Proof 2

© Rocker Tommy Caldwell is at Starving Artist Café, page 7; Young Professionals Prefer Pickleball? See page 10.

, 2026

l8 Apri

609-452-7000 • PrincetonInfo.com

Jelly’s Last Jam

Does Bristol Riverside Theater have a hit on its hands? Review by Neal Zoren, page 9.

Photo courtesy of Bristol Riverside Theater

Low Rates, More Freedom to Drive Your Way!

Take advantage of our competitive auto loan rates. Your dream car is within reach. Scan the QR code to apply now and hit the road with confidence!

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APrIl 8, 2026

Mercer 250 Mini-Grant Program

M

MANAGING EDITOr Sara Hastings COMMUNITY EDITOr Bill Sanservino DIrECTOr OF DIGITAl INITIATIVES Joe Emanski PrODUCTION MANAGEr Stacey Micallef GrAPHIC DESIGNEr & OPErATIONS MANAGEr

Stephanie Jeronis

SENIOr ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Jennifer Steffen

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Christine Storie

VICE PrESIDENT, PUBlISHING AND SAlES Thomas Fritts

For editorial inquiries: 609-452-7000 Display Advertising: tfritts@donnelly.media 609-396-1511 x110 Classified Advertising: class@princetoninfo.com 609-396-1511 x105 Mail: 24 South Main Street, Allentown 08501.

Events: events@princetoninfo.com News: hastings@donnelly.media Home page: www.princetoninfo.com Subscribe to our E-Mail Newsletters: www.communitynews.org/newsletter

Copyright 2026 LTD Media LLC. Community News Service A proud member of:

ercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission is accepting applications for its Fiscal Year 2026 Mercer County 250th Implementation Mini-Grant Program, supporting projects that commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence. Mercer County-based nonprofit organizations may apply for funding to support programs, events, and initiatives that interpret, preserve, and present the county’s role in the nation’s founding era.

The program is designed to help bring well-developed concepts to life or expand existing initiatives tied to the anniversary. Projects will be reviewed by an independent panel of history professionals, with funding awarded to proposals that demonstrate strong historical relevance, community engagement, and feasibility. Funded projects must be completed within calendar year 2026.

The mini-grant initiative is part of a broader countywide effort to coordinate programming around the nation’s semiquincentennial, with municipalities, historical societies, and cultural organizations expected to play a central role in delivering events and educational outreach. Organizers are encouraging proposals that highlight lesserknown stories, diverse perspectives, and local connections to the Revolutionary War period.

Eligible projects may include public programs, exhibits, performances, interpretive installations, and educational initiatives designed to engage a wide audience.

The county is particularly interested in projects that can draw residents and visitors to historic sites,

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754323.1 ROP 2 x 7.75 Princeton University Concerts

support tourism, and create lasting community value beyond the anniversary year.

Applications are due April 17.

For information or to apply, visit tinyurl.com/MercerHistoryRegrants or contactcjohnstone@mercercounty.org or 609-989-6418.

Entrepreneurship & Scholarship Programs for Veterans

business planning, feasibility analysis, and market development, along with access to faculty expertise, business mentors, and university resources. Enrollment is limited to 20 participants to ensure individualized feedback and support throughout the program.

Sessions run Wednesday evenings May 13 through June 24 in Lawrenceville. Applications are open through May 8 or until capacity is reached. Apply at rider.edu/ vep.

Princeton Affordable Housing Lottery

The New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Foundation is accepting applications for its 2026 scholarship program for graduating high school seniors. The proPrinceton Community Housing gram recognizes students who is accepting preliminary applicademonstrate academic achieve- tions for nine affordable rental ment, community service, and an units at its new 195 Nassau Street understanding of the Vietnam War community in downtown Princeera and its broader impact on Amer- ton. Located along the Nassau ican society.

Street corridor, the deApplicants are reprovides Between velopment quired to submit matericonvenient access to als outlining their qualifiPrinceton University, The cations, including their public transportation, lines academic record, comand local businesses. munity involvement, and A random selection perspective on the Vietnam War lottery will determine placement era. Awards are intended to support for qualified households. Preferstudents as they pursue higher edu- ence will be given to residents and cation at colleges, universities, or workers of Mercer, Monmouth, other post-secondary institutions. and Ocean counties. Applicants Applications are due April 24. must meet income and eligibility Apply at njvvmf.org. requirements, with selected house*** holds contacted to complete the Rider University is accepting leasing process and others placed applications for its Veteran Entre- on a waiting list for future openpreneurship Training program, a ings.

The project is part of ongoing free six-week program designed to help veterans, their spouses, and efforts to expand affordable housdependents develop a business ing opportunities in Princeton, concept or expand an existing ven- where demand continues to exceed ture. Offered through Rider’s Cen- available inventory. The developter for Entrepreneurial Studies, the ment includes modern amenities program provides structured in- and is intended to provide longterm, income-restricted housing in struction and hands-on guidance.

Participants receive training in a centrally located, walkable area

close to employment, education, and services.

Applications are due May 8 at 5 p.m. Apply at pchhomes.org or call 609-924-3822 ext. 2.

Youth Orchestra Auditions The Youth Orchestra of Bucks County is holding auditions for its 2026–27 season, with in-person auditions scheduled for May 16 and 17 for students in grades 3–12.

The program places students into ensembles based on ability level, including concert bands, full orchestras, and string ensembles.

Participants rehearse regularly and perform in public concerts throughout the season under the direction of professional musicians.

Video auditions are also accepted for those unable to attend in person, with a priority deadline of June 1.

Apply at yobc.org.

Open Auditions: ‘The Little Mermaid’ Kelsey Theatre at Mercer County Community College and Yardley Players Theatre Company are casting Disney’s The Little Mermaid, with rehearsals underway and performances scheduled for July 10–19 on the West Windsor campus.

The production is seeking performers ages 11 and up for a wide range of principal and ensemble roles, including Prince Eric, Sebastian, Ursula, Triton, Flounder, Scuttle, and featured ensemble tracks. All roles are open to performers of all backgrounds, with a focus on creating an inclusive and diverse cast. The role of Ariel has already been cast.

Rehearsals continue throughout

THE FUND FOR

SPRING 2026 EVENT SERIES APRIL 10

Biographer and editor MERLIN HOLLAND, the only grandson of Oscar Wilde, gives a lecture entitled “After Oscar: Wilde between the li(n)es.”

Free and open to the public; advance tickets required.

4:30 p.m.

James Stewart Film Theater 185 Nassau Street For more information about these events and the Fund for Irish Studies visit fis.princeton.edu

photo courtesy Merlin Holland

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APrIl 8, 2026

the spring and summer, typically meeting multiple times per week with increased frequency closer to performances. The production includes large ensemble musical numbers, choreography, and technical staging, with opportunities for both experienced performers and those newer to the stage.

Auditions are by appointment and require preparation of a short musical selection (16– 32 bars) with sheet music. An accompanist is provided, and cold readings may be included.

Headshot, résumé, and audition materials are required.

For information or to request an appointment, visit kelsey.mccc.edu or contact the production team at DirectorKristyDavis@ gmail.com.

Edison Patent Awards Nominations The Research & Development Council of New Jersey is accepting nominations for the Edison Patent Awards, honoring individuals and organizations whose patented ideas are driving progress across industries. The awards recognize innovation across a wide range of fields, with entries evaluated based on originality, impact, and contribution to advancing science and technology.

Nominations are due May 22. Submit at rdnj.org.

Youth Theatre Camp Bucks County Playhouse is accepting registrations for a two-week theatre camp culminating in a production of Disney’s Descendants. Open to rising second- through fourth-grade students, the program provides a full theatrical experience including auditions, rehearsals, and performance.

Participants receive instruction in acting, singing, and stage performance while working toward a final production presented on stage. Tuition is $900, with a 50 percent deposit required at registration and the balance due by May 15. A limited number of needbased scholarships are available. Register at brtstage.org.

Parks Volunteer Opportunities Middlesex County Office of Parks and Recreation is seeking volunteers for a series of spring conservation projects across county parks from April through June. Opportunities include shoreline cleanup, trail maintenance, invasive species removal, and environmental restoration efforts.

Volunteer days include a Spring Spruce Up at Thompson Park on May 16 and National Trails Day projects at Ireland Brook Conservation Area on June 6, among others.

Registration is required.

For information or to sign up, contact Julia DeRosso at 732-745-8147 or Julia.

DeRosso@co.middlesex.nj.us.

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Everyone Will Notice, But No One Will Know.

Rutgers Aspiring Leaders Program The Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions is accepting applications for its MSI Aspiring Leaders program, a leadership development and mentoring initiative for mid-career professionals in higher education, nonprofit, and business sectors.

The program includes an in-person leadership forum in October followed by approximately 18 months of mentorship and professional development. Sessions focus on strategic decision-making, fundraising, crisis management, and leadership advancement.

For information or to apply, visit cmsi.gse. rutgers.edu/aspiring-leaders.

P R I N C E T O N ’ S P R E M I E R FA C I A L P L A S T I C S U R G E O N

Eugenie Brunner, MD, FACS

S U R G I C A L E N H A N C E M E N T S | L A S E R S K I N R E J U V E N AT I O N | I N J E C TA B L E T R E AT M E N T S

MCLS Poetry Contest The Mercer County Library System is accepting entries for its annual poetry contest, open to children, teens, and adults. Submissions are judged by age group, with winning entries recognized and published by the library system.

Entries must be original work. Deadline is April 30. For information or to submit, visit mcl.org.

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SURVIVAL GUIDE Wednesday, April 16

Biotech networking blends data, drinks, and dealmaking

I

n biotech, the conversations that matter don’t always happen in the lab.

An upcoming networking event will bring together researchers, entrepreneurs, and industry professionals for an evening of discussion, insight, and connection at Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs.

Hosted by Collaborative Drug Discovery, “Data & Drinks — Biotechs: Insights and Lessons Learned” is scheduled for Thursday, April 16, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs campus.

The program combines a panel discussion with informal networking over drinks and hors d’oeuvres, offering attendees a chance to exchange ideas in a more relaxed setting.

The event is designed to address some of the most pressing questions facing biotech startups and researchers today, including how to navigate the current funding environment, what challenges exist in modern research, and how artificial intelligence is shaping drug discovery.

Panelists include Andy Cole, of Arbutus Biopharma; Melissa Dumble of Eikon Therapeutics; and Sandip Patel of BIOVERIC Pharmaceuticals. The discussion will be moderated

by Romyr Dominique, director of medicinal chemistry at TB Alliance.

