpture park and is an extension of the themes of environment and exploration present in the spring exhibitions. View the exhibitions, participate in hands on art and science workshops, learn about ways to contribute to helping the environment in this area, speak with local naturalists, wildlife specialists, park geologists + more. This event is free and will be engaging for all ages!

Events include: Science March for Children–What unites the sciences and the arts is an insatiable curiosity. The Art Center encourages families with kids to bring a poster and join us & marches worldwide in celebrating science at all levels.

Organizations who will be participating include:

• The Great Swamp Watershed Association
• Greenfaith
• The Rahway River Watershed Association
• Tesla Community Incubator Space
• NJ Drone Academy
• Maker Depot
• Ninth Wave Global
• The Trailside Nature and Science Center

The spring exhibitions on view include:

• Matt Jensen: Park Wonder
• Jessica Rohrer: Neighborhood Watch
• Alice Momm: A Conversation with Trees
• + Interactive artwork by Brian Fernandez-Halloran – Adults and kids will love adding to this hand cranked sculpture!

For more information contact Sarah Walko, Director of Education and Community Engagement at 908.273.9121 ext. 213

About the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey
For more than 80 years, the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey has been dedicated to viewing, making and learning about contemporary art. Recognized as a leading non-profit arts organization and accredited by the American Alliance for Museums, the Art Center’s renowned studio school, acclaimed exhibitions, and educational outreach initiatives serve thousands of youth, families, seniors and people with special needs every year.

Support
Major support for the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey is provided by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Walter V. and Judith L. Shipley Family Foundation, the Wilf Family Foundations and Art Center members and donors.

Left image: Artist Brian Fernandez-Halloran

Right images: photographs by artist Matt Jensen

Click HERE for more Earth Day Events this Weekend.

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NATIONALLY KNOWN WRITER, AUTISM ADVOCATE TO SPEAK @ KAPLEN JCC IN TENAFLY

KETCHUP IS MY FAVORITE VEGETABLE:
A Family Grows Up With Autism

WHEN: Sunday, April 23, 11 am
WHERE: 411 East Clinton Avenue, Tenafly
ADMISSION: Free & Open to the Community

To conclude its ongoing recognition of Jewish Disabilities and Inclusion Month, the Guttenberg Center for Special Services at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades is proud to welcome Liane Kupferberg Carter, nationally known writer and advocate for autism, who will speak about her book, Ketchup Is My Favorite Vegetable: A Family Grows Up with Autism, at the JCC. The book just received Honorable Mention from The American Society of Journalists and Authors in their annual Outstanding Book Awards. The program is free and open to the community.

Drawing on personal experience regarding her own son Mickey, who was diagnosed with autism, Liane embarked on a journey looking for ways to create an ordinary family life, while dealing with the extraordinary needs of an autistic child. Two decades later, older and wiser, her journey led her to write Ketchup is My Favorite Vegetable, where she articulates the hopes, disappointments, frustrations, and triumphs that are all part of what it really means to raise a child with autism. Her insights as a mother are heart-wrenching, funny and always honest, making her book an eye-opening example of how a family can learn not just to survive, but to thrive with autism.

Because studies now show that parents with autistic children often suffer stress levels similar to combat soldiers, Liane helps her audiences and readers navigate the minefields and find solace and comfort by not allowing their fears of the future to rob them of the pleasures of the present.

Liane Kupferberg Carter is a nationally known writer and advocate for the autism community. Her articles and essays have appeared in many publications, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Huffington Post, Parents Magazine, Autism Spectrum News, and Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism. She was a staff writer for Autism After 16, and a co-author of the Autism Speaks Advocacy Tool Kit. Liane is currently on tour for the Jewish Book Council’s speaker series and her book Ketchup Is My Favorite Vegetable is this year’s featured reading selection for Jewish Disability Awareness & Inclusion Month. Her book will be available for purchase at the event.

The program will be sponsored in part by the JCC’s James H. Grossmann Memorial Endowment Fund for the Celebration of Jewish Book Month. For more information, contact Jackie Varona at jvarona@jccotp.org or 201-569-7900 ext 602.