Livingston Library’s community quilt features dozens of stories told in squares. The project, which began early this season, involved more than 200 participants ages 4 to 84, who were asked to use squares of fabric to express their love of reading or show their favorite author or book. After contributors were done drawing on the squares, teen volunteers and library staff members have spent much of the summer quilting the pieces. One of those volunteers is Helen O’Connor, an 11th grade student at Livingston High School. "It was really fun to work on the quilt," she said. "Jan Aji, who works…
The Livingston Fall Foot Festival (LFFF) volunteers have been collecting gently used and new shoes in Livingston and other nearby locations, for donation to Soles4Souls. On Sunday, they put their heart into the soles, sorting and bagging the donated shoes. Soles4Souls is a Nashville-based charity that provides shoes to the world’s less fortunate men, women, and children. Since 2005, the group has given away more than 14 million pairs of shoes to souls in over 127 countries, including the United States. Shoes are being collected in Livingston through Nov. 30 at the West Essex Tribune, Dubrows …
With more than 200 parishioners and members of the Parish Council in attendance, His Eminence Metropolitan Evangelos presided over a Church Blessing Ceremony at Ss. Nicholas, Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Roseland on Sunday morning. The ceremony, which included a Blessing of the Doors and Orthros, a morning prayer service, was followed by worshipers entering the new church for the first time. Inside, they listened to the liturgy and lit prayer candles. The opening of the church marks the final step in the unification of Saint Nicholas of Newark, the oldest Greek Orthodox …
Livingston discovered it speaks many languages on Sunday when neighbors gathered at the lawn of the West Essex YMCA for a festival celebrating the culture, food, music and dance of India. Asian Indians in Livingston/Sanskriti presented the India Fest to showcase the diverse arts and culture of India. Children who attend the Livingston Indian School performed dance and music. Prachi and Surya Makkar, who sing in four different languages – Hindi, Punjabi, Sanskrit and English – welcomed a large group by singing both the American and India national anthems. “This festival is important,” said …
John Anderson has been growing his hair since May to help raise money for kids with cancer. It was beginning to stick out funny under his baseball cap, so John was thankful on Saturday that it was finally time for a close shave. Anderson was one of more than 60 men, plus boys from Caldwell football and soccer teams, who went bald in support of St. Baldrick's Foundation, a charity for pediatric cancers, at the Shillelagh Club of West Orange. You could just about hear the buzz of the clippers over the band as barbers volunteering their own time gave each of the participants a close shave. …
Editor's Note: Alas, your Livingston Patch editor decided not to join her colleagues on this adventure. But I have to admit, it sure looks like fun. There was no monkey business for a group of Essex County Patch editors who swung across tress at Essex County Turtle Back Zoo's newest exhibit: the Treetop Adventure Course. Members of the media were invited on Monday for a sneak peek of the county's aerial obstacle course and zipline slated to open to the public on Saturday. The roughly three-acre space includes two aerial courses that each contain 12 obstacles. Each course finishes with a …
It was beautiful weekend for softball as parents and players packed their equipment bags and traveled to the Livingston National Little League & Softball fields to participate in the inaugural Livingston Fall Thunder Rumble Tournament. Beginning Friday night, girls’ softball teams battled it out for position and the right to play in the championship game on Sunday. Many older Thunder players came to staff the snack bar while coaches cooked food and groomed the fields. Indeed, many board members extended their shifts and watched along with other fans of softball who came to the fields to …
It was a perfect night for football: Chilly enough to be cozy in the stands under a blanket. Brisk enough for hot chocolate. And the crowd was loud and large as Millburn hosted Livingston under the stadium lights Friday night. The score was tied 14 at the half but Livingston’s Zach Wolkstein rushed 13 yards for a score with 2:48 remaining in the fourth quarter to give Livingston a 20-14 victory over Millburn. Wolkstein ended the night with 225 yards rushing with three touchdowns, the other two came in the first quarter from 11 and 10 yards out. Livingston finished the game with 256 total …
For the many new varsity players at Livingston, Tuesday's quad scrimmage at Union City's Roosevelt Stadium provided a glimpse of what to expect when the season begins in less than three weeks. While the scores and results from their scrimmages against Cliffside Park, Teaneck and Union City might not count in the record book, Lancers head coach Barry Kostibos believes the scrimmage (the first of three they will play), proved a valuable lesson to those who are just getting acclimated to the varsity level. "They learned that the game is faster," said Kostibos, whose team graduated 22 seniors …
Livingston has been a work zone this summer for road construction. Thank you to Russ Jones, the township’s deputy township manager, who took these photos of road projects as they were happening on Canterbury Road, Baldwin Terrace and Millbrook Court. On Canterbury, the project included curbing and grading by subcontractor S. Batata Construction. Drainage work happened by Baldwin Terrace and Millbrook Court by S. Brothers Contractors in South River. Other roadwork this summer included the Oval, which has been repaved. The big project happening now is Hillside Avenue, where sections are closed …
