3-20 TD

DOWNTOWNER TRENTON’S CITY PAPER

MARCH 2020 |

COMMUNITYNEWS.ORG

Immigrant success brews in Trenton, page 4.

Flying solo at Passage, page 7; Voice from White’s Island, 8; Gratton’s jazz tradition, 9.

1179 NEWARK, NJ

up FRONT In Memory of Doc Long

P

oet Doughtry “Doc” Long, who died at the end of January at the age of 77, was a longtime maker and supporter of art in Trenton. Known nationally and statewide for his work, he was also a dedicated literature and creative writing instructor at Trenton Central High School where he touched the lives of thousands of Trenton students and encouraged their spirits to embrace beauty and stand for justice.

We remember him by letting him do what he has always done: Speak with his soul.

My LOVE

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she is as old as the pulse of drums as young as the first pink ribbon of dawn she smells like the wine of gardenias and country rain on summer afternoons she comes to me in moments i least expect but always when i need her most she speaks to me soft and loud in passion and in rage comes to me naked and open or in long gowns of hidden sweet surprise

i can be with no other can sleep with no other, i’ve tried she owns my fire owns my soul owns the night i lay down inside of my mistress my woman main squeeze sugar thing my lie and religion my love poetry

downtowner Phone: (609) 396-1511 Fax: (609) 844-0180 Website: communitynews.org METRO Editor Dan Aubrey Senior Assistant Editor Sara Hastings Calendar Editor Christina Giannantonio CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ron Shapella Production Manager Stacey Micallef (Ext. 131) Ad Traffic Coordinator Stephanie Jeronis Graphic Artist Vaughan Burton Sales Director Thomas Fritts (Ext. 110)

Co-Publishers Jamie Griswold and Tom Valeri Administrative COORDINATOR Megan Durelli © 2020 by Community News Service, LLC. All rights reserved.

Letters to the Editor: dan@princetoninfo.com The Trenton Downtowner welcomes letters to the editor of reasonable length and tone.

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2Trenton Downtowner March 2020

Poet Doc Long, who died in January at the age of 77.

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Opinion: Troubled bridge over historic waters

T

he South Broad Street Bridge over the Assunpink Creek near Trenton’s Mill Hill Park needs work and the New Jersey Department of Transportation has a plan to fix it. Normally, this would be cause for celebration. Unfortunately, in this case, the DOT’s plans for a utilitarian, runof-the-mill solution are inappropriate and will be a huge missed opportunity for a revitalizing city seeking to capitalize on its remarkable history.

Although there is little today to indicate its importance, this site is one of the most historic spots in the nation. It was here, on a winter’s afternoon in January of 1777, that George Washington stood on horseback against a bridge railing and rallied his army to turn back a much larger British force led by General Cornwallis. American blood was shed, and brave men died that day, but Washington’s action at the Assunpink Bridge saved the Continental army and secured the future of our nation.

The location is also the birthplace of Trenton. It was here that Mahlon Stacy, the city’s first European settler, established a grist mill in 1679 that became Trenton’s first business and the focal point for the colonial village that grew up around it. William Trent, the city’s founder and namesake, later purchased the mill and rebuilt it as one of the largest in New Jersey. The mill’s reconstruction marked the beginning of Trenton’s long and storied industrial history.

It was also here that George Washington was so warmly welcomed by the people of Trenton as he traveled from Mount Vernon to New York for his first inauguration. This inspiring event is beautifully interpreted in the grand painting by N.C. Wyeth

the state of the CITY

the bridge needs to be improved and the extraordinary history of this spot acknowledged. The design for the new bridge superstructure and railings should utilize historically appropriate materials and provide views up and down the creek.

Most important, the new plans need to fully embrace the bridge’s place in history by incorporating decorative and commemorative elements that honor the lives lost in battle and the role the bridge played in the history of Trenton, New Jersey, and the nation. The bridge should function both as transportation infrastructure and as a monument and tourist destination.

NJDOT and Mercer County have recently invested considerable effort in developing appropriate plans for historic bridge projects at Jacobs Creek in Ewing Township and Stony Brook in Princeton.

New Jersey’s capital city deserves no less. If Trenton is going to embrace heritage tourism, we must take advantage of our extraordinary history.

Our nation’s 250th anniversary is coming up in six years: New Jersey and the capital city can help A George Bradshaw etching, circa 1925, featuring prepare for this momentous occasion by investing the South Broad Street Bridge during the Second in our infrastructure to make it safe, efficient, and Battle of Trenton. beautiful. We urge the NJDOT to redesign the South Broad Street Bridge so that it is worthy of the 250th that now hangs in the main entry to Thomas Edison anniversary of our nation and worthy of Trenton.

State University on West State Street.

Board of Trustees, It is true that the current bridge spanning the Trenton Historical Society Assunpink Creek is not the same one upon which Damon Tvar yanas, President Washington stood. However, the core of the existing bridge dates back to the mid-19th century. It is Karl Flesch, Vice President a grand, twin-arched stone structure whose beauty Sally Lane, Secretar y and grace have been hidden by excavated fill and “road improvements.” We believe that the twin Elizabeth Yull, Treasurer stone arches of the great bridge need to be repaired For more information on the Trenton Historical and exposed.

Society, visit www.trentonhistory.org.

We also believe that the experience of crossing

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March 2020 | Trenton Downtowner3 2/3/20 12:16 PM

New restaurant brews flavors and hopes

By Dan Aubrey

G

uillermo Gomez escorts Dina Ochoa-Gomez from the kitchen at the newly opened Finca Café at 862 South Broad Street and says, as they sit down at a table to talk, “My wife is also the owner and partner in this endeavor. She is the reason why we are able to do this.”

Dina smiles as Guillermo continues, “She’s my boss. We’re been married for seven years. Everything we’ve done was done as a team. I am the face of Finca Café. But in reality there is a lot more that goes on with the background. She is working here and at home, taking care of our daughters (ages 3 and 1). If it wasn’t for her this would not have happened at all. We’re a team. That’s what we do: teamwork.”

Guillermo and Dina, who took over the former Johnny’s Delicatessen, are part of a new wave of Trenton pioneers who believe in the city. “We have been lovers of the city of Trenton. We are passionate about the city of Trenton.

We have our roots in the business, and all our family is here.”

While they currently have a home in Willingboro, both Guillermo and Dina feel something is happening in the city. “We wanted to be part of the renaissance of the city of Trenton, particularly in Chambersburg. Where you see a transformation in the terms of demographics, homeownership, housing, and, most importantly, the economic development,” Guillermo says.

Dina agrees, adding, “We’ve seen a tremendous rate of immigrants coming into Chambersburg.”

Included in those numbers is the couple. She says she came from Guatemala when her shoe-factory worker father brought the family to New Jersey to find more opportunities and to learn English. Guillermo came from Colombia in order to stay alive.

“I was born and raised in a coffee growing farm in Caicedonia, Colombia,” he says. “I am the son and grandson of coffee growers. I lived there until I was 15. At that time we had to flee the country and seek political asylum. My father was killed two months before coming here. We could not live there. It took five years for asylum.”

