Town Topics Newspaper, June 7, 2023

Master Plan Survey Makes Public Input A Continuing Priority

With the latest version of the Princeton’s Master Plan Community Visioning Survey having gone live at the end of last month, municipal staff and local officials are hoping for a healthy response from residents, who are invited to express their opinions on priorities for different kinds of development and community needs.

Public input is key to the master plan development process, which has been underway for more than a year and will go to the Planning Board for adoption after comments from residents are considered in at least two meetings in the winter.

“I think because our existing master plan is based in 1996, with adoptions along the way, people might not be aware of how important the public input is, and how ultimately it does get used,” said Justin Lesko, the town’s planning director. “I shouldn’t be sitting behind a desk imposing these regulations. That’s why we’ve structured the process this way — to have more hands-on activities like the open house, and now, more intentional questions.”

Lesko said staff members have been sending emails to community groups and putting up signs about the survey at bus stops and other locations around town. Following the survey, municipal staff and a steering committee including 13 local residents plan to host listening sessions over the summer to solicit feedback from residents and community groups. A second open house is targeted for September.

Two previous surveys elicited nearly 5,000 responses from the public, and more than 300 people attended an open house session last November at Princeton Public Library. In the newest, ve-minute survey, residents are asked some speci c questions about questions that were raised in the rst survey and rst open house.

One question addresses four parcels that are either large, under-utilized, or undeveloped: Westminster Choir College of Rider University, Valley Road School, the Butler Tract, and the Jasna Polana Golf Course. Participants are asked if they would be best used for municipal facilities, housing, open space, residential buildings, retail, or other uses — depending on the location.

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PPS Elementary Schools Plan for Growth

After a brief pause, when enrollment dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic, Princeton Public Schools (PPS) is facing a growing population and the need to make important decisions about where all those students will be going to school.

On Monday evening, June 5, PPS Superintendent Carol Kelley, along with a cohort of Board of Education (BOE) members and school administrators, presented several options for the future of the town’s elementary schools to a gathering of about 100 parents and community members assembled in the Princeton High School cafeteria.

As the district continues to gather information and input from stakeholders throughout the community, the possible scenarios under discussion include: 1) no changes — the status quo; 2) redistricting and rebalancing, with four pre-K to fifth grade buildings, about 370 students in each building;

3) building where the growth is, with four pre-K to fifth grade buildings, with larger populations at Littlebrook and Community Park, and smaller at Riverside and Johnson Park; 4) a “sister school” concept, with two sets of

schools paired pre-K-2 and 3-5; and 5) a new upper elementary (or lower middle) grades 5-6 school.

“The discussion is part of ongoing outreach to our parents, students, and the community as the district analyzes and evaluates options for the 20242025 school year and beyond,” Kelley wrote in her invitation to the event. “We have been listening to feedback from parents and staff across the district and want to make sure all voices are

heard. No decisions regarding future plans have been made.”

During the course of the evening participants shared their priorities and concerns for the future of the schools, as they heard from Kelley and others about some of the pros and cons of each option under consideration.

In the coming weeks there will be additional stakeholder meetings, as well as internal discussion among teachers and administrators, and external

Construction at 20 Nassau Street Causes Temporary Closure of Several Businesses

A row of retail businesses on the ground oor of 20 Nassau Street, the former office building currently being renovated to become the Graduate Hotel, will close for anywhere from 20 to 50 days to allow for key structural and safety measures to be undertaken.

Jammin’ Crepes, Sakrid Coffee, Small Bites, Milk and Cookies, and Nassau Barbers are affected by the work. How long each will be closed depends on their location and size.

“With the building being historic, and

kind of old, you nd things once you open up walls,” said Pablo David, vice president of government affairs and community relations with A.J. Capital Partners, owners of the Graduate Hotel chain. “Needs are different. Issues range from re safety to structural problems, utilities, and HVAC. Some major upgrades are needed throughout that portion of the building, to make it safe.”

David said the organization has been in communication with each of the

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CELEBRATING PRIDE: The third annual Princeton Community Pride Picnic on Saturday afternoon celebrated Princeton’s LGBTQ+ community with games, music, art, activities, local nonprofits, and more on the Palmer Square Green. Attendees share what brought them to the event in this week’s Town Talk on page 6.

(Photo by Weronika A. Plohn)

REIMAGINE Summer

CURIOSITY CAMP

Session Themes: •

TOWN TOPICS

Princeton’s Weekly Community Newspaper Since 1946

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DONALD C. STUART, 1946-1981 DAN D. COYLE, 1946-1973 Founding Editors/Publishers

DONALD C. STUART III, Editor/Publisher, 1981-2001

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DONALD GILPIN, WENDY GREENBERG, ANNE LEVIN, STUART MITCHNER,

JOINING FORCES: Three churches will celebrate Juneteenth together with a fellowship cookout on June 10 at the Cloister Inn, 65 Prospect Avenue. Participants in last year’s event are pictured here.

Three Area Churches Mark Juneteenth Together

For the third year, Mount Pisgah African Methodist Episcopal Church (AMEC) will join with Princeton United Methodist Church (PrincetonUMC) and Kingston United Methodist Church (KUMC) to celebrate Juneteenth with a Fellowship Cookout on Saturday, June 10, 12-3 p.m. at the Cloister Inn, 65 Prospect Avenue.

“Before Juneteenth was officially recognized as a federal holiday in the United States, Mount Pisgah AMEC and PrincetonUMC had a first gathering in June 2020,” said the Rev. Deborah K. Blanks, pastor of Mt. Pisgah AMEC. “Nourished by good food and fellowship,

we honored the long-ago joy of freedom celebrated when news of the Emancipation Proclamation finally reached Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865 ending the enslavement of Black people in America. We come together to share our common humanity, and in so doing, experience freedom.”

“I’m grateful that this Juneteenth event between a few local churches is happening once again this year,” said the Rev. Erik “Skitch” Matson, campus pastor for Kingston UMC. “It’s surprising to me how well we don’t know the other folks in our town and this event -- among others -- allows for deeper relationships to be built within our Princeton community.”

For information on the Juneteenth celebration or to participate, email danadreibelbis@gmail.com or call (609) 924-2613.

The three churches also join with Trinity Episcopal Church and Hopewell United Methodist Church in the community-wide Vacation Bible School scheduled for Monday through Thursday, June 26-29. Last year the free all-ages program was held at Mount Pisgah AMEC. This year it will be on the grounds of Trinity Episcopal Church at 33 Mercer Street. Each session begins at 5:30 p.m. with a family dinner. For information or registration for the VBS, visit princetonumc.org/kids/ or call (609) 924-2613.

Topics In Brief A Community Bulletin

Public Meeting on Master Plan for Community Park South: On Thursday, June 8 at 7 p.m. the public is invited to join planners in the main meeting room at 400 Witherspoon Street to discuss concept plans for the renovation of the park adjacent to the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood and Community Park elementary school. Princetonnj.gov.

Call for Land Stewards: Friends of Princeton Open Space (FOPOS) holds morning or afternoon summer volunteer sessions through August under the guidance of FOPOS’ director of natural resources and stewardship to assist with various conservation projects at Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve. Weekday and weekend sessions available. Visit fopos.org/getinvolved.

Donate: At Monument Hall, Princeton Human Services is collecting workwear clothing through June 16 for the Summer Youth Employment Program participants. Visit humanservices@princetonnj.gov for a full list.

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations: Four new dual-port charging stations for eight vehicles are available to the public, including an accessible charger, at the municipal building, 400 Witherspoon Street. The cost is $2 an hour during the day and $1 for overnight charging between midnight and 8 a.m., the same as in the Spring Street Garage.

Literacy New Jersey Online High School Diploma and Citizenship Classes: For Mercer County residents 18 and older, free classes. The diploma classes are held on Zoom; citizenship classes are on Zoom and in person at Princeton Public Library. For more information, call (609) 587-6027 or email mercer@LiteracyNJ.org.

Neighborhood Urban Gardening Takes Root in Trenton and Lambertville

In Trenton’s Mill Hill neighborhood and on the streets of Lambertville, summer gets off to an unofficial start this time of year with annual, self-guided garden tours in urban settings. This year in both locales, residents open their gardens —some meticulously

tended, others a bit more wild — to the public on Saturday, June 10.

The Mill Hill tour coincides with Taste Trenton, the capital city’s seventh annual restaurant crawl (held Friday-Sunday). And in Lambertville, a native plant sale known as Lambertville Goes Wild is held Saturday at Cavallo Park, 2 Mount Hope Street, with experts on hand to give gardening advice. Hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

TOPICS Of the Town

This is the 32nd year for the Mill Hill tour, which raises funds for historic preservation grants that assist the district’s homeowners and business owners in maintaining its landmark standards.

“The garden tour is one of Trenton’s most longstanding, celebrated summer events and offers everyone — including neighbors, families, friends, and attendees — the opportunity to browse dozens of incredibly landscaped urban gardens and public spaces, situated behind one of the most beautifully historic neighborhoods in central New Jersey,” said Meaghan Singletary, who is co-chairing this year’s event with her fiancé, Joseph Kuzemka. The two own the Out of Step Offbeat Boutique and General Store located at the Trenton Farmers Market.

“Our garden at the side of our house at 264 Jackson Street is one of the stronger ones in the area,” said Kuzemka. “There is a deck garden at 159 Mercer Street, owned by Dan Spalding, who is the conductor of the Capital Philharmonic. It’s on the tour for the first time. Bill Kucas’ garden at 113 Jackson is spectacular [Kucas owns Garden Makers Landscaping]. And those are just a few standouts.”

Entertainment, art in action, and refreshments are part of the day. At Singletary and Kuzemka’s garden, painter/illustrator/photographer Nagiyd Ewell, who painted the mural on the entrance of the Artworks building, will be creating a work of art, and cold drinks from Kafe Ojala at the Trenton Farmers Market will be

available. Artist Alia Bensliman, known for drawings and paintings inspired by her Tunisian heritage with a focus on North African and Berber art, will also create work during the day.

At the newly refurbished garden on Clay Street of Old Mill Hill Society President Oriol R. Gutierrez, the James Stewart Trio will be playing live jazz. Sponsors of the tour are hoping to have experts from Isles, Urban Agriculture, and Climate Corps on hand at the Friends Community Garden at 151 Mercer Street [headquarters of Mercer Street Friends], which is planted by neighborhood residents and especially colorful this year.

FULL BLOOM: Backyard settings like this one, from last year’s Mill Hill Garden Tour, will be open to the public in Trenton this Saturday from 12 to 5 p.m. (Photo by Jeffrey Tryon)

Urban Gardening

Continued from Preceding Page

Tickets to the tour, which is open from 12 to 5 p.m., are $20, available at TrentonMillHill.org in advance or at Artworks Trenton, 19 Everett Alley, the day of the event.

For sustenance, those attending the Mill Hill tour can stroll over to the eateries featured as part of Taste Trenton. Cuisines include Costa Rican, Venezuelan, Dominican, Polish, Guatemalan, BBQ, classic African American, New Orleans, and more. Hours have been expanded this year to include breakfast, and the traditional Irish pub Tir na nOg will offer a special drink. The tour is self-guided and offers reduced price dishes to those who wear special wristbands.

The tour was launched in 2015 as a one-day event focused on 12 restaurants in the Chambersburg area, and has since expanded. “When we were invited to join in the second year, we jumped at the opportunity,” said Reggie Hallett, co-owner of the 1911 Smokehouse at 11 West Front Street. “I can confidently point to 15 or 20 of our regular customers who first came to the Smokehouse for that event, and they haven’t stopped coming.”

Saturday marks the 25th anniversary of the Hidden Gardens of Lambertville tour, presented by the Kalmia Club. Their historic pink clubhouse at 39 York Street is the starting point for the event, which is held rain or shine from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Several private gardens in this architecturally distinctive town are included. “The amount of tips gleaned in a few hours can be real estate-changing,” said Kalmia’s Shirah Gray before last year’s tour, which was the first to be held after the pandemic. “At worst, you stopped to smell the roses and possibly discovered an heirloom variety. Hence, gardening groups from all over the state have regularly attended Kalmia Club’s Hidden Gardens of Lambertville Tour.”

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 the day of the tour. Proceeds assist with Kalmia Club’s community outreach and annual scholarship programs for local young women. Visit kalmiaclub.org for more information.

—Anne Levin

Question of the Week: “What brought you to the picnic today?”

(Asked Saturday at the Princeton Community Pride Picnic on the Palmer Square Green) (Photos by Weronika A. Plohn)

Samantha: “I am here to support my child and celebrate pride.”

Candor: “We don’t have a pride event in our town, so we are going to other towns to see what their pride events look like. I work with HiTOPS, so I wanted to come and support them as well as the other great organizations that are here today.”

—Samantha and Candor Plum, South Plainfi eld

Stephanie: “The picnic was a random find. We were here for a film screening earlier today. We went to the record store, we heard the music, and decided to come as allies to the community. The event is so positive and beautiful, and everyone is having a good time.”

—Stephanie and Rachel Hampton, Hamilton

Chet: “We are here to support the young people in their pursuit of finding their identity and being their authentic selves.”

Frank: “We try to attend as many pride events as we can, and I am here particularly to support the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice, where I am a volunteer.”

—Chet Kabara with Frank Mahood, both of Hopewell

Tiffany: “We came to get some Jammin’ Crepes and we heard the music. We decided to join and support the event and have a good time. The weather is amazing too.”

Spencer: “It is a mixture of wanting to know what it is like here and support for the message. I am having a good time and the music is great.”

—Tiffany and Spencer Ball, Trenton

Robt: “I am proud to serve as chief activist of the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice, and we always want to show up and support our community friends and partners in town and in the greater community to make sure that all of our friends and allies are feeling safe, recognized, respected, and loved.”

Hayley: “I am also here with the Bayard Rustin Center. I am supporting the community and helping at the event. We are making some arts and crafts with the kids today.”

—Robt Martin Seda-Schreiber, Princeton Junction, with Hayley Rubins-Topoleski, Trenton

continued from page one professional advice on design, cost, and budget implications of the options.

By late summer or early fall, the district intends to make a decision about which option to pursue, with detailed plans to be formulated by March 2024 for BOE deliberation and approval. The Board is anticipating a referendum vote in September 2024 to fund whatever option is chosen. If approved, the necessary construction work could take anywhere from one to three years to complete, with the new plan implemented at the earliest by late 2025.

In explaining the purpose of the meeting, BOE member Beth Behrend, who is co-chair of the Board’s Long Term Planning Committee, emphasized that the stakeholders will be leading the decision-making process. “The community will have to approve,” she said. “The Board cannot advocate. We’re simply trying to facilitate the process. It’s about the community.”

She noted that since updated demographic data became available in February there has been extensive input and opinions from many different constituencies.

In a 30-minute “parent feedback work session” early in the evening, participants, divided into five different groups where they shared their priorities, writing down and posting three choices for “what you want us to deliver,” “what you want your child to experience.”

There was widespread

agreement on many themes that emerged — small class sizes; neighborhood schools within walking distance; parity in resources; emphasis on diversity, stability, mental health, strong teaching, and academics; support for the Dual Language Immersion program (DLI), and more.

The gathering seemed more aligned in its priorities, and in accord with the district’s established strategic plan goals, than might have been expected, Kelley commented. The challenge ahead, however, is to determine which districting option will be best capable of advancing these priorities.

In the last half hour of the meeting, Kelley and Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Kimberly Tew commented on some pros and cons of each of the options.

“Status quo — do nothing” is not a viable option, Kelley noted, with Littlebrook and Johnson Park currently already at capacity and enrollments growing.

The redistrict and rebalance scenario would require changing the boundaries of the four elementary schools to balance enrollments. Renovations would be needed at all schools. That option would facilitate consistency of class sizes, but would create challenges for the DLI program, according to Kelley.

The “build where growth” scenario would require no redistricting, but would require enlarging of Littlebrook to accommodate growth and Community Park to accommodate dual-track DLI, as well as renovations in all schools. It would also

require additional personnel in the form of a school counselor, assistant principal, and nurse for the larger buildings.

In the sister school model, recommended by planners but apparently not popular so far with parents, Johnson Park as a pre-K-2 school would be paired with Community Park as a 3-5 school and Riverside as a pre-K-2 school would be paired with Littlebrook as a 3-5 school.

All elementary schools would be renovated and reconfigured to accommodate their particular grade levels.

Kelley emphasized the efficiency of a sister school model, which would allow for consistency in class sizes and instructional practices and the ability to sharpen the focus on the early preK-2 learners and also on the 3-5 learners, as well as flexibility for future enrollment. Increased traffic could cause challenges under the sister school model.

The new 5-6 school configuration would be the most effective in preparing students for middle school and high school, according to Kelley, but the fi nancial burden would be significant, with the need for a new building and an additional principal, counselor, and nurse.

As the district moves toward an early fall decision for its elementary schools, with a bond referendum a year later to support whatever plan is chosen, school leaders continue to urge community input, emphasizing their focus on community partnership, community collaboration, and thoughtful evaluation.

—Donald Gilpin

SERENE SPACE: On May 17, Mayor Mark Freda did the ribbon-cutting honors as Princeton High School opened its long-awaited courtyard, a serene space designed to provide students, teachers, and staff with a peaceful oasis in the bustling school environment.

Princeton High School Unveils New Courtyard

On May 17, Princeton High School opened its long-awaited Courtyard, designed to provide students, teachers, and staff with a peaceful oasis within the bustling school environment. The Courtyard was funded by a grant from the Princeton Education Foundation (PEF).

Educators, students, and community members worked to bring this project to life.

Richard Snediker of RS Land Design, a landscape architecture firm, collaborated closely with the architecture, art, and various other teachers and students of the school to come up with a landscape that integrates nature, tranquility, and functionality.

The Courtyard showcases

lush greenery, blooming flowers, and strategically placed seating areas combine to create an inviting atmosphere conducive to relaxation, collaboration, and reflection. It was also adorned by personalized bricks through a PEF fundraiser. The brick fundraiser remains ongoing, offering opportunities for future installations, and plaques on benches for those who raise over $2,000. For more information, visit pefnj.org.

Local Birdwatchers Learn To Identify Through “Songs”

On Sunday, May 14, a capacity group of 20 participants took a bird walk in the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve. Winnie Hughes Spar, an expert birder who has led bird walks for Washington Crossing Audubon Society

and Princeton University Reunions, as well as annual Christmas bird counts in Princeton, was the leader.

Spar joined the board of Friends of Princeton Open Space (FOPOS), sponsors of the tour, in April.

“We were able to see and hear the songs of several nesting species,” she said, “including the elusive redeyed vireo, the beautiful rose-breasted grosbeak, and great crested flycatcher. Another highlight was the very cooperative Swainson’s t hrush, a migrant passing through on its way north. It’s always exciting to be with a group of eager beginning birders and sharp-eyed kids.”

For information on upcoming FOPOS events, visit fopos.org/events-programs.

IT’S TIME TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP WITH A HIP REPLACEMENT

When you know what to expect, you can move forward with confidence.

If you’ve considered hip replacement surgery, but have concerns about taking the next step, let us ease your mind. At Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center, we provide comprehensive education, so you’ll know exactly what to expect before, during and after surgery, including safe, effective pain management. The expert surgeons at our Center for Joint Replacement offer multiple treatment options, including minimally invasive procedures. Together, we’ll work to choose the best treatment for your unique needs. All this and more –backed by the strength of Penn Medicine. Learn more at PrincetonHCS.org/JointReplacement.

Center for Joint Replacement

HomeWorks Highlights Young Women, The Power of Academics, and Community

HomeWorks Trenton has been helping marginalized teenaged girls in a free after-school residential program established in 2016, and is now looking to quadruple its student population and move into a recently-purchased threestory house at 1212 Edgewood Avenue in Trenton.

HomeWorks has seen impressive growth in support and its impact on its students, academically and personally, over the past seven years, and its Executive Director Natalie Tung sees no limits to its future possibilities.

Tung, who founded the organization when she was an undergraduate at Princeton University and student teaching at Trenton Central High School, had come from her home in Hong Kong to attend The Lawrenceville School for four years before coming to Princeton. She saw the potential of the boarding school model for the girls she was teaching in Trenton.

“I had such an amazing experience at Lawrenceville, not only with the learning and the education, which is so incredible, but also living in a dorm with 40 other girls,” she said. “It was the first time I had an experience where girls were really lifting each other up. It was such a powerful community of women coming together. I realized the power of women and the power of community.”

As she was earning her

teaching certificate while attending college, Tung developed her idea for HomeWorks. “I saw how Trenton is such a beautiful, amazing community,” she said. “The students there were amazing, but because of the challenges, because of the systemic injustices, the kids had so many more challenges than what I had seen at Lawrenceville or among students in neighboring school systems.”

She continued, “As a sophomore at Princeton I was thinking, ‘What if I could replicate the Lawrenceville model at HomeWorks and bring it to the public schools, to girls in marginalized communities?’”

HomeWorks now is replicating the boarding school experience for 12 young women, who stay overnight in dorms throughout the week and are transported to and from their public schools. Every afternoon they engage in activities focused on academics and “identity-driven leadership,” after which they eat a family-style meal and stay in the HomeWorks dorm with two full-time staff members.

The schedule includes more than 400 hours of programming per year for each student, including everything from group therapy to field trips to Philadelphia and New York City; to coding, poetry writing, finance, and investments; to swimming lessons, a social justice curriculum, and more.

