By Donald Gilpin
Engineering and the arts will interweave in a variety of venues and manifestations April 12-13 on the Princeton University campus in a series of performances, panel sessions, and a keynote address by American sculptor and fiber artist Janet Echelman. The event is presented by Princeton University’s Council on Science and Technology (CST) and is co-hosted by Princeton’s School of Engineering and Applied Science and by the Lewis Center for the Arts. more
Cornerhouse Behavioral Health, in conjunction with the Princeton Alcohol and Drug Alliance and the Princeton Police Department, will hold a forum, “Vaping, What YOU Need to Know,” on Monday, April 30, 7-9 p.m. at Witherspoon Hall, 400 Witherspoon Street.
The program is designed to educate middle and high school parents, children, and other members of the community about what is happening in the world of e-cigarettes, or vaping. Linda Richter, director of policy research and analysis at the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, is the guest speaker. A panel discussion and question and answer session will follow her talk. more
Hamilton Jewelers will hold its annual event geared to brides and grooms on Saturday and Sunday, April 14 and 15. Ronnie Ross, brand ambassador for The Knot, will meet and greet couples to give advice and pointers about wedding planning.
In addition, Hamilton will be offering a $500 American Express Gift card with the purchase of an engagement ring of $5,000 or more, and 20 percent off all wedding bands for these two days only. Attendees are invited to get a complimentary couples portrait valued at $150. Champagne and truffles while be served, and guests will also receive a set of crystal champagne flutes with their purchase. They will also be registered to win a Samsung 65” Smart TV valued at $1,499, and will receive gifts from partners such as Metropolis Spa & Salon, Viburnum Designs, Grounds for Sculpture, Janet Makrancy, and more. more
By Stuart Mitchner
In the speech he delivered the night before the day he died, Martin Luther King imagined taking a “mental flight” across the Red Sea “through the wilderness on toward the promised land” to Greece and Mount Olympus, the Roman Empire, the Renaissance, then to Wittenberg and Martin Luther, to Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, and to the 20th century, “the bankruptcy of the nation,” and Memphis, Tennessee. more
Scottish artist Carolyn Scott will present her photographs of the diverse community of Princeton in a week-long exhibition at the Center of Theological Inquiry (CTI) from Sunday, April 15 to Friday, April 20, opening each day at the Center’s Luce Hall, 50 Stockton Street, from 1 to 4 p.m. more
Photos from Cranbury digital Camera Club (CdCC) photographers are on display at the Gourgaud Gallery, located at Cranbury Town Hall, 23-A North Main Street in Cranbury, through April 27. The photos selected by the photographers for the show depict various themes and subject matter. The photographers are from Cranbury, Hightstown, Monroe, West Windsor, and other communities in Central New Jersey. Their work has been on display at various galleries throughout New Jersey. more
By Kam Williams
It is 2045, a time when the planet has devolved into a desolate dystopia that is a combination of pollution, overpopulation, poverty, corruption, and global warming. Most of humanity lives in slums where they escape their misery by disappearing, via virtual reality, into the Oasis, a parallel universe co-created by James Halliday (Mark Rylance) and Ogden Morrow (Simon Pegg). Halliday is now in control of Oasis and Morrow is no longer associated with the firm.
The picture’s point of departure is an unrecognizable Columbus, Ohio, that is a devastated metropolis that has been reduced to a wasteland of vertical “stacks,” i.e. mobile homes that are piled on top one another. We meet Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan), who is an orphaned teen who has been taken in by his Aunt Alice (Susan Lynch). more
Eve Niedergang, candidate for Princeton Council, will officially kick off her campaign on Sunday, April 15, at 1 p.m. at a rally in Tiger Park on Palmer Square. The public is encouraged to attend.
Niedergang, whose campaign motto is “Building Community Together,” is committed to actively engaging with Princeton residents to better understand their concerns and to work together to solve the issues that challenge all Princeton residents. Priorities include ensuring that Princeton is welcoming and affordable for all, identifying sensible growth solutions to address Princeton’s affordable housing needs, and maintaining Princeton’s commitment to environmental sustainability. more
By Bill Alden
Even though Michael Sowers was playing in just the 24th game of his career with the Princeton University men’s lacrosse team when the Tigers hosted Stony Brook last Saturday, the 5’8, 165-pound dynamo already looms large in program history.
As a freshman, Sowers set a Princeton single-season record with 82 points on 41 goals and 41 assists in 15 appearances. more
By Bill Alden
For the Princeton University softball team, its loss to Dartmouth in the second game of a three-game set with the Big Green last weekend served as a microcosm of a rough start to the 2018 campaign.
The Tigers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning in the contest on Friday and then, after surrendering three runs, battled back to make it a 3-3 ballgame heading into the fourth. Dartmouth, though, answered with two runs in the top of the next frame and added one each in the last three innings to pull away to a 8-6 win. more
In building the Princeton University men’s heavyweight rowing squad into one of the deepest programs in the nation, Greg Hughes has focused more on instilling a work ethic than stockpiling athletes.
