With a burgeoning arts scene and a full calendar of cultural events, Jersey City’s Historic Downtown district has become even more than the bustling commercial district it’s known to be.
From Hamilton Park to Paulus Hook, Harsimus Cove to Van Vorst Park, Historic Downtown is a colorful patchwork of the many smaller neighborhoods in it. A tangible sense of community becomes apparent when the residents of Historic Downtown head outside to enjoy the warm weather.
Shoppers, commuters, residents and visitors will be able to enjoy the rhythms and melodies of jazz, Latin soul, and Caribbean music when the new Lunch Time Entertainment Series gets under way in July and August. Performers will rotate between Mercado Park, City Hall and the corner of Grove Street and Christopher Columbus Drive every Wednesday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Scheduled dates include July 6, 13, 20 and 27, and Aug. 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31.
And the Lunch Time Entertainment Series is just one of many events planned in Historic Downtown this spring and summer; merchants will be getting in on the action as well.
Sidewalk sales will be held from the end of June through early October, as Historic Downtown’s business owners display their wares under the summer sun, bringing window shoppers a little closer to their various merchandise – and to the district’s reduced sales tax. Sidewalk sales will run on the first Thursday, Friday and Saturday of every month from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The official dates are June 30, July 1 to 2, Aug. 4 to 6, Sept. 1 to 3 and 29 to 30, and Oct. 1.
But new programs and events are just the tip of the cultural iceberg. Mainstays such as Victory Hall Cultural Center, the Attic Ensemble theatre group at the Barrow Mansion, and the Jersey City Artists’ Studio Tour in the early fall have given the Historic Downtown’s 28,000 residents and countless visitors something to do nearly every day of the week for years.
The Hudson Shakespeare Company’s annual Shakespeare in the Park series will run this June, July and August. Hamilton Park and Van Vorst Park will be among the locations hosting the acclaimed theatre troupe.
And of course, the city’s long-running and varied program of ethnic festivals will continue to bring out the best flavors, scents and sounds of Historic Downtown’s diverse communities.
The ethnic festivals are some of the best indicators that Jersey City’s Historic Downtown district is one of the most vibrant and culturally stimulating neighborhoods to be found anywhere.
For more information on the Historic Downtown district, visit www.jcdowntown.com.