Cole is vice president of chemistry at Arbutus Biopharma, a clinical-stage biopharmaceu-

tical company focused on developing therapies for chronic hepatitis B virus infection. His work centers on medicinal chemistry and drug discovery efforts targeting viral diseases.

Dumble is vice president of pharmacology at Eikon Therapeutics, a California-based biotech company focused on using advanced imaging and molecular tracking technologies to develop new medicines. Her role focuses on translating biological insights into therapeutic development.

Patel is founder and CEO of BIOVERIC Pharmaceuticals, a company focused on developing therapies targeting immune and inflammatory diseases. As a founder, Patel leads the company’s scientific and strategic direction.

Dominique is director of medicinal chemistry at the TB Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the discovery and development of better, faster-acting tuberculosis treatments.

His work focuses on advancing drug candidates through the development pipeline.

The format reflects a broader shift in how professionals connect within the life sciences industry. Rather than relying solely on formal conferences or structured presentations, smaller, experience-driven events are becoming more common—giving participants the opportunity to engage directly with peers while also gaining practical insight.

Andy Cole (above left), of Arbutus Biopharma, Melissa Dumble of Eikon Therapeutics and Sandip Patel of BIOVERIC Pharmaceuticals are panelists at Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs on Thursday, April 16.

That approach is particularly relevant in biotech, where collaboration and knowledge-sharing can play a critical role in moving ideas from early-stage research to commercial development. Events like Data & Drinks create a space where those conversations can happen organically, often leading to new partnerships or perspectives.

Collaborative Drug Discovery, which is organizing the event, provides CDD Vault, a web-based platform for managing and analyzing chemical and biological data. The system is designed to support collaboration among researchers by enabling secure data sharing and streamlined workflows across organizations.

The setting for the event is equally significant. Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs serves as an incubator for technology and life science startups, offering shared lab space and access to equipment that can help early-stage companies grow while managing costs.

Founded by Princeton University in 2018,

the center has become a hub for emerging biotech companies in the region.

By bringing together scientists, entrepreneurs, and industry professionals in that environment, the event aims to bridge the gap between research and business strategy . Attendees will have the opportunity to hear directly from leaders in the field about lessons learned, while also connecting with others navigating similar challenges.

The informal structure—pairing discussion with networking—also reflects how professional interaction is evolving more broadly.

Increasingly, business connections are formed not just through formal presentations, but through shared experiences that encourage conversation and collaboration.

For those working in or entering the biotech field, the event offers both practical insight and access to a local network of professionals.

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April 8, 2026

INSIGHTS & ARGUMENTS ESSAYS & SOLILOQUIES

INTERCHANGE

Musings on Self-Directed Education: Back To ‘School’

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by Katy Anastasopoulos

irst word that comes to your mind when you hear the word “school” — Go! What did you come up with? Tests? Desks? Homework? Crowded? If I asked a hundred people, I doubt one of them would answer, “leisure” — but that is, in fact, the original meaning of the Greek word from which we get the word “school”: scholē.

It is the opposite of “ascholia,” which means preoccupation, being kept busy with survival and worldly affairs. School, leisure. I don’t know about you, but I find this stunning. When people say education has come a long way, they’re not kidding! But…which way? Where’s it heading?

And where did it start?

To begin, the ancient Greeks viewed neither of these terms, schol֒ē and ascholia, as inherently bad. However, ascholia was considered inferior, a sort of necessary constraint. Along with rest (anapausis), both were aspects of a balanced life, but the highest aim was scholē. Ascholia consisted of activities that kept people busy, but was not, by definition, “busy work.”

Rather it referred to serious business necessitated by the strictures of daily life. It was the sustenance of life and the maintenance of civilization: agriculture, domestic labor, trade, politics, governance — much of the same stuff that consumes our lives today, even if it looks a little different. Busyness for its own sake, work just to fill time or justify time spent, had no place. It didn’t even have a word. Ascholia was an indispensable use of time. And yet, scholē was considered a far more worthwhile pursuit from which ascholia was the distraction.

JAZZ AT PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESENTS

Like us, the ancient Greeks put a high value around. Scholē was held with such high regard on their time, but they measured this value differ- that the education of their youth was built upon it. ently. We hear “leisure” and imagine relaxing Scholē was not the only thing that happened in poolside with a cocktail, window shopping, ancient Greek (mostly Athenian) schools, but it binge watching a new show, but other than the was the point of it. Learning (mathēsis, from fact that these activities are relaxing, they do not which we get the word “mathematics”), acquirresemble what the ancients meant by scholē. ing new information and skills systematically Scholē was not purely entertainment or killing through observation, study, practice and memotime. rization, was a necessary component of educaIt had purpose. However, it was not a means tion. Learning and educati on were not synonyto an end either. It was an end in and of itself, its mous concepts as they are often thought of today. purpose inherent. That is the defining quality of The former was in service to the latter, and scholē. People work (aschobecause learning was a lia) for personal and comnecessary discipline, it munal survival. They rest so qualified more as ascholia ‘School has drifted they may work again, but than scholē. True scholē quite far from its origthey participate in scholē was the aim of education inal meaning, carrysimply because they’re huand because it is a state of man. carefree enjoyment, it ing all sorts of conSchol֒ē is both relaxing could only be achieved fused connotations.’ and pleasurable, but more when one’s anxieties and than that, it is the fulfillment frustrations were relieved of our humanity. It is the through the completion of playground of inquiry and wonder, art and mu- ascholia tasks. So ascholia and scholē are in a sic, creative and critical thought. Theorizing, in- tug-of-war for ascholia is both a distraction from vestigating, conceptualizing, working out a puz- scholē and, arguably, the means to reach it. zle, studying nature are all scholē. Making music Any work related to a person’s livelihood, obis scholē. Appreciating music is scholē. Anyone ligations and deadlines, must be attended — all can participate in it: the next Einstein or a ques- major stress alleviated — before scholē can be tioning five-year-old child — he need only be enjoyed. (Think about what this means for kids human. Simply lying in bed watching the snow dealing with social or school anxiety.) Additionfall is rest. It’s not scholē. But wondering about ally, scholē is expansive by nature, so for it to be it, is. In modern times, we don’t place much continually enjoyed, a person must continue to value on wondering for it produces no obvious learn. outcome. Shoveling the snow is a better use of A toddler observes that when her mother shuts time, we say. However, it’s worth noticing at the cabinet door, it goes bang (learning), so she least, that the ancients saw it the other way spends the next half hour opening and shutting it, testing her new discovery (schol֒ē). A teen learns the golden ratio in Geometry class, then spots it in everyday life throughout the week, pondering why nature favors this pattern and what that reveals about universal beauty. In both cases, the toddler and teen will stop at some point from satisfaction, boredom, frustration, or distraction, often triggering or even necessitating more learning.

This process can be a bit clumsy and irregular, quite stop and go. Learning is a labor,often uncomfortable and awkward — scholē its reward, a reward enjoyed sporadically before petering out.

Sometimes, though, the process is entirely seamless, a flow state in which the reflections of scholē

Survival Guide Continued from page 3

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SMALL GROUP X

with VIRGINIA MACDONALD clarinet

alto saxophone

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY FACULTY SEPTET TICKETED HEADLINE CONCERT

CREATIVE LARGE ENSEMBLE with GARY BARTZ alto saxophone

DETAILS & TICKETS

Business Meetings Wednesday, April 8

SMALL GROUP A

with MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ trumpet

SMALL GROUP I with PATRICK BARTLEY

Whether attendees are looking to better understand funding strategies, explore partnerships, or simply meet others in the industry, the program is designed to provide multiple points of entry.

The events will beheld in the seminar room at Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs. Advance registration is required.

1– 6 PM FESTIVAL RICHARDSON AUDITORIUM

ALEXANDER HALL FREE | UNTICKETED 8 PM CONCERT RICHARDSON AUDITORIUM

ALEXANDER HALL $16 | $6 STUDENTS

Networking, BNI Falcons, IHOP, 610 Route 33, East Windsor, 877-264-0500. www. bninjpa.org. Hybrid meeting. 7 to 8:30 a.m.

Pickleball with Young Professionals, Pickleball Kingdom, 1100 Negron Drive, Hamilton, 609-924-1776. www.princetonmercerchamber.org. Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber hosts a networking event featuring pickleball, light fare, and opportunities to connect with peers. Register. 5 to 7 p.m.

Thursday, April 9

Networking, BNI Tigers Chapter, Conference Center at Mercer County Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, 609570-3237. www.bninjpa.org. In-person meeting. 7 to 8:30 a.m.

Networking, BNI Top Flight, Town Diner, 431 Route 130, East Windsor, 609-443-8222. www.bninjpa.org. Weekly business networking meeting. 7 a.m.

spark enlightenment, prompting curiosity, research, then culminating in even more joyous contemplation. In this sense the learning is continuous. Though scholē, by definition (leisure), is not an effort to learn material or achieve any particular goal, it is arguably still “learning” in the sense that it often produces wisdom and understanding, in the same way that fruit yields more fruit. And just as the apple tree is defined by its fruit, education is defined by the state of scholē.

A problem with modern schools is that classroom activity often rides the line between ascholia and scholē while achieving neither. We are not very clear on the purpose of school, but it is certainly not scholē, rather something more utilitarian. We like activities that are useful, and our time must be justified. Every lesson should have a clear objective, every minute of class aimed at meeting that objective, and every objective tested to ensure that it has been met.

The expectation to produce and perform gives way to self-justifying busywork. On the other hand, we prioritize information that is not the most directly useful. Algebra and geometry are mainstays of high school curriculum while statistics and personal finance are not. By prioritizing ascholia activities and shoehorning every subject, practical or not, into that framework, we fail to recognize and teach what is truly useful for practical living. Likewise, by insisting that everything worth learning be directly useful, we rob impractical knowledge of its inherent joy and beauty, blunting scholē before it even begins.

School has drifted quite far from its original meaning, carrying all sorts of confused connotations, which explains why The Learning Cooperatives have struggled with the decision to even use the term in our marketing. We are not a school. We are an alternative to school that is perhaps closer to its namesake than school itself.

School, I’d argue, is largely a workplace for keeping busy, which is not truly “school” — school being scholē, which is not learning in the basic sensing of studying and retaining new information for that is actually ascholia or “not school”, which happens to be preparation for scholē, which is more like a kind of play, which ironically is learning in a deeper sense, which is still not school — but should be. No wonder we’re confused about the direction of education!

Anastasopoulos is a member of the staff at Princeton Learning Cooperative.

Friday, April 10

Networking, BNI Driven, Elks Lodge #2622, 1580 Kuser Road, Hamilton, 609-585-9610. www.bninjpa.org. Weekly networking meeting featuring member speakers and referral exchange. 7 a.m.

