March 12, 2025

Wine and Comedy at Old York Road Cellars

Wine and Comedy Nights at Old York Cellars in Ringoes is back for the 10th season, hosted by local comic Helene Angley. Comics Buddy Fitzpatrick and Chris Monty will headline the first two shows on April 5 and 19, in the heated tent in the vineyard.

Fitzpatrick performs around the country and has appeared on Comedy Central, ABC and A&E. He was most recently featured in Steven King’s horror-romance best-seller adaptation of “Lisey’s Story” on Apple TV+.  Monty’s recent projects include an Amazon Prime comedy special “What’s the Worst That Could Happen,” and appearances in HBO’s “Vinyl” and Amazon Prime’s “Red Oaks.” Host Angley is featured in comedy clubs around the country and on cruise ships around the world. more

Lutist Thomas Dunford Does “Up Close” Concerts

On Sunday, March 23, at 3 and 6 p.m., lutist Thomas Dunford will return to Princeton University Concerts (PUC) in a set of hour-long appearances for the Performances Up Close series in Richardson Auditorium. The audience is seated on stage in these informal events.

Following his appearance with the Jupiter Ensemble as part of PUC’s 2022-23 season, Dunford returns with a solo program of works by J. S. Bach, Joan Ambrosio Dalza, John Dowland, Girolame Kapsberger, Marin Marais, and Erik Satie.

“We are thrilled to have Thomas Dunford back,” said PUC Director Marna Seltzer. “He is a rock star in the world of early music, and one of many musicians on our series who is not only a fierce ambassador for their instrument but also a consummate musician. We look forward to hearing his sensitive and exciting playing in our Up Close format.” more

Blending East and West at Upcoming Concert

BLENDING CULTURES: Chinese pipa master Jin Yang is the guest soloist with the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra at the Princeton Alliance Church on Sunday, March 16.

The Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra, under its conductor Chiu-Tze Lin, will present a concert, “Bending of the East and West,” on March 16, at 7 p.m. at the Princeton Alliance Church, 20 Schalks Crossing Road, Plainsboro.

The program will feature the Chinese Pipa Master Jin Yang. This collaboration of a Chinese folk instrument soloing with a western classical symphony orchestra is a one-of-a-kind event designed to bring a unique experience in sound. more

“The Marvelous Mr. Meusel” By the Dryden Ensemble

EARLY MUSIC: Lutenist Daniel Swenberg, new artistic director of the Dryden Ensemble, is among the musicians on the program Sunday, March 16 at Princeton Theological Seminary.

The Dryden Ensemble returns with its new artistic director, Daniel Swenberg, in a program entitled “En Concert: The Marvelous Mr. Meusel “ on Sunday, March 16 at 4 p.m. at the Princeton Theological Seminary Chapel, 64 Mercer Street. Admission is free, though donations will be accepted.

In the early 18th century, lute and harpsichord players would often arrange and expand their solo repertoire for an ensemble.  This genre or approach to repertoire is known as playing “En Concert.”  The melody lines of a plucked-instrument solo piece would be doubled by a violin, oboe, or flute and the bass line would be reinforced by a cello or viola da gamba. more

Orchestra Announces Lineup For Season at Richardson

CONCERTOS AND MORE: Grammy-winning pianist Michelle Cann is among the guest artists on schedule for the Princeton Symphony Orchestra’s 2025-26 season, which opens October 25-26. (Photo by Titilayo Ayangade)

The Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) has announced its 2025-26 Season with a line-up of guest artists assembled by Edward T. Cone Music Director Rossen Milanov. Violinist Aubree Oliverson returns to the PSO stage along with violinist Bella Hristova, who last performed with the orchestra in 2014. Pianists Maxim Lando and Michelle Cann, harpsichordist Mahan Esfanhani, and Serbian-French cellist Maja Bogdanovic will each be appearing with the PSO for the first time at Richardson Auditorium.

On the program are concertos by Antonín Dvorák, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Edvard Grieg, and Camille Saint-Saëns, as well as the world premiere of a new work for harpsichord and small orchestra by Princeton-based composer Julian Grant. Additional contemporary compositions include Dobrinka Tabakova’s Orpheus’ Comet, Andreia Pinto Correia’s Ciprés, Jessie Montgomery’s Records from a Vanishing City, and Viet Cuong’s Extra(ordinarily) Fancy. more

Artist Victor E. Bell Celebrates Rescue Dogs

CELEBRATING RESCUE DOGS: The Arts Council of Princeton’s Spring 2025 Anne Reeves Artist-in-Residence Victor E. Bell celebrates his love for rescue dogs through ceramic “dogoyles,” to be on view throughout the community this spring.

The Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) has announced Victor E. Bell as their Spring 2025 Anne Reeves Artist-in-Residence.

Bell loves dogs — especially rescue dogs — and the unconditional love we receive from them. He also loves his Princeton community, and so the idea for “dogoyles” — a magical mix of dog, dragon, and gargoyle — was born. Bell crafts these whimsical ceramic sculptures specifically for locations throughout town that have special meaning to him and many in our community. His finished sculptures will be on view beginning in late May. more

Regreening Through Art

Works by Spriha Gupta are on view in the Solley Lobby at the Arts Council of Princeton, 102 Witherspoon Street, through March 29. Gupta will be part of a Women’s History Month Artist Talk being hosted by Judith K. Brodsky in the Taplin Gallery on March 15 from 1 to 2 p.m. For more information, visit artscouncilofprinceton.org.

GFS Receives More Than $100K in Grants

“THE NINE MUSES”: This work by Carlos Dorrien can be found at Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton, which was recently awarded more than $100,000 to support three key initiatives. (Photo by David Michael Howarth Photography)

Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) in Hamilton has been awarded significant grants from The Bunbury Fund at the Princeton Area Community Foundation, The Horizon Foundation of New Jersey (The Horizon Foundation), and M & T Charitable Foundation (M &T). As a result of this funding, GFS will continue its capacity building work; pilot a social prescribing program through a partnership with Penn Medicine Princeton Health (PMPH); and bolster its participation in the Families First Discovery Pass Program (FFDP), which underwrites tickets to GFS for low-income families and individuals in New Jersey. Together, these three initiatives will contribute to the sculpture park’s strategic vision by sustaining and enriching its commitment to building communities and growing connectivity with its visitors.

“We’re delighted these three foundations are generously supporting Grounds For Sculpture,” said Gary Garrido Schneider, GFS executive director. “While we continue to build our organizational capacity, we’ll also be able to provide more visitors with the opportunity to experience the joy and restorative power of our art-filled gardens.”  more

Original High Quality Designs are the Specialty at T. Foster & Co. Fine Jewelry Design in Yardley

BEST IN THE WORLD: Suzanne and Tim Foster, owners of T. Foster & Co. Fine Jewelry Design, are shown in the venue of The GemGeneve Jewelry and Gem Show in Switzerland. “This premium trade event showcases the finest vendors of diamonds, colored gems, and pearls in the world, and it is attended by the major jewelry designers and manufacturers in the world,” explain the Fosters, who will attend the annual event this spring.

By Jean Stratton

What is your choice?

A ring featuring a design of understated, yet sparkling elegance?

A bold and dramatic necklace, showcasing vibrant color and flair?

A classic strand of exquisite South Sea pearls?  more

Peters Extends His Career with Senior Day Outburst As PU Men’s Hoops Routs Penn, Makes Ivy Madness

READY FOR THE MADNESS: Princeton University men’s basketball player Blake Peters dribbles upcourt in a game earlier this season. Last Saturday, senior guard Peters scored a career-high 25 points to help Princeton defeat Penn 95-71 and clinch the final spot in the upcoming Ivy Madness postseason tournament. The Tigers, now 19-10 overall and 8-6 Ivy, are seeded fourth in Ivy Madness and will face top-seeded Yale (20-7 overall, 13-1 Ivy) in a semifinal contest on March 15 in Providence, R.I. The victor will advance to the final on March 16 to play for the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

It was Senior Day for Blake Peters as the Princeton University men’s basketball team hosted Penn last Saturday afternoon and he wanted to make sure it wasn’t his last game in a Princeton uniform.

With a win over the rival Quakers clinching the final spot in the upcoming Ivy Madness postseason tournament without the need for results in other games to go their way, Peters and the Tigers were determined to take care of business. more

With Juniors Allen, Roberts Spearheading Defense, PU Women’s Lax Routs Harvard 20-6 in Ivy Opener

GAIL FORCE: Princeton University women’s lacrosse player Abigail Roberts, left, goes after the ball in recent action. Last Saturday, junior defender Roberts came with up six draw controls, two ground balls, and one caused turnover to help Princeton defeat Harvard 20-6 in its Ivy League opener. The Tigers, who have won five games in a row and are now 5-1 overall, play at Rutgers (5-2) on March 12. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Justin Feil

The Princeton University women’s lacrosse team thought it could have a pretty good defense this year.

