The campaign is run by Hudson County animal welfare organizations Companion Animal Trust (CAT) and Hudson County Animal League (HCAL). For more information, contact cat@companionanimaltrust.com.

For a small donation, now you too can be your very own arts patron. Eat, network / mingle, and vote for the art proposal you find most worthy of completion. Stay to the end to see the ballots counted and a winner awarded. Winners in previous Eat-Ups have received upwards of $600.

Artists, check the Call For Proposals 2011.

Art Eat-Up will be held Friday, December 2nd, from 7-10 pm at Grace Van Vorst Church, 39 Erie Street, Jersey City.

View Larger Map

“Voter turnout has been very light today,” said Dale Hardman, a Jersey City Democratic committeeperson who sat on the corner of Erie and 3rd Street and handed out cards for his neighbor, Dan Levin (who was campaigning a block away on 2nd Street). “Maybe it’s the beautiful weather, kids had off of school today.”

Hardman, a bilateral amputee, had been on the corner since 9:30 am. He said that as long as they came out to vote, he would be happy if citizens selected any of the candidates for the two at-large council seats — except for Ray Velazquez, Kalimah Ahmad, or Viola Richardson, the three candidates who missed the last public forum.

“If they disparage people by not coming to forums to answer questions of transparency, I don’t think that shows much,” said Hardman.

Disagreeing with Hardman about the day’s turnout was Emily Kondes, an election challenger, and Frank Scalcione, owner of Frank’s Famous Pizza on Monmouth Street. Kondes had been standing in front of the church steps since 10 am, and said the flow of voters seemed especially heavy for a midterm.

“People seem more engaged,” said Kondes. “They’re mad, and it sends a message.”

Scalcione was just visiting Grace Church on his self-appointed get-out-the-vote rounds. “This morning, I got on the bus on Newark Avenue and Monmouth Street and rode one stop up the hill just to yell out, ‘Don’t forget to vote!’” he said. After this visit, he planned to head to a site in Ward F. “I’m saying hello to everybody,” he said.

On 2nd Street, each corner was dominated by campaigners. The west side of the street had a quiet cluster of men milling around large signs for Velazquez-Ahmad — plus Dan Levin himself. The east side of the street had fewer people, but with louder pipes.

Samuel Gutierrez had been shouting the same mantra since 6:30 am: “Vote for Sue Mack, Omar Perez for council-at-large! Polls open till 8 pm!” He made sure every passing driver had the chance to wave away a proffered flyer for the bracketed team.

Would all that yelling contribute to a later bout of laryngitis? “No, no sore throat tonight,” said Gutierrez. “I’m an old pro.”

As he began to once again yell out his familiar phrase, one of the men on the Velazquez corner shouted, “Vote for Samuel Gutierrez!”

The program, a creation of local professional actress Anna Nugent and her business partner Amy Elise de Jong, is currently entering its third season of programming. One eight-week workshop series kicks off Saturday at Art House Productions, while another six-week after-school workshop series starts October 3 at Grace Church Van Vorst.

Story Haven was born in the fall of 2009, when Nugent and de Jong realized their ideas about creativity and play aligned with Grace’s desire to increase its child and family programming.

“[We discussed] how important it is to us, as artists, to have a creative home,” de Jong says, adding that they wanted to mimic that for local children.

“We discussed how we are most genuinely creative when we feel safe to be vulnerable and silly, when we are acknowledged and affirmed for sharing ourselves, and when we experience wonder in that freedom,” she says. “We wanted to create a space that could be our creative, playful home that we could share with others.”

Since then, Story Haven has served dozens of kids and built a staff of adult facilitators, all working actors and performers with experience working with children. Combining her skills as an actress and drama teacher with that of her experienced staff, Nugent has created a program to inspire creativity in Jersey City’s little ones. What’s unique about Story Haven is that the programming comes to the kids — whether at a school or local organization, community partners can host Story Haven events as part of their regular after-school programming. From one-off events to eight-week programs, kids will hear stories, play games, and build a safe community.

“[Story Haven] can happen just about anywhere; all we need is a space, two trained Story Haven facilitators, our bag of props, and of course, children,” de Jong notes.

Each session includes a story followed by a time of wondering, warm-ups, ensemble-building activities, improvisation, drama games, presentation, and reflection. And although there are some similarities, Story Haven is decidedly not an acting class; it is process-based rather than performance-based. The program’s purpose is not to teach acting skills or put on a play, but to give kids a safe space to express themselves, share what’s on their minds, and let their imaginations run wild.

“At Story Haven, children grow to respect and value the thoughts and ideas of their peers, even when they may disagree. They gain confidence in articulating their own thoughts and ideas, they become comfortable speaking in groups and taking on roles of leadership [and] they become expressive and engaging storytellers,” de Jong says. “We believe that story is a fundamental tool for connecting to others, to share and express the human experience, to recognize common ground, and thereby to build community.”

Story Haven offers kids extracurricular opportunities to exercise their imagination and make connections between fictional stories and their own lives. That’s a key tool for the many children in Jersey City whose first language is not English.

“We have found that Story Haven provides a place for these children to engage in the English language at their own pace – to work on comprehension, vocabulary, and speaking all within the context of story and games,” de Jong says.

Story Haven currently serves children ages 3 to 10. For more information, click here.

Photo of a Story Haven outdoor workshop last fall courtesy of Art House Productions‘ Christine Goodman

“As always, artwork in all media and encompassing all subject matter will be considered, but in 2011 we are seeking surprise; something new from the familiar,” the call for submissions reads. “As you consider your body of work, and what you’d like to contribute to the show, challenge your creative palette; excite and inspire us.”