Networking, X-Factor BNI, VFW 133, 485 Cranbury Road, East Brunswick, 908-4216151. www.bninjpa.org. Networking meeting with business presentations and referral opportunities. 7 to 8:30 a.m.

JobSeekers, Professional Service Group of Mercer County, Plainsboro Public Library, 9 Van Doren Street, Plainsboro. www.psgofmercercounty.org. Weekly job search support group featuring speaker and networking.

10:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 14

Business Before Business, Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce, Princeton Marriott at Forrestal, 100 College Road East, Princeton, 609-924-1776. www.princetonmercerchamber.org. Morning networking event with coffee and opportunities to connect with regional professionals. Register. 8 to 10 a.m.

JobSeekers, Online. sites.google.com/site/ njjobseekers. Virtual meeting for those seeking employment offering networking and support. Visit website for meeting link. 7:30 to 9 p.m.

Wednesday, April 15

Networking, BNI Falcons, IHOP, 610 Route 33, East Windsor, 877-264-0500. www. bninjpa.org. Hybrid meeting with structured networking and member presentations. 7 to 8:30 a.m.

April 8, 2026

ART

FILM

LITERATURE

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DANCE DRAMA MUSIC

PREV I E W DAY-BY-DAY EVENTS, APRIL 8 TO APRIL 15

Event Listings: E-mail events@princetoninfo.com Event descriptions specify if an event is being held virtually or in a hybrid format. To include your virtual or in-person event in this section email events@princetoninfo.com.

Wednesday April 8 Classical Music Ébène String Quartet, Princeton University Concerts, Richardson Auditorium, Princeton University. concerts.princeton.edu. Program includes Mozart, String Quartet No. 15 in D Minor, K. 421; Ravel, String Quartet; and Brahms, String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 51, No. 2. $33 to $54.

7:30 p.m.

Pop Music

Sound Studio Series, State Theater New Jersey, 15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick. www. stnj.org. Series of intimate, 80-seat performances held in theater’s Sound Studio. With soulful vocals and fearless storytelling, Patrice Pike, the magnetic former frontwoman of Austin’s acclaimed Sister Seven, brings hope, fire, and raw humanity to the stage, tackling hard truths while lifting audiences with resilience and joy. $20 to $30. 7:30 p.m.

On Stage

Jelly’s Last Jam, Bristol Riverside Theater, 120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, Pennsylvania. www.brtstage.org. Tony Award-winning musical takes you on a thrilling journey through the life, music, and complex legacy of the self-proclaimed inventor of jazz, Jelly Roll Morton. 2 and 7:30 p.m.

Dancing

Contra Dance, Princeton Country Dancers, Suzanne Patterson Center, 1 Monument Drive, Princeton. www.princetoncountrydancers.org. Bob Isaacs with Janet, Robert, Mark & Lee. $15.

7:30 to 10 p.m.

Lectures

How Flowers Made Our World, Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, 1635 River Road, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 215-8622924. www.bhwp.org. Biologist and author David George Haskett present this year’s nursery opening lecture. 7 to 8 p.m.

Native Plant Nursery Opening Lecture: How Flowers Made Our World, Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, 1635 River Road, New Hope, Pennsylvania. www.bhwp.org. Join David Haskell in an exploration of the many ways that flowers build, sustain, and animate the living world, human life included. Via Zoom. Register. $15. 7 p.m.

‘Hope!!’ is Alive Beninese singer Angelique Kidjo is at McCarter Theater on Saturday, April 11, singing songs from her new album, ‘Hope!!’

Socials Jersey Art Meetup, Arts Council of Princeton, 102 Witherspoon Street, Princeton. www.artscouncilofprinceton.org. Princeton Comic Makers presents: Jersey Art Meetups (JAM), a weekly social event connecting creatives in Central Jersey through shared passion for sequential art and new media. Illustrators, animators, writers, and generalists are all welcome to join and discuss their art and career goals, share learning resources, promote current projects, or find friends and collaborators. Must be 16+ to attend. Free. 7 to 9 p.m.

Thursday April 9 Live Music Lovelight Grateful Dead Tribute, Cooper’s Riverview, 50 Riverview Plaza, Trenton. www.coopersnj.com. Live music. 7 p.m.

On Stage

Jelly’s Last Jam, Bristol Riverside Theater, 120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, Pennsylvania. www.brtstage.org. Tony Award-winning musical takes you on a thrilling journey through the life, music, and complex legacy of the self-proclaimed inventor of jazz, Jelly Roll Morton. 7:30 p.m.

Farm Markets

Princeton Farmers Market, Princeton Public Library, Hinds Plaza, 55 Witherspoon Street, Princeton, 609-924-9529. www. princetonfarmersmarket.com.

Vendors including local organic produce, pasture raised meat and

eggs, farmstead cheeses, fresh baked goods, empanadas, allnatural dog and cat treats, homemade jam, old-world style pickles, fresh flowers, handcrafted jewelry, knife sharpening, and more.

11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

History

The Declaration in Script and Print, Morven Museum & Garden, 55 Stockton Street, Princeton. www.morven.org. The Declaration of Independence became a work of art during the 19th century. New printing technologies helped to produce copiously ornamented facsimile editions illustrated with portraits, autographs, and patriotic emblems. In this talk drawing from his new book, graphic arts historian John Bidwell illustrates the widespread influence of Declaration prints and broadsides on American popular culture. Hybrid event. Register. $20 in person; $10 virtual. 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Lectures

What is Chinese Writing Now?: A 1,000-year view, Simons Hall, Dilworth Room, Institute For Advanced Studies, 1 Einstein Drive, Princeton. www.ias.edu.

Roger E. Covey Distinguished Lecture in Premodern Studies with Thomas S. Mullaney, professor of history at Stanford University. Reception at 5 p.m. Register.

5:30 p.m.

Socials

Bingo, Congregation Beth Chaim, 329 Village Road East, West Windsor. Cash only, ages 18+. $5 entry includes one book (6 games); additional games available for $2. Cash prizes, food, and fun. 7 to 10 p.m.

Friday April 10 Jazz & Blues Jazz Concert: Jazz4soul, South Brunswick Arts Commission Jazz Cafe, 540 Route 522 (Ridge Road), Monmouth Junction. www. sbarts.org. Funky mix of jazz, gospel, and R&B. Jazz4soul features saxophonist Audrey Welber and Kimberly Ruggis on vocals. 8 to 10 p.m.

Live Music

Jimmy and the Parrots, Cooper’s Riverview, 50 Riverview Plaza, Trenton. www.coopersnj. com. Live music. Jimmy Buffett covers. 7 p.m.

Art

Paper Ties: Community, Story, and Sustainability, West Windsor Arts Council, 952 Alexander Road, Princeton Junction, 609716-1931. www.westwindsorarts. org. Opening reception for member show. Artists invited to explore the expressive potential of paper.

Free. 7 to 8:30 p.m.

On Stage

Mame, Music Mountain Theater, 1483 State Route 179, Lambertville. www.musicmountaintheatre. org. When the ebullient and convivial socialite Mame Dennis suddenly becomes responsible for the upbringing of her nephew, Patrick, the wealthy sophisticate embraces the challenge, introducing the boy to all of life’s wonders. $36 to $38. 7:30 p.m.

The Cottage, Villagers Theatre, 475 DeMott Lane, Somerset, 732873-2710. www.villagerstheatre.

com. Sylvia and Beau find themselves in an English countryside cottage for their yearly rendezvous, and Sylvia knows this time it will be the beginning of their new life together. But when Beau demurs on a shared future, and their spouses arrive at the cottage, she realizes that this home-awayfrom-home is a refuge for determining a new path forward. $25.

7:30 p.m.

Jelly’s Last Jam, Bristol Riverside Theater, 120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, Pennsylvania. www.brtstage.org. Tony Award-winning musical takes you on a thrilling journey through the life, music, and complex legacy of the self-proclaimed inventor of jazz, Jelly Roll Morton. 8 p.m.

It’s Never Too Late, Kelsey Theatre, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor. kelsey.mccc.edu.

World premiere musical that weaves together the stories of individuals who discover that it’s never too late to pursue their dreams. $26. 8 p.m.

Hurricane Diane, Theatre Intime, Murray-Dodge Theater, Princeton University. www.theatreintime. org. To prevent total climate disaster, Diane – a Greek god and part-time permaculture gardener – drops in on four women in suburban New Jersey to redesign their lawns and restart her cult of mortal followers. $12. 8 p.m.

Dancing

Friday Night Folk Dance, Princeton Folk Dance, Suzanne Patterson Center, 45 Stockton Street, Princeton. www.princetonfolkdance.org. Lesson followed by open dancing. No partner necessary. $10. 8 p.m.

Literati

Friends Book Sale, New Brunswick Free Public Library, 60 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, 732-745-5108. www.nbfpl.org. 1 to 7 p.m.

After Oscar: Wilde Between the Li(n)es, James Stewart Film Theater, Princeton University, 185 Nassau Street, Princeton. tickets.princeton.edu. Biographer and editor Merlin Holland, the only grandson of Oscar Wilde, gives a lecture entitled “After Oscar: Wilde between the li(n)es.” Holland is author of the newly published book After Oscar: The Legacy of a Scandal in which he shares many details regarding Wilde’s relationships, reputation, and family history. In his talk, Holland will give an account of the extraordinary posthumous ‘life’ of Oscar Wilde, exploring many of the myths, exaggerations and inventions which have been created on his account for more than a century after his death. Part of the 2025-26 Fund for Irish Studies Series at Princeton University.

4:30 p.m.

Comedy

Nimesh Patel, State Theater New Jersey, 15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick. www.stnj.org.

Part of the Emmy-nominated writer/comedian’s “With All Due Disrespect Tour.” $25 and up.

7:30 p.m.

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APrIl 8, 2026

April 10 Continued from preceding page

Gardens Nursery Season Opening, Bowman’s Hill Preserve, 1635 River Road, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 215-862-2924. www.bhwp.org.

Through April 12. Member grand opening Thursday, April 9. Native plants available for purchase. 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Lectures

S.T. lee Public lecture: John Cassidy, Wolfensohn Hall, Institute For Advanced Study, 1 Einstein Drive, Princeton, 609734-8000. www.ias.edu. Public talk centered on New Yorker staff writer Cassidy’s 2025 book, “Capitalism and Its Critics,” about periods of economic disruption—like the one that AI seems likely to usher in. 5:30 p.m.