After dinner each night the students have study hall and tutoring, more than 180 hours of tutoring per student each year.

Tung cited some of the achievements of HomeWorks over the past year, including a 98 percent attendance rate and 90 percent median GPA as compared to the Trenton school system where 36 percent of students are chronically absent and the median GPA is about 67 percent.

“These kids are going into a school system where there are a lot of challenges,” said Tung. “Ninety percent not on grade level for math, 80 percent not on grade level for English. It’s a beautiful community, but there are a lot of extra challenges, that specifically girls and specifically Black and Latino girls have to overcome with their families. We’re committed to work with them to overcome all these challenges.”

Cameron, a graduating senior this year, was accepted at six different colleges and will be going to The College of New Jersey for computer science. Darae, a HomeWorks scholar from 2017 until her graduation in 2022 and a peer leader, was accepted by eight New Jersey colleges and universities and is attending Montclair State University on a full scholarship.

Since 2016, HomeWorks’ diverse team has grown to eight staff, eight board members, and more than 20 volunteers. HomeWorks

has been recognized and supported by Princeton University, McKinsey and Company, Echoing Green, Comcast, Hollister, TRESemme, Camelback Ventures, Barclays, Vital Voices, The Rachael Ray Show, and more.

The 501(c)(3) organization is now trying to raise $3 million to renovate its new property at 1212 Edgewood in order to expand the program to more than 40 girls and also to “be more sustainable and an anchor in the community,” Tung said. The building has been unoccupied for more than 10 years, and Tung is hoping to work with the community to revamp the building and revitalize that part of the neighborhood.

Plans for renovation include dorm rooms for students, housing for staff, a study space, a dining room, a teaching kitchen, and office space for administrators. A large outdoor area on the property would be used for classes, social gatherings, and a recreational area.

“When I look at the building, I envision being able to have 40 scholars there,” said Tung, as quoted in a Real Estate NJ article. “I see it being just an incredibly warm, inviting space and a community space where everyone is excited to come back. It’s a place where all of our kids are living, but also wanting to push each other to grow and to really thrive in their academic space, to thrive in the community, to pursue new things, whether it’s in arts, sports, coding, or computers — anything they want to do, they have that ability to use this space to really pursue and to grow.”

Tung shared her vision for the ongoing expansion of HomeWorks. “By providing a safe academic and residential space, HomeWorks scholars all over the world will gain the tools to achieve their full potential, and collectively break down social injustices in their home communities and beyond through ground-up, peopledriven systemic change,” she wrote. “We are starting in Trenton, New Jersey.”

Tung added, “We’re always looking for volunteers, always looking for tutors and programmers, and we’re also looking for support for our building. Please reach out through our website at homeworkstrenton.org.”

—Donald Gilpin

Community Foundation Accepting Grant Applications

The Princeton Area Community Foundation is inviting nonprofits to apply for grants for summer youth initiatives, especially those that reach families who would otherwise not have access to these programs.

This round of grantmaking is part of the Community Impact Grants program.

Summer initiatives are important for young people because these programs serve as safety nets, reduce juvenile crime rates, and help working parents. But for many families, summer programs may be out of reach.

On May 24, the Community Foundation held a virtual gathering to hear from nonprofits and community advocates about the needs in the region and understand why some families have difficulties accessing these programs.

The Foundation plans to incorporate the feedback received at the gathering into grantmaking decisions. More information and grant applications are available at pacf.org. Applications are due June 13.

Princeton Farmers’ Market Returns to Hinds Plaza

The Princeton Farmers’ Market opened at its original home, Hinds Plaza, on June 1. It will continue every Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. through November 16.

Opened in 2009 with the idea of bringing healthy, locally produced goods to the center of town, the market was on Hinds Plaza until being temporarily moved to other locations during the pandemic.

Shoppers will find local organic produce, pastureraised meat and eggs, fresh baked bread, empanadas, pickles, fresh flowers, and more. The market accepts SNAP/EBT cards for eligible purchases. Thanks to City Green and Good Food Bucks, matches are possible of up to $10 on SNAP transactions per customer per day.

For more information, visit princetonfarmersmarket.com.

People & Stories Gets $20K Arts Grant

People & Stories/Gente y Cuentos (P&S/GyC) has been approved for a $20,000 Grants for Arts Projects award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support its “Literature: Reading in Community, Writing Our Stories” Project, an innovative approach to the art form of the short story and to literature engagement.

“We are honored to receive this generous grant, selected from among 1,130 projects across the country, allowing us to provide opportunities for individuals to experience literature in a new way and develop their own voices through creative writing,” said P&S/GyC Board CoChair Andrea Honore.

The “Writing Our Stories” project will provide funding for a series of reading and writing workshops to be held in English and Spanish at the Federal Correctional Institution, Fort Dix; The Children’s Home Society of New Jersey, Trenton; Libertae, Inc: Freedom in Recovery, Bensalem, Pa.; and Interim House, Philadelphia.

People & Stories/Gente y Cuentos’ “Literature: Reading in Community, Writing Our Stories” Project was selected during this highly competitive second round of Grants for Arts Projects fiscal year 2023 funding.

“The National Endowment for the Arts is pleased to support a wide range of projects, including People & Stories/ Gente y Cuentos’, demonstrating the many ways the arts enrich our lives and contribute to healthy and thriving communities,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson. “These organizations play an important role in advancing the creative vitality of our nation and helping to ensure that all people can benefit from arts, culture, and design.”

Through 10 sessions, each two hours long, groups of 15-20 individuals will experience literature in a new way and develop their own voices through creative writing.

SCHOLARS AND LEADERS: At Homeworks Trenton, founded by a 2018 Princeton University graduate, young women from marginalized communities engage in activities focused on academics and leadership skills in a free residential program. (Photo courtesy of HomeWorks)

Master Plan

continued from page one

“As the current master plan has been in effect for almost 30 years, and master plans generally can be expected to be in force for at least 10 years, the survey is an attempt to explore the public’s thoughts on those parcels in case there are future changes in operation or use,” reads a release on the survey from the municipality. “If changes are proposed for these sites, the municipality would be better guided by the thoughtful input it hopes to receive through the survey results.”

The survey asks whether Princeton should build a new municipal indoor recreation facility, and which services would be most important — worker training, homeless assessment services, day care, youth after-school programs, a community kitchen and food pantry, an emergency shelter, or an auditorium — if the town were to develop a community center.

Another question addresses how Princeton should make it easier for middle-income households to live in town.

Use of the Princeton Muni Bus, which was relaunched in 2021, is an additional focus.

The master plan is a document “which sets forth the policies for land use as envisioned by the municipality,” reads the release. “This includes the character and location of new development and redevelopment, as well as circulation (vehicles, pedestrians, and bikes), hazard mitigation and climate adaptation, conservation, preservation, utilities, public facilities, and other elements of the built and natural environment. Through its various ‘elements,’ which are distinct and yet interrelated, the master plan articulates a vision for the community, informed by the community.”

Lesko said the municipality wants to steer as many people as possible toward the survey.

“If someone who might not have ever interacted with municipal government sees our sign at a bus stop, click that QR code. We want their input.”

To access the survey, which is active at least through midJune, visit engage.princetonmasterplan.org.

—Anne Levin

Tell them you saw their ad in

AmericanFurnitureExchange WANTED

Fairgrounds in Ringoes

Hosts Community Day

The Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce and the County of Hunterdon will be holding its 8th Annual Hunterdon County Community Day on Saturday, June 10 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at South County Park-Hunterdon County Fairgrounds, located on Route 179 in Ringoes.

“Hunterdon County Community Day has truly become a place where we can showcase and celebrate all the great towns, organizations, nonprofits, the business community, and great resources of Hunterdon County,” said Chris Phelan President of the Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce.

New this year will be “Touch A Truck” featuring an array of vehicles to come discover, learn, and explore. Back by popular demand, Michael Shwedick’s Reptile World will be holding three live reptile shows throughout the afternoon at 11:30 a.m. and 1 and 2:30 p.m. Doctor “D” Entertainment will once again be the emcee. There will be musical performances throughout the day by the Hunterdon Wind Symphony, the Hunterdon Harmonizers, and Vocal Synergy. Hunterdon Healthcare, the presenting sponsor, will be on site along with the Hunterdon Partnership for Health and the Hunterdon Healthy Work Force Initiative, sharing health and wellness tips along with interactive activities. Weather permitting, the Unity Bank Hot Air Balloon will be offering free tether rides.

The event will also include a petting zoo, pony rides, children’s games, bouncy rides, fire and rescue squad vehicles, and demonstrations from local

STARING CONTEST: Three live reptile shows are part of the fun at the 8th Annual Hunterdon County Community Day on Saturday, June 10. businesses and organizations. Visit Hunterdonchamber.org for more information.

Rider’s Model UN Team Scores at the Top Again Rider University’s Model United Nations (UN) team was awarded the Outstanding Delegation Award at the 2023 national Model UN conference in New York City, the world’s largest international collegiate simulation in international relations. This is the highest award given at the conference, and Rider has now won it 14 times over the past two decades.

The team also won a Position Paper Award for the work done by Maria Castillo, a political science major, and Bobby Barbero, a global studies major. These juniors were recognized for their outstanding work on the International Atomic Energy Agency committee.

“For the nearly 20 years I’ve been the adviser for Rider’s

Model UN teams, the teams have done exemplary work winning numerous awards year after year,” says Barbara Franz, professor of political science. “This year’s team upheld that tradition and received the Outstanding Delegation Award, which reflects its superb performance.”

The competition, which was held at the UN Headquarters, typically draws more than 200 colleges and universities from around the world, and engages thousands of student-delegates in diplomacy, negotiation, public speaking, and more. As a founding member of the competition, Rider has attended every conference since 1967.

Participation in the Model UN is offered through a student-led course that requires students to write position papers and develop their ability to speak extemporaneously during debates. This preparation helps the students negotiate, persuade, and gain the

cooperation of other student groups, each of whom are representing different UN member states from around the world. This year’s Rider team, led by head delegate Katy Timari and leaders Devon Shaw and Christina Natoli, represented Armenia, which is viewed by some as an emerging democracy. Timari led the class as they learned about the history and culture of the country so they could effectively advocate for its position.

Timari’s experience increased her self-confidence and helped her grow as a public speaker. It also broadened her outlook on what can be accomplished as a citizen. This summer, Timari will begin a yearlong fellowship with Appalachia Service Project, where she has previously interned. The organization coordinates volunteers who repair homes for low-income families in rural Central Appalachia.

Library Exhibit to Introduce Einstein As Outspoken Civil Rights Champion

Two stories embedded deeply in the history of Princeton and the world are Albert Einstein as the great scientist developing his theory of relativity and contributing to the theory of quantum mechanics, and Einstein as one of the first members of the Institute for Advanced Study, serving there and paying frequent visits to Princeton University from 1933 until his death in 1955.

But Einstein and his involvement with the African American community is a littleknown facet of the man’s life

that will be on display from June 15 through August 1 in an exhibit in the second floor Reading Room at Princeton Public Library (PPL).

“Albert Einstein: Champion of Racial Justice and Equality,” funded by the McCutcheon Foundation and consisting of 11 panels of text and images, will then move from Princeton to other New Jersey sites to be on display for about 18 additional months.

The Princeton Einstein Museum of Science (PEMS), preparing to open in 2026, and the Witherspoon-Jackson

Historical and Cultural Society (WJHCS) have teamed up to mount this pop-up exhibit focusing on Einstein’s relationships with residents of Princeton’s traditionally African American neighborhood and with many prominent Black leaders of the mid 20th century.

PEMS President Elizabeth Romanaux, who grew up in Princeton and whose father went to Princeton University and remembered seeing Einstein around town, and WJHCS President Shirley Satterfield, lifelong

Witherspoon-Jackson resident who knew Einstein when she was a child, met and since last October have been working on this exhibit.

“The thing Shirley and I want this exhibit to do is to tell people more about Einstein,” said Romanaux. “Shirley said to me, ‘Einstein was such a wonderful person and we know him only as a scientist.’ I think we know him less as a humanitarian. We wanted to get this right. We wanted the story to be authentic. We’re excited about telling this.”

Romanaux explained that the Einstein Museum will include an introductory gallery showing Einstein’s life in Princeton in order to give visitors some context before they enter the science section. Three popup exhibits are planned, one each year, before the museum officially opens in 2026. Next year the Princeton Einstein Museum will choose another partner for a pop-up exhibit on either “Art Meets Science” or “Strictly Science,” which are the two topics planned for the next two pop-up displays.

Romanaux described learning only recently about Einstein’s involvement with the African American community on a national level, as he was a member of the NAACP, maintained a 20-year friendship with Paul Robeson, corresponded with W.E.B. Du Bois, and joined a committee to defend the Scottsboro Boys, nine Alabama young men who were falsely accused of rape in 1931.

EINSTEIN, ANOTHER VIEW: An exhibit on the renowned scientist’s relationships with residents of Princeton’s traditionally Black neighborhood and with many Black leaders of the mid 20th century will be on display in the Princeton Public Library from June 15 to August 1, a collaborative project by the Princeton Einstein Museum of Science and the Witherspoon-Jackson Historical and Cultural Society.

Romanaux recalled the story of Einstein’s friendship with the renowned singer Marian Anderson, who had come to perform at McCarter Theatre in 1937. Einstein went backstage to congratulate her after the show, but when he dropped her off at the Nassau Inn afterwards, she was refused accommodations because she was Black. Einstein invited her back to his home on Mercer Street to stay with him and his daughter, which is where she also stayed on subsequent visits to Princeton.

“He was brave to step out of everybody’s comfort zone to do what he knew was right,” said Romanaux. “He did that again and again. I read that his colleagues told him that he should stop involving himself in politics, but he declined to do that. He said he was going to continue to involve himself, that he was particularly interested in the condition of Blacks in America and he was committed to improving that.”

She continued, “So that’s what this exhibit is about. It’s important for us to talk about these things. If we really want to be one community and cure the ills that have come before, we have to take an unvarnished view of what has gone on and talk about it. Shirley and I feel that this is a good topic, and we can all learn from it, and that’s the point of it.”

An opening reception will be held on Thursday, June 15 from 6 to 7 p.m. in the second floor Reading Room of the PPL, where the exhibit will be displayed.

—Donald Gilpin

Syridex Bio, a Princetonbased life sciences-focused firm investing in therapies that address the needs of underserved communities, has been selected to manage and deploy up to $5 million in investment capital for growing health care and life sciences companies in New Jersey, as the firm’s fundraising traction grows.

The company was one of three named by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) to receive capital from the State’s Life Science/Health Care Fund. Among the three investment managers selected, Syridex Bio is differentiated by a unique investment focus on health equity. The $5 million allocation will become part of Syridex Bio’s new investment fund and will be managed in alignment with the firm’s mission and with state and federal government rules.

As a life sciences impact investment firm, Syridex Bio’s investment focus centers on funding therapies for diseases that disproportionately affect underserved populations, including ethnic minorities, the LGBTQ+ community, and rural dwellers. The firm’s investment targets include in-development drugs and medical therapies that tackle the world’s greatest health outcome disparities. By leveraging venture creation and private equity strategies, Syridex fi nances the development of medical solutions that concretely advance health equity.

“We are gratified to receive this funding from the State of New Jersey to advance health equity and support local businesses,” said Founder and Managing Partner Squire Servance. “Syridex Bio was founded with the fundamental belief that everyone deserves access to high-quality health care. We are proud to start this work for local communities in our home state of New Jersey.”

The allocation from NJEDA was funded through the federal State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), intended to support small and early-stage businesses across the state. Syridex Bio will be responsible for managing day-to-day operations and developing a pipeline of prospective, New Jersey-based life science startups that can benefit from the capital, including companies in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices.

“The SSBCI-funded Life Sciences and Health Care Fund will drive investment in innovative, emerging New Jersey-based companies and help to continue the state’s leadership in this competitive sector,” said NJEDA Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan.

“The selection of Syridex Bio as a manager for the fund will help to ensure that we are strategically supporting small business owners while driving the scientifi c breakthroughs and economic activity that

will help us achieve Gov. Phil Murphy’s vision for more equitable and inclusive opportunities for New Jerseyans.”

Saint

Peter’s

Named to Best Maternity Hospitals List

Saint Peter’s University Hospital has been named to Newsweek’s list of America’s Best Maternity Hospitals 2023, a prestigious award presented by Newsweek and Statista Inc., the worldleading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. The awards list was announced on May 10 and can currently be viewed on Newsweek’s website. This is the second consecutive year Saint Peter’s has been named to Newsweek’s list of America’s Best Maternity Hospitals.

Three data sources were used for the evaluation: a nationwide online survey of health care professionals and hospital managers with knowledge about maternity processes e.g., neonatal and perinatal doctors, nurses, and midwives were asked to recommend leading maternity hospitals in the U.S.; medical key performance indicators (KPIs) on hospitals with a focus on indicators relevant to maternity care; and results from patient surveys.

Newsweek and Statista invited over 10,000 medical professionals to participate in the survey. Only 384 winners were recognized on the Best Maternity Hospitals 2023 list.

“Saint Peter’s is known throughout the region as a leader in women and children’s services with the ability to care for expectant mothers at every level on the spectrum, from high-risk pregnancies to those seeking to give birth in our stateof-the-art birth center,” said Leslie D. Hirsch, FACHE, president and CEO of Saint Peter’s Healthcare System, parent company of Saint Peter’s University Hospital.

“The Newsweek recognition validates the fact that choosing Saint Peter’s means choosing to birth your baby at one of the best facilities in the country and is also a testament to Saint Peter’s team of maternal health specialists that are among the top nationwide providing comprehensive care before, during and after pregnancy.”

Saint Peter’s is home to a state-designated Regional Perinatal Center that provides an exceptional level of care to women experiencing a high-risk pregnancy and operates a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where premature or fragile newborns receive the highest level of specialized care.

The hospital is certified in Perinatal Care by The Joint Commission and is the state’s first to be verified as a Level IV Maternal Care facility by The Joint Commission. Its midwifery-led Mary V. O’Shea Birth Center is one of the few hospital-based birth centers in the country and features birthing suites designed with a home-like atmosphere. Since 1997, Saint Peter’s has been the sole New Jersey hospital-member of The Council of Women’s and Infants’ Specialty Hospitals (CWISH), a collaborative of 14 hospitals across the country that works together to establish best practices in support of programs, and national policy for women’s and infants’ health care services.

For more information, visit saintpetershcs.com or call (732) 745-8600.

(Photo courtesy of the Princeton Einstein Museum)

Nassau Street

continued from page one business owners about the closures. “Everyone has had several touchpoints making sure they knew what was ahead,” he said. “We’ve been trying to work with them to make their lives a little bit easier. But obviously, it’s a disruption.”

Kathy Klockenbrink, coowner of Jammin’ Crepes, said the restaurant will be closed from June 12 until the work is done. “We have been in discussions with them since about the first of the year. We weren’t expecting it to be this long, but we knew there would be some interruption,” she said.

Structural work between the retail space and the second floor, which will be housing hotel guests, necessitated the temporary closing. “It has a lot to do with fire protection. I support what they have to do,” Klockenbrink said. “It doesn’t mean we like it, but it is an essential part of the next step, and we understand that.”

Jammin’ Crepes will continue to operate its food truck at the West Windsor Farmers Market on Saturdays, run the Jammin’ Community Café at Princeton Public Library, and cater private events while the main location is closed.

Tony Kanterakis, who runs Small Bites as well as Local Greek [on Leigh Avenue], said that while the closing is disruptive, he understands it needs to take place. “Long term, it will be a good thing

for us,” he said. “I understand that they’ve got to do what they’ve got to do.”

Kanterakis opened Local BBQ in Hopewell two weeks ago. He is deciding whether the location at 20 Nassau Street will be called Greek Bites or Local BBQ when the construction work is done. “We’re leaning toward BBQ, and we’ll offer Southern breakfast as well,” he said.

David said the Graduate Hotel is targeted to open in early 2024. Launched in 2014 and based in Nashville, the parent company focuses on college towns, and has more than 30 hotels across the country as well as two in England.

The construction process, which began two years ago and has included demolition of a row along Chambers Street, has not been without controversy. Residents of Bank Street, which is behind the building, voiced numerous concerns about construction, traffic, and aesthetics before work began, resulting in adjustments to some of the plans. This past April, local workers from various labor unions spent two weeks protesting the hotel contractor’s use of non-local workers who are not from Mercer County.

David said he looks forward to the end of the process and the return of retailers to their locations. “We know how important these businesses are to Princeton. We look at them as anchors to that side of Nassau Street,” he said.

—Anne Levin

Annual Radio Event Invites the Public

The Delaware Valley Radio Association (DVRA) will hold an amateur radio open house on Saturday and Sunday, June 24 and 25, at 798 Bear Tavern Road in West Trenton.

Over the weekend, some 40,000 “hams” across the U.S. are expected to participate in ARRL Field Day, including members of the DVRA. Field Day runs from 1 p.m. Saturday to 4 p.m. Sunday. Members of the public are invited to see the operation from 2-7 p.m. Saturday at the DVRA’s radio station, adjacent to Mercer County Airport. Over 24 hours, members will set up portable radio stations on emergency power and try to have as many conversations as possible with other “hams” around the country.

