FAB FOUR AND FAB TOUR! SEPTEMBER TICKETS ARE HERE!

We've just completed our 100th (WOOHOO) event!  and we're driving hard into the fall with a spectacular line up of 300th events!  Before we get into September, we still have tickets left for many of our great August lectures -- please check out our website at www.hunterdon300th.org.

And don't forget our final concert for the summer on Thursday, August 14th  -- our retrospective of music heard in Hunterdon over the last 300 years ends with a big production -- THE ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST OF BEATLEMANIA on stage at Deer Path Park at 7 pm.  Not only has the 300th gone all out to bring the Fab Four to Hunterdon, but their performance will be accompanied by a phenomenal light show on stage!  Fifty years ago this year, the Beatles landed in America for the first time, appeared on Ed Sullivan and the rest is history!  Thursday night, Paul McCartney (this blogger's heart-throb at age 4) will be playing the final performance at Candlestick Park before they tear it down; The Beatles last performance together was at Candlestick Park.  But Thursday night Sir Paul won't be alone!  Right here in Hunterdon we will have a special tribute to the Boys From Liverpool!

And Now for Our Fantastic September Line Up!

BIG TOURS!

BY BUS:  NORTH COUNTY FARM TOUR - Saturday, September 6: Take a tour of beautiful Northern Hunterdon with Hunterdon Board of Agriculture Past President George Conard; see Hunterdon's beautiful roads by bus with two morning "off the bus" stops and several afternoon "off the bus" stops that include tours of three North Hunterdon farms including a prestigious horse farm, a Christmas tree farm and an orchard.  There will be additional surprise stops to enjoy amazing vistas of Hunterdon County!

Boxed lunch included supplied by our super sponsor Shop Rite.

ONLY 50 SEATS AVAILABLE!   $15 PER PERSON 

BY RAIL:  TRICENTENNIAL TRAIN RIDE ON THE BLACK RIVER AND WESTERN! -- Saturday, September 13:  Scenic train ride on the BR&WRR from Flemington Borough to Ringoes. At our stop in Ringoes enjoy a live music by the Red Oak Country Boys (featuring historic railroad songs!), a box lunch and lecture on the History of Rail and Train Stations in Hunterdon with County Historian Frank Curcio.  There will also be some special treats and surprises!

Lunch included supplied by our super sponsor Shop Rite.

$15 PER PER ADULT; $10 FOR CHILDREN 17 AND UNDER; CHILDREN 5 AND UNDER FREE

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE BLACK RIVER AND WESTERN, SEE THEIR WEBSITE AT http://blackriverrailroad.com

BIG LECTURES:  YOUR LIFE IN HUNTERDON MARCH 22, 1814 (September 9):  In this special lecture researched for Hunterdon's 300th, County Historian Stephanie Stevens details how we would have lived, what we would have eaten, where we would have worked and what life would been like on the 100th anniversary of the day Hunterdon officially incorporated as a county.  This is the second in a three part series.  "Your Life in Hunterdon, March 22, 1914" will be on October 9th.

TRAINS, TRAIN STATIONS AND RAILROADS (September 10):  Join County Historian Frank Curcio for a power point presentation about the fascinating history of the trains, train stations and railroads of Hunterdon.  Not that long ago there were FIVE trains leaving daily for New York City from Flemington -- today, there are none!  This companion lecture to our Black River & Western trip the following Saturday will provide young and old alike with a delightful trip through Hunterdon mass transportation history even if you can't join us on the real train!  

HUNTERDON'S HISTORIC BARNS (September 16):  Complimentary to the historic barn photography show this month at the North Branch of the County Library by local Photographer Anne Freeman, join renowned barn historian and President of the Heritage Conservancy, Jeffrey Marshall, for an informative talk on Hunterdon's barns. Anne Freeman will also be on hand to discuss some of her photographs and her photography.

COLONEL JOHN READING (September 28):  Join us as historian Marfy Goodspeed provides a lecture on Col. John Reading, one of Hunterdon's Founding Fathers. This is the first of a two-part series on the Colonel and his son, the General.

