What would summertime in Hoboken be without the revelry of neighborhood festivals, concerts, and “Movies Under the Stars”? Everything from great food to exciting music and dance, and Shakespeare in the Park, will dot the landscape in the coming weeks.
‘Enchanted Evening’ concerts
The summer Enchanted Evenings Concert Series will feature concerts from some of best local bands and musical artists. The free concerts take place every Thursday evening in June, July, and August at Sinatra Park on Sinatra Drive between Fourth and Fifth streets. Unless otherwise noted, the concerts begin at 7 p.m.
June 10: Demolition String Band
June 17: Ernie Contri
June 24: Bill McGarvey (6:30 p.m.)
July 1: 63rd Army Band
July 8: 747 Highjackers (6 p.m.)
July 15: Sugar Tooth
July 22: Raphael Cruz
July 29: Gene D. Plumber
August 5: Mariachi music
August 12: Eugene
August 19: Swingadelic
August 26: Skanatra
For those with kids, there’s also a Tuesday evening series of shows at Shipyard Park on Constitution Way and 13th Street. These kid-friendly shows feature magicians, jugglers and sing-alongs. The Tuesday night lineup also includes a few acts that will attract the childfree as well.
July 6: A Night of Opera
July 27: Don Carter Jazz Trio
August 31: Gene D. Plumber
Movies under the stars
Movies under the Stars are shown each Wednesday evening in June, July, and August on the lawn at Pier A Park. Hundreds of residents turn out each week for the series, a local tradition for the past decade. This summer’s lineup offers something for just about everyone. The shows begin at dusk. In June and July, show time is at 9 p.m. In August, the films start at 8:15 p.m. But come early for the best seats. Make sure to bring a blanket and a picnic basket.
June 9: Mona Lisa Smile
June 16: Something’s Gotta Give
June 23: Big Fish
June 30: Waiting for Guffman
July 7: Love Actually
July 14: Cold Mountain
July 21: Triplets of Belleville
July 28: Seabiscuit
Aug. 4: School of Rock
Aug. 11: Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Aug. 18: Good Boy!
Aug. 25: Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
Feasts and festivals
This summer, local churches and civic organizations have several popular annual summer festivals that promise to feature a wide variety of international foods, handmade crafts, rides, games and live musical entertainment.
June 9 to June 13 – The Feast of St. Anthony, which is sponsored by St. Francis Church the festival, will be held at Third and Jefferson streets. There is musical entertainment planned each evening, and the festival claims to have the best zeppole in the tri-state area. For more information, visit www.stfrancishoboken.com or call (201) 659-1772.
June 21 – Hoboken Puerto Rican Festival at Sinatra Park at Fifth and Sinatra Drive from 10 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Call (201) 420-2012 for more information.
July 22 to July 26 – St. Ann’s Feast: From its faith-filled religious procession through the streets to its kaleidoscopic selection of homemade international food, handmade crafts, rides, games, and live musical entertainment, the historical festival continues to be a success. The festival annually draws well over 100,000 visitors and centers around St. Ann’s church, the small neighborhood Jefferson Street parish that originated 103 years ago and houses the now famous statue of St. Ann, the patron saint of women. The festival started when a few hundred immigrants from Monte San Giacomo gathered in Hoboken to honor the patron saint of their small Italian town.
Visitors to the festival’s final day will be part of a special homage to St. Ann in a procession including 600-pound statue in her likeness, carried by the ladies’ guild of St. Ann’s Church. For more information, call (201) 659-1114.
Sept. 9 to Sept. 12 – The Hoboken Society of the Madonna dei Martiri has been hosting a feast honoring the Madonna of Martyrs for the past 78 years. Now called the Hoboken Italian Festival, it is annually held at Sinatra Park on Hoboken’s northeastern riverfront. Annually the festival features rides, fireworks, music and a bazaar of vendors selling everything from fresh prickly pears to kitchenware. For more information on the festival, visit www.hobokenitalianfestival.com.
Live theater
Shakespeare in the Park, presented by the Hudson Shakespeare Company, will showcase A Midsummer Night’s Dream June 7 at Pier A Park and June 14 at Sinatra Park. The company will also perform Coriolanus on June 21, June 28, and July 5 and Lysistrata on July 12, July 19 and July 26 and Cymbeline on Aug. 2, Aug. 9 and Aug. 16. The plays begin at 7 p.m. The first play in the series is held at Pier A Park, the second one at Shipyard Park, and the last one at Sinatra Park.
The Center for Performing Arts at DeBaun Auditorium and the City of Hoboken will present Musical Mondays featuring a series of cabaret performances on June 14 at Pier A, July 12 at Sinatra Park and August 9 at Shipyard Park. Also the group will perform the Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) on July 9, July 10 and July 11 at Sinatra Park. All of these shows are free and will begin at 7 p.m.
The Mile Square Theater will perform Cyrano on July 14, July 16, July 17, July 18, July 21, July 23, July 24 and July 25 at Sinatra Park. The play is a theatrical interpretation of Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac.
The Pregones Theater will present Baile Cangrejero a celebration of Afro-Latino poetry, dance and music on Friday Aug. 6 at 6 p.m. at Sinatra Park. The performance will be in both Spanish and English. For more information, call (201) 792-7097.