“Field Day is a picnic, a campout, practice for emergencies, and an informal competition,” said Bob Bowden, DVRA president. “Most of all, it’s fun and low key. We’ll build and operate temporary remote radio stations, practice operating skills, and enjoy the camaraderie of visitors and other club members. It is open to the public and always a good time.”

Sometimes called the original social media, amateurs use radio to chat by voice, but also have perfected a wide range of other methods including text, email, and other digital messaging — even with no internet. They build their own internet with radio technology.

Field Days have been a part of radio since the early days, when the medium was in its infancy at the turn of the 20th century. To test their skills and technology, radio aficionados would cart their gear outside to see how well they could communicate with one another in the elements, and under less-thanideal conditions. The first national Field Day was held in 1933, and has become one of amateur radio’s most popular organized events.

For more information, visit w2zq.com/2023-field-day.

Police Blotter

On June 3, at 9:04 p.m., it was reported that three individuals kicked open the front door of a Quarry Street residence and then fled on foot. No entry was made into the residence, however the door was damaged. The Detective Bureau is investigating.

On June 2, at 11:21 p.m., subsequent to a motor vehicle stop on Alexander Street, a 23-year-old male from Clyde Park, Mont., was placed under arrest for Driving While Intoxicated. He was transported to police headquarters where he was processed, charged, and released.

On May 31, at 7:42 p.m., an individual reported that someone sent them an alarming text message demanding a sum of cash and threatened them with violence if they did not pay. The text recipient did not respond and blocked the number before calling police. Police stated that this is a common scam.

On May 30, at 6:45 p.m., it was reported that an unknown individual stole the front license plate from a vehicle on Lovers Lane. There are no suspects at this time.

On May 27, at 2:03 p.m., subsequent to a call from a retail establishment on North Harrison Street for a shoplifting that had just occurred, a 33-year-old male from Princeton was located nearby and placed under arrest after an investigation revealed he had shoplifted $115.96 in merchandise. He was transported to police headquarters where he was processed, charged and released.

On May 26, at 9:18 pm., several individuals reported that they were approached and yelled at by a male in an “aggressive manner” while driving on Maple Street. No physical contact was made. The complainants observed that the male was in possession of a knife. An investigation revealed the male to be a 39-year-old from Boynton Beach, Fla., who was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, simple assault, and harassment.

On May 26, at 1:03 a.m., a Princeton Police officer

observed a vehicle operating on State Road with no registration. When the officer attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver fled south on State Road at a high rate of speed. The officer did not pursue the vehicle and surrounding jurisdictions were notified.

On May 25, at 12 p.m., an individual reported that the window of her vehicle was shattered while it was parked at a public park on Alexander Street. The vehicle owner’s backpack and wallet were stolen, however, no fraudulent purchases were made with debit or credit cards. The approximate value of the stolen items is $160. The Detective Bureau is investigating.

On May 22 at 4:06 p.m., an individual reported that someone entered his vehicle on Mountain Avenue and stole his debit/credit card as well as U.S. currency. Several fraudulent purchases were attempted at a retail establishment in another jurisdiction, however the purchases were declined. The Detective Bureau is investigating. Unless otherwise noted, individuals arrested were later released.

FIELD DAY: Delaware Valley Radio Association members Jack Tatar, left, and Greg Mauro, operate a temporary amateur radio station at the club’s 2022 Field Day event. This year’s gathering is June 24-25 at its West Trenton headquarters.

VOLUNTEER ACTION: On May 23, employees of NetElixir, a Princeton-based digital marketing agency, joined Friends of Princeton Open Space (FOPOS) at the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve to remove invasives Canadian thistle and garlic mustard along the lakeshore. “The timely removal of these plants will help prevent the spread of these prolific invasive seeders,” said Anna Corichi, FOPOS’s director of natural resources and stewardship.

Bordentown Green Fair Focuses on Sustainability

The 14th annual Bordentown Green Fair returns to historic Bordentown City on Saturday, June 10 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with more t han 50 vendors and exhibits designed to educate and encourage people of all ages to adopt a more sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle. The fair is sponsored by the Bordentown City and Bordentown Township Environmental Commissions. This free event will take place rain or shine at Carslake Community Center, 207 Crosswicks Street, Bordentown City

( accessible via the Bordentown River Line station ) Parking is available at four locations: on-site; at the Mary, Mother of the Church Parish parking lot, located at 45 Crosswicks Street (lot is accessible one block over, from Elizabeth Street); at the Bordentown Township municipal building, located at 1 Municipal Drive; and at the River Line Parking lot. For the convenience of fair visitors, a shuttle will be available from all the parking locations throughout the day. There will be live music and entertainment, food for purchase from three local

restaurants, including the HOB, Sunday’s Ice Cream and Café, and new this year, Red’s Rolling Restaurant. The day includes free raffles for eco-prizes, live animals, sustainably and locally made crafts, home decor, body care products, and more.

Children are once again invited to participate in the Green Fair Passport Program, where they are invited to collect stamps and win eco-friendly prizes. Representatives from the Trenton Boys and Girls Club will be accepting gently used bike donations. Visitors are encouraged to bring used,

clean T-shirts for upcycling into reusable shopping bags by Kara Parker of Project Bolsa, and crayons that will be upcycled into candles by The Beekeyper’s Wife. Other items to be collected include used eyeglasses, used sneakers and shoes, plastic jar lids, and soda can tabs. Donation bins will be located at the front of the community center.

With regards to municipal recycling, the following items will be collected for Bordentown Township’s recycling programs: snack wrappers, chip wrappers, and oral hygiene products and packaging (for example, toothbrushes, floss containers, empty toothpaste tubes) for Terracycle; and plastic shopping bags, bread bags, Ziploc bags, plastic packaging, and e-commerce bags for NexTrex.

Finally, bring your empty pizza boxes for Bordentown City’s pizza box recycling program. Collection bins and additional information will be located on-site. The annual Plant Swap will be back by popular demand. Visitors can bring all types of indoor and outdoor plants to swap with one another. No invasives please.

A complete list of exhibitors, entertainers, and special events can be found at bcec.cityofbordentown.com/ annual-green-fair-2.

New Director Named at Old Barracks Museum

The Old Barracks Association Board of Trustees (OBM) has named Michelle Doherty as its new executive director. Doherty has been an integral part of the OBM team and has served in almost every capacity over the past seven years.

Named acting executive director in February 2023, she has demonstrated an ability to navigate the OBM through the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic while positioning the museum for the upcoming 250th anniversary celebrations.

“Michelle is a dynamic leader,” said Board President Lisa Willever. “She is that rare individual that motivates by example as well as high standards. It isn’t often you come across someone who can raise morale while exceeding expectations. We are thrilled to support all of Michelle’s goals and look forward to expanding the OBM’s impact on the city, state, and country.”

Longtime board member Scott Scammell added, “This decision was based upon two things: an enormous level of achievement, prior to and since February, and the new momentum Michelle has created for the museum at this important moment.”

“As a premiere historic site, preserving both the history and the facilities can be a daunting task,” said Doherty. “I am fortunate to have a highly skilled staff and a supportive board to create new programs as we navigate major facilities improvements.”

“Michelle has more than demonstrated the skills and professionalism needed to steer this vital institution,” said board member the Rev. John C. Taylor of Friendship Baptist Church. “With so many exciting events and commemorations ahead, Michelle’s ability to collaborate with state and historic partners will ensure outstanding results. The Old Barracks Museum is definitely in good hands.”

“Where quality still matters.” 4621 Route 27 Kingston, NJ 609-924-0147

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Mon-Fri 10-6; Sat 10-5; Sun 12-5

Brian M. Hughes, County Executive / John P. Thurber, Chairman / Phillip S. Miller, Executive Director

It’s Better to See a Rapid Response to School Intrusion Than Play the Odds

To the Editor:

One of the more puzzling aspects of the controversy over the decision to replace the principal of PHS has been the blasé response to the fact that a student opened a side door to admit a former student who, however briefly, roamed the halls of the school until identified, located, and escorted out.

Despite the current spate of school shootings in a country awash with guns, the odds of such an event at any given school are very low, so low that chances are we could do away with safety drills altogether without negative consequences. Not ordering a lockdown as soon as the intrusion happened was the easy decision, the one that played the odds. The hard decision, the one that would have required real leadership, would be to order the lockdown knowing that almost certainly there would be no shots fired, and that the decision would surely be second-guessed.

The things said about the former student who entered the school fit with the things said about actual school shooters. By and large they too are known to some of the students and teachers, and, if troubled, have never before pulled a gun. No one recognizes a shooter in advance because these are one-off crimes. It does not take 10 minutes to empty the standard 22 shot clip of an unmodified Glock, it takes less than 10 seconds if you don’t care about aiming.

As an educator, a former Board member, and someone with two grandchildren in PHS, I would much rather see as rapid a response as possible to a school intrusion and be reassured that what has been practiced actually works, than play the odds. Then when I turn on the evening news and see yet again bereaved and bewildered residents of some other town saying, “we never thought it could happen here,” I would at least have the assurance that we are as prepared for such a horror as we can possibly be.

Play the odds with money, not with lives.

JEFFREY SPEAR North Harrison Street

Thanking Those Involved in Upcoming Romus Broadway Photography Camp

To the Editor:

In the summer of 2022, after hearing a riveting Joint Effort lecture led by Jennifer Garcon, Princeton University’s Librarian for Modern and Contemporary Special Collections, on photography and legacy, the Rev. Gregory Smith contacted his “brother friends” Lance Liverman and Charles Phox to discuss the idea of creating a photography camp in honor of the celebrated local son and photographer, Romus Broadway. The committee grew to include Iona Harding, Jennifer Garcon, and Shirley Satterfield. Together, they forged a proposal to create a camp that would teach the fundamentals of photography combining the history of the Witherspoon-Jackson community. The camp was later endorsed by the Witherspoon-Jackson Historical and Cultural Society whose mission is to research, preserve, understand, appreciate, and celebrate the rich and proud history of African Americans in Princeton, New Jersey.

Asha Weal and Ryshawn Cooper, both photographers who are direct descendants of the community, joined to build a photography curriculum aimed to foster students between the ages of 12 and 15 that have an interest in photography and an appreciation for the WitherspoonJackson community.

Over the course of the nine-day camp, June 20–30 at the Princeton University Carl Fields Center, students will learn photographic techniques on digital cameras and take photos to be used to sustain our rich and diverse community and culture. The camp will meet from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Letters to the Editor Policy

Town Topics welcomes letters to the Editor, preferably on subjects related to Princeton. Letters must have a valid street address (only the street name will be printed with the writer’s name). Priority will be given to letters that are received for publication no later than Monday noon for publication in that week’s Wednesday edition. Letters must be no longer than 500 words and have no more than four signatures.

All letters are subject to editing and to available space.

At least a month’s time must pass before another letter from the same writer can be considered for publication.

Letters are welcome with views about actions, policies, ordinances, events, performances, buildings, etc. However, we will not publish letters that include content that is, or may be perceived as, negative towards local figures, politicians, or political candidates as individuals.

When necessary, letters with negative content may be shared with the person/group in question in order to allow them the courtesy of a response, with the understanding that the communications end there.

Letters to the Editor may be submitted, preferably by email, to editor@towntopics.com, or by post to Town Topics, PO Box 125, Kingston, N.J. 08528. Letters submitted via mail must have a valid signature.

Our planning committee has grown to include Brittany Waller (marketing) and Moriah Akrong (camp program coordinator). The camp is grateful to the WitherspoonJackson Historical and Cultural Society, Princeton University, and the many generous donors who have given their time and resources to fully sponsor the students and to make this camp a soon-to-be-reality.

There is still time to get more information, register, and to sponsor a child by emailing romusbroadwaysummercamp@gmail.com.

LANCE LIVERMAN Witherspoon Street IONA HARDING Fisher Avenue

Former PPS Insider, Now Looking In from Outside, Shares Concerns

To the Editor:

My family and I moved to Princeton in 2012. In 2019 our youngest graduated from Princeton High School. We were quite content, and happy to be living in Princeton. We figured we’d live in our house for a few more years, then maybe sell. But the recent happenings at Princeton Public Schools have us gravely concerned. Even though we are no longer inside the schools, we see and hear things from the outside that are cause for alarm.

Budgets created by the BOE that include monies for the superintendent to have her own PR firm and funds for unnecessary consultant after consultant, the increase to a

$106M budget for the coming year, the politicized direction that education is taking, mismanagement of the elementary enrollment distribution which may result in redistricting, construction or more renovations, and of course, the removal of Principal Frank Chmiel from Princeton High School. I watched the recent Donaldson hearing with horror, listening to allegations that seem meager at best, with a superintendent and Board of Education that appear to have crossed the line. How could the public, and more importantly Mr. Chmiel, be put through a five-hour hearing when nobody on the Board intended to consider the facts for even a brief discussion before voting down his opportunity to come back? How could the superintendent insist that Chmiel’s midterm leave was because he was an immediate threat to the safety of students, based on an incident that happened four months earlier? What kind of democratic system exists in this town, when thousands of parents and students voicing their support for Chmiel held absolutely no weight?

Chmiel and his lawyer were accused of creating a circus, but everyone saw the ringmasters sitting at the tables along the front! So many students, staff, parents, and other community members are left wondering what is happening to this town? And it is a really scary thought for one so close to selling our home. Perhaps we’d better get out now, before the word spreads? To the power vested in the citizens of this town, hold a BOE recall, recant the system, and get things righted before it’s too late.

YAN FELDMAN Walker Drive

The Pennington School

Congratulations to the Class of 2023

Charles Rackley Adams

Isabel Grace Adams

Reagan Taylor Amberson

Ahja Simone Bates

Lana Beck

William Joseph Bercaw

Siddharth Bhanote

Tyler John Bock

Juan David Borges

Alexander Botero II

Ava Marie Brass

Tate Michael Buccellato

Isabel Hope Cahn

Gavin Christopher Calhoun

Nikolas Joseph Sinker Chase

Quyen Quyen Chia

Benjamin Neil Clabbers

Maggie Eileen Clarke

Kate Elizabeth Coakley

Conor Michael Coyne

Stella Iliana Davino

Lauren Alyssa Decker

Christopher Alan DeLellis

Elias Di Bello

Piper Zoe Dubow

Zoe Carolyn Eaton

Dawson Gordon Ennis

Jacob William Ernst

Nadia Cheley Espinoza

Isabella Grace Fermo

Joshua Nathan Finkle

Marcus Koakapuaoekelakela Gaffney

Suhani Gharia

Abigail Morgan Goodrich

Charlotte Case Granato

Gordon James Grandbouche

Latajah Ebony Grant

Leanne Taylor Griffiths

Sofia Ellen-Matsuko Gruson

Amelie Cecile Halgan

Thea Elin Alexandra Hardeberg

Shanti Willow Hastings-Kimball

Jonah David Heimann

Caleb Joseph Hibbert

William Christopher Hirsch

Jinze Hong

Aurora Hu

Jiayi Huang

Ian Christopher Huizer

Sung Min Hwang

Grace Winifred Irizarry

Mary Ann Jacob

Yeunsoo Jung

Grace Malaine Kantra

Charles Nicholas Kempe, Jr.

Beatrix Sora Kim

Claire Coleman King

Ryan Chupa Knab

Palmer Clark Koesterich

Drayton Thomas Kolaras

Zoe Lynn Latorre Rodriguez

Julia Elizabeth Levine

Evan Pierce Levy

Yuda Li

Gloria Yunxin Liu

Anne Schaeffer Long

Garren Gasparian McCauley

Chloe Coral McKain

Margaret Grace McKee

Kyle Wolfgang Meinhart

Corey Joseph Miller

Nicholas Edward Moran

Elena Serafima Nechay

Anh Chau Nguyen

Samantha Lee Panfili

Summer Christine Partridge

Simon Samir Patel

Francesca Bianca Augusta Pendus

Aidan Joseph Petolillo

Michael Peter Petrane, Jr.

Linh Gia Pham

Camrie Vae Plummer

Enrique Martin Porras, Jr.

Patrick Richard Powichrowski

Leah Ann Reichert

Patrick Michael Riley

Harris Adam Roberts

Macayla Jayde Rodriguez

Evin Catherine Roldan

Andrew Antonio Rosa

Philip Rakic Ross

Perri Aryn Rubin

Alexis Ann Samano

Kaylie Rebecca Schneider

Maygala Selvisudhakar

Mofei Shen

Christopher Trent Sirolly

Elena Sperry-Fernandez

Sean Thomas Sprague

Amelia Lynn Stevenson

Naseer Jordan Stevenson

Avery Joyishea Anderson Territo

Zachary Christopher Tomlinson

Heidi Adair Vander Schaaff

Ava Mari Vecchione

Melina Bijaal Verma

Nathaniel Joseph Wallace

Gracen Severance Ward

Thomas Joseph Weaverling

Sydney Amaya White

Sadie Jane Wright

Dailan Xu

Joseph Vernon Youngblood III

Zhengkun

The Pennington Class of 2023 will be matriculating at the following colleges and universities:

Second Sunday Poetry

Reading at Princeton Makes

Princeton Makes, a Princeton-based artist cooperative, and Ragged Sky Press, a local publisher focused on poetry, will host a Second Sunday Poetry Reading on Sunday, June 11 at 4 p.m. The readings will take place at the Princeton Makes store in the Princeton Shopping Center.

The June reading will feature Lavinia Kumar and George Witte. Their readings will be followed by an open mic available to up to 10 audience members who would like to read their orig-

abolitionists, early suffragettes, and activists.

Witte has published four books of poems: An Abundance of Caution (May 2023), Does She Have a Name?, Deniability, and The Apparitioners. His work has appeared widely in journals and is anthologized in several collections, including The Best American Poetry. A native of Madison, he lives with his family in Ridgewood.

years

excellence in education

Kumar had an assortment of careers, from chemistry and biology to educating teachers and administrators on how to use data. After retirement, using the other side of her brain, she learned to write poetry, on India, Ireland, ancient medicines, and finally landing on women. First, a book about worldwide women scientists and inventors, then on American soldiers and spies of early America. Most recently, she wrote a book in short prose pieces of 90 pre-Civil War writers, poets, publishers, painters, artists,

Princeton Makes is a cooperative comprised of 35 local artists who work across a range of artistic genres, including painting, drawing, stained glass, sculpture, textiles, and jewelry. Customers will be able to support local artists by shopping for a wide variety of art, including large paintings, prints, custom-made greeting cards, stained glass lamps and window hangings, jewelry in a variety of designs and patterns, and more.

Ragged Sky is a small, highly selective cooperative press that has historically focused on mature voices, overlooked poets, and women’s perspectives. For more information, visit princetonmakes.com.

George Witte

Lavinia Kumar

Artwork by Nicole Steacy

Brian Cox and “Succession” — It’s About Displacement

Midway through actor Brian Cox’s memoir Putting the Rabbit in the Hat (Grand Central $29), someone asks if he ever thought of playing Donald Trump. After a quick emphatic “No” (“It’s such a bad script”), he explains why he prefers playing Logan Roy, the profane patriarch in HBO’s hit series Succession, which just completed its fourth and final season. “Roy is more interesting because he’s a darker character ... He does villainous things but he’s not really a villain. And another thing that interests me about him is that we have this in common: we’re both disappointed in how the human experiment has turned out.”

Cox returns to the same theme in the book’s final chapter, admitting that sometimes “it can be distressingly easy to put on my Logan Roy skin” because besides being about wealth and entitlement, Succession is “about displacement,” about how Logan is “classically displaced, taken from his childhood home when he was very young.” At this point, Cox makes it clear that he’s talking about himself: “I know somebody else who feels displaced, who left Scotland at a young age. Somebody who feels a certain disgust with the rest of the human race, who feels that humanity is a failed experiment.”

Why This Image?

The feeling of displacement Cox mentions may offer a clue to the photograph he picked for the cover of his memoir. Celebrity book jackets generally accentuate the positive. This unguarded image makes you curious about the author’s choice and how it might relate to the show that made him famous. Given Cox’s personal triumph in Succession, his woebegone expression is striking when contrasted to the interior photo of him as Logan Roy, where he looks every bit the confident, all-powerful ruler of a media empire who would have nothing but contempt for an actor who seems to be barely containing a world of sorrow. And although Cox’s narrative is marked by slights, losses, tragedies, failures, absurdities, embarrassing accidents, missed opportunities, and disappointments, it’s also enlivened by humorous turns of phrase and numerous amusing incidents.

Where’s the Rabbit?

Cox takes his title from a theatrical anecdote. After one actor tries to rouse the

cast (“Look, lads, we’re like magicians, we’ve got to pull the rabbit out of the hat”), another actor observes that first “you’ve got to get the rabbit into the hat.” Apply the message of the title to Cox’s book and it’s clear that the “rabbit” he pulls out of the final chapter is Succession, where everything “clicked into place” with “the first read-through” in 2016.

A Painful Displacement

When Cox was offered the part of the “avaricious empire builder,” he was told it was “a one-shot deal” and that Logan would die at the end of the first season. “That’s the story of my career ” he thought. “Oneseason parts.” The prospect recalled the particularly painful “displacement” he experienced with David Milch’s Deadwood , which he spends much of his memoir’s brief final chapter describing.

A highlight of the show’s third season is Cox’s vigorous, expansive performance as Jack Langrishe, a Chicago theater impresario and old friend of Ian McShane’s murderously avaricious saloon owner Al Swearengen, the “most extraordinary creation” of a “most extraordinary” series. Cox was looking forward to coming back for season four of “a very happy show,” when he would open his theater with a performance of The Mikado . But “things fell apart” and “the fourth season never happened.” Instead, HBO and Milch agreed to make a film that Cox was approached for a decade later, too late, because by then he’d already committed to Succession.