Dylan Allen and Abigail Roberts were two of the main reasons. more

Mulshine Helps Key Superb Defensive Performance As PU Men’s Lax Stifles Rutgers, Wins Meistrell Cup

SHINING STAR: Princeton University men’s lacrosse player Colin Mulshine, right, clamps down on a Rutgers player last Saturday night. Senior defender Mulshine helped Princeton stifle the Scarlet Knights as the Tigers prevailed 11-5 to earn the Harland (Tots) Meistrell Cup. The Tigers, now 4-1 and ranked No. 2 by Inside Lacrosse, play at No. 6 Cornell (4-1) on March 15 in the Ivy League opener for both squads. (Photo by Steven Wojtowicz)

By Bill Alden

Colin Mulshine likes the way the defensive unit for the Princeton University men’s lacrosse team has come together over the first month of the season.

“This is the closest group I have been a part of throughout my years,” said Princeton senior star defender Mulshine. “We are just looking to keep that going and grow even stronger. We are a lot more connected. We are starting to play as a unit, we talk about that all of the time.” more

PU Men’s Hockey Falls at Brown In ECACH Playoffs But Tigers Showed Progress in Syer’s Debut at the Helm

By Bill Alden

As the Princeton University men’s hockey team played at Brown last Friday in an ECAC Hockey playoff single-elimination first round contest, the Tigers kept firing away to the final seconds literally.

Trailing eighth-seeded Brown 3-1 in the waning moments of the contest, ninth-seeded Princeton got a goal from Kevin Anderson with 4.1 seconds left in regulation to make it a 3-2 game. Time ran out on the Tigers as they couldn’t get off another shot and their season came to an end.

“The guys just never quit,” said Princeton head coach Ben Syer, whose team ended the winter with a 12-15-3 record. “I think that is a trademark of this group. You had guys step up in different ways. David Jacobs was playing on one leg this weekend. There was no quit and that is something our entire staff is extremely proud of about this particular group.” more

Battling Hard in OT Loss to Don Bosco in State Quarters, PDS Boys’ Hockey Fell Just Short of Breakthrough Win

RUSHING FORWARD: Princeton Day School boys’ hockey player Jake Harrison controls the puck in a game last season. Junior forward Harrison starred as the Panthers went 10-9-1 this winter and advanced to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public state quarterfinals. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Coming into the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public state tournament, the Princeton Day School boys’ hockey team was primed to finally make a run to the final four.

Sixth-seeded PDS got off to a good start, cruising to a 5-2 win over 11th-seeded St. Joseph (Metuchen) in a first round contest. more

PHS Senior Wrestling Star Mele Makes History, Winning First-Ever Boys’ State Title for Tigers

TOP POSITION: Princeton High star wrestler Blasé Mele, top, controls Pope John’s Donny Almeyda on the way to defeating him 7-1 in the 144-pound final last Saturday at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) State Wrestling Championships in Atlantic City. Mele is the first boys’ state champion in PHS history, and became only the fourth boy champion from Mercer County. (Photo provided by Jess Monzo)

By Justin Feil

Blasé Mele’s drive home from Atlantic City was different this year.

For the past years, it had been a return after falling short of his hopes in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) State Wrestling Championships, but it was different after the Princeton High senior captured the 144-pound weight class Saturday. more

March 5, 2025

Looking Sharp

The Princeton Barber Shop was busy last Thursday as several customers stopped in for a haircut on a rainy day. (Photo by Thomas Hedges)

Bird Flu Outbreak Prompts Health Department Guidance

By Anne Levin

Avian influenza, better known as bird flu, has shown up in Princeton. The positive test of a deceased bald eagle, found near Prospect Avenue and Lake Carnegie in December 2024, was announced by the municipality on February 28.

According to the press release issued that day, there are no known exposures to humans or pets in Princeton. But the situation is being monitored.

“The Princeton Health Department is urging residents and poultry owners to take precautions following a recent outbreak of H5N1, or avian influenza,” reads the release. “H5N1 is a highly contagious airborne respiratory virus that spreads easily among birds through nasal and eye secretions, and manure. The New Jersey Department of Health continues to respond to the ongoing outbreak of the virus across the state.” more

Local Officials Seek Increased Participation Of Princeton Voters

By Donald Gilpin

Voter turnout in Princeton was lower than many expected in the 2024 November election, and most New Jerseyans would agree that more people should participate in the democratic process by casting their ballots, but why numbers are down and what to do about it is a subject of widespread disagreement.

