Saturday, March 15, 2014

NEW TICKETS, OLD EVENTS; NEW TICKETS NEW EVENTS

A quick note to let you know that we have posted FOUR tickets to tomorrow's Lime Kiln Tour -- sorry about the short notice, but if you've got 3 plus hours from 10:15 am to 1:30ish pm it's worthwhile grabbing them!  We meet at the County Parks Dept., the Arboreatum on Route 31 North at 10:15 am; bus leaves at 10:30 am and returns at about 1:30.  Lunch is included!!!! The cost for the tour and lunch is $10 per person....


We also have posted two new crafts -- one for children, one for adults -- Pysanky egg dying -- the Ukranian folk art.  Children's craft is April 12 in the afternoon (Saturday) at the North Branch; adults is April 16 (Wednesday) at 7 pm at the Flemington Choir School... both have only 12 tickets available and the children's craft has an age restriction.  Fyi, tickets for the children's event are for children only --- adults don't need tickets to attend with their children.


All of April is up including the Reading House tours..... We are still working on the Lindbergh Tours and will let you know when that comes up. 


Tickets for the Lindbergh show on May 3 and 4 should also be available very soon.


Don't forget the parade on March 22nd!  We are confirmed with Bergen's Outwaters Militia -- a Revolutionary War Militia that will definitely be drilling and firing muskets beginning at 10 am at Deer Path Park on our Birthday Saturday, March 22nd.... Parade kicks off at 4 -- still time to register if you have a group that wants to be in it.  Hot chocolate and birthday cake in the Flemington Women's Club behind the Historic Courthouse right after the parade.  And keep your fingers crossed that the ground conditions and weather holds up (that field has to dry out!!!) for fireworks around dark.


And Gala Tickets -- dwindling down -- as of this writing are still available..... call us at 908 788 2030 to reserve yours now! 

Sunday, March 9, 2014

April Events: Lindbergh, Quilts, Poetry and More!

It's hard to believe we are moving into the 2nd quarter of 2014!  Three months down, nine more months of fabulous events, lectures, tours, performances and activities to go!





April showers bring more than flowers to Hunterdon County in 2014!  Here's a line up of what we have in store for you:




Migration Pattern SeriesWe started in March with the Irish; now we move on to the English (April 5 with Founding Family descendant David Reading) and the Palantines (April 12 with County Historian Stephanie Stevens).  Follow David Reading's lecture on April 6 with a house tour of Governor Reading's Georgian-style Mansion.




National Poetry Month:  Come and join us as we celebrate National Poetry Month.  The Historic Courthouse is a dramatic back drop for 13 local poets who have spent the last year working on poetry in honor of our county's 300th birthday. 




Common Threads: Quilting Traditions in Hunterdon County:  the line up of events include a wonderful exhibition for 10 days at the Assembly Space (Building 1, Route 12 Complex) -- wait until you see the program book for this -- it is a real WOW!  On April 8th, join fabric expert Judy Grow in a companion lecture on the exhibition.  And there are still tickets available for the day long Quilt Symposium (check our website for registration information)!




Childrens' Crafts:  A companion craft project for the Quilt Exhibition -- children will learn to quilt next door of the exhibition at the Extension Center and then take a short walk over to see the adult quilts.  How fun and educational!  We also have added a special, just-in-time-for-Easter craft -- Pysanky -- the art of Ukranian egg dying!





Two Weeks (Plus!) of Lindbergh:  Lucky Lindy's not so luck life put Flemington on the map during the Trial of the Century.  Join historian, author and Lindbergh expert, Jim Davidson, for a series of five lectures that explore Lindbergh's controversial life as well as the kidnapping of Charles, Jr., the trial of Bruno Hauptmann and the havoc in our small towns created by both events.  We have ticketed all 5 lectures -- including May 1.





