Community Bulletin Board
Metuchen Art Works hosts monthlong show

Metuchen Art Works will host an invitational show through Aug. 29.

The show will feature a mix of original art work of five accomplished women artists - a sculptor, a landscape painter, a photographer, a Chinese batik artist and a designer.

Ellen Rebarber is a sculptor who studied drawing and painting with George Segal. Ellen works with a variety of materials: metal, wood, stone, stucco, plaster, clay and found objects.

Joan Winter has been painting for 30 years. She experiments in many different techniques and styles to paint flowers, portraits and landscapes.

Ping Jia, born and raised in China, does traditional batik art - an art of intense color and spectacular design on cloth. Her excellent craftsmanship and minute details show a unique style of art and imagery.

Ann Waugh is a set and costume designer who has worked in the United States and Europe over the past 15 years. Her projects include "Chicago" and Walt Disney's "Lion King." Her paintings in oil, watercolors and acrylics reflect the cultures and traditional influences that she experienced during her travels to Europe and Africa

Kimberly Rood is a young photographer pursuing a double major in art history and professional commercial photography. She pursues a variety of mixed media and collage work, where she often finds ways to incorporate her photographs into pieces.

The gallery plans to make the invitational show an annual event.

The collective vision of the artists at MAW (a cooperative art gallery managed entirely by the artists) is to sell high-quality original art work and to build awareness and understanding of art and its creative processes.

Each month the gallery also organizes free lectures and musical concerts to encourage emerging and established musicians to share their creations and ideas with the community. An artists' reception will be held 7-10 p.m. Aug. 5 at Metuchen Art Works Gallery, 15 Station Place.

For more information, call (732) 603-9299.

Teens can prepare for more scares at libraries

The Edison Public Library will soon be holding registration in person or by phone for the last two scary movies in its series of classic horror films titled "Teen Creature Features Horror Film Festival." The program is open to teenagers only; no younger siblings will be admitted.

Beginning Aug. 2, fright seekers can register for the third film, which is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Aug. 11 at the main library, 340 Plainfield Ave. With a bolt in its neck and a defective brain, this monster will go mad. Registration opens Aug. 15 for the fourth film, which will start scaring at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 22 at the main branch, and at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 29 at North Edison, 777 Grove Ave. "Mum's" the word for this immortal being, who was buried alive in ancient Egypt for thousands of years.

For more "frightening" information, call the main library at (732) 287-2351, ext. 3, or North Edison at (732) 548-0845, ext. 3.

'Mostly Blues' will be heard throughout town

The Metuchen Recreation Commission and the Metuchen Cultural Arts Commission will be celebrating their "Mostly Blues" Summer Concert Series with the Robert Murdock Band on Aug. 17 and Ron Kramer and the Hurricanes on Aug. 24, and conclude with the Kootz on Aug. 31. All concerts will begin at 8 p.m. and be held in the Metuchen Senior Citizen Center parking lot on Center Street, across from the Pearl Street parking lot. In the event of rain, the concerts will be moved indoors. Concert-goers are asked to bring lawn chairs.

The concert series has been made possible by a grant from the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission/Board of Chosen Freeholders through funding in part from the N.J. State Council on Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of National Endowment of the Arts. For more information, call the recreation commission at (732) 632-8502, or visit www.metuchennj.org.

Jewish Community Day with Patriots Sept. 17

Congregation Neve Shalom, Metuchen, has planned a Jewish Community Day with the Somerset Patriots on Sept. 17 at Commerce Park in Bridgewater. The Patriots will be playing the Newark Bears. The first 1,500 children at the game will receive a free school notebook. Autograph sessions will also be held prior to the game.

Tickets are $7 and must be purchased by Sept. 7. To sign up for the event, contact Hazzan Levin at (732) 548-2238 or can2r11@aol.com. Checks should be made payable to Neve Shalom Hebrew School.