The question of voter turnout becomes particularly important in the context of New Jersey’s current campaign for a new governor, with 10 confirmed candidates, endorsements flowing in, primaries in June, and the General Election in November.

Mercer County Democratic Committee Chair Janice Mironov, who is also the mayor of East Windsor, declined to single out any particular town or county, but cited a number of factors that diminished participation in the 2024 election.  more

Social Activist Tommy Parker to Be Honored by Princeton Council

By Anne Levin

In an effort led by Princeton Councilman Leighton Newlin, the governing body is planning to pay tribute to Thomas Alfred “Tommy” Parker with a proclamation at its meeting on March 10. Also planned in honor of the longtime Princeton resident is the declaration of March 19 — Parker’s 73rd birthday — as Tommy Parker Day.

Known for his work on civil rights, his management and mentoring of Princeton’s American Legion Post 218 baseball team, his leadership of the Princeton Democratic Municipal Committee and the Princeton Community Democratic Organization, and his years as president of Princeton’s Service Employees International Union Local 175 while employed by Princeton University, among other distinctions, Parker has been devoted to community service throughout his life.

In recent years, Parker has suffered two strokes and the loss of his oldest son, Tuumaa. He lives on Leigh Avenue, in the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood where he grew up, with his wife, Joanne.  more

Princeton Nursery School Celebrates 96 Years — And Birthdays for Two of its Oldest Graduates

PREPARING FOR A PARTY: Princeton Nursery School (PNS) on Leigh Avenue is getting ready to celebrate its 96th anniversary on Friday, along with the birthdays of its oldest two alumnae, Marilyn Yates, who will be 94, and Barbara Banks, who will be 95. Pictured above are PNS teachers and students with community partner Shirley Satterfield (seated) and PNS Executive Director K. Leanna Jahnke (standing center). (Photo courtesy of Princeton Nursery School)

By Donald Gilpin

With a parade through the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood on Friday, March 7, carrying balloons and decorated signs, the 48 students of Princeton Nursery School (PNS) and their teachers will be celebrating the birthdays of PNS’ oldest living alumnae, along with the 96th anniversary of the founding of the school.

First stop for the parade will be the home of Barbara Banks, who lives right behind the Leigh Avenue school, then the parade participants will continue down John Street to the home of Marilyn Yates.  more

Microforest at Quarry Park Will Aid Princeton’s Biodiversity

By Anne Levin

A traditional forest can take up to 100 years to mature. But a microforest — a diverse set of native plants and trees on a small plot of land, usually in an urban setting — can take as little as 15 years to reach full growth.

With that in mind, Princeton Council passed a resolution at its February 24 meeting authorizing submission of an application for a Sustainable Jersey grant of $10,000, to cover costs related to the town’s first such project. The 5,000-square-foot site is on an underutilized area of grass and invasive plants at Quarry Park, next to Princeton Housing Authority’s Lloyd Terrace at Spruce Circle affordable housing complex.

Partners in the project include the Princeton Recreation Commission, the Princeton Shade Tree Commission, the Princeton Environmental Commission, Sustainable Princeton, and the Princeton Housing Authority. more

Lives of Those Enslaved at Morven Featured In Reopened, Updated History Exhibition

LIVES OF THE ENSLAVED: Morven Museum and Garden recently reopened its exhibition “Historic Morven: A Window Into America’s Past,” which has been updated with new information about individuals enslaved by the Stockton family. Research and archival consultant Sharece Blakney is shown leading a tour of the exhibition. (Photo courtesy of Morven Museum and Garden)

By Donald Gilpin

Morven, built in the 1750s, has been the home of many of New Jersey’s most prominent citizens, starting with Richard Stockton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, followed by four more generations of Stocktons, Robert Wood Johnson Jr., and then five New Jersey governors as the state’s first Governor’s Mansion before becoming a museum in 2004.

But Morven has also been home to many people who are much less well known, who were enslaved by the Stockton family.