Although he was disappointed at not being able to rejoin Deadwood and especially lamented the fact that his character “had no real conclusion,” Cox wasn’t about to turn down Succession, not after that first read-through: “The cast as we know them

today” had been there “and I’d been blown away by them, every single one.”

Even then, he remained unsure about his future with Succession until a phone call from showrunners Jesse Armstrong and Adam McKay, who made it clear they preferred the dynamic of a situation where Logan survived the first season, remaining “very much on the scene, pulling the strings in ways that are sometimes as confusing to the viewer as they are to the kids themselves.” Which child does he prefer?

Is it Shiv, “who might be his equal,” or Kendall, “a monster of his own making,” or Roman, “the dark horse?”

Logan and Al Admirers of Deadwood accessing YouTube clips of Logan Roy in action will hear echoes of Ian McShane’s weaponized obscenities in the slashing rhythm of Cox’s f-word-driven invective. Whether Logan is unloading on his children or his financial advisors or his rivals, he goes at it with Swearengen’s cutthroat gusto — without actually slitting throats, as Al occasionally does.

One potential benefit of the attention showered on Cox and Succession would be to send new viewers to Deadwood , a work of Shakespearean grandeur in its reimagination of the English language and the American West. Compared to Milch’s visionary take on the human comedy, Succession is much as Cox describes it, a satire about families, dynasties, entitlement, and “a critique of the fact that nonelected individuals can have an effect on policy.” It’s also about Logan Roy “trying to teach his spoiled, entitled children the value of hard work.” As if aware that this account of his “teaching” is euphemistic at best, Cox admits that Roy’s form of instruction “is not always — hardly ever — moral or ethical.”

In fact, the damage Logan does to Kendall, Shiv, and Rom is crueler than anything Al wreaks on his family of enforcers and prostitutes. In “The Best of Logan Roy” and other clips on YouTube, you need only see his children’s stricken faces after he’s blitzed them with taunts that are often savagely personal. The genius of Deadwood’s Swearengen is the fusing of violent energy with the humorous, gloweringly self-aware theatrical ambiance that ultimately inspires devotion and even love among his crew (as the 2018 film makes clear). For all its edgy, unsparing brilliance, Succession leaves the Roy children like so much roadkill in its wake, although the impression is softened by the memorials given in the series’ penultimate episode, so powerfully played by Jeremy Strong’s Ken, Sarah Snook’s Shiv, and Kieran Culkin’s Roman, whose emotional collapse into the arms of his siblings is followed by a mad Quixotic dash into the anti-Royco mob.

Doing LBJ

In his epilogue, Cox mentions The Great Society, a Broadway play staged “prior to Covid” in which he plays “President Lyndon B. Johnson.” When you think of his negative response to the idea of ever playing Trump, it seems all the more remarkable that, at 73, Cox learned 160 pages in three weeks and “really, really enjoyed the piece.” What helped him was the realization that Johnson reminded him of his father (“I found myself channeling my dad into the performance”). It was “exhausting, yes, but the theatre feeds you. It’s that astonishing relationship you can achieve with the audience; it’s the fact that you never get bored, you’re always feeling an immediacy, a sense of a new experience unfolding.” That’s why “I only ever really see this stopping when I die. And when that happens, I can only hope I make a good death, with dignity and grace, with my loved ones nearby.”

In a brief afterword that helps explain the solemnity of the book’s cover photo, Cox writes, “A life comprises so many fractured elements. The nervousness that accompanies putting pen to paper, trying to illustrate and make sense of one’s life, ultimately induces an inner state of ... well ... sheer panic.” And with a neat play on his title, Brian Cox’s term for the panic is “A rabbit-in-the-headlights feeling.”

—Stuart Mitchner

MUSIC REVIEW

New Jersey

Symphony Orchestra

Closes

Princeton Season with Fiery Soloist

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO) introduced a new violin star to Princeton audiences this past weekend in a performance also including a world premiere. Led by Music Director Xian Zhang, the Orchestra presented a concert in Richardson Auditorium Friday night featuring music commissioned for the Orchestra’s Centennial celebration, well as a beloved violin concerto performed by an up-and-coming superstar.

As part of its Centennial Anniversary, NJSO commissioned an orchestral piece from Chinese-American composer Chen Yi. Yi’s compositions are rooted in her upbringing during China’s Cultural Revolution, and she describes her works as a fusion of Chinese lore and Western form and techniques. The one-movement Landscape Impression, commissioned by NJSO and premiered in this past weekend’s concert, was inspired by two poems by the 11th-century writer Su Dong-Po.

Yi has set these poems before as choral pieces, and her orchestral treatment sought to capture the beauty of the mountain and lake landscapes by interpreting the poetic imagery with contemporary compositional devices and effects. Zhang and the orchestral players began the work emphasizing its dense texture, with key melodic fragments heard from flutes and trombones. Swirling and trilling winds supported the violin lines, with sharp percussion and an ever-present harp. Winds effectively provided “raindrops” on the West Lake of Dong-Po’s poem, as the Orchestra conveyed a musical portrait of a far-away panorama in a time long ago.

TICKETSPrinceton University Chapel

precise phrase endings throughout, and trumpeter Garth Greenup’s playing was a lesson in the varied types of trumpets and performance practice.

When Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky completed the 1878 Violin Concerto in D Major, the work’s intended recipient turned it back, proclaiming it unplayable. Clearly, Tchaikovsky and that 19th-century violinist had never met Randall Goosby, who has been turning heads in the violin world, even at his young age. A graduate of the Juilliard School, Goosby played Tchaikovsky’s Concerto on Friday night with ease and technical facility, as if he had known the music all his life.

The first movement of the Concerto opened with a lyrical orchestral melody, showing traditional classical roots. Goosby’s solo emerged effortlessly from the texture, as conductor Zhang built the drama quickly, and Goosby played the familiar first movement theme poignantly and with authority. He easily handled the quick passages with light fingering, showing a ringing upper register and full command of Tchaikovsky’s technical demands. Goosby drew out the drama of the first movement cadenza, drawing fire and passion from his 1708 Stradivarius violin and drawing the audience into his performing realm with teasing cadences and lyrical melodic lines.

Princeton’s

First Tradition Worship Service

Sundays at 10am

Igor Stravinsky’s 1920 ballet Pulcinella also recalled an era gone by, as Stravinsky turned to the 18th century for inspiration. Stravinsky himself created an instrumental “Suite” from the full ballet, with eight movements for chamber-sized orchestra and particular emphasis on the wind instruments. New Jersey Symphony Orchestra began Stravinsky’s “Suite” from Pulcinella in a joyous tempo, with the full string sound contrasting with crisp wind solos. Stravinsky scored the “Suite” for five string soloists supported by an ensemble of 18 string players, and violinists Eric Wyrick and Francine Storck, violist Frank Foerster, cellist Jonathan Spitz, and double bass player Ha Young Jung were clean in their solo lines. Wind combinations were exceptionally clean, with oboist Robert Ingliss playing particularly expressively and bassoonist Robert Wagner often providing very quick lines. Zhang elicited

The second movement “Canzonetta” was a throwback to a past musical age, played by the Orchestra with crisp winds and Goosby’s mournful songlike solo line. Zhang brought out the movement’s grace, with the solo violin line complemented by Andrew Lamy’s clarinet solo, and an elegant duet between Lamy and flutist Bart Feller. The rustic third movement “rondo” was marked by an enticing solo violin melody and agile playing from both soloist and Orchestra. Goosby’s melodies were often answered by wind solos, including those from bassoonist Wagner, clarinetist Lamy, and oboist Ingliss. Each repetition of the “rondo” refrain seemed a little more frenetic, with the movement gaining speed well toward a jubilant conclusion. Goosby closed Friday night’s performance with an encore of a “Louisiana blues strut,” with saucy melodies and show-stopping virtuosity that the 18th-century violin maker Stradivarius could not possibly have imagined.

—Nancy Plum

Preaching Sunday,June 11, 2023, at 10am is Susan E. Field, Retired Protestant Chaplain and Baptist Chaplain, New York University. Music performed by University organist, Eric Plutz.

Open to all.

Artwork by Nicole Steacy

PEOPLE BEHAVING BADLY: In ActorsNET’s production of Shakespeare’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” Cat Miller, left, and Shelli Penitmall Bookler discover Falstaff’s scheme and come up with their own plan to teach him a lesson.

Shakespeare 1960s Style

With ActorsNET Production ActorsNET finishes its 26th season with a 1960s sitcom reboot of The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare, a comedy of sexual jealousy and overbearing egos set against a landscape of summer resort leisure and the “dirty dancing” music trend.

The play follows Shakespeare’s well-known old scoundrel, John “Sinjin” Falstaff, who has become a nightclub entertainer, headlining at the Garter Restaurant in the Windsor Resort. Down on his luck, Falstaff schemes to seduce the

titular merry wives, Mrs. Alice Ford and Mrs. Margaret Page, in an attempt to restore his fortunes. He sends them identical love letters, but his double-dealing ruse is discovered, and the two ladies are determined to teach him a lesson. There are disguises, misdirected letters, a “duel,” and a midnight denouement before the tangle is unraveled, the men get their comeuppance, and the good prevails.

“Our cast and crew really brought this 1602 comedy into the 1960s,” said producer Karolina Matyka. “From the costumes that perfectly suit the personalities of the

Opera is On Roster

At Princeton Festival

Opera is the focus June 16-20 at the Princeton Festival, being held in an outdoor performance pavilion on the grounds of Morven Museum & Garden. In addition to a new production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville on June 16, 18, and 20, the festival will also present Metropolitan Opera star Will Liverman in a recital on June 19 at 7 p.m.

characters, such as Mrs. Page’s youthful polka dot dress, to the energetic music pieces and choreography that make you feel like participating in the talent show from Dirty Dancing — it will certainly be a blast from the past for some of our audience members.”

The Merry Wives of Windsor runs from June 9-25 at the Heritage Center Theatre, located at 635 North Delmorr Avenue, Morrisville, Pa. Show times are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. For tickets or additional information, visit actorsnetbucks.org.

James Marvel directs Barber of Seville, which pits the clever wit of the barber Figaro, portrayed by Andrew Garland, against a bumbling and greedy guardian, Dr. Bartolo, played by Steven Condy. The story is centered on Count Almaviva’s love for the beautiful Rosina, roles filled by popular returning Festival artists Nicholas Nestorak and Kelly Guerra. Remaining cast members include Festival veterans Eric Delagrange and Cody Müller, as well as Kaitlyn Costello-Fain and the Festival Opera Chorus. Princeton Symphony Orchestra Music Director Rossen Milanov conducts.

Professor Timothy Urban gives a free pre-performance talk “The Funny Thing About Figaro” on Sunday, June 18 at 3 p.m. at Morven’s Stockton Education Center.

A 2023 Grammy Awardwinning vocalist, Liverman will sing works by Black composers, capping a Juneteenth celebration including a special art exhibit, “Beyond Freedom,” at Morven’s Stockton Education Center. Liverman opened the Metropolitan Opera’s 2021-22 season in Terence Blanchard’s

VIRTUOSO VOCALIZING: Will Liverman, a Metropolitan Opera star and Grammy winner, sings works by Black composers at the Princeton Festival, on the grounds of Morven Museum & Garden, on June 19 at 7 p.m. (Photo by Adam Ewing)

Fire Shut Up in My Bones , which won the 2023 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording. Following Fire’s success, the Met announced that Liverman will star in Anthony Davis’ X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X , which will be the second opera by a Black composer in the company’s history, premiering fall 2023.

Preceding the concert at 2 p.m., Art Against Racism founder Rhinold Lamar Ponder opens the onsite

exhibit Beyond Freedom in a free talk titled “Reclaiming Humanity Through Art” at Morven’s Stockton Education Center. Ponder will speak about the perpetual efforts to restate and reclaim the humanity of those impacted by the legacy of slavery and its aftermath. Tickets, at $10-$25, are available at princetonsymphony.org/festival or (609) 497-0020.

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THREE PREMIERES: American Repertory Ballet will present a new work by Amy Seiwert as part of the Premiere3 program at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, June 10-11. Shown are Annie Johnson, Shaye Firer, and Erikka Reenstierna-Cates in Amy Seiwert’s 2021 premiere “World, Interrupted.” (Photo by Eduardo Patino, NYC)

Performing Arts

Continued from Preceding Page

Trio of New Works on Ballet Company Program

American Repertory Ballet (ARB) returns to the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center June 10-11 with Premiere3, two new works by choreographers Ethan Stiefel and Amy Seiwert, and the company premiere of the Arthur Mitchell classic, Holberg Suite

“Premiere3 offers our audiences three novel and assorted works that showcase the immense talents and heart of our dancers,” said Artistic Director Ethan Stiefel.

The program opens with the revival and company premiere of Holberg Suite , choreographed by New York

City Ballet dancer, choreographer, trailblazer, and co-founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH), Arthur Mitchell, set to music by Edvard Grieg. Staged by Cassandra Phifer, an original member of the DTH, Holberg Suite will have refreshed costume designs by ARB Resident Designer Janessa Cornell Urwin, in consultation with Vernon L. Ross, former DTH production manager.

“It gives me great joy to restage Holberg Suite for ARB,” said Phifer. “Bringing this 50-year-old ballet back to life for these young dancers has been a blending and balancing of mid-20th century ideas to 21st century sensibilities. We talked about the priorities of the time and being respectful

of the past while allowing the here and now to season the work.”

The program continues with a new work by Amy Seiwert, who will be joining Smuin Contemporary Ballet as associate artistic director for the 2023-24 season. Seiwert most recently choreographed World, Interrupted for ARB’s Digital Spring Series in 2021, a piece created entirely via Zoom due to pandemic restrictions in place at the time.

“My world premiere explores the haunting melodies of Romania’s beloved Maria Tânase, which Alexander Balanescu has reimagined for his string quartet,” said Seiwert. “Balanescu describes himself as an ‘eternal foreigner,’ stating an intention to connect to his native

culture. What appeals to me is how this reimaged score transcends a geographical boundary and expresses the more profound human experience. The music speaks more than words, inviting us to feel the universal human experiences of life, loss, love, and community.”

The program concludes with a world premiere by Ethan Stiefel set to Brahms’ Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24, a work for solo piano, which consists of a set of 25 variations and a concluding fugue.

“I have absolutely loved every moment of this transcendent piece of music for several decades. I mean — that fugue! Brahms took the classic theme and variation form and infused it with new, progressive, and soaring ideas, while cleverly honoring the craft and formality found in its predecessors,” said Stiefel. “The music so completely and naturally lends itself to dance, and offers the opportunity for diverse, adventurous, and soulful qualities in both the movement and portrayals.”

Shows at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, which is at 11 Livingston Avenue, are at 2 and 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 10; and 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 11. Tickets start at $25. Visit arballet. org/event/premiere3.

Family Show Planned

At Balloon Festival

Princeton native Laurie Berkner will return for an encore performance at the 40th Annual New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning.

Berkner will give a fam ily show at 1:30 p.m. on the festival’s opening day, Friday, July 28 , Airport, 39 Thor Solberg Road, Whitehouse Station

“I am so honored to have been asked to perform at the NJ Lottery Festival of Bal looning this year as part of the 40th Anniversary Cele bration,” said Berkner. “It is always such an amazing event and I’m sure this year is going to be particularly fantastic as we all celebrate this impres sive milestone together.”

Berkner was the Festival’s first-ever kids’ concert head liner in 2017. A pioneer in children’s music, she cele brates the 25th anniversary of the release of her second album, Buzz Buzz, out 2023. At her Balloon Festival show, Berkner will perform songs from the al bum including “Bumblebee (Buzz Buzz)” and “Pig On Her Head,” along with hits “Victor Vito,” “We Are The Dinosaurs,” “Rocketship Run,” and “The Goldfish (Let’s Go Swimming),” and more recent fan favorites like “Superhero,” “Waiting for the Elevator,” and “Chip munk at the Gas Pump.”

As a special treat, Berkner will also sing some of her newest singles from 2023 like “My Bunny Goes Hop” and “Wash It.” Her concerts showcase an array of tunes that encourage kids and grownups alike to get up and dance. Kids should plan to bring their dancing shoes and a stuffed animal (for their heads). Tickets are $39-$54; a limited number of $85 tickets including a Meet and Greet with Berkner are available. For more information, visit balloonfestival.com or call (973) 882-5464.

Classical Series Continues

At Nassau Presbyterian Church Collegium Musicum NJ continues its 2023 classical concert series at Nassau Presbyterian Church on June 17 at 5 p.m. The fifth concert in the series, it will feature violinist Alexei Yavtuhovich and pianist Phyllis Lehrer performing works by Mozart, Franck, Bartok, and other composers.

“We strongly believe our 2023 concert series ‘Culture for Understanding and Tolerance’ will enable our communities to better understand and enjoy each other’s unique national culture, traditions, and historical development through the

who is president of the organization.

Born in Belarus, Yavtuhovich was a member of the Belarus State Chamber Orchestra, the Belarus String Quartet, and performed internationally before emigrating to the U.S. in 1996. He returned to Belarus to perform with the Gomel Chamber Orchestra, and founded Collegium Musicum in 2018.

Lehrer is a teacher, performer, clinician, author, and adjudicator. She is a professor emerita of piano at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, and is now on the faculty of Westminster Conservatory. Tickets are $15. Visit collegiummusicumnj.org.

MUSIC TO THE RESCUE: “Culture for Understanding and Tolerance” is the theme of the June 17 concert by Collegium Musicum NJ featuring pianist Phyllis Lehrer, left, and violinist Alexei Yavtuhovich at Nassau Presbyterian Church.

MUSIC FOR KIDS: Musician Laurie Berkner gives an encore performance at the 40th Annual New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning on July 28.

(Photo by Jayme Thornton)

Printmaking Workshop with Dean Thomas at Phillips’ Mill

The Phillips’ Mill Community Association will host an afternoon of handson printmaking instruction with award-winning Bucks County artist Dean Thomas of Sellersville, Pa., on Saturday, June 24 from 1 to 4 p.m. Following an overview of various printmaking techniques and a demonstration of the color reduction process, participants will design and cut a print block and produce their own prints with Thomas overseeing and assisting.

Thomas is a Buck’s County painter and printmaker specializing in hand-painted drypoint engravings, color woodcut, and oil paintings. He is a graduate of Glassboro State College (now Rowan University), where he earned his BFA in printmaking. He has been inspired and influenced by the Hudson River School artists as well as the impressionists and tonalists of the New Hope School. He has lived in Bucks County since 1995, has had several solo and group shows, and shown in many juried shows including the annual Juried Art Show at Phillips’ Mill, where he won the Bridgeview Award in 2021. His work can be seen at the Chapman Gallery and Patricia Hutton Galleries in Doylestown, Pa., the Main Street Gallery in Quakertown, Pa., and Chimayo Gallery in Perkasie, Pa.

The workshop will be held in the historic 18th-century Phillips’ Mill at 2619 River Road in New Hope, Pa. Registration is required and limited to 15 participants. Register at phillipsmill.org. Fee: $60 PMCA members; $65 non-members All tools and materials will be provided. For more information, call (215) 862-0582 or email info@phillipsmill.org.

Archaeology Exhibition at New Jersey State Museum

The New Jersey State Museum now presents “History Beneath Our Feet: Archaeology of a Capital City,” an exhibition focusing on the long history of human activity in Trenton as told through the lens of archaeology. The exhibition, in the Museum’s main floor gallery, is on view through December 31.

“History Beneath Our Feet” discusses the importance of archaeology to preserving the past and how excavations at 10 locations within Trenton have helped inform our knowledge of human occupation and activities in the area, going back to prehistoric times. Stories that have been lost to time reemerge through artifacts on view, including pottery shards that illuminated the existence of a long-forgotten local potter; thousands of artifacts that marked a previously unknown Indigenous people’s site; beads that may have belonged to enslaved people; a hollowedout wooden log that served as Trenton’s water system in the 19th century; and more. Among the archaeological sites explored are the New Jersey State House, Petty’s Run, the Trent House, and the Old Barracks Museum.

“Most people think evidence of the past has been erased under modern cities, but that is not the case,” said Gregory Lattanzi, the museum’s curator of archaeology.

“There are still plenty of intact sites to be discovered, and in some cases because of New Jersey and federal regulations, archaeologists are able to recover and interpret artifacts which help us to tell the stories of New Jersey’s past.”

A related audio tour app highlighting seven sites in the city will be available for

Artwork should be delivered to The Conference Center at Mercer on July 24 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A professional Juror selects the winners in this show. Up to 22 artists (one “professional” winner and one “non-pro” winner in each of the 11 categories) may move on to the State Show. There is no fee to enter.

For more information and to register, visit mercercounty.org or email Karina Turkek, art show coordinator, at kturek@mercercounty.org.

Princeton Makes Artist Coop Hosts Art Groove

Princeton Makes, a Princeton-based artist cooperative, will host Art Groove, an evening art making party, on Friday, June 9 from 6 to to 11 p.m. at its artist studios and art market in the Princeton Shopping Center.

Art Groove will feature creative activities for children and adults, artists working in their studio, video art screenings, a DJ, and live music provided by Jonah Tolchin and others, as well as a raffle in which people can win artwork from Princeton Makes artists.

