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RED BANK: ALL’S FAIR AT SPRING EVENT

The spring edition of the Red Bank Street Fair returns this Sunday, when the downtown is transformed into a merry midway for the benefit of the PBA Local 39. (Photo by Peter Lindner. Click to enlarge)

[CORRECTION: The original version of this post reported that the spring Street Fair benefits the volunteer fire department, when in fact it’s for the Police Benevolent Association. The fire department fair is held in the fall. redbankgreen regrets the error.]

It’s a strolling/rolling smorgasbord of eat-on-the-go “fair fare,” a merry midway of rides, games and activities for the kiddies, and a bustling bazaar of retailers, crafters and service merchants. Even if the majority of vendors aren’t local, proceeds go to the worthiest of hyper-local causes: the charitable works of Red Bank Police Benevolent Association Local 39.

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RED BANK MAYOR’S BALL RETURNS MAY 6

anderson menna 050115Mayor Pasquale Menna, right with Carol and John Anderson at the first Mayor’s Ball, in 2015. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

Press release from Red Bank Mayor’s Ball Committee 

Mayor Pasquale Menna will be the host — and former Mayor Edward J. McKenna Jr. will serve as master of ceremonies — when the Red Bank Mayor’s Charity Ball returns to The Oyster Point Hotel for its second annual edition on Friday, May 6.

The event, which begins at 7 p.m., will honor retired public works supervisor and zoning board member Jesse Garrison (Humanitarian Award), the Count Basie Theatre (Cultural and Arts Award), the Red Bank Volunteer Fire Department (Historical Legacy Award), Philip J. Bowers & Co. (Urban Development Award), and Riverview Medical Center (Manufacturing and Technology Award). Red Bank RiverCenter, the Special Improvement District founded in 1991, will be recognized as it marks its 25th Anniversary.

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RED BANK: LIGHT THERAPY FOR BLACK FRIDAY

Tim and tree lighting with Karen CTim McLoone keynotes the season of lights in downtown Red Bank with the traditional Holiday Express outdoor concert on Black Friday.

tim-grinch-band-rblightingCharlie Brown, Ralphie, Rudolph – not a one ever concerned himself with the concept of “Black Friday” in their day. And when Red Bank celebrates its annual Holiday Express concert and Town Lighting this Friday night, it will do so with a curious new mission: to take back the purity, and the sanctity, of Black Friday.

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RED BANK: ALL’S FAIR OUT ON THE STREET

RB St FairStrolling street performers, busking troubadors and “Fair Fare” favorites are under the sun this Sunday, September 7, as the Red Bank Street Fair transforms the downtown district into a merry midway.

Is it a last-tango taste of that warm-weather interlude marked by Riverfests and Sidewalk Sales and music/movies in the park? Or, is it an early harbinger of that autumnal season of Oysterfests and Halloween Parades and Town Lighting singalongs?

The world may truly never get to the bottom of that controversy — but rather than brooding about it, why not enjoy the moment and stroll on over to the Red Bank Street Fair, the annual block party benefit for the Red Bank Fire Department that pitches its tents this Sunday, September 7. Between the hours of 11 am and 5 pm, the northernmost blocks of Broad Street and the easternmost portion of Monmouth Street will be closed to vehicular traffic, and commandeered by an event that promises “over 200 artists, crafters and vendors including many of your favorites.”

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MEGO READY FOR A YEAR IN TRAFFIC

megoJohn Mego, back in action. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

mego1It’s a school day, in the afternoon, and there’s traffic in Red Bank. For the most part drivers are quickly readjusting to the stop-and-go routine that comes with trying to get through town shortly after the last bell rings.

Most drivers are, but some aren’t. These people get John Mego’s hackles up.

“If people would just concentrate,” he says, then pauses to jump into the street to stop traffic so a group of girls can cross safely, then returns to the sidewalk, “I wouldn’t have gotten hit.”

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