“It is not just about your talent and ability, it is about development,” said Princeton head coach Greg Hughes. “It is one of those intangible things about sports that we as a society learn. It doesn’t come down to a one-off or just getting lucky. Consistent, steady, day-to-day hard work over time will yield results.” more
By Bill Alden
Having scored a total of six goals in losing its first two games this season, the Princeton High boys’ lacrosse team was looking to break out when it hosted Pennington last Thursday.
“We are just working to come together on offense,” said PHS junior attackman Alex Park. more
By Bill Alden
It took a while for Oliver Crane to develop a passion for rowing.
“I first experienced crew at Mercer Rowing Club in eighth grade, but I didn’t really row much then,” said Crane, a resident of Lawrenceville.
“All through middle school my main sport was ice hockey, but I ended up getting five concussions so I couldn’t do contact sports anymore. I ended up doing cross country and rowing at Peddie and fell in love with rowing after that.” more
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The Second Annual Jim Thorpe Independent Film Festival organizers are thrilled to announce this year’s opening night feature film is BLAZE (2018), co-written and directed by Ethan Hawke, starring Ben Dickey, Alia Shawkat, Josh Hamilton, and Charlie Sexton.
BLAZE is inspired by the life of Blaze Foley, the unsung songwriting legend of the Texas outlaw music movement that spawned the likes of Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson. The film weaves together three different periods of time, braiding re-imagined versions of Blaze’s past, present and future. The different strands explore his love affair with Sybil Rosen; his last, dark night on earth; and the impact his songs and death had on his fans, friends, and foes. The braided storyline terminates in a bittersweet ending that acknowledges Blaze’s profound highs and lows, as well as the impressions he made on the people who shared his journey.
JTIFF will present 93 films from 17 countries, eight world premieres, 16 East Coast premieres, 30 Pennsylvania premieres, and eight Lehigh Valley premieres on a 30-foot screen. The selections were culled from more than 750 submissions of every genre and subject – from gritty underground and experimental fare to bigger Hollywood level films.
By Anne Levin
Last week’s announcement that the transfer of ownership of Westminster Choir College from Rider University to Beijing Kaiwen Educational Technology Company is taking longer than expected came as no surprise to those who have been opposed to the move. University President Gregory G. Dell’Omo’s letter to the school community said that the $40 million deal is behind schedule, meaning Rider will continue to run Westminster for the next school year. more
By Donald Gilpin
Andrew Weber, former assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical, and biological defense programs, and two student leaders for gun safety, Princeton High School senior Dziyana Zubialevich and Princeton University freshman Ben Bollinger, will be featured at a Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA) gathering on Sunday afternoon, April 8, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton on Cherry Hill Road. more
By Anne Levin
Not so many decades ago, the town of Princeton was surrounded by farmland. While much of that rural acreage is now home to housing developments and office parks, some open space still remains. And Friends of Princeton Open Space (FOPOS) wants to keep it that way.
At the organization’s annual meeting on Sunday, April 15, Mark Brownlee of ArcheWild will address the topic with “Investing in our Land: Deriving Real Economic Value for Ourselves and our Community.” Brownlee, principal and head ecologist of the ecological restoration company and native plant nursery, will outline the options for maintaining the parcels that remain, while possibly realizing some financial benefit. more
By Donald Gilpin
The bog turtle (glyptemis muhlenbergii), one of the smallest and rarest turtles in North America, is on its way to becoming the first state reptile, if a bill promoted by Princeton Public School students and their teachers and sponsored by State Senator Christopher “Kip” Bateman becomes law. more
By Donald Gilpin
Researching climate change pressure on marine ecosystems, or lung function in 9/11 first responders, or protein design and antibiotic resistance, or memory and learning and Alzheimer’s disease, or liver cancer and cancer immunotherapy in the setting of some of the top university science laboratories in the country do not sound like typical high school science class experiences.
They’re not, but they are among the internship experiences that the seven Princeton Day School (PDS) juniors in Carrie Norin’s new REx Program are looking forward to this summer. more
By Anne Levin
The four authors who will speak at the Salon on Stockon literary festival on April 13-14 have one major thing in common: war.
British journalists Sally Magnusson, Neal Ascherson, Lynne Olson, and Christopher Dickey — prominent authors all — have each covered wars, and lots of them. So it made sense for the organizers of the third annual festival to present them together, in an event that begins Friday evening, April 13 and continues throughout the following day, at the Center for Theological Inquiry (CTI) on Stockton Street. more
Visual Arts students at Mercer County Community College (MCCC) display their varied talents as the Gallery at Mercer presents its annual “Visual Arts Student Exhibition.” This exhibit, which features the best works by MCCC students, runs through Thursday, May 3. It is free and open to the public. more
By Jean Stratton
“Everyone may have a camera, but not everyone knows how to see,” explains Alan Kesselhaut. “A famous photographer once said, ‘The pictures are out there. We have to learn how to see them.’”
Adds Barbara Cuneo, “A good photographer has to notice.”
They should know!
Owners of Princeton Photo Workshop, Kesselhaut and Cuneo opened their firm in 2013, after a successful career in the construction business. more