He says he was present when a group of guerillas who extorted farmers and punished them if they resisted took away his father and killed him.

“The guerillas threatened our family. We couldn’t be there anymore, even after my father was killed. (Guerilla members) were coming to my school because I saw the people who took him.” It was September 12, 2000.

“We didn’t know, as kids, what was happening,” he says. “If you refused to give money, you become a target. Or if you spoke out against their political beliefs, you become a target. Unfortu-

Dina Ochoa-Gomez and Guillermo Gomez, owners of Finca Café. nately we became part of that history.” a great learning experience in food Regarding coming to Trenton, he service.”

“We bought (the café) with cash,” says an aunt had come to Trenton in the mid-1980s and that his mother had says Guillermo. “We did a lot of braincome to visit and spent a year in 1997, storming and sacrifice to get into the not realizing that it would eventually building. We did all we could to make the place beautiful.” be the family’s new home.

But, they say, it wasn’t as easy as “We first arrived in Miami, and my mom found no job,” he says. “We it looks. “It was a very rocky start,” found more opportunity in Trenton. Guillermo says. “We purchased the We ended up living in the living room building back in May, after three in a one-bedroom apartment of a cou- months of being under contract. We ple who were friends who gave us ref- had to drop a few times to attend to a uge. At 16 I was always working and very deep personal matter (Dina’s sister had cancer), helping.” but we kept pushDina says, ing hard until we “When I met him Finca Café owners Dina opened.” and he told me Ochoa-Gomez and And despite the story, I was what they had very impressed.

Guillermo Gomez are hoped, the openAs a teenager ing on December part of a new wave of he was able to 21 was more like overcome this Trenton pioneers who a dress rehearschallenge. And al. “We planned I knew he had believe in the city. to have a menu, great potential. website, FaceHe had a strong personality and character and knew book, but the reality is that when we what he wanted — to make a positive opened we didn’t know about what we know now. We didn’t know about our change.”

That includes the café. “It has been suppliers, distributors, everything has his dream, coming from a coffee coun- been a very fast learning process.”

What they had going for them was try,” she says. “I saw his passion. I saw a support network. “We were so forhis dream, and I supported it.”

Both say they had other careers tunate to have the help of my cousin, and were “working for an opportu- Julian Reyos, and his wife, Louisa nity.” Both are agents for Garcia Real Quintero. They came from Colombia, Estate, and Guillermo worked for 15 and they had a tourism agency in the years in sales and as a business bank- coffee district,” where they would ing specialist for Wells Fargo and take tourists to experience the region Santander banks. He says he met his for three or four days at a time. “They future wife when he made a presenta- have been critical in with the develoption for the Guatemalan Civic Associa- ment of the (restaurant’s) idea, the concept, the color scheme, the mestion that was co-founded by Dina.

Guillermo also had some back- sage that we put out. Julian helped ground in restaurant work. “My mom me with construction.” Meanwhile, has always had restaurants. She sold Louisa works the counter.

Referring to a team effort, GuillColombian food. In Colombia we owned the farm, and there were res- ermo also mentions Guatalinda Restaurants we worked with as kids. I had taurant owner Juan Carlos Diaz who experience since I was a kid. And for “helped us navigate the bureaucracy. a brief time here, I worked for Subway If it weren’t for him, we’d be trying to when I was in high school. That was open this place.”

4Trenton Downtowner March 2020

Thinking back over the past several months, Guillermo says, “We got to the point we couldn’t pay our contractors and our friends said, ‘Don’t worry we’re going to come and help you for free.’ We were blessed for having the kind of family and friends that we had. We also have to thank our credit cards. They have been friendly to us.”

Guillermo says another help is “working with the city of Trenton when we opened, especially with Eric Maywar. There are resources out there, and it wasn’t clear what to do.

I’m partly to blame. We have received a lot of support from the inspections, and the mayor came here. That was a nice surprise to happen here.”

And there is the public. “We are having a very good response online.

People find us and are coming and taking a picture and putting it online.

In just a few weeks that has helped us bring a lot of business in.”

Guillermo says the response “is the result of a combination of passion, really thinking a lot about what we want to do, sacrifice, and what the market is ready for.”

It’s also an indicator of the economic power of the new immigrant population. “We see a lot of businesses, bodegas, and corporate businesses coming into the city. We have the New Jersey Real Estate Association and the Roebling Lofts. There is tremendous money coming into the city. And that is a sign of revival and opportunity.

The Latino population is growing bigger and includes ownership,” says Guillermo.

And as real estate agents, they say they see people buying properties not as investments but for personal homes.

But for Guillermo and Dina, they’re investing in their shop and talking about the main product: coffee.

“Right now we’re getting coffee from a wholesaler,” says Guillermo.

“One Up and One Down Coffee, one block away from us. It is a great opportunity we’re trying to work together and develop. Having been raised with coffee growers we understand — we lived through and what it takes, the sacrifices. Finca means farm.”

Thinking ahead, he says, “Between one and three months we’ll be working on coffee development. Finca will have a special roast. We’re going to develop a brand. Working with someone at the same time, we have the flexibility to doing something new.”

Then citing other coffee restaurants nearby, he says their efforts can “make the city of Trenton the coffee capital of New Jersey. We think Trenton is ready.”

Finca Café, 862 South Broad Street, Trenton. Tuesdays through Fridays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. www.fincacafe.com.

609-571-9211.

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March 2020 | Trenton Downtowner5

Trenton artists get spotlight at North Jersey museum

By Dan Aubrey

T

renton art is attracting attention elsewhere in the state as the Morris Museum in Morristown continues two exhibitions featuring artists representing the creative spirit in the capital city.

“Aerosol: Graffiti | Street Art | New Jersey | Now” features 12 noted contemporary street artists, including Trenton-area artists Dean Ras Innocenzi, Johanthan Conner, Leon Rainbow, and Will Kasso Condry, who also co-curated the exhibition with Morris Museum chief curator Ronald T. Labaco.

On view through Sunday, March 15, the exhibition is being touted as the first U.S. museum exhibition showcasing contemporary street art and graffiti writing created especially for the gallery walls.

“New Jersey is a hotbed of hybrid styles,” Condry says in a statement. “Aerosol artists of this caliber have come together to adorn a museum gallery in a way that’s never been conceived before. The same energy that’s used on the street has been harnessed to create another world within a space that’s relatively exclusive. Graffiti and street art are art forms that are gaining wider acceptance in the museum and gallery arena. This exhibition demonstrates that.”

The participating artists were selected for their prominence and commitment to creating urban art in New Jersey, which, according to the museum, “plays a vital role in the ever-evolving aerosol-art narrative.”

While that narrative began in Philadelphia and then New York City during the 1960s and ’70s, the New Jersey circles of artists between them used

nted!

and advanced the form.

Treating the gallery as a cooperative installation, the artists created expansive — yet temporary — floor-to-ceiling works especially for the exhibition in either hours or days.

