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NJ Today: Central Jersey Daily Rundown, Sunday, July 15

Brad Wadlow
Courier News and Home News Tribune
Xtreme Adventurers enjoy a day of kayaking in the Pine Barrens.

Register for summer teen program

The Somerset County Park Commission Environmental Education Center at 190 Lord Stirling Road in the Basking Ridge of Bernards has schedule a Naturalist-led kayak program to help children and adults enjoy the wonders of nature. Adventurers age 13 to 16 will travel to the Wading River in the Pine Barrens and learn how to exit a kayak and learn proper paddle skills from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 18. Fee is $75 per person; advance payment required. Register online at www.somersetcountyparks.org or call 908-722-1200, ext. 5002 NJ Relay at 711 for individuals with a hearing or speech impairment.

Learn about healthy lifestyles, cooking, mind-body medicine

Join Brandeis University Middlesex Chapter and enter the field of Culinary Medicine with Dr. Laura Micek-Galinat, board-certified in Family and Integrative Medicine at 1 p.m. Monday, July 16 at East Brunswick Public Library, 2 Jean Walling Civic Center. Learn more about healthy lifestyles, cooking and mind-body medicine from an expert in the emerging specialty. Dr. Micek-Galinat is assistant director of RWJBarnabas Somerset Family Practice, associate professor of Clinical Family Medicine at Rutgers RWJ Medical School and is one of the first 10 health professionals to receive certification as a Culinary Medicine Specialist. This program is free and open to the public. For more information about Brandeis or membership please contact Thelma at 732-257-4833.

Program for teens, tweens

Join the Hunterdon County Library, Route 12, Raritan Township from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 16 for a program that combines the best of art and Lego with a Minecraft theme. Presented by Bricks 4 Kidz and Young Rembrandts, the program is open to students enterting grades 1-6. Call 908-788-1432 to register. Space is limited.

Psychic fair on July 21

A psychic fair will be held from 11 a.m to 6 p.m. Saturday, July 21 at the Fairbridge Hotel, 195 Davidson Ave., Somerset section of Franklin. In attendance will be professional psychics and mediums doing readings such as astrology, tarot card, palmists, numerology, past-life readers, “crossing-over readings” (messages from the  departed), pet readings (communicating with your current or departed pet), etc. There will also be a large variety of crystals for sale. There is no admission fee. For more information call 973-723-8238.

Hispanic Business Expo on July 17

The Hispanic Business Expo will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday, July 17 at the Pines Manor in Edison. It is estimated that Hispanics contributed more than $1.3 trillion to the U.S. Economy in 2017. Connect your company to a growing market and showcase your business through networking, community outreach, referrals and brand awareness. Seminars at the expo will provide statistics and marketing programs. The expo will provide opportunities to meet influential Hispanic leaders and potential clients. Visit mcrcc.org/calendar-main/event/2591/ for more information.

IDEAL tools will be provided at all Turtle & Hughes events, but new in 2018, competitors will be allowed to use their own IDEAL tools for a leg-up on the competition.

Elite Tradesman National Championships

Test your skills this summer at a Turtle & Hughes office in Whippany (July 18),  Bridgewater (July 26) or Plainfield (August 21) when it hosts the Ideal Industries
Elite Tradesman National Championships. Throughout the competition, more than $600,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded by Ideal. All three Turtle & Hughes branches will host professional-level competitions from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.; contestants should arrive early to register and compete. They will be tested across five categories: pulling, cutting, stripping and terminating wire and performing a continuity test. The top five professional and student/apprentice teams from the United States and the top professional and student/apprentice team from Canada will also advance to the Championship Weekend. The top prize of $75,000 plus $5,000 in Ideal cash will be awarded to the individual who wins the professional category. To register for a Turtle & Hughes event, go to idealnationals.com or sign up at a branch the day of the competition. 

Teen program: Designing, decorating cupcakes 

The North County Branch Library, 65 Halstead St., Clinton will hold a program from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 19 for those in grades 6-12 to design and decorate their own cupcakes and vote for their favorite. After one week of voting at the library following the program, the cupcake creator with the most votes will receive a prize. Call 908-730-6834 to register.