Anyone dining at one of the Shopping Center restaurants can bring a receipt from dinner that evening to receive a 10 percent discount on all purchases made at the Art Groove.

“WATCHING CATS”: Work by local artist Cathy Dailey and others is featured at Princeton Makes in the Princeton Shopping Center. The artist cooperative will host Art Groove, an evening art making party, on Friday, June 9 from 6 to 11 p.m. snacks, and people can get into their creative groove.”

Princeton Makes is a cooperative comprised of 35 local artists who work across a range of artistic genres, including painting, drawing, stained glass, ceramics, sculpture, textiles, and jewelry. Customers will be able to support local

artists by shopping for a wide variety of art, including large paintings, prints, custom-made greeting cards, stained glass lamps and window hangings, jewelry in a variety of designs and patterns, and more. For more information, visit princetonmakes.com.

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visitors to download onto their mobile devices.

“History Beneath Our Feet: Archaeology of a Capital City” and related programming is supported in part by the New Jersey Historical Commission, NJM Insurance Group, New Jersey Council on the Humanities, and the New Jersey State Museum Foundation.

The New Jersey State Museum is located at 205 West State Street in Trenton. It is open Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; closed on all state holidays. General admission is free. For more information, visit statemuseum.nj.gov.

Call for Art: Mercer County Senior Art Show

The 2023 Mercer County Senior Art Show will be held in person at The Conference Center at Mercer, Mercer County Community College, West Windsor, July 28 through August 15. The deadline for registering is July 17.

Each year the Mercer County Office on Aging partners with the Division of Culture and Heritage to produce the Mercer County Senior Art Show. First place winners from the county show advance to the New Jersey Senior Citizen Art Show each fall.

Any Mercer County resident age 60 or older may submit artwork to the Mercer County Senior Art Show. All submissions must be the original work of the applicant, created within the last three years, and not previously entered in a Mercer County Senior Art Show or the State Senior Art Show. Applicants may submit one piece of art in any of the following categories: acrylic, craft, digital imagery, drawing, mixed media, oil, pastel, photography, print, sculpture, and watercolor.

“The artists at Princeton Makes are thrilled to provide an opportunity for everyone in the community to make art in a fun environment,” said Zohar Lavi-Hasson, a Princeton Makes ceramicist. “We’ll provide the materials, music, inspiration, and light

TOWN TOPICS

panel discussion

Perspectives on Artists in Motion

Thursday, June 15, 5:30 p.m.

Artists in Motion: Modern Masterpieces from the Pearlman Collection, a newly published digital catalogue that accompanies a traveling exhibition, highlights the dynamic artistic crossroads of late 19th- and early 20th-century Paris through works by Vincent van Gogh, Amedeo Modigliani, and more. Join Caroline Harris, associate director for education, and catalogue essayists Daniel Edelman, president of the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation, and consulting curator Allison Unruh for a discussion of the making of this publication.

“KINGFISHER/IRIS”: Bucks County artist Dean Thomas, creator of this color woodcut, will host a hands-on printmaking workshop on Saturday, June 24 from 1 to 4 p.m. at Phillips’ Mill in New Hope, Pa.

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Arts Council to Present Sue Collier’s “Family Recollections”

The Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) will present “Family Recollections,” an exhibition of figurative paintings from memory, imagination, and plein air by artist Sue Collier, in the Taplin Gallery June 17 through July 22. An opening reception is on Saturday, June 17 from 3 to 5 p.m.

Collier’s body of work showcases her intuitive understanding of the figure’s storytelling prowess. Vibrant colors dapple her pieces, charged with both an intimate emotion and a particularly American ethos.

“The figure remains central to most of my work,” said Collier, “but because of the nature of plein air, working with a time/light pressure, the figure is often omitted. Later in the studio, I will sometimes add figures. The figure is meaningful, it is the subject and tells the story, becomes the story, and makes the painting. I am observing experiences from my life, distinctly depicting Americans who were raised here. As fortunate as I think we have been as Americans, we are a complex people with unique understandings and feelings that I believe leaves us with an unusual psychological weight of emotions that I want to record.”

Collier is a Boston-born artist working and living in New York City. Her practice includes three directions: plein air, studio painting, and drawing. She earned her BFA and MFA and was awarded The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture Fellowship from Boston University. She is also a 2020 NYFA Fellow in Drawing. SUNY-Purchase gave her half-time tenure and multiple awards. She was granted The Weir Farm Visiting Artist residency and has lectured at Dartmouth College, Queens College, Boston University, Kent State, Marymount Manhattan College at New York City and Tarrytown, and Adelphi University. She has been a

board member of The Women’s Caucus for Art NYC and The Painting Center. Collier was included in the Mary H. Dana Women Artists Series and participated in the Art in Embassies Program exhibiting in Africa. Her work has been reviewed by The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Art News, Art in America, Art New England, and Women Artist News, among others.

Also on view in the Arts Council of Princeton’s Paul Robeson Center for the Arts are “Raíces,” an homage to México by Abelardo Montaño, and “Princeton is My Home/Princeton es mi Casa,” an ACP collaboration with the YMCA’s Princeton Young Achievers, a unique after-school program that helps children from low- and moderate-income families improve their school performance and English language skills through art.

The Arts Council of Princeton is located at 102 Witherspoon Street. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sunday 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. For more information, visit artscouncilofprinceton.org.

Area Exhibits

Art@Bainbridge, 158 Nassau Street, has “Cycle of Creativity: Allison Saar and the Toni Morrison Papers” through July 9. artmuseum. princeton.edu.

Artists’ Gallery, 18 Bridge Street, Lambertville, has “Wishes in the Wind” through June 8 through July 2. An opening reception is on Saturday, June 10 from 4-7 p.m. Gallery hours are Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. lambertvillearts.com.

Art on Hulfish, 11 Hulfish Street, has “Traces on the Landscape” through August 6. artmuseum. princeton.edu.

Arts Council of Princeton, 102 Witherspoon Street, has “Form and Foundation: Sean Carney and Henrieta Maneva” through June 10. artscouncilofprinceton.org.

Callaway Henderson Sotheby’s International Realty, 4 Nassau Street, has Princeton-themed oil paintings by Jay McPhillips on display and for sale through June 9. jaymcphillips.com.

David Scott Gallery at BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors, 253 Nassau Street, has “Botanica: An Unlikely Garden,” through June 24. Follow the gallery on Instagram @davidscottgallery. bhhsfoxroach.

D&R Greenway Land Trust Johnson Education Center, 1 Preservation Place, has “Migration: Movement for Survival” through September 24. drgreenway. org.

Gallery 14 Fine Art Photography, 14 Mercer Street, Hopewell, has “Three Artists, Three Viewpoints,” through June 18. gallery14.org.

Grounds For Sculpture, 80 Sculptors Way, Hamilton, has “Local Voices: Memories, Stories, and Portraits” and “Spiral Q: The Parade” through January 7 and “That’s Worth Celebrating: The Life and Work of the Johnson Family” through the end of 2024, among other exhibits. Timed tickets required. groundsforsculpture.org.

Historical Society of Princeton, Updike Farmstead, 354 Quaker Road, has “Einstein Salon and Innovator’s Gallery,” “Princeton’s Portrait,”

and other exhibits. Museum hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 12 to 4 p.m., Thursday to 7 p.m. princetonhistory.org.

Michener Art Museum, 138 South Pine Street, Doylestown, Pa., has “MidCentury to Manga: The Modern Japanese Print in America” through July 30, “Alan Goldstein: Elemental” through September 4, and “Sarah Kaizar: Rare Air” through November 5. michenerartmuseum.org

Morven Museum & Garden, 55 Stockton Street, has “Striking Beauty” through February 18 and the online exhibits “Slavery at Morven,” “Portrait of Place: Paintings, Drawings, and Prints of New Jersey, 1761–1898,” and others. morven.org.

Present Day Club, 72 Stockton Street, has “Art in the Ballroom: Hanneke de Neve” through June 16. The gallery is open on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; call ahead at (609) 924-1014.

Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street, has “The Art of Calligraphy” through June 15. princetonlibrary.org.

Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University, has “Nobody Turn Us Around: The Freedom Rides and Selma to Montgomery Marches: Selections from the John Doar Papers” through March 31. Library.princeton.edu.

Small World Coffee, 14 Witherspoon Street, has art by Agata Scibich through July 4. Works by Aleksandr Berdnikov are at the 254 Nassau Street location through July 4. smallworldcoffee.com.

West Windsor Arts Center, 952 Alexander Road, West Windsor, has “Faculty and Student Show” through July 15. westwindsorarts.org.

“FATHER’S DAY”: This oil on canvas painting by Sue Collier is featured in “Family Recollections,” on view June 17 through July 22 in the Taplin Gallery at the Arts Council of Princeton. An opening reception is on Saturday, June 17 from 3 to 5 p.m.

Mark Your Calendar TOWN TOPICS

Wednesday, June 7

6-8 p.m.: Slavery & Morven: A Community Listening Session, at Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street. Historian Sharece Blakney tells unearthed stories of people enslaved by the Stockton family at Morven and other locations, and invites input on future interpretation concepts at the museum. Princetonlibrary.org.

7:30 p.m.: State Theatre New Jersey, 15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick presents “Dave Mason: Endangered Species Tour 2023” with opening act The Georgia Thunderbolts . $29$79. STNJ.org.

Thursday, June 8

10 a.m.-3 p.m.: Princeton Farmers’ Market is at Hinds Plaza. Organic produce, pasture-raised meat and eggs, bread, empanadas, pickles, flowers, and more. SNAP/EBT accepted on eligible purchases. Free parking for one hour in Spring Street Garage. Princetonfarmersmarket.com.

11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.: June monthly luncheon of the Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber, at the Marriott at Forrestal, 100 College Road East. Dr. Paul Burton, chief medical officer at Moderna, is the speaker. Princetonmercer.org.

6 p.m.: Walnut Lane Film Festival, at Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street. Five short films by Princeton Middle School students, organized and curated by Princeton High School students. Princetonlibrary.org.

6:45 p.m.: Mercer’s Best Toastmasters Club meets at Lawrence Community Center, 295 Eggerts Crossing Road, Lawrence Township. Free. Mercersbest.toastmastersclubs.org.

Friday, June 9

5-8 p.m.: Sunset Sips and Sounds at Terhune Orchards Vineyard and Winery, 330 Cold Soil Road. Music by Mike & Laura. Terhuneorchards. com.

6-8 p.m.: Princeton High School’s End-of-Year Studio Art Exhibition 2022-23, at the Numina Gallery, Room 172, 151 Moore Street.

7-8:45 p.m.: “From Janis to Alanis: Women Who Rock,” at Hinds Plaza. Five diverse vocalists backed by Princetonarea musicians. Free. Princetonlibrary.org.

7 p.m.: Time for Three opens the 2023 Princeton Festival at Morven, 55 Stockton Street. $10-$125. Princetonsymphony.org/ festival/.

Saturday, June 10

10 a.m.-2 p.m.: Lambertville Goes Wild sponsors a native plant sale at Cavallo Park, 2 Mount Hope Street, Lambertville. Perennials, shrubs, and trees; experts on hand to answer questions. Lambervillegoeswild. weebly.com

10 a.m.-3 p.m.: Bordentown Green Fair, Carslake Community Center, 207 Crosswicks Street, Bordentown. Over 50 vendors, food, raffles, live animals, and more. Free. Bcec.cityofbordentown.com

10 a.m.-4 p.m.: Gardens of Lambertville tour, self-guided tour featuring eight gardens beginning at the Kalmia Club, 39 York Street. Rain or shine; $25 in advance or $30 day of tour. Kalmiaclub.org.

11 a.m.-3 p.m.:

Lawrence Headquarters Branch of the Mercer County Library System holds its inaugural Health & Happiness Fair in conjunction with the Lawrence Health Department. 2751 Brunswick Pike, Lawrenceville. Free. Mcl.org.

11 a.m.-7 p.m.: Mercer County Cultural Festival and Food Truck Rally, Mercer County Park Festival Grounds, West Windsor. Music, traditional dance, arts and crafts, and cuisine. Free. (609) 278-2712.

11 a.m.-3 p.m.: wide Knit in Public Day, on the green at Princeton Shopping Center, 301 North Harrison Street. A collaboration of Princeton Public Library and Princeton Makes Artists Cooperative. Princetonlibrary.org.

11:30 a.m.: At Princeton Public Library, a bilingual reading in English and Chinese of the upcoming book THE Question based on the exhibit on view in the library’s Reading Room. The event is in the Community Room. 65 Witherspoon Street. Princetonlibrary.org.

12-2 p.m.: Music by Living Proof on the Palmer Square Green. Palmersquare.com.

12-3 p.m.: Juneteenth celebration with Mount Pisgah AMEC, PrincetonUMC, and Kingston UMC at the Cloister Inn, 65 Prospect Avenue. Email danadreibelbis@gmail.com or call (609) 924-2613.

12-5 p.m.: Historic Mill Hill Garden Tour, in Trenton’s Mill Hill neighborhood. $20. About 15 urban gardens and public spaces will be open. Begin at Artworks, 19 Everett Alley and South Stockton Street. Free parking. Trentonmillhill.org.

12-6 p.m.: Winery Weekend Music Series at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Music by Michael Montemurro from 1-4 p.m. Light fare available, no outside food or pets. Terhuneorchards.com.

1:30 p.m.: Rockingham Historic Site presents “Meet Mrs. Stockton” in the Dutch barn. Alisa Dupuy of The Ladies of History portrays Annis Stockton of Morven, friend of the Washingtons. County Route 603, between Kingston and Rocky Hill. Free registration required at rockingham.eventbrite. com. Call (609) 683-7132 or visit rockingham.net for more info.

2 p.m.: American Repertory Ballet performs “Premiere3,” works by Arthur Mitchell, Ethan Stiefel, and Amy Seiwert at New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, 11 Livingston Avenue. $25-$40. Nbpac.org.

7 p.m.: “Aretha, a Tribute,” with Capathia Jenkins and the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, at the Princeton Festival, held on the grounds of Morven, 55 Stockton Street. Princetonsymphony.org/festival.

Sunday, June 11

10:45 a.m.: Book brunch at Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street, featuring Cassandra Jackson, author of the memoir The Wreck: A Daughter’s Memoir of Becoming a Mother. Princetonlibrary.org .

12-6 p.m.: Winery Weekend Music Series at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Music by Kindred Spirit Duo from 2-5 p.m. Light fare available, no outside food or pets. Terhuneorchards.com.

1 p.m.: Princeton University carillon concert at the Graduate Tower; listen from outside the tower. Arts. princeton.edu.

4 p.m.: Pianist Christopher Taylor plays music by Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Kapustin, and Gubaidulina at the Princeton Festival, held on the grounds of Morven, 55 Stockton Street. Princetonsymphony.org/festival.

4 p.m.: New Yacht City performs smooth “yacht rock” from the ‘70s and ‘80s at Hinds Plaza. Princetonlibrary.org.

5 p.m.: Harpist Oksana Kessous performs with Collegium Musicum at Christ Congregation Church, 50 Walnut Lane. With pianist Yevgeny Morozov and violinist Alexei Yavtuhovich; music supporting Ukrainian artists. Suggested donation $25. (917) 579-1833.

5:30 p.m.: Boheme Opera NJ Guild presents “Some Enchanted Evening: Special Gems from Opera and Broadway,” at Hopewell Valley Vineyards, 46 Yard Road, Pennington. With baritone Charles Schneider and soprano Samantha Blossey, accompanied by pianist Sandra Milstein Pucciatti. Appetizers, pizza, wine, and more. $75. Reserve by June 2. Bohemeopera.org/ boheme-opera-guild.

Monday, June 12

4:30-6 p.m.: Meet the Superintendent. Princeton Public Schools Superintendent Carol Kelley holds open office hours at Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street. Princetonlibrary.org.

Tuesday, June 13 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.: Read & Pick Program: Cherries at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. $12 per child includes a container of cherries; online pre-purchase of tickets is required. Register at terhuneorchards.com.

“Histories Mysteries.” U.S. History 1 students from Princeton High School present their fi nal projects in this annual program celebrating historical milestones and discovery. At Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street. Princetonlibrary.org.

7 p.m.: The Claremont Trio performs at the Princeton Festival, Morven, 55 Stockton Street. Music for piano trio. Princetonsymphony.org/festival.

Wednesday, June 14

4 p.m.: Meeting of the Princeton Special Improvement District (Experience Princeton) Board of Directors, at the Nassau Inn.

Thursday, June 15

10 a.m.-3 p.m.: Princeton Farmers’ Market is at Hinds Plaza. Organic produce, pasture-raised meat and eggs, bread, empanadas, pickles, flowes, and more. SNAP/ EBT accepted on eligible purchases. Free parking for one hour in Spring Street Garage. Princetonfarmersmarket.com.

7 p.m.: Boyd Meets Girl. Guitarist Rupert Boyd and cellist Laura Metcalf perform music of Bach, the Beatles, Beyoncé, Boccherini, and Radiohead at Trinity Church, 33 Mercer Street. Princetonsymphony.org/festival.

Friday, June 16

5-8 p.m.: Sunset Sips and Sounds at Terhune Orchards Vineyard and Winery, 330 Cold Soil Road. Music by Ragtime Relics. Terhuneorchards.com.

7 p.m.: The opera The Barber of Seville is performed at the Princeton Festival, held at Morven, 55 Stockton Street. Rossen Milanov conducts the Princeton Symphony Orchestra and singers. Princetonsymphony.org/festival/.

7 p.m.: Members of Central Jersey Dance demonstrate basic steps and lead others in an evening of dancing to recorded music of all kinds at Hinds Plaza (or in Princeton Public Library’s Community Room if it rains). Princetonlibrary.org.

7:30 p.m.: Special Juneteenth Shabbat service at Congregation Beth Chaim, Princeton Junction. Featuring a performance by the Afro-Semitic Experience band. Free. Bethchaim.org.

Saturday, June 17

12-4 p.m.: The Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum (SSAAM) holds its second annual family-friendly Juneteenth celebration, “Freedom Forward.” Music, food, exhibit,

JUNE activities, tours, vendors, and more. 189 Hollow Road, Skillman; rain or shine. For information and tickets, visit ssaamuseum.org/juneteenth.

12-5 p.m.: Father’s Day Winery Weekend at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Family-friendly event, plus $2 off wine tastings for dads. Music by Joah Blume from 1-4 p.m. Light fare available, no outside food or pets. Terhuneorchards. com.

2 p.m.: The movie Milk is screened at Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street. About Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man in America to be elected to major public office. Princetonlibrary.org.

5 p.m.: Collegium Musicum NJ holds a classical concert at Nassau Presbyterian Church, 61 Nassau Street. Violinist Alexei Yavtuhovich and pianist Phyllis Lehrer perform works by Mozart, Franck, Bartok, and others. $15. Collegiummusicumnj.org.

7 p.m.: The Attacca Quartet and American Repertory Ballet perform at the Princeton Festival, at Morven, 55 Stockton Street. Princetonsymphony.org/ festival/.

S ports

Polson Savors Last Ride with PU Women’s Lightweights, Helping Varsity 8 Dominate IRAs as Tigers Win Team Crown

Sarah Polson wasn’t sure how she would measure up after deciding to join the Princeton University women’s lightweight crew program.

“I didn’t even get recruited to Princeton, it was too much of a high shoot for me,” said Polson, a native of Chicago, Ill. “Thankfully I got into Princeton. I rowed in high school at CRF (Chicago Rowing Foundation) and when I came, I knew I wanted to walk on. I had no idea that I would be able to make the top boat.”

Polson made the varsity 8 and emerged as a star, making the varsity 8 and helping the top boat win the IRA grand finals in both 2021 and 2022.

This spring, Polson, rowing from the bow seat, has helped the Tigers win the Eastern Sprints and continue a winning streak which has seen it not lose to another lightweight boat since the 2019 IRA regatta. She was recently named as one of five finalists for the Otto von Kienbusch award, given to Princeton’s top senior female athlete.

Last Sunday, Polson capped her Tiger career in style, helping the varsity 8 win its grand final at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championship Regatta on Mercer Lake. Princeton posted a winning time of 6:40.03 over the 2,000-meter course, 6.2 seconds ahead of runner-up Stanford (6:46.31).

The win by the top boat clinched a sweep by the Tiger women lightweights as they started the day by winning the grand finals in the double sculls and varsity 4. The double produced a winning time of 7:37.79 with Harvard-Radcliffe coming in second at 7:42.26. The varsity 4 crossed the line in 7:28.74, 0.8 of a second better than runner-up MIT. As a result of those winning performances, the Tigers earned the team title and IRA Commissioner’s Cup for the second straight year.

In reflecting on the top boat’s dominant victory, Polson attributed the performance to some intense preparation.

“We knew we had to have a really fast start as is typical of our Princeton boats; we just wanted to leave it all out there and really attack the start,” said Polson.

“After the Eastern Sprints, we really recycled our base and we went back to threshold. We had a lot of confidence in our training plan. We peaked at the right time which is really exciting. It is super cool. The work we did in the past month really showed off today so it was really nice.”

For Polson, ending her Tiger career on such a high note was special.

“Being in the top boat in the nation for three years in a row has just been so amazing,” said Polson. “I am just speechless, I am just so grateful. We have the best coaching staff and the best teammates in the whole world. It is really special to get to share this moment with them and work together towards something.”