It’s a bold and colorful physical expression that fills the eye.

M

Will Kasso Condry’s ‘Homage to Jerry Gant,’ left, and Mel Leipzig’s ‘The Artist Painting the Graffiti Artist Who Painted Him.’ real people.”

He also likes to paint people in their environments and other artists, including the Trenton aerosol artists who are represented in Leipzig’s exhibition and connect the two shows.

An additional connection is Leipzig’s current work that has incorporated a fresh boldness of color and design that he says was inspired by his interaction with the aerosol artist — who also incorporated images of Leipzig in their street art.

That two exhibitions featuring Trenton art are at a northern New Jersey museum is significant and shows that the Trenton Makes slogan also applies to Trenton art.

eanwhile, in a nearby gallery, nationally known Trenton artist Mel Leipzig’s “Everyday People” is on view through Sunday, April 19.

A survey of the noted figurative painter’s 60-year career, the exhibition illustrates Leipzig’s mastery of form and innovation.

With subjects focusing mainly on family, friends, and colleagues in and around the Trenton region, the exhibition also highlights the artist’s personal pursuit to celebrate everyday people and life.

“I love painting people,” he says in a statement printed above one of the several galleries showing Morris Museum, 6 Normandy Heights Road, his work. “And I like looking at people. All people. Morristown. Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to I don’t like the idea of having to paint ‘perfect’ or 5 p.m., Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. $7 to $10. 973-971‘ideal’ people. I like people who look like people, like 3700. www.morrismuseum.org.

We all deserve empathy, compassion, and patience.

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How I came to fly solo at Passage Theater

‘M

other (and Me)” is Passage Theater’s next installment of its signature solo presentations, aka Solo Flights. Written and performed by New York City-based Melinda Buckley, the work deals with a daughter’s relationship with her aging Hungarian mother, Friday through Sunday, March 20 to 22. Buckley shared her thoughts in this excerpted interview for GO-SOLO theater workshop (where she is an instructor):

I

always loved doing theater. I loved how (solo writers) created other people and whole worlds out of thin air.

I did actually write a few characterdriven solo shows, and while I got great response, I knew there was something missing. I hit a wall when it came to structure. And then in my acting class, a friend was working on personal material. I’d always shied away from personal solo shows. Too self-indulgent, I thought. Who will care to hear about my life?

And then ... my mom got Alzheimer’s. And I knew my life would never be same. Hell, I didn’t think I’d even survive it. And that’s actually why I started writing about it — about us, about our lives.

I read some of the material to friends, and people were moved and they encouraged me to keep writing.

But after a while, I hit the same wall.

It was the structure thing again. And then a friend told me about GO-SOLO (theater workshops).

I felt like I’d found this place where I could pull out all these shiny things I’d been playing with, and put them together with a coherent dramatic through-line. Not only that, but I was able to go deeper, into the ‘scary’ places. Going into those places I did not want to go and finding out that — that was where the gold was! It was a magical discovery.

“MOTHER (and me)” got into the NY Fringe. People came, I got great reviews, I had packed houses, and my venue presented me as a Best of Fest winner and we got extended. A Broadway producer came and brought all kinds of industry people. We did a residency at Ryder Farm (a nonprofit arts program in New York State), development runs at Bay Street Theater (Sag Harbor, New York), Chicago Shakespeare, and Second Stage (in Manhattan).

All along the way, I did benefits for various Alzheimer’s organizations, because in my heart of hearts the show is about service. It’s about giving people hope and helping them laugh. At one of those benefits Mark Cuddy, the artistic director of Geva Theatre happened to be there. He loved the show so much, he put it on their season.

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It’s been this amazing journey. But the very best part has been sharing this story about my wild Hungarian Mom, who was many things... not all of them good, but all pretty hilarious. It’s been so fulfilling to show her off to the world, and to make peace with who we were then and who I am now — and to find my own voice in the process.

Mother (and Me), Passage Theater, Mill Hill Playhouse, 205 East Front Street. March 20 to 22. $13 to $27. 609-392-0766. www. passage­theatre.org.

Performer Melinda Buckley.

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March 2020 | Trenton Downtowner7

Another past voice from Trenton’s White’s Island

By Dan auBrey

M

y 2017 article “An Island Adventure in New Jersey’s Capital,” about three Delaware River islands within the city of Trenton’s borders, has generated a continuous ripple of interest and information regarding the islands’ history — especially the one now known as Rotary Island.

It started a few months after the story first appeared with a telephone call from Len Pope, the son of the last caretaker of the island that had become a summer camp for Trenton children with various illnesses or health conditions.

And now we have a personal account by University of North CarolinaChapel Hill biology professor Peter White, a descendant of one of region’s original families and former owners of that same island.

During a telephone conversation, White says though he never lived in the Trenton area he has been investigating and documenting some of the island’s history.

He says he also hopes to learn more about his family history and connect with family members through a story he shares at the end of this article — one he hopes that others may have heard before.

White’s statement is as follows, starting with a quote from one of my story sources, Herbert B. Butcher’s “History of the Trenton Rotary Club”:

‘B

efore the Revolution, it is said, the island was first used as a common pasture for cattle of various farmers. By the year 1755, a man named William Logan occupied the island and then Joseph White lived there and farmed it. After he died about 1816, various owners cultivated ‘White’s island’ eking out an existence here, probably aided by the abundance of fish in the Delaware, and braved the flood waters which, on one or two occasions, just covered the island.”

I am a descendant of the Joseph White that Herbert B. Butcher mentions, and not many folks would know the facts that he states.

Joseph’s son Nathan, who inherited White’s Island about 1816 (and seems to have sold it to John Hough in 1829), had 11 children who lived in Bucks County and Trenton, but I have yet to discover any Whites there that I am related to.

In my searches, I found out about a report printed in 1999 by a professional genealogist, Frances Waite, on the White families of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, that makes reference to White’s Island.

Eventually, I hired Waite to look for more records concerning the island.

White’s Island is located in the Dela-

ware River close to the shore of Lower held additional land in the area. JoMakefield, Bucks County, Pennsylva- seph’s holdings included one house, nia, just below Yardley. Though close one tenement, one barn, one orchard, to Pennsylvania, it is in Trenton Town- one garden, 100 acres of pasture land, 100 acres of meadowland, 100 acres ship, New Jersey.

This land was previously part of of woodland, and 100 acres covered Pennsylvania, acquired from William with water, situated in the Township Penn, and most likely part of the 2,500 of Trenton.

Waite writes: “Joseph White inheracres of George White (1630-1688) that were purchased prior to George’s ited his father’s (John’s) island in the Delaware, with the house where he departure from England.

Waite reports that a Supreme Court lived. He was to share it [the access to Case of April 26, 1783, clarified the fishing and the house], during fishing agreement of New Jersey and Penn- season with his siblings and brothersylvania over who owns the islands in in-law Vanhorn.”

The island was clearly owned by Nathe Delaware above the falls at Trenthan White, Sr., when Joseph died in ton.

