Current Events

HERITAGE – Union City craftsman Alberto Morgan – a Santeria priest – created this piece, which is featured in the 2004 New Jersey Craft Arts Annual at the Newark Museum. The exhibit, entitled Crafting Traditions in a New World, opens June 17 and will run until August 22.It honors craftspeople of many cultural backgrounds – Jewish, Asian, African, and Latino, among others. Other Hudson County artists in the show include Dholak, a Tibetan wood-carver and furniture maker from Jersey City, who was commissioned to create an elaborately carved folding table and a grain container. The museum also commissioned Union City’s Perla Valdez, who sews intricate garments with new and vintage lace, to make a first-communion gown. The Newark Museum is located at 49 Washington St. in the city’s Downtown Arts District, and is open Wednesday through Sunday, from noon to 5 p.m. For more information, call the museum at (973) 596-6550.

The Liberty Humane Society will hold a Dog Walk event this Saturday, June 19, in Liberty State Park to heighten the awareness of stray and abandoned pets in the Jersey City area. The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and will include pet/people psychic readings, an “Ask the Expert” booth, classes in basic obedience training, vendors with pet-related items, and refreshments. Also featured will be a canine agility demonstration by Connie Formosa, and a demonstration by the Park Police K-9 Unit. Participants who sign up in advance to walk their dog on a two-mile course along the waterfront will be charged $15; participants who sign up on the day of the event will be charged $20. Participants who raise pledges of $50 or more will receive a free T-shirt and the entrance fee will be waived. Gift bags will be given to all participants. For more information, or to register, call (201) 547-4147, e-mail DogWalk2004@libertyhumane.org, or visit www.libertyhumane.org.

Hoboken artist Lynda D’Amico will show her paintings at the Symposia Bookstore until July 8. The exhibit represents a wide range of subjects, including cityscapes, still lifes, and images with poetic phrases inspired by D’Amico’s trips to Latin America. For artist information, visit www.lyndadamico.com. The Symposia bookstore is located at 510 Washington St. in Hoboken. Call (201) 963-0909 for venue information.

Bennigan’s State Fair Meadowlands will run from June 17 through July 5 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford. Attractions such as the Royal Hanneford Circus, Rosaire’s Racing Pigs, Commerford’s Educational Petting Zoo, and the Rix Bear Show will be featured. Live acts, including concerts, hypnotists, and entertainers, will be featured nightly. Admission is $4 for adults and $2 for children. Ride tickets are also available. The fair will be open Mondays through Thursdays, 5 p.m. to midnight; Fridays, 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.; Saturdays, 3 p.m. to 2 a.m.; and Sundays, 2 p.m. to midnight. On July 4, hours will be from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m., and on July 5, from 2 p.m. to midnight. Visit www.njfair.com or call (973) 450-1070 for more information.

A benefit bash for Sleeping with Management, a one-person theatrical comedy written by and starring Jersey City’s Christine Goodman, will be held in Manhattan on Thursday, June 24 at 7 p.m. The play, to be presented at the New York International Fringe Festival in August, will be the first theatrical production by the Art House crew. New York and New Jersey bands Tanya True, Fragile Male Ego, Steel Pier Sinners, Green Machine, and Han Shot First will be featured at the fund-raiser. Raffle tickets for art, poetry, services, and drinks will be available for $5. Guests are invited to bring something to add to the raffle as well. Admission is $8 at the door. The bash will be held at Kenny Castaway’s, located at 157 Bleecker St. in Manhattan. For more information, contact Art House Productions in Jersey City at (201) 915-9911.

Crossing Currents, an off-Broadway play written and directed by Guttenberg native Jorge C. Perez, will run through June 27 at Altered Stages, 212 W. 29th St. in Manhattan. Performances take place every day except Tuesdays. The show begins at 8 p.m. on weekdays, and at 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are $22. (Tickets for the June 24 performance will be $32, with a portion benefiting the Memorial Sloan Cancer Research Center.) For tickets, call (212) 868-4444 or visit www.smarttix.com. Perez can be contacted at (201) 232-3223, or at JorgeCPerez34@yahoo.com.

The first performance of this summer’s SWEAT Outdoors – a free modern dance series – will be held this Sunday, June 20, at Hoboken’s Pier A Park. The show begins at 6 p.m., and will feature dance works by The Dean Street FOO Butoh Performance Group, Corrina Hiller, SYREN, Stephanie Beauchamp, Damen Harun, and Daniela Hoff. (The rain date is June 27.)

Coriolanus, Shakespeare’s tragedy of pre-Republican Rome, will be presented by the Hudson Shakespeare Company this Thursday, June 17, at Ellsworth Park in Union City, located along Palisade Avenue between 24th and 25th streets. Another performance will be held on Monday, June 21, at Shipyard Park in Hoboken, between 13th and 14th streets. All performances are free and will begin at 7 p.m. For more information, visit www.hudsonshakespeare.org.

From Slavery to Freedom, which will feature Spektrum Afrikan (dance/drum/lecture/poetry) and Ubaka Hill (percussion) will be held during the 4th Annual Juneteenth Commemoration on June 19. The event will be held at the Jersey City Free Public Library Miller Branch, located at 489 Bergen Ave. in Jersey City. The performance is free and will begin at 8 p.m. For more information, call (201) 547-6907.

Ghetto Ghost Girls and Old Bergen Church present William, a jazz performance piece inspired by the life of Billie Holiday. The performance will take place on June 20, and will feature Dor Green and bassist Atsundo Aikawa. Donations will be accepted. Old Bergen Church is located at 1 Highland Ave. in Jersey City. For more information, call (201) 432-3902.

Ernie Contri will perform Frank Sinatra tunes on Thursday, June 17, as part of the Hoboken Summer Enchanted Evenings Concert Series. The performance will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. in Sinatra Park, located on Sinatra Drive between 3rd and 4th streets in Hoboken. Admission is free. For more information, call (201) 420-2207, or visit www.hobokennj.org.

Did you just open a show? Is your band playing somewhere? Are you staging a dance recital or sponsoring an event? Let us know. Send photos and relevant information to: Current editor, P.O. Box 3069, 1400 Washington St., Hoboken, NJ 07030; or fax to: (201) 798-0018.