The festival, which takes place at Grace Church Van Vorst in Downtown Jersey City, will open with the annual champagne gala on Saturday, November 12 and remain open until Friday, December 2.

The deadline for submissions is September 17; the curatorial team asks that all submissions be new to Cathedral Arts Festival and the Grace Church gallery space, not recently exhibited locally and reasonably priced. All work will be for sale, with 60 percent of the sale going to the exhibiting artist and 40 percent to Grace Church.

To submit an application, send up to six jpegs (preferred) or prints of your work to caf-art@gracevanvorst.org, along with the following information: artist name and contact information (address, phone(s) and email); title, medium and dimensions of work; price; and a one-page resume. If you prefer mailing your entry, send it to: Grace Church Van Vorst; 39 Erie St. Jersey City, NJ 07302; Attention: CAF 22 Artwork Submissions.

Photographers can submit up to four jpgs (the preferred method, at 8″ x 10″ and 72 dpi) or prints no later than April 10 to spring.photo.show (at) gmail.com.

The opening reception for the show will be May 6, and it will close on May 20 in conjunction with the annual Grace Van Vorst Community Services Wine Tasting event.

Please submit your image files in the following form: LASTNAME_n_TITLE.jpg where, n= number of photo 1-4 (example: SMITH_1_DAWN.jpg).

Also include the following information for each submission:

• Artist name and contact information: address, phone(s) and email
• Title of work
• Dimensions (height x width x length)
• Price (60 percent will go to the artist, and 40 percent will go to Grace Van Vorst Community Services)
• One-page resume

For more information, call Joyce Davison at 201-451-5107 after 1 pm on Mondays through Fridays.

“It has been an incredible four years that I’ve been here at Grace; I’ve learned to be a minister here,” Lannon says in a message posted to the Grace Church website. “I’ve been stretched in ways I’d never expected, and supported and cared for in ways for which I couldn’t have hoped.”

Lannon has been leading the Downtown Jersey City church since Rector Janet Broderick left in 2009 after eight years of service; previously he served as assistant rector under Broderick.

After Broderick left, Lannon decided to stay as pastor at Grace Church, but the diocese said he could do so only if he didn’t want to be considered for the permanent rector position — a move that would have forced him to leave Grace for at least two years.

“Not wanting to part ways at that juncture, the vestry and I decided that I would stay,” he writes.

Meanwhile, the search for a permanent rector at the church continues.

“The search committee at Grace is progressing in its work, and I pray that, before too long, a wonderful rector will be called here to share his or her life and ministry with you,” Lannon writes.

Easter Sunday (April 24) will be Lannon’s last service at Grace Church.

Photo: Anthony Blunda

“It sends an important message about community,” All Saints’ head of school Jill Singleton says of the partnership. “This day honors Dr. King’s life and legacy by engaging the children in meaningful, hands on service opportunities. Although we will start the day out as strangers to one another, our service buddies will experience first-hand the formation of community as they make new friends in service.”

The two schools have independent organized days of service and fundraisers for a variety of causes previously, this marks the first time they are working together. School officials say they expect as many as 200 students to heed the call for service; the children will be helped along by parents, faculty and staff from both schools.

Some of the Jersey City-centric work includes the creation of swaddling blankets for the homeless infants cared for at Hudson Cradle and assembling goody bags of toiletries collected by the schools for Grace Church Van Vorst’s Breakfast Plus! program, which provides a nourishing breakfast for about 100 hungry community members each weekend morning. The day will end with a celebration ceremony at Stevens’ Newport campus (100 River Drive), which will culminate in a slideshow of photos taken by student photojournalists assigned to capture the day’s events.

“We constantly encourage students to think beyond themselves,” Stevens head of school Zoë L. Hauser says in a statement. “This day of service will give them a chance to see how even the smallest actions can make a significant difference when people band together. And we hope some lasting friendships are born in the process.”

The event is a good way for Jersey City residents to skip the mall and shop directly from local vendors; JCCM expects to have more than 40 on hand. There will also be live demos and tutorials for attendees to make their own stuff, whether its LED ornaments or stockings. It will be free for shoppers, but JCCM will encourage all attendees to donate $1 to the church’s Breakfast Plus program, which provides breakfast for the community’s hungry every Sunday.

Interested vendors or instructors can secure a six-foot spot with a non-refundable $10 fee. On-site tables will be available, but you’re encouraged to bring your own. To sign up, click here.

For more information, email Luca Cusolito at luca.cusolito (at) gmail.com.

All work accepted by the festival will be for sale, with 60 percent of the cost going to the artist and 40 percent to Grace Chuch Van Vorst, which hosts the festival. The curators are asking that all submissions be new to the festival and the Grace Church gallery space, not recently exhibited locally and reasonably priced for sale. Artwork in all media and encompassing all subject matter will be considered.

To apply, submit up to six JPEGs or prints (JPEGs preferred). These should be of good quality, true to color, and named so curators can easily identify the artist and work title.

For each submission please clearly note/provide the following:

• Artist name and contact information (address, phone(s) and email)
• Title of work
• Medium
• Dimensions (height x width x length)
• Price
• One-page resume

All submissions are due on or before September 10. You can email or mail your work, or drop it off at the church. Email to caf-art (at) gracevanvorst.org, or mail to Grace Church Van Vorst, 39 Erie St., Jersey City NJ 07302, Attention: CAF 21 Artwork Submissions.