White’s Island was originally part about 1817.

Nathan White, of Hunterdon Sr., died in 1845.

County, New JerAt least three In the 1850 fedsey, but became eral census, his part of Mercer generations of Whites widow Hannah County either is living in Ewing when the first lived on the island Township, and boundaries of covering the period in 1860 and in the county were 1870 she is living established in from 1730 to 1829. in Trenton (she 1837 or when addied in 1871). Her ditional land was assets in these census records are moved to Mercer County in 1838.

This island was once known as listed at about $2,000 — which is the Gould’s Island (after James Gould, a same price White’s Island was sold to mariner from Boston, who purchased John Hough for in 1829.

In 1918 the Trenton Rotary Club the island on March 10, 1719, from Joseph and Hannah Frost of Massa- bought Park Island (named by a chusetts). A Google book, “American canoe club that had eventually purAncestry Volume IX,” 1894, has a chased what had been White’s Island) brief reference to Ann Gould, born in for the “children of this vicinity” and 1780 in Trenton, who is said to be the the league moved its “Kamp” there. In granddaughter of a lawyer who lived 1919 Mayor Frederick Donnelly starton the island before being lost at sea ed a drive for a permanent “Kamp,” and the first dormitory was built. when returning home to Wales.

From a web history of the Rotary It became known as White’s Island starting by the mid-1700s and continu- Club in Trenton we learn: The “Roing into at least the first decades of tary has been interested in many the 1900s (I have found maps dated worthwhile projects, but none has between 1817 and 1850 that label the won such popular approval as the purchase of Rotary Island. During island as White’s Island).

At least three generations of Whites the administration of William B. Madlived on the island covering the period dock, the club began its fine work for from approximately 1730 to 1829: John anemic children. The Trenton Times White, his son Joseph White, and his started the purchase fund with a gift of $1,000, and Rotarians raised the balgrandson, Nathan White, Sr. Joseph White, a Quaker, and his ance needed for the acquisition of the wife, Eunice, lived on the island but island. The buildings were all erected

8Trenton Downtowner March 2020

The Trenton Canoe Club, left, on the former White’s Island, and an image of Hannah White. through the generosity of material men of Trenton and the trade unionists, who gave their labor without cost.

“The Mercer County Health League each year conducts a fresh air camp on the island, where ill and anemic children, recommended by school authorities and physicians, are taken for vacations to recover their health.”

The Rotary Club asked the town to change the name to Rotary Island in 1929.

I first heard of White’s island from my half-sister Sissy (Gulielma PennGaskell White Krook). As we looked at old family photos that she had (which I now have), she said there was an island in the Delaware on which lived our White ancestors and it was then known as “White’s Island.”

Further, she said, an early ancestor, an elderly woman, was so pious that she waded flood waters in the Delaware and subsequently got pneumonia and died.

This pious woman could not have been Hannah Henry White, who likely lived on the island with her husband Nathan White (son of Joseph) because she died in Philadelphia in 1871.

In terms of possible other candidates for the women who waded in the Delaware River to get to church, that leaves Hannah’s mother, Esther Henry, who died in 1837, or Hannah’s mother-in-law Unis (her name also appears as Eunice, Unice, and Unity) White (the wife of Joseph White, who also lived on White’s Island).

It is amazing that Sissy’s story had survived from the late 1700s or early 1800s — through at least six generations to the present.

And it is amazing that the stories from the Trenton islands continue to be retold. If anyone has any information regarding the White family in the region, please contact Dan Aubrey at dan@princetoninfo.com.

Gratton keeps music memories alive at Trenton Social

By Ron Shapella

F

thought, ‘Man, you have to go get a real job. How much longer can you live on peanut butter sandwiches?’”

He managed to arrange his work schedule to allow regular gigs and along the way honed impressive musical chops while always playing close to home. By the time he had retired in 2002, he had acquired quite a resume: the Jazz and Blues Showcase Series in Medford Lakes, annual dinners for the American Federation of Musicians of Trenton, Trenton Heritage Days, and the Bordentown Cranberry and Iris festivals.

In 1998 he performed in a six-piece jazz group with saxophonist Richie Cole at the Trenton Jazz Festival at Waterfront Park. In addition to his work in all the area clubs, he has opened for pianists David Benoit, Eddie Palmieri, and Alex Bugnon, and he once played alongside guitarist Tal Farlow.

Playing for restaurant crowds and others whose attention may be divided is okay by him. He put out a CD in 1998 that suggests an ethereal, ambient musical approach. But he says he plays for attentive diners.

The temptation might also be to think that a railroad engineer’s music would be richly steeped in the blues, perhaps with the devil waiting at every crossing. Not so with Gratton who works in jazz arrangements of popular songs and standards.

An important figure in Trenton’s cultural history, Gratton says he could work more but enjoys home life with his wife, Joan.

And while the music venues have changed, Gratton is still on track and making music in Trenton.

Trenton Social, 449 South Broad Street. First Wednesdays, 6 p.m. 609989-7777. www.trentonsocial. com.

ew things better evoke the memory of Trenton’s entertainment past than the image of folks dressed smartly for the evening and entering the doors of a nightclub that is pulsating with the sounds of a jazz trio.

These days, when Dick Gratton takes his guitar and sits down to begin his first Wednesday presentation at Trenton Social Restaurant, he brings part of that tradition with him. Gratton, 78, has attracted quite a following. But he also remembers the old places and the talented musicians who once played around the capital city.

The names come easily, and he rattles them off as though reading a hall of fame plaque.

“The Downtown Club, Club 50 on Hanover, Joe’s Mill Hill Saloon,” Gratton recalls. “I played a lot in the area starting in the ’60s. I played at the Canal House in New Hope, Rush’s Tavern on Johnson Avenue, the Eagle Tavern. One of the biggest that I worked at was the Greenwood Grille on the corner of Greenwood and Johnson. Sunday nights there were always a good time.

“Trenton has always been noted for having very fine musicians. But very few of them were nationally known, except for Richie Cole, the saxophonist,” he says.

Gratton has the easy-going manner of one who is satisfied with where life has brought him. His story is familiar to those who have heard him play Dick Gratton performs every first Wednesday at the Trenton Social. over the years. His family settled in the Whitehorse section of Hamilton Dick Braytenbah’s piano trio. He but I don’t think I could ever make a Township, and as a young child he played a lot of standards, and that’s living at it,” he says. “Once I started began playing guitar while listening when I started thinking that was working on the railroad, being a muto jazz and big band records in his fa- something I wanted to do. It was a sician for a living sort of went away. ther’s collection.

I was playing in New Hope one night little more creative.”

“You have to have the interest,” He drew inspiration from musicians right before I went on the railroad and Gratton says. “The best time for a kid like Les Paul, Gene Bertoncini, Tony to start would maybe be about eight Mottola, and Wes Montgomery, and 215•295•4402 OPEN 24 HOURS years old. Unfortunately, eight-year- started performing in the Trenton old kids want to do other things. I startarea and in Atlaned playing when I tic City. was seven. The “There were a first nightclub Dick Gratton keeps ton of clubs when I played was in I first started Trenton’s jazz tradition a bar in Dunelplaying.