Reaching the top of the women’s lightweight heap has resulted from a combination of consistency and camaraderie on the part of the Tiger rowers.

“I think it is a total commitment, all nine of us, every single day,” said Polson, who was joined on the top boat by Margaret Murphy, Sarah Fry, Lily Feinerman, Cecilia Sommerfeld, Kalena Blake, Daisy Devore, Hannah Höselbarth, and Lina Schwartz.

“Starting in September and even over the summer, it has been a complete commitment from everyone and love for one another. I am thankful to say that I am racing with my best friends. The whole team has been supportive, it is such a cool team to be part of.”

Getting through the pandemic in 2020-21 helped strengthen that commitment.

“COVID was really hard, being away from everyone and training alone was really, really difficult,” said Polson. “It is really all about the culture that we have here that lifts me up personally as an athlete. Everyone I know feeds off of each other. Even when it was a harder for us alone, we would call each

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other and all of that kind of stuff. It is pretty crazy.”

Princeton head coach Paul Rassam saw the program’s sweep of the three grand finals as amazing stuff.

“We have been talking about it for three years, bit by bit getting there so it means a lot,” said Rassam. “When you talk about something for three years and then you accomplish it, it is almost surreal, quite frankly.”

Coming into Sunday, Rassam was confident that all three boats were poised for that accomplishment.

“These athletes prepare really, really well and we knew after the heat, they were going to recover super well,” said Rassam. “It is hard to put into words. I think this is the strongest team I have ever coached and maybe one of the stronger women’s lightweight teams ever. The athletes should be incredibly proud of how they built that.”

The Tiger varsity 8 displayed strong character and unity in earning its title three-peat.

“They are a tough bunch man; their toughness stands out with their resiliency and their ability to shrug off a bad day or a bad week,” said Rassam. “You could just feel before the races how much they want to pull for each other. There is talent, there is the work ethic. There are all of those qualities, but you don’t always feel before a race how people just really love each other and how people just want to crush it for each other.”

Rassam urged his rowers to savor their big day on Sunday.

“When people see dominant performances and they see winning and they see undefeated, it can look easy but it is never easy,” said Rassam, whose varsity 4 included Elena Every, Claire Brockman, Nathalie Verlinde, Emma Mirrer, and Bonnie Pushner with Amelia Boehle and Kasey Shashaty rowing in the double.

“The main thing I feel is pride for the athletes and what they produce day in, day out,” said Rassam. “I think my heart almost burst

LIGHTING IT UP: Members of the Princeton University women’s lightweight varsity 8 crew show off the spoils of victory after taking first in their grand final at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championship Regatta last Sunday on Mercer Lake. It marked the third straight national title for the Tiger top boat. The victory culminated a historic day for the Tiger women’s lightweights as their double sculls and varsity 4 also prevailed in their grand finals. Princeton won the team title at the event for the second straight year.

when the four crossed the line, not just from stress but from pride because they were the one boat that didn’t win last year. That is never a fun position to be in. For all boats to go out there and win like that; one thing I said to them is that they have to live in the present. We don’t get that very often. Princeton students are always looking at this, looking at that as is anybody in life. I just hope that they really enjoy the moment.”

Coaching Polson has been a joy for Rassam.

“She is the type of athlete who makes the coaches look good; she gets better and stronger every single year,” said Rassam of Polson. “It was a total gift when she walked on. I think the

really cool part about being a coach is to watch how people grow into being leaders. She wasn’t ready to be a leader her freshman year. She was a leader through the pandemic year and then into that undefeated year last year and into this year. She was a captain for both undefeated springs last year and this year. That is pretty special, not a lot of people captain two years. She is a rock — we are going to really miss her.”

Polson, for her part, credits her crew experience with helping her grow on many levels over the last four years.

“I am so much of a different person in everything I do in life,” said Polson. “I have gained so much confidence

and drive from rowing. This team has taught so much in terms of work ethic and making sure to lift everyone up around me. I see so many amazing examples in my teammates, people who are amazing to be around and always striving to be that for others.”

It has certainly been an amazing journey for Polson since she walked on to the lightweight squad as an uncertain freshman.

—Bill Alden

(Photo by Row2k, provided courtesy of Princeton Athletics)

PU Men’s Lightweight Rowers Make History at IRA Regatta, Winning 2 Grand Finals, Earning 1st Team Title Since 2010

One of the unique challenges in sports is performing your best when your best is required.

As the Princeton University men’s lightweight varsity 8 crew prepared to compete in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championship Regatta last weekend on Mercer Lake, Marty Crotty was confident that his rowers were poised to achieve such an effort due to some focused training in the wake of taking first at the Eastern Sprints.

“When we regrouped to get into IRA training camp, I decided for what the focus was going to be and the focus was imagine this boat going a length faster, three or four seconds faster, and we can develop that speed in the next two and a half weeks,” said Princeton head coach Crotty. “It was going to be a little bit of rust; it is going to be a week of really hard work where we do a lot of base speed work where you go out and do over-distance, under-cadence stuff. You go out and do 3Ks and 4Ks which is a lot more than the 2K that you do but you do it at a slightly slow rate. You just learn how to move the boat efficiently, one speed for much longer than six minutes. We did a lot of work like that. There might be two or three universities that show up at the IRAs and they are faster too. We just make sure that we are faster and I think we will be OK.”

The Tiger top boat did better than OK, taking first in

its grand final last Sunday, posting a winning time of 5:41.02 over the 2,000-meter course, 1.8 seconds in front of runner-up Harvard.

The heroics by the top boat help Princeton win the team title and earn the IRA President’s Cup for the first time since 2010. The Tiger second varsity 8 also prevailed in its grand final, crossing the line at 5:48.97, 2.48 seconds in front of second place Harvard.

Overcoming a bobble off the line, the Princeton top crew found a rhythm as it pulled away to victory.

“The start was super shaky, we went into the buoys,” said Crotty of his V8 which included Adam Casler, Nick Aronow, Hidde Lycklama , George Dickinson , Ethan Abraham , Aaron Wenk , Reuben Cook , William Olson , and David Van Velden. “You never want to do that but once they got it, they got a good bearing. That last 1,900 meters was by far their best of the year.”

In Crotty’s view, a loss to Cornell on April 15, the top boat’s only setback of the season, helped refocus his rowers for the stretch run.

“The loss was a wake-up call; it was a learning experience for the guys, going on the road and rowing on a course you have never rowed on against a good team,” said Crotty. “What we learned is that if you have a bad day you might get beat. We didn’t overreact to it. I didn’t detonate any of the lineups.”

The addition of Olson to the lineup made a difference for the boat.

“We had one very important senior, Will Olson, come back into the first varsity; he had been injured, he was in the 2 seat today,” said Crotty. “He came back into the first varsity — he made a huge difference going into the sprints. We got him for two and a half weeks

of training and then he was out the whole month of April. He is a really key guy and I loved putting him back in there as a senior, getting him the two victories.”

Crotty loved the form displayed by the V8 as it won the grand final for the first time since 2010.

“Six of my rowers in that first varsity have a pure sculling background; their first competitive strokes back in the ninth grade when they learned to row were in single sculls,” said

Crotty. “In the single scull, you have to caress, you can’t just be in there smashing back and forth on the slide and hammering the catches in. If you watch the tape, in between strokes today is where our boat was just traveling so much better than anybody else. It takes that touch, that feel.”

Seeing the program earn the team title was a great feeling for Crotty.

“That is everything, to get everybody up on stage today was really special,”

said Crotty, whose second varsity 8 included Laney Gold-Rappe , Eoin Gaffney, Tim Eilers , Noah Klemmer Domonkos , Peter Skinner, George Middleton , John High , Paul Höselbarth , and Tim Scheuritzel. “It is equal to any one of the individual boat victories. They really have a joy of rowing together and a joy of showing up at the boathouse and being together all the time. As hard as it is, that is the joy and it is all for this.”

—Bill Alden

MAKING NOISE: Members of the Princeton University men s lightweight varsity 8 crew shout for joy after getting the hardware they earned for taking first in their grand final at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championship Regatta last weekend on Mercer Lake. The Tigers posted a winning time of 5:41.02 over the 2,000-meter course, 1.8 seconds in front of runner-up Harvard. The heroics by the top boat help Princeton win the team title and earn the IRA President’s Cup for the first time since 2010. (Photo by Row2k, provided courtesy of Princeton Athletics)

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PU Men’s Heavyweight Varsity 8 Takes 3rd at IRAs, Coming Through with Superb Effort in Grand Final

After the members of the Princeton University men’s heavyweight varsity 8 crew got their medals for taking third in the grand fi nal at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championship Regatta last Sunday at Mercer Lake, they rushed off the stage en masse to pose for a group shot with the Tiger men’s and women’s lightweight rowers.

The scene of the heavyweights celebrating with the lightweight crews, who dominated their competition winning team titles and five grand finals, exemplified the special spirit that has developed among the Princeton rowers.

“Holy cow, what a day to be a Tiger,” said Princeton

men’s heavyweight head coach Greg Hughes, whose team placed fourth in the team standings at the competition behind champion Cal, runner-up Washington, and Yale. “We always talk about how we are one boathouse, that we have the best boathouse in the country. Today is proof of that. For me, to be a part of that and the power of that, you can’t put a value on that.”

That environment in the boathouse helped power the heavyweights this spring.

“Our speed this year, it is absolutely transitive properties; we most certainly fed on it,” said Hughes. “I am sure the other teams felt that too. There is a really awesome energy in the

boathouse, there is a lot of unity. It is just fun to be a part of it.”

It was fun for Hughes to see how his second and third varsity 8s rebounded from the disappointment of not making their grand finals by cruising to wins in their petite finals on Sunday, finishing seventh overall in the competition. The second varsity 8 posted a winning time of 5:45.1 over the 2,000-meter course in its petite final, edging runnerup Boston University by fivetenths of a second. The 3V8, for its part, rallied from seven seconds down at the 1,000 meter mark to cross the line at 5:51.68, 2.2 seconds better than runner-up Syracuse.

“I am really proud of the way those guys raced; there were super challenging conditions by the team we got to the semifinals for those events yesterday and we knew that it was going to take a religious piece to earn a spot,” said Hughes. “They came up a little bit short and they had two choices. They could have just kind of finished the season or they could have gone out and gone for a win and they did that. I thought that was just awesome racing for those guys to finish off the season with a win.”

The Tiger varsity 8 found itself in a tight battle with Cal, Washington, and Yale. Standing fourth at 1,000 meters, Princeton passed Yale to earn bronze in a time of 5.34.88 behind champion Cal (5:31.71) and runner-up Washington (5:32.96).

“That is a special crew;

every year as a coach I continue to learn,” said Hughes of the boat that included Connor Neill, James Quinlan, Marco Misasi, Theo Bell, Marcus Chute , Hanno Brach , Nathan Phelps , Patrick Long, and Nick Taylor

“Those guys most certainly taught me a lot in their ability to understand their strengths; to let me be a part of how to coach them and to capitalize on that was super fun,” said Hughes. “The main theme for our team all season had been consistency and those guys are the epitome of that. They showed the ability to do it every week through any condition and not just to hold speed, but they continued to get better through the season. I think that is what you saw today.”

Taking advantage of beautiful conditions on Mercer Lake, the top boat saved its best for last.

“They lost to Yale three weeks ago by a second and they just beat them by two if you want to look at it quantitatively,” said Hughes, noting that the rowers had to deal with a strong headwind and choppy water on Saturday as they competed in the semis. “That is a really positive result in a truly awesome racing setting. In the end, I think it was really fair across all of the lanes. It was awesome water. When you are at this point in the season, all you want is the opportunity for your athletes to put it all out and that is what they had today. Hey look, there were two boats that were faster than them on the day and you know it. We were better than those other three and we know it. It is just awesome. It is a great way to finish it up.”

—Bill Alden

ALL IN: Members of the Princeton University men’s heavyweight varsity 8 crew, lying on the ground to the right, join the members of the Tiger men’s and women’s lightweight rowing programs last Sunday to celebrate their success at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championship Regatta. The men’s heavyweights placed third in their grand final while both lightweight squads won national team titles in the competition which took place at Mercer Lake. (Photo by Row2k, provided courtesy of Princeton Athletics)

PU Sports Roundup

Princeton Women’s Hockey

Adds Lundmark to Staff

Jamie Lundmark, a former NHL player whose professional hockey career spanned nearly two decades, has joined the Princeton University women’s hockey program as Director of Player Development and Assistant Coach.

Originally from Edmonton, Alb., Lundmark was the ninth overall pick of the New York Rangers in the 1999 NHL Draft and made his debut with the Rangers at the start of the 2002-03 season. Lundmark played six seasons in the NHL with the Rangers, Coyotes, Flames, Kings, and Maple Leafs before playing his final NHL game on April 7, 2010 for Toronto against his original team, the Rangers, at Madison Square Garden.

While Lundmark played in Italy during the 2004-05 NHL lockout and in Russia for part of the 2007-08 season, he took his career overseas post-NHL for the 2010-11 campaign, playing in Sweden before moving on to Latvia the following season and then Austria for the final six years of his pro career.

After retiring from his professional hockey playing career in 2018, Lundmark founded Method Hockey, a training facility in West Chester, Pa., coaching and managing a staff of coaches and trainers to develop elite male and female players in the area.

“I was fortunate to have a long professional playing career, both in the NHL and overseas, and I’ve seen the evolution of the women’s game over the last few years up close through my work with Method Hockey,” said Lundmark in reflecting on joining the Tiger program which is guided by head coach Cara Morey.

“I’m looking forward to contributing to the continued growth of the women’s game with Cara’s staff while bringing my unique experience to Princeton. I’ve seen Cara’s work through her involvement with Hockey Canada and the Philadelphia Flyers, and she has done a great job with a program at Princeton that is among the best in the country. I am grateful for the opportunity to help her continue to reach those heights.”

Morey, for her part, believes that Lundmark will be a valuable addition to her staff.

“The women’s college game is growing and evolving rapidly,” said Morey. “Jamie has played at the highest level of men’s hockey and, through Method Hockey, has also coached and developed top female players who’ve gone on to compete at the highest levels in Division I hockey. We’re so excited to have Jamie join our program at Princeton as we continue our quest for a national championship.”

Princeton Athletics

Partnering with Opendorse

Princeton University

Athletics has officially announced its partnership with Opendorse to design, host and support platforms designed to streamline

exposure and opportunities for Princeton student-athletes wishing to engage in name, image, and likeness (NIL) activities.

The partnership has been rolled out to all Princeton student-athletes in collaboration with Opendorse – a nationally-recognized NIL marketplace and technology leader.

The “Princeton Tigers Marketplace” will offer fans, brands and potential partners safe and secure access to the profiles of studentathletes who choose to engage in NIL activity. This state-of-the-platform includes multiple educational tools and seminars to allow student-athletes to participate at their own discretion and to do so while following all applicable rules and regulations.

“The experience of being a Princeton student-athlete has always prepared our Tigers to be successful in their careers post-graduation, and now we are excited to offer the Princeton Tigers Marketplace as a mechanism for our studentathletes to maximize their NIL opportunities while competing,” said Princeton Director of Athletics John Mack ’00. “We are thrilled to partner with Opendorse in support of our studentathletes’ NIL activities. Their educational tools and direct support of studentathletes are first-class. With this partnership, I am confident that potential partners will quickly learn what all of us associated with Princeton Athletics know so well — that Princeton studentathletes are driven, savvy, and successful and are

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MAKING HIS PITCH; Princeton University men’s basketball head coach Mitch Henderson fires the ceremonial first pitch before the New York Yankees hosted the Baltimore Orioles on May 24 at Yankee Stadium. It was a full circle moment for Henderson, who called it an “absolute honor.” Henderson, a two-sport standout at Culver Military Academy (Ind.), was drafted by the Yankees with the 24th pick of the 29th round (815th overall) in 1994 before choosing to attend Princeton. Henderson, a 1998 Princeton alum, starred as a player for the Tigers and has been the head coach of his alma mater since 2011. This past winter, he led the Tigers to their first Sweet Sixteen of the modern NCAA Tournament era in 2022-23. A two-time National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District Coach of the Year,

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Under this partnership with Opendorse, studentathletes from all 38 of Princeton’s varsity athletic programs will have access to build and develop their own personal profiles on the Princeton Tigers Marketplace. Each profile is customizable to the specific needs and goals of the student-athlete while allowing for promotion of personal social media channels and other organizations they are

involved with in order for potential partners to learn more about the studentathlete.

With over a decade of experience in marketing and branding elite athletes through partnerships with major professional leagues and Team USA, Opendorse’s extensive network of national brands and partners is now open to Princeton student-athletes for potential working relationships.

In addition to the Princeton Tigers Marketplace,

Princeton’s partnership with Opendorse allows student-athletes full access to a one-stop NIL app which includes compliance, content creation and education tools. Student-athletes will have the ability to disclose partnerships to ensure all compliance regulations are met, can quickly access and deploy content across their own social media feeds, and can take advantage of on demand or in-person educational seminars hosted by industry leaders.

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Henderson also recorded his 200th career victory in the 2022-23 season, and became just the eighth men’s basketball coach to record 100 Ivy League wins. (Photo by the New York Yankees, provided courtesy of Princeton Athletics)

Freshman Mathewson Makes Big Impact at 3rd Singles, Starring as PHS Boys’ Tennis Makes Sectional Final

Garrett Mathewson is just a freshman, but he has brought plenty of savvy to the court for the Princeton High boys’ tennis team.

“I have played since I was very young; my mom was a bit tennis player, she is the one who really got me into the game,” said Mathewson, who took up the game at age five and started playing competitively at age 10. “I have had a long time playing matches. I have a lot of experience — each day I strive to get better.”

Last week, third singles star Mathewson played a very good match as fourthseeded PHS hosted fifthseeded WW/P-North in the quarterfinals of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey Group 3 sectional, topping Jayant Venkatesan 6-2, 6-2 as the Tigers prevailed 5-0.

“It was just get in a lot of serves, get in a lot of balls, don’t go for anything crazy but of course step up on the big points,” said Mathewson. “My forehand was pretty good today, I have been working on it a lot. It has gotten pretty good now.”

On Thursday, PHS stepped up again, topping eighth-seeded Hightstown 5-0 in the sectional semis. The squad’s superb run ended last Monday as the Tigers fell 3-2 at secondseeded WW/P-South in the sectional final to end the season at 14-2 with both losses coming to the Pirates.

For Mathewson, joining

the PHS program has helped his game as he has gotten to train with first singles star Jonathan Gu and second singles standout Melvin Huang.

“I am playing on a team now, I am used to the individuality,” said Mathewson, who placed second at third singles in the Mercer County Tournament in last April as PHS rolled to the team title.

“I hit with Melvin, we have become good friends now. Jonny has been away sometimes but I do get to hit with him sometimes. We have fun playing doubles.”

Despite facing players that can be three or four years older than him, Mathewson has not been intimidated in his debut campaign.

“I don’t really notice too much, whether they are short, tall, strong, fast,” said Mathewson.

PHS head coach Sarah Hibbert realized that her team would need a strong effort to top WW/P-N.

“Last year, it was a sectional final so it is the same matchup two rounds earlier; we knew going in it was going to be a tough draw,” said Hibbert. “Usually you have at least a round where you can get into it; we knew this year we had to go straight into our best tennis. They are a solid team, it was going to be anyone’s match today. We have beaten them before. We knew we had the potential to do it but they were missing one of their players last time so it was a different matchup.”

Mathewson has emerged as a key player for the Tigers this spring.

“It is great having a freshman coming in who already has an all-around tournament game,” said Hibbert. “Being lefty as well, he hits different spins and different patterns that people aren’t as used to.”

In Hibbert’s view, Mathewson has benefitted from hitting with Gu and Huang.

“I think there is still a bit of a learning curve with it, tennis is such an individual sport,” said Hibbert. “They are not used to having people around. They are not used to having somebody who can help them and talk to them. It is good to have this level of tennis so they can all really work on it.”

The first doubles pair of Nikita Medvedev and Shaan Zaveri posted a very good win against WW/P-North, pulling out a 0-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Lukas Karapelou and Prithvi Sunkavelli after having lost them in regular season and MCT contests.

“That was great for them they have lost to that team twice but each time we knew that they could do better,” said Hibbert. “We knew that they were right there. This time, the first set was not great. The thing that they did better this time than the last time was that they were able to turn it around right away. They won the first game of the second set right off the bat. That broke the slide and they were able

to go forward from there. It was good serves, good volleys, basic doubles stuff.

The second doubles duo of Aman Kapur and Andrew Kuo posted a straightset victory as they have emerged as a constant this spring for the Tigers.

“The second doubles did great, they had a different team in there this time from last time,” said Hibbert. “Our team was able to work well together and keep the high level of tennis throughout the match. It has been a solid flight for us.”

At first singles, senior star Gu outlasted Charlie Xiang 6-0, 5-7, 7-6 in a good test as he looks to defend his title in the upcoming state singles tournament.

“I am sure there is always excitement going for a challenge,” said Hibbert.

“He knows it is going to be a tough road this year with several people playing who didn’t play last year.”

Junior standout Huang kept up his hot play at second singles, topping Shiva Tripurana 6-2, 6-3.

“He has added a lot of pace and power to his game,” said Hibbert. “As a freshman, he just kind of kept things in play. He is still consistent, he is a hard working player. It is the same thing with his opponent today, he hit a lot balls today and made him work for it.”