With the recent reopening of its permanent history exhibition,” Historic Morven: A Window Into America’s Past,” Morven Museum and Garden, located at 55 Stockton Street, has provided extensive research updates in three of the museum’s first-floor galleries, and the lives of the enslaved residents of Morven are portrayed in much greater depth and detail. Morven’s “Window Into America’s Past” reveals a much more expansive and complex landscape than has been seen in the past. more

Between the Oscars and Bryn Mawr: Casting a Book Sale Treasure

By Stuart Mitchner

Now what is love, I pray thee tell?
It is that fountain and that well
Where pleasure and repentance dwell.

—Sir Walter Raleigh

(may i touch said he how much said she a lot said he)

—e.e. cummings

Raleigh’s poem “A Description of Love” begins and ends Pleasure and Repentance (Pergamon 1976), the Royal Shakespeare Company’s “Lighthearted Look at Love” created and compiled by former RSC Director Terry Hands. The subject of acting and actors, love and lovers brings to mind Sunday night’s Academy Awards, where Morgan Freeman delivered a memorial tribute to Gene Hackman (“Our community lost a giant, I lost a dear friend”) and four Oscars went to Sean Baker’s Anora, a zany throwback to the screwball comedy romances of Hollywood’s Golden Age.

My favorite Hackman film is Arthur Penn’s extraordinary neo-noir Night Moves (1975), which features one of his strongest performances as the driven, benighted, very human private eye Harry Moseley. At the moment, however, I’m remembering him as Harry Caul sitting alone in the wreckage of his room playing tenor sax at the end of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation (1974). more

Bullied High School Senior Takes Deadly Revenge at Her Prom in “Carrie”; Theatre Intime, PUP Offer a Strong Staging of a Flawed but Worthy Musical

“CARRIE”: Theatre Intime and the Princeton University Players have staged “Carrie.” Directed by Chloe Webster; and music directed by Jenia Marquez, the musical was presented February 27-March 1 at the Hamilton Murray Theater. Above: Carrie (Christie Davis, center right), who is used to being an outsider, enjoys attending her prom with Tommy (David Getz, center left) — unaware that she is about to be the victim of a cruel prank (as evidenced by the bucket above her head) and humiliated in front of her onlooking classmates. (Photo by Elena Milliken)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

Stephen King’s novel Carrie (1974) portrays Carrie White, a bullied high school senior who is secluded and abused by her religiously overzealous, puritanical mother. Carrie discovers that she has telekinetic powers, with which she exacts vengeance on her classmates (and others) when she is humiliated by a cruel prank at her prom.

The plot is a dark and bitter inversion of the Cinderella story, with the archetypes easy to spot. Carrie obviously is a variation on Cinderella. Margaret, her mother, becomes the wicked stepmother, and the taunting classmates are the stepsisters. A sympathetic gym teacher becomes the fairy godmother, while another student, Tommy, reluctantly fills the role of the prince (despite being in love with Sue, another classmate).

Carrie was adapted into a 1976 film, with a screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen. Subsequently the novel and film were adapted into a musical, for which Cohen wrote the libretto. Dean Pitchford (the screenwriter of Footloose, and the co-writer of several songs for Fame) wrote the lyrics, with Michael Gore (Pitchford’s Fame collaborator) composing the music.

 more

Princeton University Presents Annual Competition Winners Concert

By Nancy Plum

The stage at Richardson Auditorium looked a bit like an instrument warehouse last Friday night, jam-packed with chairs, percussion, two harps, and several keyboard instruments in anticipation of Princeton University Orchestra’s winter concert. With all these possible players, there might have been a potential for sound cacophony, but the University Orchestra performed its annual “Concerto Concert” with clarity and melodic refinement while showing off the immense talents of two students. Conducted by Michael Pratt, Friday night’s performance (which was repeated Saturday night) showed freshman violist Jisang Kymm and sophomore pianist Sarah Yuan to be experienced well beyond their years in the Orchestra’s presentation of Alfred Schnittke’s Concerto for Viola and Orchestra and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor.

Schnittke’s 1985 three-movement Concerto for Viola and Orchestra diverged from the traditional concerto structure of alternating fast-slow-fast sections and reversed this order, with outer “Largo” movements bracketing a central “Allegro.” Like many of his Soviet contemporaries, Schnittke collaborated with the finest performers of his day, and the virtuosity and intensity of the Concerto reflected its tribute to a leading violist of the time. Viola soloist Jisang Kymm opened Schnittke’s work with introspection and attention to detail. Taking his time in the reflective texture, Kymm effortlessly executed the numerous double stops and insisted on the score’s dissonance against an unsettled orchestral accompaniment.  more