Dedication of Chief Marty DeMarzo Orange Fire Department

Martin "Marty" P. DeMarzo was the fire chief of the city of Orange until he suddenly passed last year. He joined the Orange Fire Department on June 6, 1980, and became chief 10 years ago. Last week, the Orange Fire Department dedicated the firehouse in his honor.

Orange Firehouse Dedication

Road Tattoo in Orange Valley

A few weeks ago, artist Steed Taylor, created a one of a kind road tattoo in the Orange Valley (Freeman Street). The tattoo is visible from NJ Transit trains passing through the Highland Ave Station.

"Road Tattoos are placed at locations of personal significance and are composed of cultural designs previously appropriated to mark skin. Once the design is drawn on the road, names or other specific information is painted within the design, a prayer is said and the design is painted in, covering over the names. They are subtle, usually close in color to the roadway, but made with reflective paint causing them to appear and disappear with passing light. Eventually traffic and weather conditions dissolve them into the road." Steed Taylor website

Check out the Blessing for Dedication and pictures of the road tattoo's creation.

Valley Arts Music & Poetry Festival - Saturday June 12th

 The 9th ed. of VAMP (Valley Arts Music & Poetry Festival) will be held Saturday June 12th from 11-6pm on the corner of Valley Street and Forrest Street in Orange, NJ.

Come out to see live music, watch art being made on site and listen to intense poetry contest.

 Pop into Hat City Kitchen to watch on the big screen USA square off against the UK squad in FIFA World Cup game at 1:30 pm.

Two Free Fabulous Trips: Rosenwald Art Exhibit

Two Free Field Trips to

A Force for Change: African American Art and the Julius Rosenwald Fund at the Montclair Art Museum

Thursdays

May 20&May 27

6:00 pm

Meet at

15 S. Essex Ave,

Orange, NJ

(HANDS, Inc.)

These excellent FREE trips are brought to you by JP Morgan & Chase, the Montclair Art Museum and the University of Orange. On May 20th, we will take a bus to the Montclair Art Museum and be treated to a private docent led tour with opportunities to sketch and write among the beautiful artwork.

Refreshments will be provided, and it is open to all ages.

Register now for a space on the bus.

The Julius Rosenfeld Fund gave stipends to hundreds of African American artists, writes and scholars between 1928 and 1948. This wonderful exhibition, now on view at the Montclair Art Museum, includes more than 60 paintings, sculptures and works on paper by 22 Rosenwald fellows. The Montclair Art Museum is provided two free opportunities to University of Orange students in connection with the exhibit.

The Next Trip: Thursday May 27th 6pm. We will meet once more at HANDS, and take a bus to the Montclair Art Museum to participate in a lecture by Dr. Robert Steele (University of Maryland),a nationally recognized scholar in the field of African American visual arts, and assess the diversity of artists included in the exhibition.

Both trips are free, but please R.S.V.P. so we know how many to expect.

R.S.V.P. to universityoforange@gmail.com or call (973) 678-3110 ext: 24

PS- Graduation is right around the corner: June 19th at 2pm, First Presbyterian Church. Look out for more upcoming events to satisfy graduation requirements.

UofO requirement: VOTE! OrangeCouncilElections

May 11th is Orange's Council Elections

After 24 years in the same town (but only 2 voting years in Orange), I learned definitively last week which ward my house is in. Huzzah! So tomorrow morning I will traipse over to the Orange Middle School to vote and also satisfy one of my requirements for UofO graduation.


Remember June 19th is University of Orange's Graduation.
Graduation requirements are:

• Participate in 2 UofO courses (online or otherwise)
• Vote in any election: Council elections, student body president elections, 'Don't cut teacher's pay Mr. Christie' polls, Dancing with the Stars, etc
• Have Fun with a Neighbor
• Volunteer : help plant a garden, clean up a vacant house on your block, help a neighbor with their groceries, volunteer at a local foodback, habitatforhumanity, tutoring...the possibilities are endless!
• Attend a City Meeting

~FP

SoundBox Banditz Hot New Song: PassThisTest

Click to hear SoundBox Banditz New Song just in time for Final Exams: PassThisTest!

Jane's Orange Roll 2010

In celebration of Jane Jacobs courage and belief that a city's space should belong to its citizens, hundreds of walks and rolls were organized for May 1st and May 2nd, 2010  (http://janeswalkusa.wordpress.com/)

This year's Jane's Orange Roll was led by UofOAthletic Director Patrick Morrissy on May 1st. We met at the Daily Soup parking lot across from Rita's Deli and started our roll by visiting the Valley's historic Hatting District and the [Murmur] sites along the way. Pat explained the history behind the F. Berg hatting factory and the NoName Hatting Buildings.

Talking and Biking

Before they formed the hat behemoth Stetson & Co.,the two Stetson brothers (Napoleon and John) couldn't decide on a name for their hatting company so they settled on NoName Hatting Co. before John reformed the company under the family name in Pennsylvania. Henry Stetson, the son of Napoleon Stetson and nephew of hatmaker John Stetston, later became mayor of Orange and erected a firehouse building in the 1900s that we admired. We rode through these areas and passed by the factories and current businesses that continue Orange's industrial legacy. Stopping at the Stetson Lounge and [Murmur] site, we observed the entranceway whose stone facade are allegedly from the Holland Tunnel excavation. The stones form the image of a bear and moose w/ relief ears and antlers. Opposite this curiousity is a beautiful mural.

 And what tour of Jersey would be complete without a visit to the local diner? Gamburger's Diner, recently opened and boasting a tempting Saturday all you can eat breakfast special. We resisted the temptation, but did pose in front of the diner.