Some len, and a family alive with his monthly are still around, friend invited me but not many,” performances at WE FEATURE A WASH DRY AND FOLD SERVICE FOR THOSE TOO BUSY TO DO THEIR OWN up and I played he says. “When ‘Lady of Spain.’ I WASH. RELAX, WE’VE GOT IT HANDLED. WE HAVE THE LARGEST FACILITIES IN THE work thins out the Trenton Social was 12, and I do BUCKS/ MERCER AREA. THEY’RE BIG, THEY’RE BEAUTIFUL AND YOU’LL LOVE THEM. you move on remember being restaurant. somewhere else.” scared to death.”

Times were As the 1960s 322 WEST TRENTON AVENUE, good for TrenBUY 10 pounds of $1.00 Off approached his high school band was ton’s cultural scene but not good MORRISVILLE, PA WASH-DRY-FOLD. into Chuck Berry and Bill Haley and enough to make a living. Gratton’s Any Washer GET a second 10 24 NORTH STATE ST., NEWTOWN, PA the Comets. Just when others plugged father worked on the railroad when pounds FREE One coupon per person. in their amplifiers and decided they it was still known by its name on the One coupon per person.

65 DURHAM RD. , PENNDEL,PA Not to be combined with any Not to be combined with any were born to be wild, Gratton veered Monopoly game board — the Pennsylother offer. No cash value. other offer. No cash value.

1128 SUNSET RD., BURLINGTON, NJ Expires 3-31-20.

Expires 3-31-20. into a different direction. vania Railroad. Soon the idea of a full“It was probably around 1962,” he time income beckoned.

LAUNDRY-DEPOT.COM says. “I went to the Downtown Club “I think I’m successful at what I do, 322 WEST TRENTON AVENUE, MORRISVILLE, PA 19067 on Passaic Street in Trenton and saw

March 2020 | Trenton Downtowner9

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10Trenton Downtowner March 2020

20

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Each office is independently owned and operated.

remax.com has all the listings March 2020 | Trenton Downtowner11

MaRCh heaDLINeRs

Sunday 3/1

Disney’s Frozen Jr., Kelsey Theater, Mercer Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, 609-570-3333. www. kelseyatmccc.org. Princesses Elsa, Anna, and the magical land of Arendelle come to life. 1 and 4 p.m.

Four Centuries of African American Soldiers, Old Barracks Museum, 101 Barracks Street, Trenton, 609-396-1776. www.barracks.org.

Day-long presentations and demonstrations by reenactors and living historians. 11 a.m.

Farmhouse Tour, Benjamin Temple House, 27 Federal City Road, Ewing, 609-883-2455.

Tour and information on the families who called the house home. 2 p.m.

M�nday 3/2

Karaoke, Trenton Social, 449 South Broad Street, Trenton. www.facebook.com/trentonsocial. Hosted by Sweets. 9 p.m.

Bunbury Fund Grant Information Session, Princeton Area Community Foundation, 15 Princess Road, Lawrenceville. www.pacf. org/events. Information on grant guidelines.

Register. 2 p.m.

Art Chill Night, Championship Bar, 931 Chambers Street, Trenton. Crayons and drinks. Art supplies provided. Free. 8 p.m.

Tuesday 3/3

Jam Night with Nikki and Caleb, Championship Bar, 931 Chambers Street, Trenton, 609394-7437. Live music. No cover. All skill levels welcome. 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Wednesday 3/4

Dick Gra�on, Trenton Social, 449 South Broad Street, Trenton, 609-208-2500. 6 p.m.



3/7

Thursday 3/5

Teaching Disco Square Dancing to Our Elders, Passage Theatre Company, 16 East Hanover Street, 609-392-0766. Three teens come together to create an awesome presentation for school. For ages 10+. $5-$10.

Featuring Magdalena Rodriguez. 11 a.m.

Notary Public Registration/Renewal, Mercer County Connection, Hamilton Square Shopping Center, 957 Route 33, Hamilton, 609890-9800. 3 p.m.

Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, Camp Olden Civil War Round Table, Hamilton Township Public Library, 1 Justice Samuel A. Alito Drive, Hamilton. Meeting and talk by Roger Arthur. 6:50 p.m.



Friday 3/6 

Teaching Disco Square Dancing to Our Elders, Passage Theatre Company, 16 East



3/5 to 8

Hanover Street, Trenton, 609-392-0766.

Three teens come together to create an awesome presentation for school. For ages 10 and older. $5-$10. 11 a.m.

State House Artwork Tour, New Jersey Statehouse, 145 West State Street, Trenton, 609847-3150. www.njstatehousetours.org. Tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Public Buildings Arts Inclusion Act. See artwork incorporated into the capitol complex including stained glass, tilework, paintings, and sculptures. Reservations required. 1:30 p.m.

Friday Dance Party, American Ballroom, 1523 Parkway Avenue, Ewing, 609-931-0149. $10.

7 to 9 p.m.

The Grateful Dead Tribute Concert, Kelsey Theater, Mercer Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, 609-5703333. www.kelseyatmccc.org. Reock & Roll explores the first 10 years of the band’s studio recordings. Also March 7 and 8. 8 p.m.



3/13

Saturday 3/7

Teaching Disco Square Dancing to Our Elders, Passage Theatre Company, 16 East Hanover Street, Trenton, 609-392-0766. www. passagetheatre.org. Three teens come together to create an awesome presentation for school. For ages 10 and older. $5-$10. 3 p.m.

Ma� Parish, Candlelight Lounge, 24 Passaic Street, Trenton, 609-695-9612. www.jazztrenton.com. $15, $10 drink minimum. 3:30 p.m.

Genealogy Workshop, NJDAR, General David Forman-Penelope Hart Chapter, Hamilton Township Public Library, 1 Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. Way, Hamilton. 1 p.m.  Adinkra Stamping, Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie, 299 Parkside Avenue, Trenton, 609-989-3632. www.ellarslie.org. Quilting workshop led by Cassandra Stancil Gunkel.

1:30 p.m.



LEARN TO SQUARE DANCE FREE, NO OBLIGATION INTRODUCTORY DANCE (CLASS) Mercer County Office of Economic Development and UCEDC present:

"The Basics of Financing Your Business" A FREE WORKSHOP! Thursday, March 12, 2020 6:00pm - 8:00pm Hamilton Township Library 1 Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. Way, Hamilton, NJ Learn about financing opportunities on how to grow or start your small business.

