March
2002
DOWNTOWN
NEWSBITS
- Trenton
Downtown Association approves new executive director
Last
month, the Trenton Downtown Association's board of directors
unanimously voted to make 1991 Princeton University graduate
Matt Bergheiser the new executive director. Mr. Bergheiser is
slated to take on his new role this month, replacing David Schure,
who stepped down in October. Bea Scala-Fischler has served as
acting director in the interim.
"We
received a very thick pile of resumes," said TDA president
Chip Vaughn. "We had great candidates to choose from."
Most recently, Mr. Bergheiser has been vice president of entrepreneurial
programs for The Enterprise Center, a Philadelphia organization
that was selected National Business Incubator Association's
Incubator of the Year in 1999.
During his tenure at The Enterprise Center, Mr. Bergheiser was
responsible for recruiting more than 25 emerging companies to
Philadelphia. "Matt brings a great sense of new ideas,
new energy," added Mr. Vaughn. "We've brought him
in to bring in businesses and retain them here" in Trenton.
- Grounds For
Sculpture presents contemporary sculptors film series
Grounds
For Sculpture announced the establishment of a new educational
program available to visitors of the sculpture park. On Tuesdays
in February and March, Grounds For Sculpture is presenting the
Contemporary Sculptors Film Series-videos on a selected number
of artists whose works are on view in the museum and sculpture
park.
The video
presentations take place at 11 a.m. and again at 3 p.m. each
Tuesday on the mezzanine of the Domestic Arts Building. Videos
are approximately one and a half hours in length. Reservations
are not required. There is no cost to attend beyond the daily
admission fee.
The majority of the videos are not available anywhere else and
were taken at Grounds For Sculpture during its Artist Lecture
Series. The videotapes are made by Mike Matcho, a filmmaker
and photographer based in Lawrenceville.
Those attending
are welcome to walk in the beautifully landscaped, 22-acre sculpture
park to see more than 180 contemporary sculptures sited outdoors.
Fall/Winter 2001/2002 exhibitions continue through Sunday, March
24.
For more
information and directions, call 609-586-0616. You can also
visit the Web at www.groundsforsculpture.org.
- New Jersey
author to do book signing during March First Friday
Marie Calvin
Williams, author of One Woman, Two Men and the Interference,
will be at Café Olé Friday, March 1 from 5 p.m
to 7 p.m. Copies of her book will be available for purchase,
which you can have signed by the author.
One Woman,
Two Men and the Interference is described as a book about love,
comedy, drama, and straight-up realism. It features a successful
black woman, Mame Casey, who comes from the ghetto. While Mame
graduates from college and goes on to work for a major television
station in New York, she comes to realize that she is blessed
with mega success instead of true love. The book is about the
way she handles the things that come from that.
- "Kaleidoscope
Kids" brings families together at state museum
"Kaleidoscope
Kids," a Sunday-afternoon pastime for families and children
visiting the New Jersey State Museum, began in February and
will run through April. The workshops will feature programs
that focus on life in colonial New Jersey in conjunction with
the exhibition, "George Washington and the Battle of Trenton:
The Evolution of an American Image," as well as with African-American
culture and the exploration of scientific themes.
Each month begins with Sunday Family Day, featuring two or more
classes. The following Sundays are Discovery Days, consisting
of two workshops offered at 2 p.m. and repeated at 3 p.m. During
workshops, young people from ages six to 12 learn how to be
Young Explorers (kids who want to be archaeologists, study history,
or learn about the past); Young Ambassadors (kids who want to
travel the world, meet new people, and learn about other cultures);
and Young Scientists (kids who like to do experiments and learn
about dinosaurs and the natural world).
Students may schedule two different classes and participate
in a full afternoon of workshops for $2 per child. Parents may
participate for free. Kids who participate in a minimum of three
Sundays will receive a certificate showing their accomplishment,
and those who participate ten Sundays will receive a Kaleidoscope
Kids T-shirt.
Fleet Bank is the 2002 sponsor for the Kaleidoscope Kids program.
Pre-registration is recommended. For more information or directions
call 609-292-6464 or visit the museum's Web site at www.newjerseystatemuseum.org.
- Trenton
Battlefield Tours hits the streets of downtown
For two centuries Trenton has had the heritage of being one
of the nation's most important Revolutionary War battlefields.
Now there is an independent tour-guide service to show people
where it happened, street by street.
Trenton Battlefield Tours was formed by Ralph Siegel, 45, of
Mercerville, who has lived in the Trenton area, worked in it
and studied its historic attractions since 1977 when he enrolled
at Rider University.
Siegel offers a two-hour battlefield tour of the city along
Warren and Broad streets, an 11-block walk that includes the
Trenton Battle Monument and Mill Hill Park. The park is a key
point for the famous Dec. 26 battle in 1776 and for the second
battle seven days later.
Groups and parties can also arrange a four-hour motor tour of
Mercer County's "Victory Trail" following the movement
of the Continental Army from Washington's Crossing to Trenton
to Princeton, with walking tours at each of the three points.
Gen. George Washington's legendary crossing of the Delaware
River on Christmas led to the icy all-night march and the surprise
morning attack on elite regiments of German troops. The battle
monument, topped with a statue of the general, marks the crucial
position where the youthful Alexander Hamilton and Henry Knox
directed the cannon fire that dominated the battle.
Walking tours are by reservation for $35. The fee is $50 for
parties of six or more. The fee is $75 for the four-hour Victory
Trail driving tour beginning either at Washington Crossing,
Pa., or at the Princeton Battlefield State Park. It includes
walking tours of the famous Christmas crossing site, Trenton
and Princeton. The fee does not include transportation.
Special tours are scheduled on select Saturdays for only $5
including a cappuccino or coffee at Café
Olé,
126 South Warren Street. Groups meet at 9 a.m. for questions
and discussion. The tour gets underway at 10 a.m. The next one
of these Saturday specials is set for April 7.
Trenton Battlefield Tours can be reached at 609 584-1614. A
Web site is being set up at www.trentonbattlefieldtours.org.
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