Hibbert was hoping that the Tigers could turn the tables on South after falling 3-2 to the Pirates in a regular season match on May 11 but it wasn’t to be as Gu and Huang posted straight-set wins while Mathewson and the second doubles pair of

Kapur and Kuo fell in threesetters.

“I think if we have all of our players in top form, we have got a good shot,” said Hibbert. “It has been a good season overall. Winning counties was a great thing, putting four people into the finals.”

For Mathewson, his freshman season for PHS proved to be a great experience.

“I have has some battles, I have had some wins and some losses,” said Mathewson. “It is all a lot of fun.”

—Bill Alden

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FRESH APPROACH: Princeton High boys’ tennis player Garrett Mathewson makes a return in a recent match. Freshman Mathewson has starred at third singles in his debut campaign as PHS won the Mercer County Tournament and made it to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey Group 3 final. The fourth-seeded Tigers, who fell 3-2 at second-seeded WW/P-South in the sectional final last Monday, ended the spring with a 14-2 record.

(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

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Senior

Standout Bernardi Saving his Best for Last As PDS Boys’ Lax Makes Non-Public Group B Semis

Things looked bleak for the Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse team as it fell behind visiting Holy Spirit 7-2 in the first quarter of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public Group B quarterfinal last Thursday, but Harry Bernardi wasn’t fazed.

“We have been in this spot before,” said PDS senior attacker Bernardi. “The offense was doing their part. I knew it would shift into one of those games where the offense would dominate. I knew the defense would come back.”

In the second quarter, third-seeded PDS started to find a rhythm, narrowing the gap to 10-6 to sixth-seeded Holy Spirit at halftime.

“That gave us a little bit of confidence, being only down by four,” said Bernardi. “We knew the game was in reach. It was just wake up, honestly. We are a second half team usually.”

The Panthers woke up in the second half, outscoring the Spartans 10-4 over the final 24 minutes of the contest to pull out a 16-14 victory and improve to 14-6. PDS was slated to play at secondseeded Rutgers Prep on June 6 in a semifinal contest with the winner advancing to the final on June 10.

Bernardi stepped up in a key stretch of the rally, scoring a pair of goals in a span of 10 seconds in the third quarter as PDS narrowed the gap to 11-9.

“It was just close finishing, that is all it was really was; I got one off the face-off,” said Bernardi, reflecting on his heroics. “You just have to want it more. In the first half, they definitely wanted it more. That is why they were winning and it looked like they were going to win the game. It is little details like that, little goals that change momentum. That brought us closer.”

In securing the win, PDS freshman star Andrew Ahrens took over the game down the stretch, scoring three fourth quarter goals to end up with seven on the game.

“He has a great shot, probably the fastest shot on the team as a freshman,” said

Bernardi of Ahrens. “He is really clicking when it matters most. He has been scoring all year, I can’t really say I am surprised.”

It mattered a lot for Bernardi and his fellow seniors to prevail as the quarterfinal matchup marked their final game on Baker Field.

“Definitely, the last game on this turf means a lot,” said Bernardi. “I have been playing on this turf my whole life. I am just embracing it really with all my boys.”

The Panthers have extra motivation to keep going as head coach Joe Moore announced before the season that he will be stepping down from the program after this spring.

“We always talk about the seniors’ last ride, it is Joe’s last ride,” said Bernardi.

As Bernardi goes through his last ride, he is trying to stay in the present.

“I honestly can’t really feel it yet,” said Bernardi, who is heading to the University of Wisconsin. “I know the second the season ends. I am going to be, Oh wow this is over, I am never playing lacrosse again.’”

Surviving the challenge posed by Holy Spirit had Bernardi confident that PDS will keep playing.

“All that matters is survive and advance, we ended strong,” said Bernardi. “We were down 10-6 and went on a 10-4 run. We are hot now, the first half is gone. That is all that really matters.”

PDS head coach Moore was uneasy as his squad dug the early hole.

“I was nervous; for me and a bunch of other guys out here it is do or die for all of us and then this thing is over,” said Moore. “None of us wanted this to be our last day. We had a really rough practice yesterday and I told the guys, you don’t prepare and this is what happens. That said, I knew we had the talent and it was just going to be a matter of who is going to take charge and are we going to have enough time to turn it around.”

Moore’s halftime message centered on seizing the day.

“It was positivity and just stay tight,” said Moore. “We are in an adverse situation where we have been before so stick together.”

The PDS veterans stuck together to key the rally. “Our seniors and captains have really started to step up towards the last quarter of the year,” said Moore. “I give them a lot of credit for us turning it around today and putting the team on their backs.”

Moore credited Bernardi with playing a key role in the turnaround.

“Harry has been our guy, he has worked all four years and beyond for what has come to fruition in the last three weeks,” said Moore of Bernardi, who has tallied 38 goals and 10 assists this season.

“He has really changed a lot and has had a huge impact on a lot of the success we have had towards the end of the season. Harry did his thing today. It doesn’t surprise me because of how he has been playing recently.”

Another senior, Ace Ewanchyna, did a lot of good things in the win, taking over face-off duties, winning 12 of 19, and scooping up 10 ground balls.

“Ace is another guy who plays hard; I always say he is the heart of our team,” said Moore. “He is not going to shy away from any contact or any play. He will put his head down and go get a ground ball. If we don’t win some of those ground balls on the X, we probably don’t come out of here with a win. I think he was completely influential in the game.”

The blazing shot of Ahrens was also influential in the victory.

“He is amazing, it has been fun to watch him develop over the year,” said Moore of Ahrens who has tallied 42 goals and 28 assists in his debut campaign. “He has been consistent — that is the word that comes to mind. As a freshman to take on that

FINAL SHOT: Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse player Harry Bernardi gets ready to unload a shot as third-seeded PDS rolled to a 23-4 win over 14th-seeded Gloucester Catholic last week in the first round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public Group B. Last Thursday, senior star Bernardi scored three goals to help PDS rally to a 16-14 win over sixth-seeded Holy Spirit in the Group B quarterfinals. The Panthers, who improved to 14-6 with the victory, were slated to play at second-seeded Rutgers Prep on June 6 in a semifinal contest with the winner advancing to the final on June 10. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

type of role and stay that consistent throughout the course of the whole season says a lot about his talent and the way he plays the game.”

Junior standout Sebastian Rzeczycki displayed his talent and leadership against the Spartans, tallying three goals and six assists and now has 101 points this season with 60 goals and 41 assists.

“Seb has been great, his biggest influence on our program is his leadership,” said Moore. “The stats speak for themselves. He broke our single season goals record. He is breaking all kinds of records and doing all of these different things. The talent speaks for itself, but more than that he has developed into a great leader for our guys and we needed that.”

In Moore’s view, pulling out the tight win should give his team a lift as it heads into the semis.

“I think it was exactly what

we needed, I would much rather have a competitive game going into a semifinals game,” said Moore. “We needed a good, competitive game to get up. I think our confidence is there. Physically we have got to recover and study our opponent.”

For Moore, his final season at the helm of the program has turned out to be a very good experience.

“It is tough, it is definitely not easy; this is my escape from real life stuff, I don’t know what I will do when it is over,” said Moore. “It has been so much fun, I think that has been the most fun I have had since I have been here. It has been a positive year from a record perspective. We just love this group of kids. They play hard, they stick together, and they are coachable so it makes our job fun as coaches. We can play with different looks and actually coach. It is definitely bittersweet, but I am happy to see that these

guys are having fun and having a positive year.”

In order to have a positive ending, the Panthers will need to pay attention to detail.

“To me, when you talk about semifinals or finals, it is all about the details and everything that you do going into those games to make sure that you are going in with confidence and prepared,” said Moore. “That is what I was talking to our guys about.”

Bernardi, for his part, is confident that PDS can get it done.

“It is just play our game, that is it, there is no hidden message,” said Bernardi. “Defense plays their game, offense plays our game with long possessions, attacking when we need to. If we click, we can beat any team in this tournament.”

—Bill Alden

With Hollander Emerging as an Offensive Catalyst, PDS Girls’ Lax Rolls into Non-Public Group B Semis

Jesse Hollander and her teammates on the Princeton Day School girls’ lacrosse team had plenty of motivation as they hosted Morris Catholic last Wednesday in the first round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public Group B tournament.

PDS was seeing its first action since getting knocked out of the Mercer County Tournament and Prep B state tourney a week and a half earlier and was playing its final game on Smoyer Field before its turf gets replaced.

“We came off a couple of bad losses, we took a break, we had a nice long weekend, and we had a very serious practice yesterday,” said junior midfielder Hollander. “Everybody was focused, we did some good transition work. It is our last game on this Smoyer Field — we wanted a good win.”

The third-seeded Panthers, the defending NonPublic Group B champion, got off to a good start against 14th-seeded Morris Catholic, jumping out to an 11-0 halftime lead.

“I think that was necessary to get our mojo back after those losses,” asserted Hollander. “It was nice that we were working together. Today, we were passing it; we were working our plays, which is really important.”

Hollander, who has emerged as a key offensive catalyst this year after focusing on defense in 2022,

ended up tallying one goal and three assists as the Panthers cruised to an 18-4 win.

“Three assists is pretty good,” said Hollander with a smile. “We were getting in the right spot for the plays to happen with assists, which was good.”

On Saturday, Hollander was in the right spot again, chipping in two goals and two assists as the Panthers defeated sixth-seeded Villa Walsh 18-7 in a Group B quarterfinal contest. PDS, who improved to 13-7 with the win, was slated to play at second-seeded Montclair Kimberley Academy on June 6 in a semifinal matchup with the victor advancing to the final on June 9.

After scoring nine points on four goals and five assists in 2022, Hollander has tallied 44 points so far this year with 31 goals and 13 assists. That increase in production is the fruit of some hard work Hollander put in over the offseason.

“I did a lot of lacrosse over the summer; I worked a lot on my shooting and that helped with my confidence for shooting,” said Hollander, who also stars for the PDS girls’ cross country team. “I have a club team and stuff. I got a lot of practice on the draws this summer so I came in ready. I felt a lot more confident in going to goal which has been really helpful. I have gotten better at understanding the attack.”

As Hollander has taken on a greater role on attack,

she has not neglected her defensive responsibilities, gobbling up ground balls for the Panthers.

“We have been working a lot on talking on defense, working on our slides and doubling and stuff,” said Hollander. “We were having good success with pressuring out and getting turnovers.”

In Hollander’s view, rolling to the win over Morris Catholic bodes well for another successful Non-Public run.

“This was a good way to start our last tournament, end of postseason,” said Hollander. “I think this will help push us to the end and hopefully get the win again.”

PDS head coach Tracy Young thought that ending the run on the Smoyer surface helped push her players to a big performance.

“They were fired up, it is the last day on this turf,” said Young. “They will be ripping it up first thing tomorrow, they have already started moving cages to get it ready. The girls were feeling that that they didn’t want the last game on this field to be a loss.”

Young credited Hollander with being a catalyst to a balanced offensive effort.

“Jess has had a phenomenal year, she stepped up big today,” said Young, reflecting on the win which saw Tessa Caputo tally five goals and four assists with Kelly Christie chipping in three goals and Sophie Jaffe contributing two goals and

one assist. “Kelly stepped up big for us. The scoring was so well spread. We had almost every attack player who had at least one in the net today and even a couple of defenders.”

The Panther defense has raised the level of its play. “They are playing so, so well together,” said Young, whose goalie Arden Bogle had four saves against Morris Catholic and then had seven more against Villa Walsh to pass the 300-save milestone in her career. “We have been working a lot on our defensive slides. I think that is the biggest piece that has really, really come together. They

are sliding so well and then they are talking. When they do that, they are a tough team to get through.”

While the Panthers face a tough test in the semis against MKA, a team that edged them 10-9 in the Prep B state final on May 12, Young believes that her squad has what it takes to defend its Non-Public Group B crown.

“If we can play clean with no cards and if we can play well and together, we are a hard team to beat,” said Young, who got a personal best nine goals from Caputo in the win over Villa Walsh.

“If we continue to do what

we did today with shot selection and coming up with the draw, we could be on a really good side of it.”

Hollander, for her part, is confident that PDS will keep playing well to the end.

“We need to continue to work together, we were having a hard time this year losing the ball on transition with the turnovers,” said Hollander. “It is working on that and just making sure that we are passing it and moving on attack and that we are working our plays. If we do all of those things, we will have pretty good success.”

—Bill Alden

(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

TOURNAMENT RUN: Princeton Day School girls’ lacrosse player Jesse Hollander sprints upfield in recent action. Last Wednesday, junior midfield Hollander tallied one goal and three assists to help third-seeded PDS defeat 14th-seeded Morris Catholic 18-4 in the first round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public Group B tournament. On Saturday, Hollander chipped in two goals and two assists as the Panthers defeated sixth-seeded Villa Walsh 18-7 in a Group B quarterfinal contest. PDS, who improved to 13-7 with the win, was slated to play at second-seeded Montclair Kimberley Academy on June 6 in a semifinal matchup with the victor advancing to the final on June 9.

PHS

Boys’ Track : Zach Della Rocca set the pace to help PHS finish fourth in the team standings at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey Group 4 Sectional Championships last weekend at Hillsborough High. Senior sprinter

Della Rocca placed first and set school records in both the 100 meters (10.64) and 200 meters (21.69). Senior Andrew Kenny was second in the 800 with a seasonbest 1:56.18. Sophomore

Sean Wilton cracked the 50-foot barrier in the shot put for the first time, throwing 50’4 for second place.

Senior Oleg Brennan finished third in the discus while junior Sawyer Quallen was fourth in the triple jump. The boys 4x800 relay (Kenny, Marty Brophy, Josh Barzilai, and Charlie Howes) finished fourth to advance to the Group meet. Brophy, who took sixth in the 1,600, will run individually at Groups as well. PHS piled up 51 points in taking fourth in the meet won by South Brunswick (122 points). The Tiger top-six finishers will next be in action when they compete this weekend in the NJSIAA Group 4 Championships at Franklin High.

Girls’ Track : Kyleigh Tangen had a big meet as PHS placed 14th in the team standings at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey Group 4 Sectional Championships last weekend at Hillsborough High. Junior Tangen played fourth in the 800 meters with a personal best of 2:25.22 and combined with Ava Tabeart, Rica Eleches-Lipsitz, and Brielle Moran to help the 4x800 relay take third in a season best of 9:55.11. Senior Lucy Kreipke took sixth in the 3,200, producing a personal best of 11:30.50. PHS scored 11 points in taking 14th in the meet won by Hillsborough (148.50 points). Tangen, the 4x800 relay, and Kreipke all advanced to the NJSIAA Group 4 Championships which will take place this weekend at Franklin High.

Rider

NEW LOOK: Dylan Newman takes a swing in a game this spring for the Princeton High baseball team. Last Monday, Newman got two hits, including a double, to help the Princeton Post 218 American Legion team defeat Hightstown Post 148 9-1. Eric Wheeler and Arjun Hsu also starred with the bat, getting three RBIs apiece. On the mound, Wes Price and Dylan Powers combined to pitch a two-hitter with starter Price getting the win. Post 218, now 1-1, hosts Lawrence Post 414 on June 8, plays at Hamilton Post 31 on June 10, hosts Allentown on June 11, and plays at Trenton Post 93/182 on June 13.

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HOLDING COURT: Princeton Day School boys’ tennis player Joshua Chu hits a forehand in a match this spring. Last Monday, senior star Chu posted a straight-set win at second singles to help fourth-seeded PDS defeat second-seeded Ranney School 5-0 in the final of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public South Jersey tournament. The Panthers, now 11-4-1, will face Newark Academy (19-3) in the Non-Public state final on June 7 at the Mercer County Park tennis complex. (Photo

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John Perry Academy of Music Plans International Summer Music Festival

“We are the music-makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams.”

—Arthur William Edgar O’Shaughnessy

Something special will be available in July for all those who love to make music and for those who may be dreaming of doing so someday.

The John Perry Academy of Music (JPA) is scheduling its International Summer Music Festival July 2 through July 14 at The College of New Jersey, located at 2000 Pennington Road, Ewing Township.

IT’S NEW To Us

It is the first time the prestigious event will take place in New Jersey. After many years in Los Angeles, John Perry and Mina Hirobe-Perry, directors of the Academy, have relocated to Princeton.

“A festival of this type offers the opportunity for the talented music student to immerse himself/herself in an intense music performance program without the distractions of other subjects, other classes, and all other competing demands on their time,” explains John Perry. “There is no question that one walks away from this experience greatly enriched and knowledgeable about the art of music.”

Unique Voice

“We design our program

with passion, to nurture your artistry, stimulate your curiosity, and expand you horizons,” adds Mina HirobePerry. “And importantly, we try to eliminate a sense of competitiveness here at JPA because we want you to feel safe to follow your heart and discover your unique voice in your art.”

In addition to their work as accomplished teachers, the Perrys are experienced professional pianists who have performed all over the world and in various settings, including as soloists, with chamber groups and orchestras.

Besides her love of teaching, Hirobe-Perry takes great joy in performing.

“Like teaching, preparing for a performance requires a tremendous level of patience and consistency,” she says.

“The reward can be very direct and obvious. The sensation of being able to reach an audience is so special. There is nothing else quite like it.”

Formerly a professor of piano at USC in Los Angeles, John Perry is now professor of piano at Rutgers University and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

Traveling from Princeton to New Brunswick to Toronto keeps him on the road. Also, in 2021, he had the honor to be inducted into the Steinway Piano Hall of Fame.

Originally from Japan, Hirobe-Perry studied and performed in Germany, where she met Perry at a piano festival, and later studied with him. They then settled

in Los Angeles, where they established their Academy and began the Summer Music Festivals in 2013. Their programs attracted students from around the world, who had an opportunity to play for master teachers and perform in recitals.

Moving to Princeton in 2020, the Perrys expected to launch a Summer Festival here, but their plans were interrupted by COVID-19. Now, however, opportunities for experienced students from 5 years old and up will be available for them to study for one or two weeks with the Perrys as well as a group of visiting artists.

Master Classes

Advanced beginners and intermediate students can enroll in the Junior Academy, with lessons from July 10 through the July 14. The two-week program, from July 2 through July 14, is available for more advanced piano students of all ages.

Sessions will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Master classes are typically two to two and a half hours, and private lessons 45 minutes. Lectures will be one hour. Junior level classes will reinforce basic music skills.

The Perrys offer a unique program founded on a true appreciation and love of music, as well as the development of technical expertise. The festival will include visiting artists and lecturers, who will contribute to the students’ overall experience.

Those participating include Mikhail Voskresensky, Ann

MORE PARTIES, BETTER PARTIES: THE CASE FOR PROPARTIES DEMOCRACY REFORM

MUSIC APPRECIATION: “At our Summer Festival, we try to broaden the participants’ minds by including various speakers and lecturers as well as pianists and piano pedagogues. All classes and events will be open to the public, and we hope everyone can visit us, see the metamorphosis of the young pianists, and experience beautiful music-making with us.” John

Schein, and Robert Levin, among others of renown.

The importance of introducing students to a wide range of musical experience, including the history of music, is a crucial part of the Perrys’ approach to teaching.

“We live in an era of the ‘instant world,’ of quick-fix meals, quick communication via electronic messages, social media, smartphones, growth hormones, etc.,” points our Hirobe-Perry. “We have lost the sense of patience to sit and wait for something. But if you wish to be excellent in what you do, you have to understand the importance of taking slow steps.”

Love of Music

“I believe that in music education we should never aim for a quick outcome,” continues Hirobe-Perry. “The goal should be set for the long future, never a shortsighted victory. If one is gifted, that student should be handled very carefully so that he or she can blossom to his/her maximum capacity. it takes time and enormous effort from the student, the parents, and the teacher.

“When we are inspired and determined to perfect a piece, a passage, and yes, a note, it can require hours and hours of practice. But with this approach, students will not only develop technical expertise, but the true love and feeling for music.”

Making such a commitment and dedicating oneself to music as an art will bring tremendous pleasure, emphasizes John Perry.

“The aim of our festival primarily is to teach people to understand, appreciate, and perform music,” he says. “It is not merely to teach them how to play the piano, but to become participating musicians who support, understand, and appreciate music and the other arts. The synthesis between technique and understanding is not easy, and either one not in balance with the other will lead to diminished results.

“By exposing our students to many teaching views, many lectures by musicians and non-musicians, and providing them the opportunity to observe their peers and listen to their instructors, they will leave after two

weeks with a larger and more comprehensive view of music and the related arts. Two weeks is not long enough to seriously train a musician, but it is long enough to open many doors that may not have been noticed before.”

Gift From Heaven

Perry also happily recalls memories of his own boyhood musical experiences. “I remember with great fondness the summer camps for music which I attended in junior high school and senior high school. The total immersion in music was a gift from heaven compared to the daily routine of the normal school year.”

At the end of the festival, students will participate in a concert to which the public is invited free of charge. In addition, recitals by two of the guest artists are planned, and throughout the two weeks, visitors may audit the classes for a fee.

Scheduled concerts include Mikhail Voskresensky, July 2 at 7 p.m. and Ann Schein, July 8 at 7 p.m. A lecture by Robert Levin will take place on July 6 at 7 p.m., and John Perry’s Master Class is planned for July 12 at 7 p.m. Tickets are available through the website.

To apply for the Summer Music Festival, advanced students are required to send two recordings of contrasted musical works. This is not required for the enrollment of students attending the Junior Academy.

