This Week in the Heights: JC Fab Lab Grand Opening, Jan. 15th
January 13, 2015
Things are happening here in the Heights!
We’re excited to be able to spread the word about JC Fab Lab, a new community space and workshop for designing, creating, and learning. The Lab is celebrating its public launch this week with a grand opening and open house. Here are the details…
WHEN: Thursday, January 15, 2015
WHERE: 195 New York Avenue, 4th Floor
WHAT: A full day of activities, including a free Make-a-Boat workshop for kids, artist’s talks, food by Livestock JC, music by the Swingadelic Trio (brought to us by RiverviewJazz.org), and a ribbon-cutting with Mayor Steven Fulop.
Jersey City Heights Shop Hop on Saturday, November 29th
November 26, 2014
In honor of Small Business Saturday, three local businesses have teamed up for a one-day “shop hop” right here in the Heights. The participating businesses are Yoga in the Heights, 942 Summit (a new collaborative workspace/storefront shared by Do You Tea?, Bloomsbury Sq, and Whos Gluten Free), and Shakti Boutique. These small Heights businesses (some of which you already know from the Riverview Farmers Market!) are encouraging their patrons and neighbors to visit on Saturday and to shop local for the holidays.
Yoga in the Heights will be hosting 10 local artisans from Jersey City and Hoboken in their studio:
Handmade Rugs by Jessica Ashen
(Yoga in the Heights’ Pop-Up Holiday Boutique will be open through the end of December, so if you don’t make it out on Saturday, swing by in December!)
942 Summit and Shakti Boutique will be selling their usual great products and have also invited additional local artisans to sell crafts at their shops for this event.
Addresses:
Yoga in the Heights, 317 Central Avenue (at Griffith Street), 2nd floor (over Payless)
Shakti Boutique, 107 Bowers Street (betw. Central Ave. and Cambridge)
942 Summit Avenue: 942 Summit Ave. (at Zabriskie Street)
We will update with any additional details we hear! We look forward to running into many of you at this exciting new event.
Winter Market CSA with Nature’s Own Farm
November 19, 2014
Have you enjoyed shopping this year with Scott of Nature’s Own? Do you like his Jersey-fresh produce, free-range eggs, grass-fed beef, and pastured chicken?
Well, the Riverview Farmers Market may be wrapping up its 2014 season on November 23rd, but you can continue to purchase all these good things from Scott throughout the winter!
November 2, 2014: Day of the Dead Festival at the Market
October 28, 2014
Sunday, November 2nd will be a festive day at the Riverview Farmers Market! It is our last Sunday with live music and children’s activities, and we’re marking the date with a Day of the Dead celebration.
Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos, is a Mexican holiday also observed in other areas of Latin America and in the United States. It honors dead loved ones with colorful decorations and family gatherings. Beautiful altars called ofrendas are made in each home. The altars are decorated with candles, buckets of flowers (especially marigolds), mounds of fruit, peanuts, plates of turkey mole, stacks of tortillas and large circular breads called pan de muerto. Toys and candies are left for the spirits of children, and cigarettes and shots of mezcal are offered to the adult spirits. Small folk art skeletons and sugar skulls, purchased at open-air markets, provide the final touches.
For more information and pictures, check out our Facebook event page! You can also read more about Day of the Dead here.
On Sunday, please bring copies of photos (not original photos!) of loved ones, friends, or famous people you would like to honor, to be added to the altar from 9:30 am throughout the day.
Thanksgiving Season at the Market: Turkey and Pie Orders
October 26, 2014
Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, November 27th this year…and since the Riverview Farmers Market has been extended through Sunday, November 23rd, you’ll be able to do your Thanksgiving shopping locally!
We’re happy to announce that Stony Hill Farms will be selling turkeys and holiday pies at the Market. Orders must be placed by November 16th. The turkeys are raised cage-free at Ashley Farms in Flanders, New Jersey and are free of growth hormones, antibiotics, and preservatives. They will sell for $3.39 per pound. The selection of pies includes traditional apple and pumpkin, peach-blueberry and apple-berry, sugar-free pies, and more. All pick-ups will take place at the Stony Hill booth at the Riverview Farmers Market.
Stop by and ask our Stony Hill friends for more information this Sunday, and place your order!
In addition, the Market will continue to offer NJ-grown produce from Alstede Farms and Nature’s Own, nuts and olives from Gourmet Nuts & Dried Fruits, freshly baked pies, cakes, and other sweets from Gina’s Bakery, barbecue sauces and salad dressings from Uncle Bud, and more.
Start making your Thanksgiving list now! See you soon.
Save the Date: *Free* African Dance Class at the Market on October 26
October 15, 2014
On Sunday, October 26, the Riverview Farmers Market will be hosting a free African dance class led by choreographer Ismael Kouyate, who is best known for his work on the Broadway musical Fela!.
