Uptown Crew @ Jersey City Festival SATURDAY, MAY 7!!!

Uptown Crew has collaborated with
JC Landmarks Conservancy to test you on your knowledge of Jersey City. If you answer correctly, you can walk away with a special prize from Uptown merchant, Lee Sims Chocolates!

The NEIGHBORHOOD GUESSING GAME is scheduled from 1:45p - 2:15p.

And check out all the other fun activities tomorrow.

It all happens in front of City Hall, Grove Street at Montgomery.

It's a BIG CITY, folks!

Here's the Facebook invitation, should you do the Facebook :)

JC ORIGINALS Performance Showcase!Friday, March 4, 2011 at Moore's Lounge

A talent showcase to close out the winter and celebrate the arts in Jersey City!

We asked Nick Ciavatta, CEO of Friggin Fabulous Productions, to put together a line-up of local talent, and we're thrilled with the results.


Every entertainer in JC Originals hails from Jersey City in one way or another: Many are born and raised here, and everyone else is a transplant who has embraced this amazing City as their home.

And, whether a singer/songwriter, a poet or a spoken word artist, every performer in JC Originals writes their own material, so you are guaranteed a truly unique night!

The line-up:

- Terry Haman
- Gerald Lucas
- Susan "Rescue" Justiniano
- Trash Executioner
- Pat Lally
- Jozy Bentley
- Nick Ciavatta
- Upset
- David W. Jacobsen
- Just Putt
- Trish Szymanski

Our own DJ Neva will be spinning the steady-rocking international sounds she is famous for to take us through this incredible program!

Moore's Lounge (189 Monticello Avenue) is the perfect setting for this event. The home of Uptown Crew's twice-monthly open mic, Moore's is a neighborhood staple and a great Uptown venue. And Friday night is always Fish Fry Night at Moore's, so bring your appetite!

The doors will open at 7:00pm, with the last act scheduled to go on after midnight.

Suggested donation at the door: $7

Click here to answer the Facebook invitation.

MAP and DIRECTIONS

JC Originals is a JC Fridays event.

Hey, UPtown merchants...Make My City JC is moving in!

Make My City JC's goal is to encourage residents to spend one week at a time focusing all of their buying power LOCALLY, and at the same time, give businesses more exposure and more business!

Make My City JC started in Summery 2010 with a limited reach throughout downtown Jersey City - and you know I got with Founder Cara Birnbaum right away to ask, hey, what about the rest of Jersey City?! Well, she was already on it, and she promised the program would expand with a wider scope. And here we are!

The next Make My City week is November 15-21, and businesses are registering now. Read the details on the registration materials. And note, the registration fee is $30 through Friday, 9/24, $40 after.

Here's the whole registration package. Register with Cara Birnbaum, founder of Make My City JC, by sending your answers to cara_birnbaum@yahoo.com.

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http://www.makemycity-jc.com/

Make My City is…..

• A grassroots movement challenging Jersey City residents to shop exclusively at local, independent businesses for seven full days.

• A week of deals, discounts, and special events that give shoppers a reason to leave the car at home, skip the malls, and buy those holiday gifts on our side of the Hudson.

• A glossy, full-color map of participating businesses. Distributed all over downtown Jersey City, this brochure is a keepsake that continues to advertise local shops and restaurants long after Make My City week is over.

• An easy way to funnel our money back into our beloved mom-and-pop stores, while making this city a friendlier, safer, more vibrant place to live.

• makemycity-jc.com. Watch for blog entries about participating businesses, coming this fall!

Over 50 local businesses participated in July’s Make My City week. The next one, which begins November 15^th, promises to be bigger and better. To register, please return the attached form to one of the locations below. Registration fee is $30 if you register by September 24^th, $40 anytime after that. Final deadline is October 15^th.