Saturday April 11 Classical Music Tchaikovsky Symphony No.5, Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey, Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, 1 Memorial Drive, Trenton. www.capitalphilharmonic.org. Conductor Kyle Ritenauer leads a program of sweeping Romanticism and vivid color. Coleridge-Taylor’s Ballade in A minor opens with lyrical power, followed by the folk-inspired brilliance of Kodály’s Dances of Galánta. The evening culminates in Tchaikovsky’s emotionally charged Symphony No. 5. $10 to $50. 7:30 p.m.

Live Music

Weekend Music Series, Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road,

Fund for Irish Studies presents ‘After Oscar: Wilde Between the Li(n)es Princeton University’s Fund for Irish Studies continues its 2025-26 series with a talk by Merlin Holland, the only grandson of famed writer Oscar Wilde, about his legendary grandfather.

The talk takes place on April 10 at 4:30 p.m. in the James Stewart Film Theater at 185 Nassau Street.

Holland will draw from his extensive research, family history, and newly published book, “After Oscar: The Legacy of a Scandal.”

The event is free and open to the public; tickets are required and are available to reserve in advance through University Ticketing, tickets.princeton.edu.

A biographer and editor, Holland lives in France. For the last forty years he has been researching his grandfather’s life and works and writes, lectures and broadcasts regularly on the subject. His publications include “Irish PeaPrinceton, 609-924-2310. www. terhuneorchards.com. Live music from 1 to 4 p.m. by Sean Cox. Fire pits, cafe favorites, hot mulled wine, and wine by the glass available. Hot cocoa and s’mores kits for kids. Noon to 5 p.m.

Angelique Kidjo, McCarter Theater, 91 University Place, Princeton. www.mccarter.org/events.

Five-time Grammy Award winner Angélique Kidjo makes Princeton stop on limited six-city U.S. tour before continuing in Europe for a series of international festival appearances.Performance coincides with the announcement of Kidjo’s newest album Hope!!, to be released April 24. Release follows her 2021 Grammy Award-winning album Mother Nature. 7:30 p.m.

cock and Scarlet Marquess,” the first complete, verbatim record of the libel trial that ultimately brought Oscar Wilde to ruin and social disgrace, and “The Wilde Album,” a pictorial biography of Oscar Wilde that has now been translated into seven European languages.

He is also the co-editor of “The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde” as well as the editor of an abridged and commentated version of letters, “Oscar Wilde: A Life in Letters.”

Holland’s new book sets out to show how Wilde “has caused even more trouble dead than alive.” The book traces the fluctuations in his reputation, the history of his surviving family, and the quarrels between his friends and enemies for decades after his death.

After Wilde’s criminal conviction in 1895, his wife, Constance, and their two sons were forced to move abroad and change their name to Holland. The family has never reverted to the name Wilde.

In reviewing his latest book, Kirkus Reviews noted that, “Holland’s tireless investigation debunks myths and lies, and reveals hypocrisy and homophobia among

the British upper classes.”

The book was published in the U.K last year to strong reviews and will be launched in the U.S. on April 7, after which the author will begin a book tour across the country.

Pop Music

general admission. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Graham Nash live on Tour, State Theater New Jersey, 15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick. www.stnj.org. Career-spanning retrospective of his six decades of contributions to contemporary music. $47 and up. 8 and 6:30 p.m.

The Arts

Bruce Katsiff: Pieces of a life, Michener Art Museum, 138 South Pine Street, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 215-340-9800. www.michenerartmuseum.org.

First day for new exhibition from the Michener’s founding director.

Follow Katsiff through his 60-year photography career. Included with

JAZZ AT PRINCETON UNIVERSITY HEADLINER CONCERT

Author Merlin Holland to speak about his grandfather, Oscar Wilde, on Friday, April 10 at 4:30 p.m.

Dance

roxey Ballet Presents NJ Ballad, Old York Cellars, 80 Old York Road, Ringoes, 609-3977616. www.roxeyballet.org. Choreographed to original music by Richard Jarboe and Robert Sands. Inspired by New Jersey’s Revolutionary War history. Bringing to life Washington’s crossing of the Delaware. 12:30 and 2 and 3:30 p.m.

On Stage

Jelly’s last Jam, Bristol riverside Theater, 120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, Pennsylvania.

Holland will be available to sign his book after the talk, copies of which will be available for purchase.

The 2025-26 Fund for Irish Studies Series is co-chaired by Jane Cox, Director of Princeton’s Program in Theater & Music Theater, and Robert Spoo, Princeton’s Leonard L. Milberg ’53 Professor in Irish Letters.

The Fund for Irish Studies, now in its 28th year, affords all Princeton students, and the community at large, a wider and deeper sense of the languages, literatures, drama, visual arts, history, and economics not only of Ireland but of “Ireland in the world.” The lecture series is co-produced by the Lewis Center for the Arts.

The Fund for Irish Studies website lists more information about the series. The final event in this season’s series is on Thursday, April 23 at 4:10 p.m. in 50 McCosh Hall. Via Zoom, writer John Banville will present the opening keynote on “Fiction and the Dream” as part of the (De)Stabilizing Nabakov conference presented by Princeton’s Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures and cosponsored by the Fund for Irish Studies. www.brtstage.org. Tony Award-winning musical takes you on a thrilling journey through the life, music, and complex legacy of the self-proclaimed inventor of jazz, Jelly Roll Morton. 2 and 8 p.m.

It’s Never Too late, Kelsey Theatre, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor. kelsey.mccc.edu.

World premiere musical that weaves together the stories of individuals who discover that it’s never too late to pursue their dreams. $26. 2 p.m.

Mame, Music Mountain Theater, 1483 State Route 179, Lambertville. www.musicmountaintheatre. org. When the ebullient and convivial socialite Mame Dennis suddenly becomes responsible for the upbringing of her nephew,

P R I N C E T ON S Y M P H ON Y OR C H E S T R A R O S S E N M I L AN O V , M US IC D IREC TOR

2025-2026

Chamber Series at Trinity

GARY BARTZ

alto saxophone WITH

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY CREATIVE LARGE ENSEMBLE CONDUCTED BY TODD BASHORE

Trio Candesco April 23 at 7pm

8 PM, SATURDAY, APRIL 11 RICHARDSON AUDITORIUM ALEXANDER HALL $16 GENERAL | $6 STUDENTS

GET TICKETS DETAILS & TICKETS

princetonsymphony.org (609) 497-0020

Dates, times, artists, and programs subject to change.

April 8, 2026

U.S. 1

7

Conwell Brings Roots Rock to Intimate Venues

T

by Richard J. Skelly

he young Tommy Conwell, a roots-rockin’, bluesy, soulful singer-songwriter-guitarist and bandleader, spent most of his formative years trying to learn to play guitar like his local idol, legendary Philly-area jazz guitarist Pat Martino.

Martino never achieved the kind of widespread success in the jazz world that someone like Pat Methany has, but he enjoyed a good measure of success in his recording career and with jazz festivals around the U.S. from his home base in Philadelphia. After suffering a debilitating stroke, he regained use of his hands and taught himself jazz guitar all over again. Martino, who played several Exit Zero Jazz Festivals in his later years, died at 77 in 2021.

In grade school, Conwell’s grandmother lent him a ukelele, and he began learning basic chords on that instrument. That’s not a bad instrument for kids to learn prior to learning guitar, as witnessed by the careers of East Texas blues-rock brothers Johnny and Edgar Winter, both of whom learned ukelele in grade school.

Conwell received his first guitar after he took piano lessons for a year or so, along with his older brothers. When he told his mother, who also played piano, he didn’t want to continue with piano lessons, she asked him what instrument he did want to learn. He said he really wanted to play drums.

His mother, a housewife, didn’t like that idea, but a cousin intervened and gave him a guitar when he was 12. Conwell’s father worked in the insurance industry.

Asked about his upcoming solo shows and reflecting on his career as a regional force in roots-rock, blues and anthem-like rock ’n’ roll covers since he was in his early 30’s, Conwell, said he enjoys doing solo shows at venues like Starving Artist Café in Stockton and Tod Ellis’ legendary brother’s record store and performance space, Randy Now’s Man Cave in Hightstown.

“I like doing solo shows in places where people are there to listen,” Conwell explained recently from his home in Philadelphia.

Conwell actually has four modes for performing: solo; his wellknown, ground breaking roots rock band, the Young Rumblers; a southern Jersey Shore bar band, the Dirty Pints, who do almost exclusively sing-along rock ‘n’ roll covers; and a large band with a threepiece horn section called Tommy Conwell and The House Rockers.

He has shows coming up this

spring and summer, with all three bands.

“I especially like doing solo shows in a venue where the crowd is attentive like the shows I’m doing for the Ellis brothers,” he said.

Conwell said his earliest awareness of blues and roots rock ’n’ roll music came about in junior high school. Back then, in the late 1970’s, Philadelphia was a great music town, and in many respects, still is.

After all, the city was host decades ago for Dick Clark’s famous “American Bandstand” TV show.

And a half dozen good public, college and commercial radio stations have always supported local artists there. In fact, southern New Jersey became a hub for record distributors in the early days of rock ‘n’ roll, thanks to the success of Dick Clark’s popular TV program.

Once he had begun trying to master the guitar in earnest, he found plenty of accessible jazz venues and clubs.

“I really loved Pat Martino going back to high school, and I liked George Benson a lot. There was a lot of jazz music in Philly, and I remember I saw Dexter Gordon, there were theater shows all the time, Grover Washington, Jr. And there was a little club at the Holiday Inn in Cherry Hill called ‘The Little Pit Lounge,’” he recalled.

His parents wanted him to attend college like his older brothers.

Blaise went into the Air Force and then corporate America, he said, and Joseph, the middle son, played pro football for the Eagles in the mid-1980’s “when they were kind of transitioning from [QB] Ron Jaworski to [QB] Randall Cunningham.”

He completed two years at the University of Delaware in Newark, because the blues-rock bug bit him hard in his freshman year when he heard incredible musicians like George Thorogood and the Austinbased Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble.

“College was the first place I got to see the Fabulous Thunderbirds which totally spun my head around.

They were white guys playing blues! It totally spun my head around in terms of what was possible; I realized these were all virtuoso musicians playing really, really accessible music! And George Thorogood was from Newark, so he would pop up a lot in clubs. I joined this band called Rocket 88, and I left college to perform with them,” he recalled.

“I had some good people right there in Delaware. And Delaware is

where I started the Young Rumblers, and we got it going very quickly. Very quickly we were offered the chance to open up for The Hooters at the 23 East Club in Philadelphia and that started the ball rolling.”