GREEN LIVING THE HISTORIC WAY (September 30):  The agricultural lifestyle of our Hunterdon County ancestors was naturally "green" and, in comparison to our standard American diet, was quite healthy. This talk will focus on the lost details of everyday life in Hunterdon County before World War II -- such as the communal frozen cow -- and will look at what we can adopt from the past to make today's lifestyle more "green" and naturally healthier without reinventing the wheel.  

CHILDREN'S HISTORIC CRAFT PROJECT:  PUPPETRY! (September 21):  Join Kim Cheifer in this Puppet Making Workshop for Children based on historical models of puppets.  Ages 6-14; Maximum 35 children.

FIREWORKS! MUSIC! AND A NEW FUN LINK ON OUR WEBSITE

HERE'S AN A PREVIEW OF THE FIRST TWO WEEKS OF MONTH EIGHT OF OUR YEAR- LONG 300TH  BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION! 

HISTORY OF THE FLEMINGTON FAIR:  Wednesday, August 6 at the Assembly Space, Route 12 County Complex, Building One -- Just in time for the Fair -- start thinking about cotton candy, sno cones and candy apples -- the fair is just around the corner.  This powerpoint talk with lots of historical pictures will surely get you in the mood!

CONCERT AND FIREWORKS!  Join us on Thursday, August 7 at Deer Path Park for the fantastic sounds of the JAZZ CELEBRATION BIG BAND straight from the greater Philadelphia area!  This big band is a 17 piece Jazz Orchestra, performing music in the genre of Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Stan Kenton, Maynard Ferguson, etc., along with the traditional “swing” era music of Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman et al. Jazz Celebration features vocalist Claudia Perry.  Its members have performed with/for Tony Bennett, Joe Piscopo, Sammy Davis Jr., Liza Minnelli, Aretha Franklin, Manhattan Transfer, Johnny Mathis, Johnny Ray, The Temptations and many, many more.  There is nothing quite like the sound of 5 saxophones, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, Guitar, Piano, Bass, Drums, and a vocalist coming at you all at once!  The concert starts at 7 pm and ends at 9 at which time the 300th along with our special partners FLEMINGTON-RARITAN PARKS AND RECREATION have joined us to put on a FIREWORKS SPECTACULAR!!!  This IS going to be the biggest fireworks display in Hunterdon's history!

The park is going to get full early, so come with your picnic or some cash to patronize Pudgy's food truck!  Make sure you bring a cooler of cold drinks and a sweater in case it gets chilly in the evening.

Or you can leave the driving to us!  The LINK bus will be running for free all evening!  For the schedule check out our website www.hunterdon300th.org or just click on this LINK link:  http://www.hunterdon300th.org/events/Fireworks-August7th.pdf

LINDBERGH HOUSE TOURS: Friday, August 8:  Sorry, sold out!

ELIZABETH GILBERT:  ALMOST SOLD OUT! GET YOUR FREE TICKETS NOW on our website for Saturday, August 9!

The last of our Three Part Series on the historical aspects of the Office of the Surrogate, this one on the PROBATE PROCESS is on Wednesday, August 13 -- tickets still available on our website.

And our last concert of 2014 is on 8/14:  we are ending the concert series with a big bang:  or is that long bangs?  BEATLEMANIA is coming to Deer Path at 7 pm!  More on this next week!

FINAL FUN for this Blog entry:  a new link on our home page!  If you were one of the unlucky ones who did not snag a 300 Fun Facts Calendar this year, you can now access the facts, sans calendar dates, by clicking on the icon on the 300 Fun Facts About Hunterdon County picture -- our great friend, County Historian John Kuhl created the facts for us and we've brought them as a link to you that you can read at your leisure.  If you DO have the calendar, tomorrow, August 4th, is this blogger's favorite entry..... hmmmm..... Some of you may remember this tease during the 300 Fun Facts lectures offered back in the beginning of our celebratory year!  No peaking until tomorrow, August 4th!