Review of financing options Learn what lenders look for Finding the right financing for your needs Preparing for a lender meeting

Register for this FREE workshop! www.ucedc.com/events or call 908-527-1166 12Trenton Downtowner March 2020

7:15 pm Tuesday March 3, 2020 Dances (Class) Continue on Tuesday Evenings

Saint Luke’s (Episcopal) Church 1620 Prospect Street Ewing, NJ 08638 No Partner Needed; Casual Dress

For More Information, call Rich Delgado (609) 844-1140

LOOKING FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS? Visit our website communitynews.org to get updates about your community all month long

COMMUNITYNEWS

Open House, Yardville CYO, 453 Yardville-Allentown Road, Yardville. www.cyomercer.org. Information about summer programs including day camps, teen travel camp and CIT program. Noon to 2 p.m.

The Dos and Don’ts of Downsizing, Re/Max Tri County, 2275 Route 33, Suite 308, Hamilton Square, 609281-5218. Tips on declu�ering, preparing a home for sale, the local real estate market and mortgages.

Register. 9 a.m.

Science on Saturdays, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, 100 Stellarator Road, Princeton, 609-2432121. www.pppl.gov. “Witnessing Climate Change: What I Have Learned from My Expeditions to the Greenland Ice Sheet” talk by Asa Rennermalm, associate professor of geography at Rutgers. 9:30 a.m.

Harlem Globetro�ers, CURE Insurance Arena, 81 Hamilton Avenue, Trenton, 609-656-3200. www.cureinsurancearena.com. “Pushing the Limits” basketball show. $20-$325. 2 p.m.

Sunday 3/8 

Teaching Disco Square Dancing to Our Elders, Passage Theatre Company, 16 East Hanover Street, Trenton, 609-392-0766. www.passagetheatre.org.

Three teens come together to create an awesome presentation for school. For ages 10 and older. $5$10. 3 p.m.

M�nday 3/9

Purim begins at sundown.

Karaoke, Trenton Social, 449 South Broad Street, Trenton. www.facebook.com/trentonsocial. Hosted by Sweets. 9 p.m.

Art Chill Night, Championship Bar, 931 Chambers Street, Trenton. www.championshipbartrenton.com.

Crayons and drinks. Art supplies provided. Free. 8 p.m.

Tuesday 3/10

Cabaret, Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, 215-785-6664. www.brtstage.org. When American writer Cliff Bradshaw arrives at Berlin’s Kit Kat Club looking for inspiration, he falls for its star performer, Sally Bowles. However, their decadent lifestyle is soon threatened by the Nazis’ impending rise to power. Through April 12. 7:30 p.m.

Sleuth, McCarter Theatre, 91 University Place, Princeton, 609-258-2787. www.mccarter.org. A suspenseful game of cat-and-mouse that parodies the Agatha Christie thriller. Through March 29. 7:30 p.m.

Jam Night with Nikki and Caleb, Championship Bar, 931 Chambers Street, Trenton, 609-394-7437. / www.championshipbartrenton.com. Live music. No cover. All skill levels welcome. 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.



See EvEnTS, Page 14

3/14

14th Annual Mercer Green Fest “Water Clean & Healthy” Rider University – Student Recreation Center 2083 Lawrenceville Rd., Lawrence

Saturday, March 14th | 11am – 4pm RAIN OR SHINE | FREE ADMISSION | APPROPRIATE FOR ALL AGES

Saint Ann School Spring Open House 04/01/2020 9 AM & 7 PM

34 Rossa Avenue Lawrenceville, NJ 09648 (609)882-8077 LET US KNOW YOU ARE COMING REGISTER ONLINE TODAY AT WWW.SAINTANNSCHOOL.ORG

11:30am Miss Amy’s Band | 1pm Eyes of the Wild Electric Vehicles | Clean Energy Programs | Solar Incentives Bicycles | Proper Recycling | Sustainable Local Business Green Building | Farmers’ Market | Health & Wellness Art & Music | Children’s Activities Mercer County Sustainability Coalition

sustainablelawrence.org Use the South Entrance to campus, take NJ Transit Bus 606, or ride your bicycle

March 2020 | Trenton Downtowner13

State Museum offers a downtown forest getaway

EVENTS, continued from page 13

By Dan Aubrey

Wednesday 3/11

T

Thursday 3/12

rentonians looking for a walk in the woods need only to hike over to the New Jersey State Museum, where the exhibition “Preserving the Pinelands: Albert Horner’s Portraits of a National Treasure” is on view through June 28.

With about 1.1 million acres or 22 percent of New Jersey’s land mass, the forest is the largest open space area between Boston and Richmond.

“For the last 14 years I have almost exclusively photographed the New Jersey Pinelands,” says the Medfordbased Horner. “I realized the intuitive photographer photographs where they live or lives where they photograph.”

That revelation hit him after several so close to the photography excursions to Europe Pines. He was and the American West brought little born in 1946 in satisfaction in terms of photos taken.

Riverside, New “I spent a lot of my life (in the Pine- Jersey. With a lands),” he says. “It was my area of ex- salesman father ploration since I was able to drive. So living in Florida, I’m familiar with its central core. And he was brought I know the right spot to go at the right up by his mother time.” who made sure He also made another choice. “I re- they were rooted duced my expectations and look for to nearby commuonly 12 successful, printable photo- nities and institugraphs per year.” tions.

That, he says, comes from his apHis early experience with the Pineproach. “When I take a photograph, I lands was when he spent time at a boyhave the image in my head of what it hood friend’s cottage on Lake Atsion. is going to look like on the wall. So if There, he says, he learned to smell the it meets my criteria, I take the photo.” air.

Since he uses a digital camera, he After being drafted and serving in also thinks beyond the lens. “I know Europe, getting married, and workbefore I take the photo what I can ing with a vehicle rental service, he do in PhotoShop. Not that it’s magic; moved to another Pinelands town, PhotoShop isn’t going to make a good Medford, and photo. But I can started a sporting control shadows goods store. and highlights.

‘I spent a lot of my life’ He eventually So I preconceive sold the shop and in the Pinelands, Horner the image.” became a repreBut, to be clear, says. ‘I know the right sentative for a nahe says his main tional fishing line spot to go at the right intent is “to credistributor. ate exactly what He says he time.’

I see.” And what had an interest he looks for is a in photography combination of when he was in his 20s, and someone stillness, air, light, and water. gave him a film camera. He became so To get the right photo he says he interested he built his own darkroom. uses his “gut feeling” to get something Then family, work, and a move to a that “looks like the Pinelands. Some- smaller house pushed photography to thing that evokes an emotion to me, the back of his mind until retirement (something that) makes it attractive enabled him to pick up a camera again. and beautiful.”

“I decided to build a digital darkroom He is also guided by his habits and and jumped into digital photography,” preferences. He photographs only in he says. the morning so there is mist that will Since then he has amassed a strong make colors more luminous. The air collection of Pinelands images, saying must be still because he uses long “I have 150 images I would be proud exposures, so windy and rainy days to print and hang anywhere.” Or as a won’t work. And the equipment must Courier Post newspaper article put it, be capable and quality dependable: images that are “Picture-perfect PineHe uses only Canon cameras, Zeiss lands.” lenses, and Epson printers.

