Metuchen on the Move

Free Programs

The YMCA of Metuchen, Edison, Woodbridge and South Amboy (MEWSA)

In response to lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical and mental health of area residents, the YMCA of MEWSA is expanding programs and services to help strengthen the community’s overall health and wellness.

Metuchen Public Library

In February, the children’s department at the Metuchen Public Library will have multicultural book displays, games and activities such as Book Bingo with books related to the theme of Black History Month, book giveaways, and bookmarks all highlighting the monthly theme.

The Metuchen Public Library is located at 480 Middlesex Ave. For more information visit www.metuchenlibrary.org.

Celebrate Black History Month

The Metuchen Downtown Alliance and the Metuchen Human Relations Commission are proud to celebrate Black History Month with trailblazers, ground breakers and international legends.

Posters of these “trailblazers, ground breakers and international legends” will be displayed in store windows around Downtown Metuchen.

They include Althea Gibson, first Black woman to win a Grand Slam tennis event; Alvin Ailey, dancer, director, choreographer and activist; Bessie Coleman, first Black woman to earn a pilot’s license; Claudette Colvin, pioneer of the 1950s civil rights movement; Constance Baker Motley, first Black woman to serve as a federal judge; Gil Scott-Heron, poet, singer, musician, and author; Jane Bolin, first Black woman to graduate Yale Law School, join the New York City Bar Association and the nation’s first Black woman judge; and Mae Jemison, first Black woman to travel into space aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour.

For more information visit downtownmetuchen.org.

The nonprofit organization is rolling out a host of free programs in the new year designed to promote wellness and support healthy living, including access to health education and screenings and programs that reduce risk for disease and help reclaim health.

Mewsa

In collaboration with Hackensack Meridian Health’s JFK University Medical Center, MEWSA began a new series of health seminars and screenings. Additional programs are planned for all ages and interests throughout the year. The programs are free and open to all.

MEWSA will be resuming its free Blood Pressure Monitoring program at the Metuchen YMCA. The no-cost, four-month program helps participants lower high blood pressure and prevent hypertension with support from certified Healthy Heart Ambassadors.

MEWSA reminds parents of seventh-grade students that the Y offers a free membership during the school year that includes access to fitness equipment, pools, gyms and recreation programs. Nearly 400 seventh graders are currently participating in the seventhgrade youth development program. For more information about the YMCA of Metuchen, visit ymcaofmewsa.org or contact the Metuchen Branch at 732-343-7476.

Restaurant Week

Downtown Metuchen Restaurant Week is scheduled for Feb. 20-26. For more information visit www.downtownmetuchen.org.

Windows of Understanding

The Metuchen Arts Council, once again, joins the New Brunswick Community Arts Council, the South Plainfield Arts Commission, the Highland Park Arts Commission and Mason Gross School of the

Arts at Rutgers University in announcing the sixth annual “Windows of Understanding” public art project running through April 1 in various communities throughout Middlesex County.

The urgency of Community Wellness is the center of this year’s initiative that unites local artists, organizations, and businesses to promote awareness and engagement around social justice issues impacting local communities.

This year’s theme of “Building a Healthy Community” highlights the following topics: mental health, violence prevention, food equity, and women’s health.

Visual Language of Art

In Metuchen, the Metuchen Arts Council is partnering with four non-profit organizations and has engaged five artist to illuminate, through the visual language of art, the services provided to the Metuchen Community by these special agencies. The artwork is on display in the windows of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services and Properties and Merle Norman Cosmetics at 564 and 556 Middlesex Ave. in Metuchen. As part of the exhibit, the Arts Council will hold an Open House reception at Berkshire Hathaway planned for 1-3 p.m. March 11. The public is invited to view the artwork and meet the artists and agency representatives. Refreshments will be served.

Community Conversation

The Metuchen Arts Council and the Metuchen Human Relations Commission will host a “Community Conversation” at 7:30 p.m. March 23 at the Metuchen Public Library, 480 Middlesex Ave.

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Metuchen and Edison home, they were inspired to do something they would call their own - Suite Metuchen is just that.

Derek recalled his idea to “learn something new” as his kids neared college graduation. After a career working for a large oil refinery, Moore found an online program catered to teaching event planning and venue ownership.

Today, he and his wife Trekita are working on that “learn something new” by tag-teaming Suite Metuchen operations. While Trekita Moore has built out the venue with her original design sense and multi-faceted additions to the space’s list of amenities, Derek Moore is working to grow his customer base while also planning events with Downtown Metuchen to get the community in for free.

“We’re still getting our event calendar together for 2023,” said Derek Moore while thinking about the events in store for the new year. “We were thinking about doing some Sunday brunches come springtime–with catering and light music. We also had a game night that was a really big success–a lot of people are clamoring for us to do that again.”

With so many possibilities in mind for 2023, Suite Metuchen will undoubtedly be the go-to zone for client-specific microevents, as well as events aimed to get Metuchen community members together. Looking toward the future, these local business owners showed excitement to get the Suite Metuchen name out to a larger radius of clients and to have more fun in the new year with some interesting events.

In a snapshot. Suite Metuchen owners Derek Moore, 41 and Trekita Moore, 42, are high school sweethearts originally from Virginia. They currently reside in Edison. They have two daughters ages 24 and 19. Derek is a college graduate, who works in the petroleum field. Trekita is a nurse by trade. Derek enjoys investing, comic books, and video games. Trekita enjoys reading and cooking.

For more information visit https://suitemetuchen.business.site.