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RED BANK: A ‘TASTE’ SENSATION AT TWO RIVER

Taste of BroadwayThe reviews are in — and this past Saturday’s “Little Taste of Broadway” fundraiser at Two River Theater was rated “awesome” by attendees who enjoyed an evening of live music, Broadway-caliber entertainment and samplings of wares from Red Bank’s premier restaurants.  A presentation of the Navesink Business Partnership, the event raised funds for Red Bank’s Saint James Elementary School, through a cocktail reception in the theater lobby (pictured), hors d’oeuvres served up by students from Red Bank Catholic High School, and a high-voltage performance in the main auditorium by the dynamic singing and dancing professionals of The Broadway Dolls

RED BANK: CARNIVAL OF DREAMS

rbc carnival 050716 4lauterwasser defazio 050716Hoping to raise $15,000, Red Bank Catholic High School‘s Making Wishes Come True Club held its sixth annual fundraising carnival Saturday for the borough-based Jason’s Dreams for Kids, the not-for-profit organization founded in memory of Jason Douglas Craeger, a young boy who lost a battle with cancer in 1992. 

Overcoming a rainy start, the event drew hundreds of kids and parents with bounce attractions, auctions, and food provided by the local Police Benevolent Association and the volunteer fire department. We’ve got more photos from the event below.  (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

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RED BANK: CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME

anderson menna 050115Mayor Pasquale Menna, right, at last year’s inaugural Red Bank Mayor’s Charity Ball. The fundraiser returns to the Oyster Point Hotel on Friday as one of several benefit events around the borough this week. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

The month of May flowers into full effect with more than just greenery and colorful scenery — it’s also prime time for charity galas and other fundraising vehicles, dedicated to the benefit of some of our area’s hardest-working nonprofit organizations.

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RED BANK CATHOLIC HOSTS ANNUAL CARNIVAL

RBC_Version_Carnival_Postcard_2016Back in February of 2010, Red Bank Catholic High School science teacher Ashleigh Kennedy received the news that her daughter Kasey was afflicted with a serious medical condition — a diagnosis that saw the four-year old approached by Make-A-Wish® New Jersey, the nonprofit organization dedicated to fulfilling the dreams and wishes of Garden State children with life-threatening medical conditions.

As Kennedy recalls, Kasey’s wish was to NOT take her wish — but rather to raise funds to grant wishes for other children battling as she was. The young girl’s selfless decision inspired the school’s students to establish RBC Making Wishes Come True, a club dedicated to helping Kasey fulfill her wish by organizing an annual fundraising carnival. Five years after the first successful carnival, the event is still growing in popularity — and on Saturday, May 7, the parking lot of adjacent St. James Elementary School (30 Peters Place, between Broad Street and Maple Avenue) will one again serve as the site of the fun(d)raising fair, with all proceeds dedicated this year to a local charity for kids to whom a wish granted could make a big difference.

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RED BANK: DOLLS GO TO HEAD OF THE CLASS

Broadway DollsAs a lead actor in Broadway’s HAIRSPRAY, Hollie Howard (center) paid her dues, eight shows a week. As the co-star and creator of  The Broadway Dolls, the Colts Neck resident has assembled a troupe of young “triple threat” veterans from some of the biggest hits of the New York stage — and on Saturday, May 21, the Dolls will be the featured attraction for A Little Taste of Broadway, a benefit event presented by the Navesink Business Group and hosted at Two River Theater. A fundraiser for capital improvements at St. James Elementary School, the 6:30 p.m. affair boasts cocktails and food samplings from such Red Bank restaurants and purveyors as Teak, Bistro, Greek Eats, Dish, San Remo, The Cheese Cave, Lil’ Cutie Pops, and The Vintage Cake — in addition to a set of hits from crowdpleasing shows like WICKED, RENT, JERSEY BOYS and more. Take it here for tickets ($85), which include the show, tastings and (beer, wine, soda) beverages.

RED BANK ART STUDENTS WIN LOCAL CONTEST

artawards1Red Bank Regional art teacher Barbara Beckett (back row, left) is pictured with some of the sixteen RBR students who were among the winners of the 2015 Monmouth Day Care Journal Art Contest. Shown in the back row next to Ms. Beckett are Michael Eulner, Shrewsbury; Morgan McIntyre, Little Silver, and Bryan Aparicio. Left to right in the front row are Kelly Farley, Little Silver; Tiaunna Macon, Neptune City (grand prize winner in the high school category), and Lauren Bevacqua, Shrewsbury.

Press release from Red Bank Regional High School

Tiaunna Macon of Neptune City, a freshmen at Red Bank Regional High School, was the grand prize winner in the high school category for the Monmouth Day Care (MDC) Journal Art contest. Her art submission will appear as the ad for NJ Natural Gas inside this year’s MDC art journal, a major fundraiser for the non-profit day-center in Red Bank.

In addition to Tiaunna, the other two grand prize winners were third grader Madelyn Sanchez-Berr of Red Bank Primary School (primary school category), and seventh grader Troy Hill of St. James Elementary School (middle school category). All three grand prize winners were photographed by Danny Sanchez and pictured in the journal.

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