“It is all self-taught,” he says about Horner says he has not always lived

14Trenton Downtowner March 2020

Blood Drive, New Jersey Blood Services, Education Building, Colllege of New Jersey, 2000 Pennington Road, Ewing, 800-933-2566. www.nybloodcenter.org. 11 a.m.

Casting Crowns, CURE Insurance Arena, 81 Hamilton Avenue, Trenton, 609-656-3200. www.cureinsurancearena.com. “Only Jesus Tour.” $28-$103. 7 p.m.

Friday 3/13

Albert Horner’s photographs of the Pinelands are on view at the State Museum through June 28. Above are ‘Friendship Bogs Morning,’ top, and ‘Mullica Bend Basin.’ his images. “The greatest lesson I had is an incredible library of coffee table photography books — people form Europe and us photographers. It gives you an understanding of how things can be done — how to use light and composition. I don’t imitate them, but I use them as stimulus.”

The result has been his own book, “Pinelands: New Jersey’s Suburban Wilderness,” published by Schiffer Publishing; and various exhibitions, including one at the D&R Greenway in Princeton. He is also on demand for talks regarding his work and the Pinelands.

The New Jersey State Museum exhibition — featuring nearly 40 of his works — started when he had his book sent to museum director Margaret O’Reilly.

“I really wanted to get an exhibit at the State Museum because (the Pinelands) is a Jersey thing and important to the state,” he says.

Preser ving the Pinelands: Albert Horner’s Portraits of a National Treasure, New Jersey State Museum, 205 West State Street. Through June 28. Tuesdays through Sundays, 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.

Free, donations requested. 609-2925420 or www.statemuseumnj.gov.

33 Variations, Kelsey Theater, Mercer Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, 609-570-3333. www.kelseyatmccc. org. A music scholar facing her own health and relationship problems delves into the mystery of why Beethoven spent four years of his life writing 33 variations of an uninspired waltz. Through March 22. 8 p.m.

State House Artwork Tour, New Jersey Statehouse, 145 West State Street, Trenton, 609847-3150. www.njstatehousetours.org. Tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Public Buildings Arts Inclusion Act. See artwork incorporated into the capitol complex including stained glass, tilework, paintings, and sculptures. Reservations required. 1:30 p.m.

Between the Seasons, Straube Galleries, 1 Straube Center Boulevard, Pennington, 609737-3322. www.straubecenter.com. Exhibit of work by Adriana Groza, Gary Fournier, Hal Vandermark and Ernest Koch, opening reception. Exhibit runs through May 8. 6 to 8 p.m.

Ballroom Newcomers Dance, American Ballroom, 1523 Parkway Avenue, Ewing, 609931-0149. www.americanballroomco.com.

Group class included. $10. 7 to 9 p.m.  Live Bands, Championship Bar, 931 Chambers Street, Trenton, 609-394-7437. /www. championshipbartrenton.com.

Swashbuckle, We Our War, Vivisect, Anticosm, and more. $15. 6 to 1 a.m.

Bryn Mawr-Wellesley Book Sale, Princeton Day School, 650 Great Road, Princeton. www.bmandwbooks.com. $25. 10 a.m.

Saturday 3/14

33 Variations, Kelsey Theater, Mercer Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, 609-570-3333. www.kelseyatmccc. org. A music scholar facing her own health and relationship problems delves into the mystery of why Beethoven spent four years of his life writing 33 variations of an uninspired waltz. 8 p.m.  Capital Philharmonic Orchestra, Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, 1 Memorial Drive, Trenton, 215-893-1999. www.capitalphilharmonic.org. Performing works by Mozart, Vivaldi, and Tchaikovsky with Lorenzo Mazzamuto on violin. $30-$65. 7:30 p.m.

Vince Lardear, Candlelight Lounge, 24 Passaic Street, Trenton, 609-695-9612. www.jazztrenton.com. $15, $10 drink minimum. 3:30 p.m.

Mercer GreenFest, Rider University Student Recreation Center, 2083 Lawrenceville Road, Lawrence. www.sustainablelawrence. org. “Clean and Healthy Water.” Free. 11 a.m.

Flea Market, West Trenton Ladies Auxiliary, 40 West Upper Ferry Road, Ewing. 8 a.m.

Bryn Mawr-Wellesley Book Sale, Princeton Day School, 650 Great Road, Princeton. www.bmandwbooks.com. 10 a.m.

Sunday 3/15

33 Variations, Kelsey Theater, Mercer Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, 609-570-3333. www.kelseyatmccc. org. A music scholar facing her own health and relationship problems delves into the mystery of why Beethoven spent four years of his life writing 33 variations of an uninspired waltz. 2 p.m.

 Bryn Mawr-Wellesley Book Sale, Princeton Day School, 650 Great Road, Princeton. www.bmandwbooks.com. 10 a.m.

M�nday 3/16

Karaoke, Trenton Social, 449 South Broad Street, Trenton. www.facebook.com/trentonsocial. Hosted by Sweets. 9 p.m.

Bryn Mawr-Wellesley Book Sale, Princeton Day School, 650 Great Road, Princeton. www.bmandwbooks.com. 10 a.m.

Art Chill Night, Championship Bar, 931 Chambers Street, Trenton. www.championshipbartrenton.com. Crayons and drinks. Art supplies provided. Free. 8 p.m.

Tuesday 3/17

Jam Night with Nikki and Caleb, Championship Bar, 931 Chambers Street, Trenton, 609394-7437. /www.championshipbartrenton. com. Live music. No cover. All skill levels welcome. 9 to 1 a.m.

Bryn Mawr-Wellesley Book Sale, Princeton Day School, 650 Great Road, Princeton. www.bmandwbooks.com. 10 a.m.

Wednesday 3/18

Cabaret, Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, 215-785-6664. www. brtstage.org. When American writer Cliff Bradshaw arrives at Berlin’s Kit Kat Club looking for inspiration, he falls for its star performer, Sally Bowles. However, their decadent lifestyle is soon threatened by the Nazis’ impending rise to power. 2 and 7:30 p.m.

Thursday 3/19

The New Jim Crow -- 10 Years Later, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 801 West State Street, Trenton, 609-882-0563. www.endnewjimcrownj.org. Conference. 6:30 p.m.

Friday 3/20

Mother and Me, Passage Theatre Company, 16 East Hanover Street, Trenton, 609-392-0766. www.passagetheatre.org.

One-woman show about a woman entering middle age as her mother sinks into dementia. $13-$27.

7:30 p.m.

33 Variations, Kelsey Theater, Mercer Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, 609-570-3333. www.kelseyatmccc. org. A music scholar facing her own health and relationship problems delves into the mystery of why Beethoven spent four years of his life writing 33 variations of an uninspired waltz. 8 p.m.

State House Artwork Tour, New Jersey Statehouse, 145 West State Street, Trenton, 609847-3150. www.njstatehousetours.org. Tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Public Buildings Arts Inclusion Act. See artwork incorporated into the capitol complex including stained glass, tilework, paintings, and sculptures. Reservations required. 1:30 p.m.