Splash into summer with a discount at local parks

The Metuchen Recreation Commission is offering discount consignment tickets to various area amusement parks in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Tickets must be purchased through the commission with at least a week's notice. Discounts are available for Hershey Park, Sesame Place, Dorney Park and Camelbeach Waterpark, all in Pennsylvania; Splash Zone and Morey's Pier, both in Wildwood; Water World at Mountain Creek in Vernon; and the Philadelphia Zoo. For ticket prices or more information, call the recreation office at (732) 632-8502 or visit www.metuchennj.org.

'Art in the Garden' tour to bloom in town Aug. 19

The Edison Arts Society, a nonprofit arts organization, is sponsoring an Art in the Garden Tour of five residential gardens, hidden retreats in Edison and Metuchen. The event will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 19. Tickets are $20, which covers the cost of admission to all five gardens along with refreshments. The gardens will showcase different styles and themes, and the homeowners will act as guides and be available to answer horticultural questions. Tickets may be ordered through the arts society, 340 Raritan Parkway, Edison 08837; Earthsongs, 242 Amboy Ave., Metuchen 08840; or Kre-ans Gallery, 325 Main St., Metuchen 08840. Checks should be made payable to the Edison Arts Society. For more information, contact Linda LaStella at (732) 906-4137.

Clothing drive to

benefit band program

The J.P. Stevens Band Parents Association will hold a clothing drive to benefit the band program, Sept. 9 from 8-10 a.m. in the school's parking lot, 855 Grove Ave., Edison. Donations of gently used clothing, linens, accessories, shoes and stuffed animals will be collected. All donations should be placed in large plastic bags and dropped off between 8-10 a.m. that day. For more information, call Anne at (732) 906-0772.

There's summer savings at church thrift store

Wesley United Methodist Church, 5053 Woodbridge Ave., Edison, continues its thrift store hours for the summer. It will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesdays; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Thursdays; and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays. It will be closed on Saturdays in August. The thrift store features men's, women's and children's clothing, knick-knacks, toys, jewelry and a "bargain room," where shoppers can fill a bag for $1. Donations of clean, usable items are being accepted during open hours. Call (732) 738-0232 for more information.

Child car-seat safety

check slated for Aug. 20

The Metuchen Police Department will hold a child car seat check at McDonough Dodge of Metuchen at 85 Central Ave. from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Aug. 20.

The department received a $5,800 Child Passenger Safety Education grant from the state Department of Law and Public Safety.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 8 out of 10 car seats are incorrectly installed. This educational service is being conducted by child passenger safety technicians from various local police departments. The technicians will examine your child seat(s), check for any recalls and demonstrate the proper usage and installation for the seat.

Rec Commission slates evening of stargazing

The Metuchen Recreation Commission is sponsoring another night of "astronomical" viewing, or stargazing, beginning at 8:30 p.m. Aug. 30 on the soccer field at Vidas Park, located on Durham Avenue in Metuchen. Telescopes will be set up on the field, with binoculars also available, for observing the Earth's moon along with its many craters and seas, Jupiter and its moons, and other celestial bodies. In the event of cloudiness, the event will be rescheduled for Aug. 31. For more information, call the Recreation Commission at (732) 632-8502, or visit www.metuchennj.org.

Cub Scout registration slated in Edison Sept. 13

Cub Scout Pack 12, Edison, will be accepting new registrations for first- to fourth-grade boys from 7-8:30 p.m. Sept. 13 at St. Matthew School, 100 Seymour Ave., Edison. Call cubmaster Dave Jansen at (732) 572-7524.

Church to hold vacation Bible school in late Aug.

St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 445 Old Post Road, Edison, is offering a free week of vacation Bible school from Aug. 28 to Sept. 1, 6-9 p.m., for 4-year-old pre-kindergartners to children who will be entering sixth grade in the fall. Space is limited. To register or for more information, call (732) 287-0888.

Local Lutheran church has Sat. thrift shop hours

St. Stephen's Lutheran Church, located at the top of the hill on Pleasant Avenue (off Amboy Avenue), Edison, has announced its thrift shop hours. The store is open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon, where shoppers can find bargains on clothing, household items and gifts.

Donations are accepted during hours of operation.

For more information, call (732) 738-0887.