Based on the crowds he was drawing to clubs like 23 East and other large venues around Philadelphia and Delaware and on the strength of their independently released debut album, “Walkin’ On The Water,” Conwell and his bandmates were signed to record for Columbia Records in 1987. They released their major label debut “Rumble,” in 1988. They followed up with a second album for Columbia “Guitar Trouble.” A third album was recorded, but the label chose not to release it. This kind of thing happened with far too much frequency in those days, as witnessed a short time later by bands like the Spin Doctors, who have Princeton roots with lead singer Chris Barron. The band was dropped by Epic Records after two promising albums that sold well, but ultimately not well enough for the bean counters at Epic/ Columbia Records.

Conwell’s Young Rumblers began as a three-piece band, and over the years has evolved into a quartet.

At the Stone Pony in Asbury Park on April 24 – a venue his band has played more than 30 times over the years -- Conwell will be accompanied by bassist Paul Slivka; drummer Jim Hannum; keyboardist Rob Miller and a second guitarist, Chris Day. During a typical Young Rumblers show, Conwell alternates between playing venom-tipped guitar solos and rhythm guitar and vocals.

Asked about his approach to songwriting – after all that’s what he needed to get signed to Columbia Records in the first place – Conwell was humble about it.

“I tend to write songs when I have a reason to. We made an album in 2019 called ‘Showboats and Grandstanders’ and I wrote songs for that.

I’ve got some new songs now but I’m not a prolific song writer. I started writing songs after I got signed because you needed them.

Somebody had to do it! Over the years, I’ve written some good songs.

I kind of get lucky once in a while and have a decent song.”

After marrying his second wife Megan, a hair stylist and having two young kids to raise – now 16 and 17 – he took a break from performing so many shows when they were young. He feels blessed that not too many people or venue owners forgot about his legendary live shows.

“When they were little, it wasn’t

Patrick, the wealthy sophisticate embraces the challenge, introducing the boy to all of life’s wonders. $36 to $38. 3 and 7:30 p.m.

The Cottage, Villagers Theatre, 475 DeMott Lane, Somerset, 732873-2710. www.villagerstheatre. com. Sylvia and Beau find themselves in an English countryside cottage for their yearly rendezvous, and Sylvia knows this time it will be the beginning of their new life together. But when Beau demurs on a shared future, and their spouses arrive at the cottage, she realizes that this home-awayfrom-home is a refuge for determining a new path forward. $25.

7:30 p.m.

Hurricane Diane, Theatre Intime, Murray-Dodge Theater, Princeton University. www.theatreintime. org. To prevent total climate disaster, Diane – a Greek god and part-time permaculture gardener – drops in on four women in suburban New Jersey to redesign their lawns and restart her cult of mortal followers. $12. 8 p.m.

Family Theater

sor at UCLA) moderated by doctoral student Jordan Coty Eloundou Ndongo. 7:30 p.m.

Cinderella, Music Mountain Theater, 1483 State Route 179, Lambertville. www.musicmountaintheatre.org. reimagining of Cinderella features magical mice, a pumpkin-turned-carriage, and whimsyfilled waltz-worthy numbers. $13.

11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Film

Listen Up: Trenton Makes Music, Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie, Cadwalader Park, Trenton. www.ellarslie.org. Screening of Art Varga’s documentary with live music by special guests Joe Zook and Frank Pinto and snacks served. Q&A follows. Register.

6:30 to 9 p.m.

Princeton French Film Festival: “Blacks in France”, Betts Auditorium, School of Architecture, Princeton University. frenchfilmfestival.gradlife.princeton.edu.

2022 film directed by Aurelia Perreau, Alain Mabanckou. Q&A with Mabanckou (distinguished profes-

Literati

Friends Book Sale, New Brunswick Free Public Library, 60 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, 732-745-5108. www.nbfpl.org. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Poetry Reading Group, West Windsor Public Library, 333 North Post road, Princeton Junction. poetryreadinggroup.wordpress.com. Read, share, and discuss the best in classic and contemporary poetry. Free. 2 p.m.

Farm Markets

Winter Farmers Market, Chickadee Creek Farm, 80 Titus Mill Road, Pennington. chickadeecreekfarm.com. 8-11 local vendors on site. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

History

In Time, Morven Museum & Garden, 55 Stockton Street, Prince-

Tommy Conwell is at Starving Artist Café in Stockton on Friday, April 17 for a solo show.

Shows follow April 18 at Randy Now’s Man Cave and April 24 at the legendary Stone Pony in Asbury Park. (Photo courtesy of Tommy Conwell.)

really the right thing for me to be doing, to be playing out a lot, to be out late every Friday and Saturday night for months on end.”

He kept his name out there by playing a handful of shows each year while helping to raise his two young kids, he said, “but now that the kids are older it’s become possible for me to play more regularly. I took a hiatus for family reasons, but whenever I wanted to play, I’ve always been able to play, and that’s been a blessing, there’s always been somewhere for me to play.”

A discussion of what the audience can expect at his upcoming solo shows at Starving Artist Café’ and Randy Now’s Man Cave took us full circle back to his original guitar hero, Martino.

Conwell said he looks forward to telling some stories to more attentive audiences in both venues and maybe even answering some questions or taking requests. After all, he’s only been doing this professionally for more than four decades, since leaving college in 1982.

“Pat Martino was my hero in high school,” he explained and it was Martino and the band progressive rock band Yes that fueled his interest in jazz in high school.

“Really, Pat’s been my hero my whole life. I always dreamed of playing like Pat Martino, and I still do!”

“I love both of these venues so much. These are different kind of solo shows, they’re not bars. I’m pretty good at playing bars of

course, but you’re often kind of playing in the background and you end up having to play songs that everyone knows, it’s a little tougher,” he argued.

“Whereas, at Starving Artist or Randy Now’s Man Cave, people are buying tickets, and that makes a difference. They sit down and look at you, it’s more like a theater concert. They are listening to everything you do and you can do more of your originals or obscure stuff that they don’t know, and they’re cool with it.”

“When I play solo shows in venues like this, my goal is to get it going and keep it going so I’m pretty much like bang, bang, boom from song to song to song,” he explained.

“I’m not like a James Taylor, I bash the hell out of my guitar,” Conwell said, “because by this point, at 64 years old, I know myself and what works pretty well.”

And what would Pat Martino say if he saw Tommy Conwell banging the hell out of his guitar?

“He would say, ‘Who is this moron! I’m over that!’ ” Upcoming Tommy Conwell shows: Friday, April 17, Starving Artist Café, Stockton. 6 p.m.

Bridge Street, Stockton. 609-4832219 Saturday, April 18 (Record Store Day). Randy Now’s Man Cave, 119 West Ward Street, Hightstown.

609-424-3766.

Tommy Conwell & The Young Rumblers, Friday, April 24, Stone Pony, 913 Ocean Avenue, Asbury Park. 7 p.m. 732-502-0600.

ton. www.morven.org. Interactive mystery theater event with Live History USA invites guests to travel through the halls of a more than 200 year old mansion, solving a mystery with help from characters in Morven’s past. Register for a time slot. The experience takes about 45 minutes. $15. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

and methods used for housekeeping at the turn-of-the-century.

10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Abstract Art Family Workshop, Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie, Cadwalader Park, Trenton. www.ellarslie.org. Starts with a tour of new art exhibition, African American Abstractions. Taking inspiration from the tour, led by Janis Purcell, children will then get to work creating their own abstract artwork. With instructor and artist Kenneth J. Lewis, Sr. whose abstract art is featured in the Malloy Gallery through May 24 as part of African American Abstractions. 10 a.m.

Spring Into Crafternoons, Mercer Museum, 84 South Pine Street, Doylestown, Pennsylvania. www.mercermuseum.org.

Drop-in program. Make springthemed crafts. Register. 1 to 3 p.m.

Kids Stuff

Read and Explore: Composting, Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road, Lawrence, 609-924-2310. www.terhuneorchards.com. Read stories about worms and compost then make a compost container to take home. For ages 3 and up.

Register. $12. 10 a.m.

For Families

Spring Plowing and Spring Cleaning, Howell Living History Farm, 70 Woodens Lane, Hopewell, 609-737-3299. www.howellfarm.org. After a long winter the farm family turned its attention spring cleaning. Discoverthe tools

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April 8, 2026

April 11 Continued from preceding page

Outdoor Action Princeton Canal Walkers, Turning Basin Park, Alexander Road, Princeton. 3 mile walk on the towpath, weather permitting. Free.

Register to canalwalkers@ googlegroups.com for notices of weather-related cancellations. 10 a.m.

Socials

Coffee at the Castle, Mercer Museum, 84 South Pine Street, Doylestown, Pennsylvania. www. mercermuseum.org. Coffee and networking with community business leaders and Kyle McKoy, president and CEO of Bucks County Historical Society. 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

Community Celebration: Paul Robeson’s 128th Birthday, Arts Council of Princeton, 102 Witherspoon Street, Princeton, 609924-8777. www.artscouncilofprinceton.org. Multi-media celebration honors the legacy of Paul Robeson, Princeton’s “native son” and scholar, all American athlete, artist, and activist. Free and open to all ages. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Sunday April 12 Classical Music Mozart, Coronation Mass & Haydn Lord Nelson Mass, Princeton Society of Musical Amateurs, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton, Route 206 at Cherry Hill Road, Princeton. www.musicalamateurs.org.

Conducted by Matthew LaPine.

Choral singers welcome. No auditions. Vocal scores provided. $10 admission for singers (or annual membership). Free for students and non-singing guests. 4 p.m.

Live Music

Weekend Music Series, Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road, Princeton, 609-924-2310. www. terhuneorchards.com. Live music from 1 to 4 p.m. by Michael Montemurro. Fire pits, cafe favorites, hot mulled wine, and wine by the glass available. Hot cocoa and s’mores kits for kids. Noon to 5 p.m.

Founding Families and Their Musical World, Friends Center, the Convocation Room, Princeton University Library. library. princeton.edu. The Practitioners of Musick show how amateur performers in the Washington, Jefferson, Stockton, Hopkinson, Frank-

lin, and Henry families kept London cultural life alive across the Atlantic. Program includes selections by Handel, Arne, Hopkinson, and Reinagle, with an illustrated lecture of the families’ surviving portraits, instruments, sheet music, and play scripts. Suitable for children 14 and up. 3 to 4:30 p.m.

Musical Soiree with Jaime Parker, Old City Hall, 13 Crosswicks Street, Bordentown. Indie musician Parker is co-founder of Alpha Rabbit, a band known for “blurring genre lines to create a soundscape that’s equal parts vibrant, introspective, and wildly fun.” Free. 4 p.m.

Princeton Society of Musical Amateurs: Let’s Just Sing, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton, 50 Cherry Hill Road, Princeton. www.musicalamateurs.org. Choral Reading of Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass. All levels of singers welcome to participate. $10; free for listen-only guests. 4 p.m.