Learn to play hand drums and boomwhackers

Take a free music lesson at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 25, at the Quail Brook Senior Center, 625 New Brunswick Road, Somerset section of Franklin. Participants will learn how to play the hand drums and boomwhackers (percussion tubes of various lengths that produce music) in a “Free-Flow Percussion” program. This go-with-the-flow program can be enjoyed by participants who march to the beat of their own drum, or anyone who wants to unlock their creativity and improve their health. Dana McCurdy and Dave Miller, drum facilitators and members of EarthMovers Drum Collective will teach the class. The registration deadline is Friday, July 20. To register, call 732-563-4213. The menu includes four different selections of both hot and cold meals, either with meat or meatless. There is a suggested donation of $2.50 for participants age 60 and above.

Middlesex Community Day on July 21

Middlesex Community Day will be held from 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday, July 21 at Mountainview Park (Middlesex High School field.). The event will feature local vendors, activities, live performances and a firework display. There will also be "The Fun Bus," a video game truck and a bounce house for children, as well as a food tent and a diverse lineup of live, local musicians performing on the main stage.

South Plainfield softball coach Don Panzarella was recently recognized for his historic accomplishment of breaking the New Jersey state record for all time wins as a head coach.

Panzarella congratulated on setting record

Eighteenth-District Democrats Sen. Patrick Diegnan, Assemblywoman Nancy Pinkin and Assemblyman Robert Karabinchak recognized legendary South Plainfield High School softball coach Don Panzarella and his family and friends in the Senate Chamber at the Statehouse in Trenton for his historic accomplishment of breaking the New Jersey record for wins as a head coach. Panzarella has been a coach at South Plainfield for 37 years and never had a losing season. He set the record on April 30 and the Tigers finished the season with a 17-8 record. His career record is 745-204, setting his win percentage at 79 percent. He has won eight sectional titles and three state group finals.

Learn how to 'ace the interview'

Looking for a new job? East Brunswick Public Library, 2 Jean Walling Civic Center, is here to help. The library offers a special program called “Acing the Interview” at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, July 21, which is designed to help jobseekers. The workshop shares the necessary tools to conduct successful interviews in person, on the phone or online. Learn how to think like the employer, prepare for the conversation, make a positive impression, and follow up effectively. The program is led by Sonal Shukla, an information specialist with experience in the fields of pharmaceuticals, healthcare, business and publishing. “Acing the Interview” is a free program; registration is recommended. To register, call the library at 732-390-6767 or go to the library’s online calendar at www.ebpl.org/calendar. For more information about upcoming New Jersey Career Connections programs at the library, visit www.ebpl.org.

Claude Monet landscape, "The Parc Monceau."

Illustrated talk at Bernardsville Public Library

Vivian Gordon, art historian and long-time lecturer in the Education Department at The Metropolitan Museum (The Met), will present an illustrated talk about the beautiful exhibition now on view at The Met, "Public Parks, Private Gardens: Paris to Provence," at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 19 at Bernardsville Public Library, 1 Anderson Hill Road. The show explores how revolutionary changes in French art of the 19th century coincided with great innovations in horticulture. New urban green spaces and country gardens inspired avant-garde artists some of whom, like Monet, became avid gardeners themselves. Paintings by Monet and his fellow Impressionists Pissarro and Cassatt, works by Cezanne, van Gogh and others are displayed along with photographs, prints, and garden tools of the time to show many popular masterpieces in context with contemporary parks and gardens. The exhibition is on view through July 29. Drawn from seven curatorial departments at The Met and supplemented by a selection of private collection loans, Public Parks, Private Gardens: Paris to Provence features some 150 works by more than 70 artists, spanning the late 18th through early 20th century. There is no charge to attend, but advance registration is requested. Register online at www.bernardsvillelibrary.org and follow the link from Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118.

READ: NJ Today: Central Jersey Daily Rundown, Saturday, July 14

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