Our Two Weeks of Lindbergh culminate on May 2nd and 3rd when the Hunterdon County Tricentennial Committee presents a One Man Show "The Lone Eagle" -- a production we have brought up from Florida just for the Hunterdon 300th!   Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for senior citizens and veterans and $5 for students and all children 17 and under.  Reservation forms should be up on our website in the next week or so.  To make reservations, please print out a reservation form and mail it with your check to the Hunterdon County Tricentennial Committee, the Flemington Choir School, 3 Chorister Place, Flemington, NJ 08822.  If you wish to pay by credit card or cash, you can stop by our headquarters at the Flemington Choir School any Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm or call us at (908) 788-2030. 




Please note:  we are still putting together a Lindbergh exploration  -- two days of Lindbergh tours -- house, grounds, famous places from the kidnapping with Tour Guide Jim Davidson... these tours are still being created.  You will be the first to know of any additions to the calendar because you receive this.




FYI:  we still have tickets available for some of our great lectures in March including the Civil War Music with authentic period desserts on March 26, the newly researched lecture on life in Hunterdon 300 years ago on March 18, the fascinating story of the Road Along the Rocks in South County on March 25, the beautiful slide show of Hunterdon's most gorgeous photographs on March 20, an amazing powerpoint and lecture of historic lime kilns on March 15, provocative stories about Hunterdon's historic wills that may leave you laughing, shaking your head or mystified on March 12, and our childrens' craft project on March 29.




And don't forget the Revolutionary War drilling and musket practice at Deer Path Park at 10 am on Saturday, March 22nd followed by our birthday Parade, cake, hot chocolate and fireworks in our County Seat, Flemington Borough.



Saturday, March 8, 2014

We Love A Parade! Details!

Who doesn't love a parade?!!?





On March 22, 1714, Hunterdon County was officially incorporated.  On March 22, 2014, Hunterdon County is officially celebrating!





Here are the details so far:





Around 10 a.m. the day kicks off with Revolutionary War soldiers from Bergen County's (which incorporated before us) Outwaters Militia join our celebration at Deer Path Park where they will muster, drill and... yes, shoot off muskets!  This is open to the public and subject to weather and ground conditions.  Please check our website the day of March 22nd for any time change or cancellation notice -- www.hunterdon300th.org.



The 300th celebration parade kicks off at 4 pm down our County Seat's Main Street -- that's Flemington Borough if you aren't from these parts.





We are expecting many Revolutionary War and Civil War soldiers to march as well as our First Responders, Scouts, municipal and county elected officials, lots of floats, lots of bands, lots of organizations all in celebration of Hunterdon County -- will it be the biggest parade in Hunterdon's history and MAKE history?  You have to be there to find out!





IF YOUR ORGANIZATION WISHES TO PARTICIPATE IT IS NOT TOO LATE!  REGISTER ON OUR HOME PAGE AT WWW.HUNTERDON300TH.ORG OR CALL US AT (908) 788-2030! 
 
Following the parade, our great friends at Shop Rite are providing birthday cake and hot chocolate for 2,000 people, which will be served by our volunteers and Hunterdon County service organizations in the county park right behind the Hunterdon County Historic Courthouse.





Stay in Flemington and grab a bite to eat and take a stroll up to the school on Court Street (RFIS) and enjoy a spectacular fireworks display -- 45 minutes of spectacular fireworks -- that start after sundown -- sundown is 7:10 pm that night so you figure it out....





More details will be posted on our website as they unfold and get locked in.... but save the date now -- it is going to be a great birthday party day!

Sunday, March 2, 2014

A Grand Night to Celebrate Our 300th!

A few words about our 300th Gala which we hope you'll read because it is going to be a very special evening.

The Hunterdon Tricentennial Committee has been fundraising for over two years in order to provide hundreds -- yes, hundreds -- of free or very low cost events, tours, performances, tours and activities.  We also are committed to making it a real birthday party -- that means cake, food, treats and presents!  Thanks to our very generous sponsors, grantors, donors and friends, Shop Rite, Merck, Exxon, JCP&L, the Hunterdon County Board of Chosen Freeholders and many others, we have been able to achieve our mission. 