EDITOR'S NOTE: Keli Dougherty, of Ridgewood, had her camera ready at just the right time on Thursday night, and she was able to capture one of Zeus' bolts over the backdrop of the village. Closer to home, 13-year-old Sydney Becker describes the view from her bedroom window. More storms are predicted for Saturday. A lightning and thunder storm started a little while ago and it's SO COOL! My favorite part about my room is that the wall facing the backyard has a big window, so whenever there are storms like this I have the best view of them. I've been watching the storm for quite some time now. …
Not sure if they found any four-leaf clovers in the outfield of Riverfront Stadium, but there was dancing and bagpipes when the Newark Bears celebrated Irish Heritage Night, sponsored by New Jersey's oldest St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee and Irish Network NJ, the state's newest Irish-American organization. The evening included performances by the DeNogla School of Irish Dance and Eamonn Ryan, of the Eamonn Ryan Showband, who belted out the Irish and American National Anthems before the Newark Bears kicked off a game against the New York Federals. Newark Firefighters Pipe Band gave a …
Livingston’s National Night Out brought scores of residents to the Oval Tuesday night as it drew attention to police anti-crime efforts and delivered on its promise of fun for all. Kids took turns on a water slide and had fun on various inflatable rides. Those children who didn’t feel like bouncing enjoyed face painting, balloons, and carnival games. Adults casually perused safety/security demonstrations and stopped at tables for Livingston’s newly-formed Neighborhood Watch program, Livingston Patch, the American Red Cross, Grace Lutheran Church, LMAC, LYCS, WDHA radio, the Girl Scouts, and …
Going to a hospital can be a difficult experience for anyone, especially a child. Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston held its 5th annual Teddy Bear Clinic in order to ease kids' fears about the whole experience. More than 200 kids brought their favorite stuffed animals to the clinic, where they each received a "passport" with the animal's name. They then proceeded through a variety of different stations where they learned about x-rays, intravenous medications, hospital beds, proper hygiene, nutrition, exercise, and many more aspects of the hospital. The bears (and other animals) …
Livingston and Millburn may share a health department, but when it comes to bragging rights on the ball field, only one Town Hall was going home with the trophy. Thursday night on the Oval, the winner was Livingston, 8-5 in a game played to benefit the Public Assistance Agency both towns share. Livingston Township Manager Michele Meade said the friendly competition was “a great way to get out and get some exercise with our neighboring town.” Players and spectators were asked to bring a charitable donation to the game that will be distributed by each township's welfare department to residents …
What do Natalie Portman and Michael Pitt (Boardwalk Empire) have in common with Matt, Kimmi and Holly? Each trained in the performing arts with Randy Kravitz Elman or Mary Brienza when they were kids. This summer, Elman and Brienza teamed to launched the Musical Theatre Conservatory, a summer theater camp in Livingston for young performers ages 9-17. Classes included acting, theatre dance, vocal technique, and song interpretation as well as stage combat, TV/commercials, and auditioning. The encore was a cabaret at the Luna Theatre in West Orange, where the future stars performed numbers from …
If you catch them at the right angle, you could swear it was those fab lads onstage at Livingston High School -- Dirk, Stig, Nasty and Barry ... um,wait -- that was the Rutles. Oh well, I would have liked to have seen them onstage.But this is Beatlemania Again, a four-piece group that does its best to recreate the Fab Four's deceptively simple repertoire. The details are correct -- moptop wigs, black suits, beatle boots, Paul's Hofner bass, the way John holds his guitar up high and Ringo's slanted head and goofy grin. The man behind the bass is the most convincing physically, as he somewhat…
For seven years, Livingston resident Susan Larney has been sending box loads of personal items and letters to people she doesn’t even know. This dedication is focused on the soldiers serving overseas as she supports her favorite charity, AnySoldier.com. This year for her birthday, Larney rented out the Florham Park Roller Rink for an evening of skating and celebration, asking that in lieu of gifts, the attending families bring items that she will send to the troops. The charity provides support for military personnel stationed abroad through letters of support and items they miss from home…
It's a hot summer Sunday night in Jersey, the sun is setting, the lawn is filled with rock and roll fans and The Boss is in the gazebo, singing "Born In The USA." Alright, it's not actually Bruce, but it's not bad. The lead singer of the B Street Band comes reasonably close to the real thing and the musicians do too. The tunes are all familiar to any Springsteen fan -- "Born to Run," "Tenth Ave. Freezeout," "Candy's Room," Sherry Darling," "Fourth Of July, Asbury Park" and of course, "Jersey Girl." The band has been paying tribute to Jersey's king of rock for the past 31 years -- the "…
Harry Potter fans celebrated the imminent arrival of the last cinematic installment of the popular series by going through the paces of their own version of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at the Livingston Library. Including the teen volunteers, Karen De Wilde (the organizer of the event), estimated there were about 100 kids there. They spent the evening making potions, learning spells and defending themselves against the Dark Arts. They tried out for Quidditch and had their fortunes told. As it turns out, one young man is headed for Rutgers (eventually). Sadly, his friend is …