Alyssa Wray in “Golden Age Through Today: My Way!”, Bucks County Playhouse Barn, 70 South Main Street, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 212-862-2121. www,bcptheater.org. American Idol’s Alyssa Wray returns to New Hope for one night only with cabaret show. Featuring songs from The Sound of Music, Brigadoon, The Music Man, Camelot and more. 7 p.m.

On Stage

Hurricane Diane, Hamilton Murray Theater, Princeton University. tickets.princeton.edu. From Theater Intime. By Madeleine George. Directed by Pixley Marquardt. Tragicomedy blends HGTV, Real Housewives, bacchanalia, and lesbian pulp. $12. 2 p.m.

It’s Never Too Late, Kelsey Theatre, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor. kelsey.mccc.edu.

World premiere musical that weaves together the stories of individuals who discover that it’s never too late to pursue their dreams. $26. 2 p.m.

Hurricane Diane, Theatre Intime, Murray-Dodge Theater, Princeton University. www.theatreintime. org. To prevent total climate disaster, Diane – a Greek god and part-time permaculture gardener – drops in on four women in suburban New Jersey to redesign their lawns and restart her cult of mortal followers. $12. 2 p.m.

The Cottage, Villagers Theatre, 475 DeMott Lane, Somerset, 732873-2710. www.villagerstheatre. com. Sylvia and Beau find themselves in an English countryside cottage for their yearly rendezvous, and Sylvia knows this time it will be the beginning of their new life together. But when Beau demurs on a shared future, and their spouses arrive at the cottage, she

Earth Day Birthday 56 FOR 56 YEARS, WHOLE EARTH CENTER HAS BEEN A GATHERING PLACE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS, ORGANIC FARMERS, AND LOVERS OF REAL FOOD. MANY THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE SHOPPED AT OUR STORE AND BELIEVED IN OUR MISSION. WE INVITE EVERYONE TO JOIN US IN BUILDING A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR THE ORGANIC GARDEN STATE! 360 NASSAU STREET • PRINCETON WHOLEEARTHCENTER.COM MON–FRI 8AM–7:30PM SAT 8AM–7PM • SUN 9AM–6PM

New Brunswick Jazz Project marks 17 years with show The New Brunswick Jazz Project will celebrate its 17th anniversary with a special Emerging Artists Series performance highlighting original student compositions and rising jazz talent.

The event, titled “The Jazz Composers,” will take place Tuesday, April 14, at Tavern on George.

A featured set begins at 7 p.m., followed by the organization’s weekly open jam session at 8:30 p.m. Admission is free.

Curated by Anthony Branker, a professor at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts and founding director of jazz studies at Princeton University, the performance will showcase a sextet of emerging musicians performing

original works.

Featured performers include alto saxophonist Michael Price, tenor saxophonist Matt Estabrook, trumpeter Tahj Walsh, pianist James Pakhamou, bassist Jeff Andolaro and drummer Jonah Kantro.

The program will include compositions by Price, Estabrook, Walsh, Seraphina Taylor, Maya Anand, Ed Crisonino, Kristin Field and Pakhamou.

Organizers say the concert reflects the mission of the Emerging Artists Series, which since 2010 has provided student musicians from institutions including Rutgers, Princeton University and William Paterson University with opportunities to perform alongside professional artists.

The anniversary event also coincides with Jazz Appreciation Month, offering both a celebration of the organization’s history and a spotlight on the next generation of jazz composers and performers.

wealth, Zucman has renewed the analysis of the macroeconomic and distributional implications of globalization. Some of Zucman’s honors include the John Bates Clark medal of the American Economic Association, the Bernacer Prize, Sloan Research Fellowship, Andrew Carnegie Fellowship and the Best Young French Economist Prize. The Uwe Reinhardt Distinguished Lecture. 5 to 6:30 p.m.

realizes that this home-awayfrom-home is a refuge for determining a new path forward. $25. 2 p.m.

Jelly’s Last Jam, Bristol Riverside Theater, 120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, Pennsylvania. www.brtstage.org. Tony Award-winning musical takes you on a thrilling journey through the life, music, and complex legacy of the self-proclaimed inventor of jazz, Jelly Roll Morton. 3 p.m.

Mame, Music Mountain Theater, 1483 State Route 179, Lambertville. www.musicmountaintheatre. org. When the ebullient and convivial socialite Mame Dennis suddenly becomes responsible for the upbringing of her nephew, Patrick, the wealthy sophisticate embraces the challenge, introducing the boy to all of life’s wonders. $36 to $38. 3 p.m.

Literati

Laurie Woolever in Conversation with Daria Lavelle, Labyrinth Books, 122 Nassau Street, Princeton. www.labyrinthbooks. com/events. Food writer Woolever discusses “Care and Feeding,” her candid memoir of making her way through the culinary world while navigating addiction, a cultural reckoning, and an unexpected tragedy. Doors open at 10:45 a.m. Book signing to follow. 11 a.m.

History

In Time, Morven Museum & Garden, 55 Stockton Street, Princeton. www.morven.org. Interactive mystery theater event with Live History USA invites guests to travel through the halls of a more than 200 year old mansion, solving a mystery with help from characters in Morven’s past. Register for a time slot. The experience takes about 45 minutes. $15. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Lectures

Barry Orr, Planetary Angularity and Parans: An Introduction, Online meeting, , 732-970-3709. www.aspnj.org. Beginner’s overview of parans, a technique often overlooked in astrology. Must register to get link. 2 to 4 p.m.

Italians Helped Shape the Nation, Dorothea’s House, 120 John Street, Princeton, 609-9249713. www.dorotheashouse.org.

Historian Tom Frascella speaks about the earliest Italian cohorts who came to the U.S., highlighting those who helped establish the Jamestown colony and Filippo Mazzei, credited with inspiring language in the Declaration of Independence. Free. 5 p.m.

Tuesday April 14 Dancing Tuesday Night Folk Dance, Princeton Folk Dance, Christ Congregation, 50 Walnut Lane, Princeton. www.princetonfolk-

Anthony Branker, curatorof the New Brunswick Jazz Project’s “The Jazz Composers,” at Tavern on George on Tuesday, April 14.

Wednesday April 15 On Stage Alyssa Wray’s Cabaret show “Golden Age Through Today: My Way!” is at the Bucks County Playhouse Barn Sunday, April 12.

dance.org. No partner necessary. $5. 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Food & Dining

Cade Estate Winery 5-Course Tasting, Rat’s Restaurant, Grounds For Sculpture, 80 Sculptors Way, Hamilton, 609586-0616. www.groundsforsculpture.org. In the Wine Room. With winemaker Danielle Cyrot, on hand to share insight into the winery’s sustainability practices. $192 per person. Reservations: sarah.facciolo@constellationculinary.com. 6 to 9 p.m.

Lectures

Gabriel Zucman: “Wealth, Power, and Democracy”, McCosh 50, Princeton University. www.labyrinthbooks.com/events.

Princeton University Public Lectures presents. The rise of extreme wealth has been a defining feature of the U.S. and global economy over the past 15 years.

Addressing this challenge requires the invention of new institutions, policies, and forms of cooperation capable of ensuring that democracy prevails over oligarchy. This lecture will examine current efforts in this direction and outline perspectives for the future.

5 p.m.

Gabriel Zucman, chaired professor at the Paris School of Economics, Princeton University Public Lecture Series, McCosh Hall 50, Princeton University. lectures.princeton.edu. Gabriel Zucman is a Summer Research Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, and founding director of the EU Tax Observatory. With research focused on the accumulation, distribution and taxation of global

Jelly’s Last Jam, Bristol Riverside Theater, 120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, Pennsylvania. www.brtstage.org. Tony Award-winning musical takes you on a thrilling journey through the life, music, and complex legacy of the self-proclaimed inventor of jazz, Jelly Roll Morton. 2 and 7:30 p.m.

Dancing

Contra Dance, Princeton Country Dancers, Suzanne Patterson Center, 1 Monument Drive, Princeton. www.princetoncountrydancers.org. Justin Kauker with Princeton Pickup Band (PUB). $15. 7:30 to 10 p.m.

Literati

Joseph Fronczak: The Five Ages of Antifascism, Labyrinth Books, 122 Nassau Street, Princeton. www.labyrinthbooks. com/events. Joseph Fronczak, research scholar at Princeton University’s Department of History, presents his new book from Cambridge University Press, “The Five Ages of Antifascism,” a global history of antifascism from its inception to our own times. 6 p.m.

Lectures

Ruth Braunstein: The Morality of Taxpaying in America, Aaron Burr Hall, Princeton University. www.princeton.edu. Doll Lecture on Religion and Money. Braunstein delves into how paying taxes became a moral battleground in American public life. Free and open to the public. 4:30 p.m.

Socials

Jersey Art Meetup, Arts Council of Princeton, 102 Witherspoon Street, Princeton. www.artscouncilofprinceton.org. Princeton Comic Makers presents: Jersey Art Meetups (JAM), a weekly social event connecting creatives in Central Jersey through shared passion for sequential art and new media. Illustrators, animators, writers, and generalists are all welcome to join and discuss their art and career goals, share learning resources, promote current projects, or find friends and collaborators. Must be 16+ to attend. Free. 7 to 9 p.m.

April 8, 2026

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LITERATURE

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PREV I E W

Bristol Riverside Review: ‘Jelly’s Last Jam’

T

yrone L. Robinson’s production of “Jelly’s Last Jam” at Bristol Riverside Theatre is so sharp, polished, and glowing, it doesn’t seem regional. It has the sheen and assurance more associated with a Broadway or West End stage.

Taking Keith Baker’s “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “The Producers” into consideration, “Jelly’s Last Jam” might be the best single production to grace the Bristol stage, now in its 40th season.

Contributing mightily to the production’s success is the exciting choreography of yaTande Whitney V. Hunter, Ph.D., who brings the Bristol stage alive with rousing, exciting dances that are as stimulating as they are entertaining, Dr. Hunter’s work is contagious.

My feet, knees, shoulders, and waist responded to her lithe, rightat-you gyrations of the nimble “Last Jam” chorus. I had no choice.

The music, mostly by early jazz giant, Jelly Roll Morton, the subject of the musical, with help from Luther Henderson, invited participation. (Even if muted by theater decorum).

The choreography itself made you want to be part of the action. It satisfied the eye, the narrative, and the natural urge to succumb to the rhythms and dance.

Acting keeps pace with the terpsichore. Stanley Martin finds the right occasions to balance Jelly Roll’s brashness, ego, charm, and abundant talent. Renée Reid is a formidable yet human and vulnerable Anita, the woman who wins Jelly Roll’s heart but is too practical and independent to satisfy his need to be the one and only. Forrest McClendon is appropriately haunting and superiorly sinister as Jelly Roll’s angel of death cum ghost of Christmas Past, the Chimney Man. Dana Orange continues a string of excellent performances as Jack the Bear, a sidekick from scuffling days Jelly Roll cuts completely when rivalry and jealousy seep in.

