Hoboken, let’s celebrate!
This is Hoboken, home to more firsts than any other mile-square town in America. So let’s be the first to take a fresh look at our town and celebrate what makes it special.
For 25 years, that’s what the Hoboken Historical Museum has done. And, this year, the museum is celebrating Hoboken and its anniversary with a grand GalaPalooza25 Party at the W Hotel on Nov. 4 with an open bar, dinner, live music, dancing, and a live auction. Everyone is invited; tickets are available online and at the museum.
To get Hobokenites in a “You Just Gotta Love This Town” festive mood, they’ve created a website, www.GalaPalooza25.com with a special “The Power of 25” section that lets you go back in time through their “25 Top Exhibits.”
Did you know that P.T. Barnum’s circus animals were transported on trains that terminated in Hoboken and sometimes escaped and ran wild through our streets? Or check out “25 Hoboken Firsts,” where you’ll learn how U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg was instrumental in sending Hoboken’s baseball team to the Soviet Union, the first U.S. team to play there.
But if you really want to test your Hoboken trivia (Do you know how Hoboken got its name?) and win two tickets to the party, too, then take their 25-question online contest. Every week, five new finalists will be chosen for the final drawing, so if you don’t get picked the first week, try again.
For more Hoboken Fun Facts — they’ve got your number
Now when you’re waiting for the bus, pick up your phone and call (201) 537-6778 and press numbers 720 through 745 followed by the pound key (#) for 25 Hoboken Fun Facts. Did you know that Sesame Street has been outsourced to Monroe Street? Sesame Street hired Puppet Heap, a group of veteran puppeteers and artisans who work in the Monroe Arts Center. Or that our mile-square city, according to stats on Wikipedia, really has a total area of two square miles, but almost a mile of that is under water?
It’s a toast to Hoboken!
During the month of October, 25 different cocktails with a Hoboken historic twist will be made for you to try and vote on, online at www.GalaPalooza25.com. The winning Ketel One Vodka Signature Cocktail will be featured at the GalaPalooza25 event and the winning bartender will win a trip for two to Amsterdam with a VIP visit to the Ketel One vodka distillery.
A few early-bird contestants have already submitted entries with clever names and flavors that allude to historical aspects of Hoboken. The Elysian Café is offering “Elysian Fields,” referring to Hoboken’s honor in 1846 as the site of one of the first organized matches of baseball. A bartender from Room 84 and Scotland Yard offers the “Hoboken Egg Cream” in honor of the soda-fountain favorite served at luncheonettes like Schnackenberg’s, which is featured in the museum’s current “Hoboken Sweets” exhibit. Black Bear’s bartenders are mixing up “Tea Thyme” in homage to Sir Thomas Lipton’s tea factory, which sat at the north end of Washington Street and is now a prestigious residential building.
Helmer’s offers the “Dirty Oreo Crunch,” a reference to the famous cookie’s first retail sale, which happened here in Hoboken. And Amanda’s “Heaven, Hell or Hoboken” will pack a punch, inspired by General Pershing’s pledge to knock out the enemy and get the troops back home in World War I, when Hoboken was the port of embarkation.
More ways to get involved
This is your town, so tell your Hoboken tale by emailing GalaPalooza25@HobokenMuseum.org with your “What makes Hoboken Home to Me” story and they’ll post it under the “25 Homegrown Stories” section.
You can also get a preview of the live auction items, such four orchestra tickets to The Book of Mormon, winner of 9 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and much more.
Hoboken Historical Museum is proud to serve Hoboken
Each year, more than 12,000 people visit the museum. It was started by a small group of Hoboken residents interested in preserving the history of their community and has grown into a thriving cultural institution featuring year-round exhibitions, lectures, film series, festivals, tours, numerous publications (including documenting oral histories to preserve our city’s rich heritage), and ever-expanding educational programming. Their Education Curator has forged relationships with teachers from every school in Hoboken to develop programs that target students from 3-18, as well as programs with the Boys & Girls Clubs members and Jubilee Center that serves underprivileged children.
To keep these programs alive, the museum needs the support of the community, especially during tough economic fund-raising times. GalaPalooza25 is a museum fundraiser. The museum thanks the event sponsors, which can be found on the event’s website. The museum is open six days a week, 2 – 7 p.m. on Tues. – Thurs., 1 – 5 p.m. on Fridays, and noon – 5 p.m. on weekends.