From Ismael Kouyate’s Facebook page:
Ismael Kouyate was born in Guinea, West Africa to a long line of ‘Griots’, the oral historians that preserve the history and culture of Africa through songs, stories, music and dance.
He began dancing professionally at the age of 12, when he was recruited by Les Percussions de Guinee’ to perform in their international tour, which included Europe and Asia.
Upon his return in 2004, he was requested to join Ballets Africains *(The National Dance Company of Guinea, see below) for their 50th Anniversary Tour of the US, Jubilee!
He amazed audiences throughout the US on the tour and was contracted by the team of Fela! to serve as a Master Choreographer for the production. His talent and skills landed him a principal role in the play…
He has been with Fela! Since 2008, from its humble off-Broadway roots to its international tours which included a series of performances in 2011 in Nigeria, at the actual “Shrine.” The production was such a hit, that due to the overwhelming response of the Nigerian community, they were asked to stay an additional two weeks, performing to sold-out audiences nightly.
Also in 2011, Ismael was sought out to do a special on CNN about Africa in America. His class of over 100 people ecstatically learned and modeled his movements, while speaking of their excitement to study from this legend of Guinea, many of whom had heard of him in their travels abroad.
(He has also worked with Beyonce!)
The class will begin at noon on the 26th.
Many thanks to Tatiana Smith for coordinating this neighborhood event!
Click here to watch a video of Ismael Kouyate.
Announcement: Market Season Extended into November!
October 12, 2014
The weeks are passing, the weather is turning, and we’re approaching the end of the Riverview Farmers Market’s 2014 season… or are we?
In response to requests from our shoppers and our vendors, the Market will be extended three weeks further into November. The final Market date will be Sunday, November 23rd. Those three additional Sundays will give us a chance to partake in all the autumn bounty that our vendors have to offer. You can even do your Thanksgiving shopping!
Market hours on November 9th, 16th, and 23rd will be 10 am – 2 pm.
What the Market will not include after November 2nd, due to the likeliness of cold and/or windy weather: children’s activities, live music, or other programs. There also will not be any set-up of park tables and chairs. However, our wonderful Market manager, Olga, will still be present to answer any questions during Market hours.
We look forward to seeing you in Riverview-Fisk Park on these extra autumn Sundays at the Market!
Riverview Community Garden’s Composting Program
September 16, 2014
Our neighbors at the Riverview Community Garden are raising funds to launch a community composting program, and they’re asking us all to participate in their fundraising for a new three-bin system and other needs! “Do you want to help our garden’s efforts to stop filling up our landfills with useful organic matter and help grow more nutritious food in the process? Do you want to compost but don’t have the space to do so? Oh what to do with all those egg shells, coffee grounds, fall leaves, scraps of veggies and fruit?
We wish to expand Jersey City Heights residents’ trash options with the creation of the Riverview Community Garden – RCG Community Composting Program. By setting up a neighborhood exchange between our garden and those who do not have space for composting or for those who desire a drop off point…we can turn organic waste or what many consider to be trash… into compost gold!”
You can read the rest of their project description and make a donation through Kickstarter at this link. Take a look, and please consider contributing to this important initiative to make The Heights a greener, cleaner place for all of us.
Community Event: Washington Park Live! on September 20
September 14, 2014
Washington Park Association is one of our fellow neighborhood organizations in Jersey City Heights, and we’re looking forward to their big annual community event: Washington Park Live! on Sunday, September 20th, 2014 from 10 am to 6 pm.
You can read all about this year’s festival here — there will be live music, an art exhibition, children’s activities, a beer-garden, food vendors, and much more happening throughout the day!
And, most importantly — WPA is looking for volunteers to assist with this community event. They’re looking for help in the following areas and shifts:
Set-up from 7AM to 10AM: moving and placement of tables and chairs, putting up tents, setting up and posting participant signage, hanging event signage, checking participants in and showing them to their location and more…
And these shifts: 10 to 12, 12 to 2, 2 to 4, 4 to 6
WPA is hosting 2 more volunteer training sessions on Thursday and Friday from 7 to 8 pm. (Volunteers only need to attend one session, not both.) The purpose of the training is to be introduced to the event layout and everything that’s going on during the event. If you can’t make the training you can still volunteer!!! They won’t turn away any walk-in volunteers the day of the festival.
Market Focus: Desserts!
September 8, 2014
We talk a lot about all the healthy food options that the Riverview Farmers Market has to offer, including Jersey-fresh fruits and vegetables, grass-fed meats, free-range eggs, veggie-burgers, and more. At the same time, we believe that dessert — especially dessert that’s been freshly made by local businesses — is an important part of life!