Deep Level

The Perrys are very proud of their upcoming festival, and look forward to sharing both their expertise and their love of music with everyone. Teaching for them is a special privilege.

As Mina Hirobe-Perry explains, “Teaching is a complex art. It requires a tremendous level of patience,

and various skills, including an understanding of child psychology. I think it is most rewarding. Music exists in the center of our hearts, as it has a capability of moving one’s emotions. To relate with students on such a deep level, particularly during the time when they are in the process of shaping who they are as a person, is a great privilege, and at the same time, a big responsibility.”

She has seen her students achieve success by winning competitions and gaining acceptance at prestigious conservatories, but some of her most meaningful moments have come later.

“A true rewarding moment is when I hear from a student who left me many years ago, and says that as they have matured, they have understood the meaning of the things I taught, and how it has influenced how they listen, play, and even how they live their lives,” she says. “It is truly amazing to be able to influence someone’s life. Music has such a power, and I am grateful every day that my life exists within the art of music.”

And, as John Perry adds, as he invites students to the festival, “We are all here together in the name of that great art that is music.”

For information on applying, class times, etc., and tickets to events, visit the website at johnperryacademy.org or email johnperryacademy@gmail.com.

—Jean Stratton

Perry and Mina Hirobe-Perry, directors of the John Perry Academy of Music, are shown with Seiji, their 6-year-old son.

follow and book signing courtesy of Labyrinth Books, featuring Breaking the TwoParty Doom Loop

well loved and well read since 1946

Obituaries

Continued from Preceding Page may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Arrangements are under the direction of MatherHodge Funeral Home, Princeton.

Assunta Sferra

Assunta Sferra, 91, of Princeton passed away on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. She was born in 1931 in Pettoranello del Molise, Italy. In 1969 she arrived in Princeton, NJ, where she was a lifelong resident. Assunta was a housewife who enjoyed cooking, gardening, and spending time with her family.

Predeceased by her parents Dominico and Angela (Toto) Sferra; husband Oreste Sferra; and brothers Tony, John, and Joe; she is survived by her brothers and sisters-in-law, Bert and Ester Sferra, and Flory and Patricia Sferra; and many nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held from 9:30–10:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 10, 2023 at St. Paul’s Church, 216 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ 08542 with a Mass of Christian Burial celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Burial will follow in Princeton Cemetery.

Memorial donations

Vladimir Visnjic

Vladimir Visnjic, a particle physicist and active member of the Princeton community, passed away on May 30, 2023 at 76 years of age, three months after the passing of his beloved wife Georgia.

Vladimir was born in Belgrade in the former Yugoslavia. Despite their limited means, his parents managed to enroll him in one of the best schools in the country: the Classical Gymnasium. While there, he excelled in all subjects, especially Latin, Ancient Greek, and Mathematics. He went on to study electrical engineering at university, before dedicating the rest of his career to physics.

From a young age he exhibited a knack for learning new languages (eventually mastering seven), which opened up many doors for him in life, beginning with

a physics internship in Paris while still a university student. Needing to get from Belgrade to Paris but possessing minimal funds, he made the 1200-mile trek on a tiny motorcycle that broke down several times along the way. While in Paris, he lived in a tent and supported himself financially by unloading trucks at a farmer’s market every morning before heading to the physics institute. Through hard work and perseverance, he gained admission to a doctoral program at the University of Bonn in West Germany. There he wrote a PhD thesis on quantum chromodynamics and met his future wife and mother of his children, the mathematician Georgia Triantafillou.

In 1979, Vladimir and his wife left Europe and came to the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, where they made friendships that have lasted to this day. Over the next two decades Vladimir published influential articles in particle physics and held posts at NYU, Fermilab, the University of Minnesota, the Max Planck Institute in Munich, and the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste. After many wanderings, he and his family returned to Princeton for good in 1996. Vladimir spent the last two and a half decades of his life teaching advanced mathematics at Temple University in Philadelphia.

Vladimir was known for his inquisitive mind and his funloving, adventurous spirit. He enjoyed taking his wife and two kids on trips to go skiing, camping, fishing, and exploring foreign countries.

His house parties resembled the salons one reads about in novels, attracting a colorful assortment of characters including artists, musicians, and intellectuals of various stripes. He was a generous host who offered guests copious amounts of homemade wine and huge quantities of delicious meat roasted on a stainless-steel rotisserie grill that he had built himself in his university’s machine shop. His inquisitive spirit permeated all aspects of his life. He loved taking things apart to figure out how they worked and then putting them back together again. He could fix anything from a broken toilet to a defective vehicle. He never cooked the same dish in the same way twice but made every meal a new experiment. When preparing his famous feasts, he was known to get engrossed in a conversation and forget the food in the oven, only to remember to take it out at the perfect moment for optimal deliciousness.

As parents, Vladimir and his wife Georgia always strove to foster their kids’ scientific curiosity. Every family dinner was an invitation to think creatively and critically about the world. And they made sure to have dinner as a family every night. Their children went on to become successful academics in their own right, both receiving PhDs from Princeton University.

Vladimir could hold engaging conversations on any subject. A friend who visited him on his last day of full consciousness reported that, in the space of an hour, Vladimir chatted about the relationship between

quantum gravity and field theories, interesting features of Latin grammar, and the scenes depicted on Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise on the Baptistery door in Florence. Little did he know that in three days he would be passing through the same gate.

Vladimir is survived by his two children (Katerina and Vanya “Jack” Visnjic) and five granddaughters (Zoe, Alexandra, Lydia, Athena, and Selena). Following his wishes, the funeral will be held in Greece, where he will be buried next to his wife.

Arrangements are under the direction of MatherHodge Funeral Home, Princeton.

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Hal “Red” Ross

July 5, 1934 – May 21, 2023

Hal was raised in and around Princeton, NJ, in a loving farming family affected, like many, by the Great Depression. He was gifted with a strong mind and body and a will to succeed, all of which served him well in life. Excelling in mathematics and statistics, he put his efforts towards a notable career in Market Research, co-founding and managing Mapes & Ross Advertising Research for 30 years. He was a leading authority in the field and

was frequently quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Advertising Age , and other journals.

Even with all his career achievements, he defined himself first as a father and excelled at the role. He raised two sons and a daughter with bottomless affection, support, and engagement. He loved to coach kids’ baseball and football and was highly involved with the Princeton YMCA swim center. Active in community service, he participated in the Princeton Rotary Club for decades.

He loved to mingle with witty, positive people, and could deftly deliver a joke or funny story to light up the room. If rock ‘n’ roll or country music played, his feet were moving. The man could dance. His charm was legendary. He loved sports, and played many well. Over time he mostly gravitated to skiing. This passion grew from regular family weekends at Elk Mountain, Pennsylvania, and eventually led to his retirement in Sun Valley, Idaho where his sons had previously relocated. The free spirit culture of Idaho suited him well and he effortlessly found his place among the colorful local ski town characters.

Hal is survived by his sons Peter and Brian, sister Dorothy, brother-in-law Bruce, and nephews Doug and Chris. He will be sorely missed. Perhaps his only goal left unfi nished was a tireless campaign to rid menus of garlic and onions. He will be laid to rest next to his daughter Jennifer in the Princeton Cemetery. A casual dress celebration of his life will be held at the Nassau Club at 3 p.m. on Saturday June 10.

2023

PM

Historical Society Conversation and Refreshments

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Sunday June 11 –9:30

AM – Final Sunday School Program; 11:00 Worship; 12:30 BBQ Celebration

Sunday, June 18th –10:00 AM –Summer Worship Schedule Begins

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Ernest Monge

It is with great sadness that the family of Ernest Monge of Princeton, NJ, announces his passing on May 27, 2023. It was very sudden. He was 86 years old.

Ernie had an amazingly rich and varied life. He was a true Renaissance man. Born in Quito, Ecuador, Ernie moved to the United States as a young man in 1960 after spending two years teaching in the Galapagos Islands under the direction of the Franciscans. He had contemplated a religious career but instead followed his sister Josephine’s footsteps and moved to Yonkers, NY. There he enrolled and graduated from Fordham University.

His first job was with the Bank of Nova Scotia in New York City. The bank turned out to be his only employer. Ernie had a distinguished 40-year career. Although he had always been based in New York City, he had several postings in Latin America. Ernie had a talent for languages (he knew at least seven); he was a skillful diplomat and he truly loved people. He was an invaluable member of the Scotia Bank family.

Ernie left Woodside, NY, and moved to East Windsor in 1986 and then to Princeton in 1992. He retired in 2006, five years after the 9/11 tragedy which he witnessed and then survived. In retirement he dedicated his time to his passions of travel, cooking, and writing. He became a historian and biographer and was recognized in both Ecuador and Spain for his historical contributions.

Ernie was a beloved member of his family in the United States, Canada, Ecuador, and Europe. He was a father to his siblings, nieces, nephews, and extended family. He was a man of great faith and was wise, generous, and always there. His laughter was outrageous and infectious. There will never be another Ernie.

Ernie was predeceased by his parents Ernesto Celiano Monge and Elsa Maria Zambrano; his sisters Elsa and Veronica (Uscocovich); and his friend Roy Anderson. He is survived by his sisters Josephine (Schmeisser) of Princeton, NJ, and Rosemarie (Kosar); brothers Rodrigo and Edward; niece Josephine Law of Princeton, NJ, and her children Anastasia and Oliver; 12 nieces and nephews; and 14 great nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, June 7, 2023 from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. and on Thursday, June 8, 2023 from 10:30-11:30 a.m. at the Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, 40 Vandeventer Avenue, Princeton, NJ 08542. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday at 12 p.m. at St. Paul’s Church, 216 Nassau Street, Princeton,

NJ 08542 followed by burial in Princeton Cemetery.

Arrangements are under the direction of MatherHodge Funeral Home, Princeton.

Vivian B. Shapiro

Vivian B. Shapiro, MSW, PhD, the beloved wife of Harold T. Shapiro, passed away on May 29, 2023 following a brave battle with a long illness. Vivian is survived by her husband, Harold T. Shapiro, and her four daughters, Anne (Joseph Kabourek), Marilyn (Ralph Schapira), Janet (Steve Eisenberg), and Karen (Susan Goodin), in addition to her 11 grandchildren, Joseph, Sarah Laura, Emily, Alex, Aaron, Teddy, Jared, Corey, Jacob, and Sophia, and six great grandchildren. Born and raised in Montreal, Canada, Vivian first moved to the United States when her husband attended graduate school at Princeton University. The family then moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where they lived until their return to Princeton in 1988, when Harold became the president of Princeton University. In Montreal, Ann Arbor, and Princeton, Vivian had many close friends and colleagues with whom she remained in touch throughout her life.

In addition to being a devoted wife and mother, Vivian earned her MSW from the University of Michigan School of Social Work in 1969. In 1970, Vivian joined the Child Development Project at the University of Michigan. There, her work with her colleagues led to new ways of working with parents and children, including early understanding of the intergenerational transmission of trauma. Vivian was a co-author, with her mentor Selma Fraiberg, and colleague Edna Adelson, of “Ghosts in the Nursery,” a groundbreaking article in the field of infant, child, and caregiver mental health. Ultimately, Vivian joined the University of Michigan School of Social Work and retired as an Associate Professor Emerita of Social Work in 1988.

In 1988, Vivian relocated to Princeton when her husband became the president of Princeton University. She continued her own work; earning her PhD in Social Work at Smith College in 1994, and continuing to explore new ways to support the well-being of children and families. In 2001, Vivian published a book entitled Complex Adoption and Assisted Reproductive Technology: A Developmental Approach to Clinical Practice, which she co-authored with her colleague, Isabel Paret, and her daughter, Janet Eisenberg.

In addition to her devotion to her family and friends, and to her life’s work, Vivian was deeply involved in community services. As a board member of the Children’s Home Society, Vivian worked to introduce new approaches to infant and early childhood mental health to the organization. Vivian’s deep contributions to the Children’s Home Society were recognized in 2022 when the Vivian B. Shapiro Early Childhood Center was opened in Trenton, NJ.

The family wishes to express its gratitude to all who meant so much to Vivian during her life, and who

did so much to support Vivian and her extended family through Vivian’s illness.

Private family services honoring the life of Vivian were held on May 30, 2023.

Funeral arrangements are by Orland’s Ewing Memorial Chapel. For condolences, please visit Orlands MemorialChapel.com.

Robert Conant Ellis

September 2, 1931 –June 3, 2023

Robert C. Ellis, permanent resident of Falmouth, MA, and former resident of Princeton, NJ, from 1975 to 2002, died peacefully at Falmouth Hospital on Saturday June 3, 2023 after a recent illness. He was 91 years old.

Robert graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1953, and earned an MBA at Boston College and Masters of Library Science from Rutgers University. He worked in market research for several corporations including Pan Am Airlines, Arthur D Little, American Express, Dun & Bradstreet, Fidelity Union, and AT&T until his retirement in 1994. He also was an author of the book, Cape Cod Yesteryears – The Life and Short Stories of Eleanor Conant Yeager.

He served as Naval Officer during the Korean War 1954-1957.

He is survived by his daughters, Elizabeth (Bill) of New Ipswich, NH, and Gail (Jeff) of Fair Haven, NJ; his sons, Robert Jr. (Bonnie) of Pleasantville, NY, Peter (Merceditas Villanueva) of New Haven, CT, David of Brooklyn, NY, Stephen of Meriden, CT, and Bruce (Shelley Bennett) of San Diego, CA; and 15 grandchildren.

Bob is survived by wife Pat Ellis, a retired registered nurse and faithful companion particularly during years when his memory began to fail. Bob also leaves behind Pat’s five children and eight grandchildren whom he loved.

Bob has a sister Rosemary and brother-in-law Ed Currant of Plymouth, Mass., and a sister-in-law Jay Ellis of California. Bob is predeceased by his brother William and his first wife, Joanne Marie Hynes Ellis.

Bob and the Ellis children attended the Princeton School System as well as Lawrenceville Prep, were a part of the Princeton Community Tennis program, attended St. Paul’s Church, and his first wife Joanne served on the Princeton Board of Education.

The family would like to extend its heartfelt gratitude to the staff at Falmouth Hospital, Laurentide Memory Care, Royal Cape Cod Rehabilitation, and Southcoast VNA Hospice Services who provided exceptional care and comfort to Bob.

Funeral mass will be held on Monday, June 12 at 10

a.m. at St. Patrick’s Church, 511 Main Street, Falmouth, MA. Burial immediately following at St. Anthony’s Church, 167 E. Falmouth Highway, E. Falmouth, MA.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Bob’s memory to: The Conant House, Falmouth Historical Society 55 Palmer Ave, Falmouth, MA 02540, (508) 548-4857; Catholic Relief Services, 228 W. Lexington Street, Baltimore, MD, (377) 435-7277; or Wounded Warrior Project — Woundedwarriorproject.org.

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The Balance Between Price, Condition, and Location in Real Estate

When it comes to buying a property, three key factors play a crucial role: price, condition, and location. Achieving the right balance among these elements is essential for a successful real estate investment.

Price is often the primary consideration for buyers. It's important to set a budget and determine the maximum amount you can afford. However, focusing solely on price can lead to overlooking other vital aspects.

Condition refers to the state of the property, including its age, maintenance, and any necessary repairs or renovations. A well maintained home may have a higher initial cost but can save you money in the long run. Assessing the condition and factoring in potential costs is vital.

Location plays a significant role in real estate. A property's proximity to schools, amenities, transportation, and job opportunities affects its desirability and potential appreciation. Even if a property requires some improvements, an excellent location can make it a valuable investment.

Prioritize your needs and long term goals to make an informed decision and ensure a successful real es- tate venture.

SEASONAL MAINTENANCE - PRINCETON

INC. OF PRINCETON

Property Maintenance and Specialty Jobs

Commercial/Residential

Over 45 Years of Experience

• Fully Insured • Free Consultations

Email: joeslandscapingprinceton@ gmail.com Text (only): (609) 356-9201

Office: (609) 216-7936 Princeton References

• Green Company HIC #13VH07549500

HOME REPAIR SPECIALIST: Interior/exterior repairs, carpentry, trim, rotted wood, power washing, painting, deck work, sheet rock/ spackle, gutter & roofing repairs. Punch list is my specialty. 40 years experience. Licensed & insured. Call Creative Woodcraft (609) 586-2130

EXPERIENCED AND PROFESSIONAL CAREGIVER Available Part-Time With Excellent References in the Greater Princeton Area (609) 216-5000

Sunday, June 11, 12:00 to 2:00 PM

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1225 W Leesport Rd, Leesport, Pennsylvania Berks County | $1,250,000

One-of-a-kind contemporary, 28 plus acres w/ stunning panoramic views, indoor heated pool w/ vaulted glass ceiling, 5 bedrooms, 5 full baths, nearly 8,300 sq ft of living space, finished lower level, wraparound deck, exposed stone walls, angled wood ceilings, and so much more.

Open House Host: Anne M. Lusk, Realtor 100 Foxshire Dr, Lancaster, PA 17601

717-291-9101 | www.annelusk.com

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HOUSECLEANING: Experienced, English speaking, great references, reliable with own transportation. Weekly & bi-weekly cleaning. Green cleaning available. Susan: (732) 8733168.

07-26

HANDYMAN: Painting, landscaping, drapes, etc. Call Jack (609) 8650338.

06-07

GARAGE SALE: Saturday, June 10, 8-3. 25 MacLean Street, Princeton. Collection of brand name ladies and mens sneakers (full collection), gas lawnmower, bikes, furniture, books, artwork, ladies handbags, bocce set and more. 609-947-3009.

06-07

CARPENTRY–PROFESSIONAL

All phases of home improvement. Serving the Princeton area for over 30 yrs. No job too small. Call Julius Sesztak: (609) 466-0732 tf

HANDYMAN–CARPENTER: Painting, hang cabinets & paintings, kitchen & bath rehab. Tile work, masonry. Porch & deck, replace rot, from floors to doors to ceilings. Shelving & hook-ups. ELEGANT REMODELING. You name it, indoor, outdoor tasks. Repair holes left by plumbers & electricians for sheetrock repair. RE agents welcome. Sale of home ‘checklist’ specialist. Mercer, Hunterdon, Bucks counties. 1/2 day to 1 month assignments. CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED, Covid 19 compliant. Active business since 1998. Videos of past jobs available. Call Roeland, (609) 933-9240.

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I BUY ALL KINDS of Old or Pretty Things: China, glass, silver, pottery, costume jewelry, evening bags, fancy linens, paintings, small furniture, etc. Local woman buyer. (609) 9217469.

10-11

BUYING: Antiques, paintings, Oriental rugs, coins, clocks, furniture, old toys, military, books, cameras, silver, costume & fine jewelry. Guitars & musical instruments. I buy single items to entire estates. Free appraisals. (609) 306-0613.

06-28

The Department of Public Works (DPW) is hiring seasonal maintenance workers for spring and summer employment. Tasks may include, but not limited to, raking, mowing, trimming, weed whacking, painting, hauling, lifting, sewer (sanitary and storm) maintenance, street patching, and building maintenance and other general maintenance duties. Must be able to lift 50 pounds. Must satisfy employer paid physical, drug screen and criminal background check. Must have a valid NJ Driver’s License in good standing. NJ residency required by State Statute. R.S.52:14-7.

Witherspoon Media Group

Monday–Friday: 7:00am–3:30pm

Salary: $18.00 an hour

ADVERTISING SALES

Witherspoon Media Group is looking for a part-time advertising Account Manager, based out of our Kingston, NJ office, to generate sales for Town Topics Newspaper and Princeton Magazine

The ideal candidate will:

• Establish new sales leads and manage existing sales accounts for both publications

For additional info contact: melissa.bilyeu@ witherspoonmediagroup.com

• Develop industry-based knowledge and understanding, including circulation, audience, readership, and more.

• Collaborate with the advertising director and sales team to develop growth opportunities for both publications

Track record of developing successful sales strategies and knowledge of print and digital media is a plus. Fantastic benefits and a great work environment.

Please submit cover letter and resume to: charles.plohn@witherspoonmediagroup.com

Wednesday

Finale Farm 7 br | 5.2 ba | 6,323 sf | 33.25 ac | Stone Bank Barn | 20-Acre Private Lake | Pool

One of the finest estate properties in Bucks County, Finale Farm is a noble retreat deeply rooted in the heritage of the area with an original structure dating to 1704. On 33 acres in a pristine Solebury Township setting, the manor house is set far off the road with magnificent repose. The house has been carefully expanded several times and now measures 6323 square feet. Ancillary structures include an updated guest house, classic stone bank barn, pool, pond and access to a 20-acre private lake that’s fun for canoeing, kayaking or even paddleboating. Level acreage makes this ideal for the gentleman farmer or buyer seeking verdant, long-distance views.

NEW HOPE , PA $7,950,000

Chris Preston c. 215.262.9609

Wheelbarrow Hill 5 br l 4.1 ba l 5,456 sf | 12.16 ac | Guest House | Barn | Tennis Court

A rare find, Wheelbarrow Hill is a superbly renovated Victorian Era home tucked away privately on bucolic 12+acres. This picture-perfect Bucks County property showcases exceptional craftsmanship. Enjoy panoramic views from the wrap-around porch. A guest house, useful barn, and tennis court add to the fun.

BUCKINGHAM , PA $3,875,000

Dana Lansing c.267.614.0990