The ever-reliable Tamara Anderson expectedly wails, and nails, her big blues number at the Bessie Smith/Ma Rainey surrogate, Miss Mamie. Ryane Nicole Sturdivant is the picture of traditional authority as the well-to-do Creole grandmother who casts Jelly Roll out of the family once she finds he haunts New Orleans’s Elysian Fields and Tremè dives to hang around with honky tonk dancers, singers, and budding blues musicians.

Robinson’s entire production sails along with ease, vivacity, and inherent drama. There’e the usual wrinkle or two, to be noted later, but in terms of sheer entertainment of high quality, with the texture of an engaging story, Bristol’s “Jelly Last Jam” is a revival worthy of transfer to a bigger stage. It joins last season’s “Dreamgirls” at Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Theatre as being as good in significant ways at its original Broadway production.

by Neal Zoren (Forrest McClendon and Dana Orange were in “Dreamgirls” too.)

Being from 1992, towards the beginning of the time when a hero’s flaws received equal footing with his or her merits in musical biographies, “Jelly’s Last Jam” emphasizes Jelly Roll Morton’s downside as much as it celebrates his contribution to jazz and other music.

Pride, selfishness, ego, braggadocio, and disloyalty take a lot of focus, more perhaps than is warranted. They keep the audience from totally admiring Jelly even though Jelly Roll Morton deserves his standing as one of the first performers of jazz and blues as they became popular and lasting.

George C. Wolfe’s book castigates Jelly Roll for declaring himself the “inventor of jazz,” thereby ignoring the African roots of the music or the use of music and song as communication among enslaved people (as well as the work of others like W.C. Handy, Eubie Blake and Scott Joplin). It definitely scorns Jelly Roll’s constant notion that by being Creole, he is of a higher class and station than others with African blood. It shows Jelly Roll as being stubborn, intransigent, and averse, if not deaf, to criticism. It takes a moralistic attitude toward his womanizing and unfaithfulness, not only to women but to his erstwhile pal, Jack the Bear.

McClendon’s Chimney Man amasses a lot of ammunition as he shows Jelly Roll his seamy life.

This all makes the audience ambivalent about Morton. It makes him an anti-hero.

Stanley Martin overcomes this negative look as a lead character when he demonstrates all Jelly Roll brought to entertainment, including the integration of classical structure and the legacy of music in general within jazz, but the idea Jelly Roll’s big picture is cloudier than it is laudable, prevails.

Luckily, it does not prevail in a way that preclude enjoyment of Morton’s music or Martin’s presentation of it.

The jaundiced look at Morton’s life also gives lyricist Susan Birkenhead opportunity to use the melancholy, moralism, and setbacks to give the character of Jelly Roll some introspective numbers than include telling dances of angst or disappointment, well conceived

by Dr. Hunter and well executed by Martin.

Bristol’s “Jelly’s Last Jam” has superlatives that override the few blemishes in Robinson’s production. The problem is, these shortcomings glare amid the brilliance.

A nagging distraction is in the costuming and grooming for Martin. The script defines the character as being a dandy, a clothes horse who aims for elegance and style.

Yet, throughout the performance I saw, the dress shirt Martin wore had a collar that kept overlapping the right lapel of his suit.

No one conscious of his appear-

ance would allow such a gaffe, one that lasted throughout the production whenever Martin donned Jelly Roll’s suit jacket.

Also, while Dana Orange always looked dapper in his costumes, and Forrest McClendon was regal and portentous in his, skullladen hat and all, Martin’s suit looked ill-tailored and in desperate need of pressing.

If Wolfe’s text said Jelly Roll was careless about his dress, this would be fine. At Bristol, the relatively slovenly garb and that stubbornly uncooperative collar go against the hauteur and grandness Jelly Roll affects and Martin can exude, his stage grooming notwithstanding.

At one point, one that may not occur in any other performance, Martin’s suit coat collar failed to lie flat, again on the right side, and was sticking up all the way to the nape of his neck.

One benefit of a live performance is you can correct some onstage errors by intervening. Some cast member must have noticed the wardrobe flaw, probably caused by a fast, cue-related donning of the jacket. It was a time to break blocking, or even character, to adjust Martin’s collar (collars?) to fit the image the script projects.

Yet “Jelly’s Last Jam’s” assets far outweigh any glitches. Robinson, Dr. Hunter, and their ebullient troupe, create a good and fulfilling time. In all ways, Bristol Riverside has a hit on its hands.

Stanley Martin has the spark to reflect Jelly Roll Morton’s innovations and lasting greatness.

Morton’s music, some with his lyrics and others with Birkenhead’s, set the mood for all that happens on the Bristol stage, from the jubilant to the mellow and thoughtful, while Martin shows his character’s due pride and satisfaction in bringing such music to life.

Among other talents, Martin is a nifty tap dancer who brings extra zest to numbers already creating ecstasy.

Ethan Hart, who plays Young Jelly, attracts immediate attention as a hoofer, whether in character as Jelly Roil or part of Dr. Hunter’s chorus. He also does well in dramatic scenes, as the adolescent scamp who explores the seedier side of New Orleans and can’t help going into one dive to hear another seminal jazz artist, Buddy Bolden, perform.

Forrest McClendon sets a tone and establishes an attitude as The Chimney Man. Everything about McClendon’s performance is intelligently controlled and disciplined. He walks slowly with a definite sense of intention. He adds a delicious brand mystery and a tinge of cold resolve to Robinson’t staging. Every one of his lines is spoken plainly and with purpose, so Chimney Man’s place is the musical has a chillingly hypnotic effect that makes you accept the moralism implied in some of it.

Top: Stanley Martin as Jelly Roll Morton. Bottom: Stanley Martin and Dana Orange in Bristol Riverside Theater’s “Jelly’s Last Jam,” on stage through April 26. (Photos by Mark Garvin.)

Renèe Reid is the epitome of no-nonsense sophisticated and subtle sexuality as Anita.

Reed’s is a masterful performance of a woman who know what she wants, is in command of it, and won’t stand for compromises or patronization.

She also sings beautifully.

Dana Orange is so natural as Jack the Bear, you see no acting, just a seemingly effortless portrayal of a good guy Jelly Roll cannot forgive for besting him at one particular thing.

Tamara Anderson rocks the joint, as usual, in her big blues number as Miss Mamie. She also brings focus to many of the ensemble numbers, even when’s she sitting at a table keeping or batting out rhythm.

The chorus is spectacular, especially when launching into Dr. Hunter’s jubilating dances.

Jason Simms’s set accommo-

dates several settings well. LeVonne Lindsay’s costumes fit the period and the characters with the exception of Martin’s too-tight suit and fly-away collar.

Alan E. Edward’s lighting enhances Robinson’s stage, especially when its projects larger-thanlife shadows of Jelly Roll performing in his prime. Bristol Riverside can use a better sound system to clarlify vocals, but Ryk Lewis does well in creating sound for Robinson’s production.

“Jelly’s Last Jam” runs through Sunday, April 26 at Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe Street, in Bristol, Pa. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m.

Wednesday and Saturday, and 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets range from $74 to $65 with military and student discounts available. They can be obtained by visiting www.brtstage.org or calling 215-785-0100.

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April 8, 2026

Life in the Fast Lane Pickleball Becomes New Court for Business Networking

N

etworking is moving off the golf course and onto the pickleball court.

A young professionals event on Wednesday, April 8 will give attendees a chance to connect while trying one of the fastest-growing sports in the country.

The Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce will host “Young Professionals Take Over Pickleball Kingdom” from 5 to 7 p.m. at Pickleball Kingdom, 1100 Negron Drive in Hamilton Township.

The event is geared toward ages 21 to 39 and is open to both beginners and experienced players, with instruction available for those new to the game.

The program blends networking with activity, a format that has become increasingly popular as business groups look for alternatives to traditional mixers.

Instead of standing around exchanging business cards, participants will rotate through pickleball games while also having time to meet other professionals, with light fare and informal conversation built into the evening.

The structure of the sport itself lends to that format. Games are short, partners rotate frequently, and players naturally interact between matches. That creates repeated opportunities to meet new people in a single session, rather than being limited to a few conversations over the course of an event.

The event also reflects the rapid growth of pickleball in the region.

Facilities have opened or expanded in Robbinsville, Ewing, and Hamilton over the past year, signaling strong demand for indoor courts and structured play opportunities.

What was once seen as a niche recreational activity has quickly become a mainstream option for fitness, socializing, and increasingly, professional networking.

By Bill Sanservino A February 2026 article in Forbes, “How Pickleball Became America’s Fastest-Growing Sport — Even Among Gen Z,” described the game as “one of the fastest-growing sports in America— and increasingly, around the world,” with participation expanding across demographics, including younger players.

The same report highlighted the sport’s growing appeal among Gen Z, a shift that has helped reshape pickleball’s image from a casual pastime into a more dynamic, social activity centered on accessibility and shared experience.

Pickleball Kingdom’s Hamilton location, which opened to the public several months ago and held its grand opening in February, is part of a broader national expansion.

The company has awarded more than 350 franchises across 20 states, with plans for continued growth in the Northeast.

The Hamilton facility, developed with involvement from Denholtz Properties and led by franchisee Samrat “Sam” Sood, spans 40,500 square feet and includes 14 indoor courts.

The venue offers more than 70 hours of open play weekly, along with organized group sessions, leagues, and instruction that includes video analysis.

The facility is designed to serve multiple audiences at once. Beginners can take lessons or join casual play, while more experienced players can participate in leagues and structured competition.

At the same time, the space is built to accommodate private functions, from birthday parties to corporate events, giving it a dual role as both a recreational venue and a business gathering space.

That dual purpose is increasingly common as companies rethink how and where professional relationships are built. Rather than

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relying solely on formal networking events, many organizations are turning to shared experiences—activities that allow participants to interact more naturally while doing something together.

A July 12, 2024 article by Bloomberg, “Companies Are Ditching Golf for Pickleball to Get Deals Done,” reported that corporate bookings at pickleball clubs are surging as businesses look for alternatives to traditional golf outings.

The report noted that pickleball is “cheaper, less time-consuming — and easier to play” than golf, making it more practical for modern business schedules.

The Dink, a website dedicated to covering the sport, noted in a July 2024 article, “Has Pickleball Overtaken Golf as the Preferable Business Activity in Corporate America,” found that corporate demand for pickleball events is growing as companies seek more inclusive and efficient ways to connect. The article noted that the sport offers “time and cost savings while being more inclusive and easier for beginners.”