• Smith & Chang (c/o Alex Chang); 230 Pavonia Avenue, in the Hamilton Square building

• Made with Love Organic Bakery and Café (c/o Celeste Governanti); 530 Jersey Avenue

• The Stockinette (c/o Gynine Visconti); 581 Jersey Avenue

If you have any questions, please go to makemycity-jc.com, and click on “contact us.”

Sincerely,

The Make My City Team

MAKE MY CITY WEEK REGISTRATION FORM—please write legibly to ensure your information translates accurately to the brochure.

Registration fee is $30 if you register by September 24^th, $40 anytime after that. Final deadline is October 15^th. Please enclose cash or a check made out to Make My City.

Name of business/owner:

Contact information…

Email address:

Cell number:

Business phone (for the general public)

Store address and website:

Week-long discount you will offer—please choose a discount that will truly offer customers an incentive to come in.

Are you willing to hold a special event during the week (music, gallery opening, etc.)? If so, we’ll contact you to discuss the details.-

Sustainability in Jersey City - No, really.

I got a message recently about an amazing initiative. It's the kind of thing that could benefit everyone in every neighborhood in Jersey City, so it belongs here. These folks are truly Uptown Crewzers*.



Here's the petition link:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Farms-In-The-City

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Call to Action - Save the Date:
Farms in the City - Know Food. Know Freedom.

Dear Friend:

We are pleased to announce that Jersey City has been selected as one of eight cities nationwide to participate in a community building exercise sponsored by GOOD magazine that could change the future of Jersey City.

Our first initiative will be a workshop and brainstorming session, on the afternoon (2-6pm) of August 21st, that will CALL TO ACTION Community Leaders, Systems Thinkers, Artists, Students, Seniors and other Motivated Citizens to participate in a dialogue about how to create a community-supported Urban Agriculture Program in Jersey City.

The working title for this afternoon dialogue is:
"Farms In The City - Know Food, Know Freedom."

Our objective is to create an Urban Agriculture/Food Access document and action plan that is realistic, easy to implement and empowers every day citizens to take action towards environmentally beneficial projects in Jersey City.

We think such an initiative will have the following impacts (above and beyond increasing the availability of affordable, fresh and healthy food in Jersey City):

Educational: we want to involve students and young people so that they can learn about where our food comes from and what is required to grow food. Gardens are “teaching labs” that can engage students, and citizens of all ages, to develop core skills and values that inspire life-long learning.

Recreational: we hope to have seniors join us in this endeavor so that they can enjoy healthy fun exercise and bring invaluable inter-generational learning to their neighborhoods. We consider our seniors a valuable resource as many of them have tended gardens, a hobby that was once quite popular and even vital to our nation's security during the war years.

Economical: fresh local organic food is the fastest growing segment of the food production industry. We know that our initiative can stimulate entrepreneurial activities and employment opportunities in all segments of the economy. Diverse, local, urban food gardens and farmer’s markets become hubs of connectivity in the larger context of urban revitalization.

Social: urban gardens serve as great places for people to come together and strengthen community bonds and share cultural diversity that promotes appreciation and peace.

Mental: there is something powerfully soothing and relaxing about working the earth. Numerous studies have shown the benefits of this type of activity. We can better manage the hectic quality of our modern lives by participating in activities such as gardening.

Ecologically Sustainable: well designed gardens serve many purposes. Gardens can serve to capture and filter storm water run-off, ameliorate erosion and flooding, increase aquifer recharge and organic composting opportunities.

We hope that you will join us to discuss and design Jersey City's urban agriculture plan and we invite you to forward this invitation to interested parties. We are still confirming location details but please contact Gillian Allen at 646-388-1825 or gillian@jcfoodcoop.com for further information and we hope to see you on August 21st!

Sincerely,


The Jersey City Green Team
Washington Park Association
Jersey City Food Coop
Riverview Community Gardens
Greater Good Giving

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* By the way, you can thank Ed Ramirez of Ed's Salvage Co. for coining the term "Uptown Crewzer" to mean the people who make it all go. Yeah, that's you! -TS