But we continue to fund raise to offer even more to the community including lasting art and music.  We have prided ourselves in providing quality fundraising products in order to provide quality events.  Please take a moment to read about our upcoming gala -- we have tickets available, and we hope you would consider it a worthwhile way to spend your hard earned treasure and join us on Saturday evening, March 29th at the Grand Colonial on Route 173 in Union Township.

The evening begins at 6 pm with an open bar and butler passed hors d'eouvres that include yellow fin tuna tartar on a wonton crisp with wasabi creme fraiche, Vermont goat cheese quiche and grilled ternderloin of beef crositini with horseradish creme fraiche.

While nibbling on the tasties, you can peruse and bid on our very special Silent Auction prizes including a house portrait by historic preservationist and architect Michael Marguiles, a cashmere cape from Flemington Furs, a dining membership at Hawk Point Golf Club, tickets to both the Trenton Thunder and Somerset Patriots, and theatre tickets to the NJ PAC, Hunterdon Hills Playhouse, and State Theatre of New Brunswick.

We'll be called into the ballroom around 7ish pm while the Silent Auction stays open... find a seat or just start dancing to the great sounds of Swingdelic -- a live band straight from NYC that will play the songs that you love all evening long.

You will have a fabulous dinner that includes a choice of entree -- we're still debating which of the chef's specialites to offer you:  an herb crusted chicken with a marsala demi glacĂ©?  a filet of sole with chive Guerrero Blanc?  one of the incredible beef and pork creations he makes?  Trust us -- the food is going to be wonderful!

Did I mention our band, Swingdelic?  dancing! fun!  They play everything! and we promise you WILL want to dance!  This Manhattan band plays the traditional big band and Great American Songbook music of Duke Ellington and Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack era, Motown, the Rolling Stones, and oldies and dance hits from the 50's to the 80's.  They WILL keep the dance floor packed! 

Following dinner, we move on to a Live Auction with Colonel Harrie Copeland -- not only a great auctioneer, but funny enough to make this a comedic floor show as well!  Even if you don't bid (and we promise, you will be tempted with what we've got in store for you!) you will laugh hard with Harrie -- his sharp wit and fast tongue will make you laugh out loud!

So what is in store for the Live Auction?  We've been very selective and have a small list of big items (we're anxious to get everyone back on that dance floor!)!  A few worth mentioning include lunch for four at the Congressional Dining Room with Hunterdon County Congressman Leonard Lance and then a private tour of Congress; a romantic balloon package; a framed Artist's Proof of Dan Campanelli's beautiful water color print of the Hunterdon Historic Courthouse "Blue Skies" -- that means he picked this out himself as the best of the best of the prints -- signed by the artist and numbered 4 out of 20 (that's right -- only 20 Artist's Proofs of this print exist!); an amazing framed 42-starred historic American flag; a week in Myrtle Beach courtesy of Assemblyman John DiMaio (don't you just wish you were there right now with this winter we're having!?!!); and 4 tickets to the Executive Viewing Stand for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade -- the seats where you get to see all of the Broadway performances, bands, dancing, movie stars and floats -- the same place the television cameras are posted to get the best shots!

Did we tempt you yet?  There are many more Silent Auction and a few more Live Auction prizes not listed but we think you get the point -- this is going to be one special night!

The Gala is limited to 250 guests (we sacrificed seats to make sure there is plenty of room for dancing!); we still have about 100 tickets left.  We believe that this evening will prove to be another high value, high quality event offered by the Hunterdon Tricentennial Committee and we hope you'll agree and join us!  Tickets are $150 per person, $300 a couple (there's that magic 300 number!).  We know you will have a memorable evening of fine food, great music and dancing and a lot of fun in between.  
 
AND your financial contribution will help us continue to offer all of our friends and neighbors in Hunterdon County more great 300th events, treats and fun in 2014!
 
For more information or tickets, please go to our website www.hunterdon300th.org and click on the calendar listing for March 29th's Gala or call us at (908) 788-2030.