The appeal is also practical. “I can take someone onto the pickleball court who has never touched a pickleball paddle before, and I can show them how to play and they would have a good time in under 10 minutes,” Chicago real estate broker Colin Hebson said in the report.

Cost is another factor driving adoption. The Dink reported that two hours of pickleball can cost around $80 compared with $600 to $700 for a round of golf, making it a more accessible option for companies hosting client or employee events.

Coverage in Forbes also highlighted pickleball’s role in relationship-building, noting that “pickleball is the new golf” for networking and business development.

For local business groups, that dynamic makes events like the April 8 program especially appealing. Attendees are not just exchanging information—they are sharing an experience, which can make interactions feel more authentic and less transactional.

The Chamber event is structured with that in mind. Coaches will be available for those who have never played before, removing one of the biggest barriers to entry. Equipment and guidance will be provided, allowing participants to focus on the experience rather than the mechanics of the sport.

The setting also creates a more relaxed environment than traditional networking venues. Without the pressure of formal introductions or structured agendas, participants can engage at their own pace,

Players will will take the court at Pickleball Kingdom in Hamilton on April 8 during a young professionals event combining networking with one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. moving between games and conversations throughout the evening.

For Pickleball Kingdom, events like this are part of a broader strategy to build a community around the facility.

By hosting organized play, lessons, and networking programs, the venue is positioning itself not just as a place to play, but as a hub for social and professional interaction. That approach aligns with a growing segment of the fitness and recreation industry, where facilities are designed to function as gathering spaces as much as athletic venues.

For attendees, the Chamber event offers both an introduction to the sport and a practical networking opportunity in a less formal setting.

Tickets are $35 for members and $45 for prospective members. Participants are encouraged to dress comfortably, bring water, and wear athletic shoes. Registration is required.

For businesses, the rise of pickleball venues points to a broader shift toward experiential networking and workplace culture investments. Facilities like Pickleball Kingdom are increasingly serving as both recreation centers and informal networking hubs.

Rider Joins ONNJ Morning Show

R

ider University has entered a statewide media partnership with On New Jersey (ONNJ), becoming the presenting sponsor of the network’s flagship program, ONNJ Mornings with Ken Rosato.

The agreement expands Rider’s visibility across a growing broadcast and digital platform while creating new opportunities for the university to contribute to public conversations across New Jersey.

The partnership builds on earlier collaboration between Rider University and ONNJ during the network’s gubernatorial debate production last fall.

“Rider University is proud to partner with ONNJ in a way that reflects our shared commitment to civic engagement and the communities we serve across New Jersey,” said John R. Loyack.

“This collaboration creates new opportunities to elevate voices

from our campus and contribute meaningfully to conversations shaping our state, as we continue to reimagine Rider’s role and impact,” Loyack said.

As part of the agreement, Rider’s leadership, faculty, students and alumni will participate in recurring on-air conversations, along with original segments highlighting academic programs, innovation and campus life.

The partnership formally launched March 31 with ONNJ coverage of Rider’s annual Eggscellent Egg Hunt in collaboration with 107.7 The Bronc.

“This partnership with Rider University is exactly what ONNJ was built for,” said Gerald D’Ambra.

“It started with a shared commitment to serving the public during our debate coverage, and quickly became something more — a true alignment of values,” D’Ambra said.

“What stood out to me immediately about Rider was their willingness to show up — not just as a sponsor, but as a participant in the stories that matter to this state,” said Lisa Marie Falbo.

“This partnership allows us to bring real voices, real perspectives and real impact to our audience every single morning,” Falbo said.

Seven-time Emmy Award-winning journalist Ken Rosato, host of “ONNJ Mornings,” said the collaboration strengthens the network’s local storytelling focus.

“As someone who’s spent decades connecting with viewers across this region, I know how powerful local storytelling can be,” Rosato said.

“This partnership with Rider University brings a new depth to what we do every morning — introducing our audience to voices, ideas and stories that are shaping the future right here in New Jersey,” Rosato said.

ONNJ reports it is reaching about 20,000 viewers per hour during its morning programming, alongside more than 170,000 monthly website impressions and an email subscriber base exceeding 30,000.

By aligning ONNJ’s expanding media platform with Rider’s institutional mission, officials said the partnership reflects a broader model for collaboration between higher education and local media organizations.

APrIl 8, 2026

YWCA Princeton Expands Leadership

sitioning government relations as a central function in its growth and sustainability strategy.

YWCAPrinceton announced the appointments of Courtney Matlock as Chief Advancement Officer and Ruben Johnson as Chief Program and Impact Officer.

Matlock will lead development and marketing efforts, including fundraising, donor stewardship, and marketing strategies to support the organization’s mission to eliminate racism and empower women across Central New Jersey.

“Courtney is a leading expert in fundraising and donor cultivation.

Her leadership will be instrumental as we build toward long-term financial sustainability and continue the momentum of our capital campaign, Transforming Tomorrow Together,” said Rose Wong, CEO of YWCA Princeton.

“Throughout her career, Courtney has raised millions of dollars to support mission-driven organizations, resulting in significant growth and stability. This proven track record, coupled with her ability to foster collaborative internal cultures, will be instrumental in expanding the organization,” Wong said.

“YWCA Princeton is in an exciting season of growth and strategic expansion. My expertise in advancing organizations and amplifying their impactful work strongly aligns with the YWCA’s institutional priorities to ensure sustainable growth in Central New Jersey,” said Matlock.

In his new role, Johnson will provide strategic leadership across the comprehensive program portfolio, including expanding outreach and outcomes to broaden YWCA’s reach and deepen its impact throughout Central New Jersey. He holds a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership and Systems, and his work reflects a strong commitment to building inclusive organizations that deliver a significant, measurable impact.

“Ruben brings more than twenty years of leadership in nonprofit, education, and community-based organizations, with a career dedicated to promoting equity, strengthening programs, and expanding access for communities most in need – these are all areas that align with the work we do every day at the YWCA,” Wong said.

The organization plans to take a strategic approach to developing thoughtful programming that meets

Princeton Tour Company Enters New Era

Courtney Matlock (left) has been named chief advancement officer and Ruben Johnson the chief program and impact officer at YWCA Princeton, where they will lead fundraising, marketing, and program expansion efforts across Central New Jersey. the needs of the expanding constituency.

“YWCA Princeton is an exceptional organization with a dedicated team focused on developing programs that support communities in the Greater Mercer County area. As we expand throughout Central New Jersey, we will tailor our program plans to meet the needs of these communities,” said Johnson.

“Here at the YWCA, our work relies heavily on the strength of our leaders. Courtney Matlock and Ruben Johnson exemplify the values of equity, accountability, and community-centered leadership. I am confident that their vision and dedication will improve our programs, bolster our team, and increase our impact for the families and communities we serve,” Wong said.

For information about programs and services, volunteer opportunities, and ways to support offered by the YWCA Princeton, visit ywcaprinceton.org.

Community Options Names Policy Director Community Options has promoted Sibette Vasquez to director of government relations, a move that strengthens the organization’s policy strategy as it operates across a dozen states.

Vasquezwill oversee federal and state advocacy efforts tied to funding, regulation and program expansion for disability services for the

Princeton-based business.

“Sibette brings a strong understanding of policy and a deep commitment to the people we support,” said Robert Stack, president and CEO of Community Options.

“Her leadership will be critical as we continue to advocate for inclusive opportunities and ensure that individuals with disabilities have access to the services they need to thrive,” Stack said.

In the role, Vasquez will work with executive leadership and regional teams to align policy priorities with operational needs, while building relationships with elected officials, agencies and advocacy partners.

The position plays a key role in shaping reimbursement structures, service delivery models and legislative outcomes that affect providers in the disability services sector.

“I’m honored to step into this role and continue advancing the mission of Community Options,” Vasquez said.

“This work is about creating real opportunities for people with disabilities, and I look forward to working with our teams and partners to strengthen the systems that make inclusion possible,” she said.

Vasquez holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University School of Public and International Affairs, providing a background in public policy and advocacy.

Community Options operates in 12 states and supports more than 7,000 individuals through housing, employment and day services, po-

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of Princeton and the Morven Museum & Garden — already draw visitors to the town.

A planned addition, the Paul Robeson House, is expected to further expand the cultural landscape.

Together, those assets create a steady flow of visitors while also providing content and partnerships that tour operators can build around.

Despite that depth, Omiecinski said a key gap remains in high-end group experiences.

“The biggest opportunity in Princeton is in corporate team building and high-quality, customized group experiences — that’s where the growth and profitability are,” she said.

She said successful operators in similar markets often partner with restaurants, hotels and real estate firms to drive customer engagement and increase foot traffic.

“If a brick and mortar wants tens of thousands of customers coming through their door, they should get in the tour business,” Omiecinski said.

That model positions tours not only as a standalone business, but as a marketing and customer acquisition tool tied to broader commercial activity.

Industry observers expect interest from both local businesses and outside operators as the market adjusts. At the same time, emerging technology is expected to influence how visitors experience Princeton.

“Princeton is incredibly well-positioned for high-quality, selfguided tour experiences powered

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Potential concepts include themed tours focused on figures and topics tied to the town’s history and culture, including Albert Einstein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Princeton Cemetery, architecture, music and athletics.

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Princeton Tour Company is entering a new chapter after more than two decades, creating an opening in one of Central New Jersey’s busiest tourism markets.

Founder Mimi Omiecinski, who launched the company in 2006 and shaped its visitor experience for 20 years, is stepping back from dayto-day operations to focus on consulting.

“After 20 years of building Princeton Tour Company, I couldn’t risk seeing something so personal taken in a different direction,” Omiecinski said.

“PTC has always been my love letter to this extraordinary town, and I hope every guest felt that connection,” she said.

“I’m now excited to support other tour operators and experience-driven businesses through consulting,” she said.

The company became known for guided walking tours, bus tours and themed experiences, including ghost tours and team-building programs.

It also developed customized offerings that combined historical interpretation with entertainment, including collaborations with a cappella groups, historical re-enactors, curated dining experiences and a speakers bureau.

Those offerings often blended multiple elements into single experiences, positioning the company in the higher-end segment of the tour market rather than traditional volume-based sightseeing.

The shift signals a change in Princeton’s tourism landscape, where demand remains strong and opportunities are emerging.

With an estimated 1.7 million visitors annually, industry benchmarks suggest the market can support several boutique tour operators.

Existing cultural institutions — including the Princeton University Art Museum, the Princeton Battlefield Society, the Historical Society

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U.S. 1

April 8, 2026

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