ON THE GREEN: BOOMER, BEACH, BOOKS, BUCS
The annual End of Summer Party (above) marks a big-tent bid of adieu for the Sandy Hook Foundation next Friday…while NFL great Boomer Esiason (below) visits Broad Street for a cocktail party fundraiser at Garmany.
A late-summer sendoff out on the Hook…a BBQ kickoff to the gridiron season on the home-team turf…a star-studded celebration of life and fashion at a signature retailer…and a show of support for a hometown resource. All dedicated to raising funds for worthy causes, and all happening in the post-Labor Day interlude to come.
This coming Labor Day Monday, September 5 represents the deadline to reserve your ringside seat for the End of Summer — as declared by the nonprofit Sandy Hook Foundation in its annual casual-attire outdoor benefit gala, which returns on September 9 to the North Beach area of the Hook for a seasonal sayonara that commences at 6:30 pm. With tickets beginning at $150, proceeds benefit the Foundation’s ongoing preservation efforts as well as seasonal activities like the popular Free Beach Concert series, in addition to the environmental awareness and educational campaigns of the Fort Hancock-based American Littoral Society. Promised are “dancing under the stars” to live music from Swift Technique; a buffet dinner featuring seafood raw bar furnished by The Lusty Lobster, and an “amazing auction” of exclusive-experience getaway packages. Take it here for further details; here for tickets, and around the bend for more good deeds and good times.
Next Friday also marks the official start of the 2016 football season at Red Bank Regional High School, with a pre-game barbecue that keynotes the 7 p.m. match-up between the RBR Buccaneers and the Mustangs from JFK Memorial High School in Woodbridge. Presented by the RBR Buc Backer Foundation and The Source school-based youth services program, the 5:30 p.m. event (a tradition during home-field openers) will benefit both organizations, each of which works in many ways to support the school’s students, the Little Silver campus, and the families of the RBR community. Tickets ($10 adults; $5 students; free for kids under five) can be purchased here online, at the event, or by mailing a check to P.O Box 161, Little Silver, NJ 07739. For more info, email skeller.rbrhs.org or call (732)842-8000, ext. (1) 236.
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A four-time Pro Bowl player and NFL MVP, Boomer Esiason takes it to Red Bank clothier Garmany next Friday, September 9, for an inaugural fundraising event entitled “Garmany…Boom!” A celebration of life and fashion — and a fundraiser for the Boomer Esiason Foundation, the nonprofit project inspired by the Cystic Fibrosis diagnosis of the former Jets quarterback’s son Gunnar — the evening finds the host of Showtime’s Inside the NFL joined by two more players-turned-TV commentators, both with formidable stats in New York/ New Jersey pro ball: longtime Giants quarterback Phil Simms, and veteran Jets linebacker Bart Scott. Former SNL cast member (and frequent visitor to Red Bank, thanks to his professional association with borough-based Jazz Arts Project) Joe Piscopo serves as master of ceremonies for the 6:30 p.m. in-store event that features a cocktail gathering catered by celebrity chef Diane Henderiks, roaming bar areas featuring themed drinks sponsored by DIAGEO, a live auction, and a fashion show of men’s and women’s designer clothing. RSVP to andrew.weisbrot@garmany.com or go here for tickets ($250 per guest).
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For the past several years, the community resource that is Rumson’s privately funded Oceanic Free Library has navigated a “Raise the Roof” capital campaign to finance necessary repairs and improvements to the onetime Post Office building at 109 Avenue of Two Rivers. On Sunday, September 11, the library board declares that “We’ve Raised the Roof” — and honors builder and borough councilman Joe Hemphill — during a reception hosted at the equally historic Seabright Lawn Tennis and Cricket Club in Rumson. Running between 5 and 7:30 p.m., the event features wine, beer, hors d’oeuvres, live music, a silent auction, 50/50 drawing, and a special look at the Fall 2016 collection from the River Road location of J. McLaughlin Boutique. It’s “Ladies, please no heels in the clubhouse,” and tickets ($75) can still be reserved online here.