Friday Dance Party, American Ballroom, 1523 Parkway Avenue, Ewing, 609-931-0149. www.americanballroomco.com. $10. 7 to 9 p.m.

3/26 to 29

Saturday 3/21

Mother and Me, Passage Theatre Company, 16 East Hanover Street, Trenton, 609-392-0766.

One-woman show about a woman entering middle age as her mother sinks into dementia. $13-$27. 7:30 p.m.

33 Variations, Kelsey Theater, Mercer Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, 609-570-3333. www.kelseyatmccc. org. 8 p.m.

Chicken Dance, Kelsey Theater, Mercer Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, 609-570-3333. www.kelseyatmccc.org. Musical about Marge and Lola, two barnyard chickens on a mission to win the barnyard talent contest. 2 and 4 p.m.

Susan Cloud, Candlelight Lounge, 24 Passaic Street, Trenton, 609-695-9612. www.jazztrenton.com. $15, $10 drink minimum. 3:30 p.m.

Art Club, Trenton Free Public Library, 120 Academy Street, Trenton, 609-392-7188. www.trentonlib.org. For ages 18 and older, no experience necessary. 11 a.m.

Sunday 3/22

33 Variations, Kelsey Theater, Mercer Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, 609-570-3333. www.kelseyatmccc. org. A music scholar facing her own health and relationship problems delves into the mystery of why Beethoven spent four years of his life writing 33 variations of an uninspired waltz. 2 p.m.

Mother and Me, Passage Theatre Company, 16 East Hanover Street, Trenton, 609-392-0766. $13-$27. 3 p.m.

M�nday 3/23

Karaoke, Trenton Social, 449 South Broad Street, Trenton. www.facebook.com/trentonsocial. Hosted by Sweets. 9 p.m.

Art Chill Night, Championship Bar, 931 Chambers Street, Trenton. www.championshipbartrenton.com. Crayons and drinks. Art supplies provided. Free. 8 p.m.

Tuesday 3/24

Jam Night with Nikki and Caleb, Championship Bar, 931 Chambers Street, Trenton, 609394-7437. www.championshipbartrenton. com. Live music. No cover. All skill levels welcome. 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Wednesday 3/25

Cabaret, Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, 215-785-6664. www. brtstage.org. When American writer Cliff Bradshaw arrives at Berlin’s Kit Kat Club looking for inspiration, he falls for its star performer, Sally Bowles. However, their decadent lifestyle is soon threatened by the Nazis’ impending rise to power. 2 and 7:30 p.m.

Thursday 3/26 

Disney on Ice, CURE Insurance Arena, 81 Hamilton Avenue, Trenton, 609-656-3200 “Worlds of Enchantment.” $12. 7 p.m.



3/28

Friday 3/27

Parade, Kelsey Theater, Mercer Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, 609-570-3333. www.kelseyatmccc.org.

The epic true story of Leo Frank, a Brooklynraised Jewish factory manager accused of an unthinkable crime. Through April 5. 8 p.m.

Disney on Ice, CURE Insurance Arena, 81 Hamilton Avenue, Trenton, 609-656-3200. www. cureinsurancearena.com. “Worlds of Enchantment.” $12. 7 p.m.

State House Artwork Tour, New Jersey Statehouse, 145 West State Street, Trenton, 609847-3150. www.njstatehousetours.org. Tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Public Buildings Arts Inclusion Act. See artwork incorporated into the capitol complex including stained glass, tilework, paintings, and sculptures. Reservations required. 1:30 p.m.

Ballroom Newcomers Dance, American Ballroom, 1523 Parkway Avenue, Ewing, 609931-0149. www.americanballroomco.com.

Group class included. $10. 7 to 9 p.m.

Saturday 3/28

Parade, Kelsey Theater, Mercer Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, 609-570-3333. www.kelseyatmccc.org.

8 p.m.

Disney on Ice, CURE Insurance Arena, 81 Hamilton Avenue, Trenton, 609-656-3200. www. cureinsurancearena.com. “Worlds of Enchantment.” $12. 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

La Fiocco Period Instrument Ensemble, 1867 Sanctuary, 101 Scotch Road, Ewing, 609392-6409. www.1867sanctuary.org. “Fantasticus,” chamber music in the fantastic style. $10-$25. 7:30 p.m.  Orrin Evans Birthday Bash, Candlelight Lounge, 24 Passaic Street, Trenton, 609-6959612. www.jazztrenton.com. $15, $10 drink minimum. 3:30 p.m.

Get On Down!, Trenton Circus Squad, Roebling Wire Works Building, 675 South Clinton Avenue, Trenton. www.trentoncircussquad.org.

Fundraiser featuring Squad performers, DJ Finesse and a live band. $30-$50. 6 p.m.

Lead, Play, Inspire, Trenton Music Makers, Cobblestone Creek Country Club, 2170 Lawrenceville Road, Lawrence. www.trenton-

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3/29

musicmakers.org. Benefit honoring Ronnie Ragen, director of the Music for the Very Young program. Cocktails, dinner, chamber ensemble performance, and more. Register. $150 and up. 6 to 8 p.m.

Manufacturing a Revolution: Trenton, Winter of 1778, Old Barracks Museum, 101 Barrack Street, Trenton, 609-396-1776. www.barracks.org. Demonstrations by artisans and tradesmen. 10 a.m.

Sunday 3/29

Parade, Kelsey Theater, Mercer Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, 609-570-3333. www.kelseyatmccc.org.

The epic true story of Leo Frank, a Brooklynraised Jewish factory manager accused of an unthinkable crime. 2 p.m.

Disney on Ice, CURE Insurance Arena, 81 Hamilton Avenue, Trenton, 609-656-3200. www. cureinsurancearena.com. “Worlds of Enchantment.” $12. 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Blooming Fashions, The Contemporary Club, Trenton Country Club, 201 Sullivan Way, Ewing, 215-752-3636 or 609-585-0224. Musical fashion show and luncheon. $60. Register.

11:30 a.m.  Improvisational Quilting, Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie, 299 Parkside Avenue, Trenton, 609-989-3632. www.ellarslie.org.

Workshop led by Mada Coles-Galloway and Juandamaire Gikandi. Register. 1:30 p.m.

Manufacturing a Revolution: Trenton, Winter of 1778, Old Barracks Museum, 101 Barrack Street, Trenton, 609-396-1776. Demonstrations by artisans and tradesmen. 10 a.m.

M�nday 3/30

Karaoke, Trenton Social, 449 South Broad Street, Trenton. www.facebook.com/trentonsocial. Hosted by Sweets. 9 p.m.

Art Chill Night, Championship Bar, 931 Chambers Street, Trenton. www.championshipbartrenton.com. Crayons and drinks. Art supplies provided. Free. 8 p.m.

Tuesday 3/31

Jam Night with Nikki and Caleb, Championship Bar, 931 Chambers Street, Trenton, 609394-7437. Live music. No cover. All skill levels welcome. 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Advertise for $49 a month. For more information, call 609-396-1511 ext. 110.

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16Trenton Downtowner March 2020