The Big Brew Beer Festival is returning to the Morristown Armory in Morristown, New Jersey on Saturday, March 3rd, 2018. 

This bi-annual event is returning for its 6^th year and will have over 200 Beer styles available.

80 Breweries are in attendance, including over 25 New Jersey Based Breweries showcasing their Jersey Pride. New additions include Twin Elephant from Chatham, Icarus from Lakewood & Ship Bottom from Beach Haven

In addition, this event will have many rare or special releases in limited quantities including 2017 Bourbon County Stout!

Food will be available from the Award winning Bearded One BBQ, The Cow and The Curd, Bacon Me Crazy, The Guac Spot. Angry Archies, Mr. & Mrs Jerky, Glazed & Confused Fresh Mini Donuts.

Live music will be provide by Sick Star Nation for Session 1 and Stereo Junkies for Session 2.

Big Brew is also teaming up with My Limo to provide Free Shuttle Bus Service—running approx. every 15 minutes during the event—back and forth between the Morristown Train Station and the Armory. Service is provided courtesy of the Big Brew Beer Fest.

SESSION TIMES:

• Session 1   12:00pm – 4:00pm
• Session 2   5:30pm – 9:30pm

SESSION PRICING:

• Take Advantage of Last Call Pricing (prices go up $5 on Feb 25):  General Admission – $65     Designated Driver -$15

Tickets are available online at:   http://www.bigbrewnj.com, where you can also find our amazing brewery list with all the styles available at the event.
All tickets include unlimited tastings and a souvenir tasting glass. Attendees can also vote on the People’s Choice Award for best beer at the festival.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Morris Rugby, which raises funds and awareness for youth rugby throughout the region. For more information, please visit www.morrisrugby.org

Craft Beer lovers will not want to miss this Big Brew Fest.

For information, contact Allison Kohler, JMK Events, at 973-927-2794
Jmkevents@aol.com

I cannot keep up with the amount of dance shows that are currently gracing our broadcast airwaves. I know about “Dancing with the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance” but is there really a show called “Dance Your Ass Off?” And if so, can I get my Uncle Tony a spot? The thing is, Americans, we love to dance. The Minute Men did the Minuet, Native Americans have their tribal dances for different occasions and “Turkey in the Straw” was popular during the Civil War days when soldiers would ease the tensions of battle with a fiddle and a dance. Yes, they danced. Don’t ask, don’t tell. The Roaring 20’s had flappers doing the Charleston, Fred and Ginger were elegant in the 30’s, the 40’s brought us the Jitterbug, the 50’s taught us the stroll and the 60’s gave us everything from the Twist to the Monkey to the Bouncing Bong (OK, not real). And our love affair with dancing really caught on thanks to two movies. The first was “Saturday Night Fever” with John Travolta. The second was “Dirty Dancing” with the late, great Patrick Swayze. Those films not only glamorized the art of the dance but made us want to dance, not just sit on the sideline.  And so we dance…at weddings and events, at nightclubs and seaside bars. But we have discovered that some of us are better than others when it comes to possessing a sense of rhythm. Fortunately for those of us for which the Lambada does not come naturally, there are several places to go in New Jersey where we can learn all the right moves without fear of ridicule. As couples, we are taking lessons in ballroom dancing and salsa, the tango and the meringue. Dance studios are booked weeks and even months in advance. Prices are reasonable and the staff members are generally not only helpful and patient, but really talented as well. It’s a win-win. If you catch the bug and the feeling overtakes you to the point where you’re yelling to the mailman, “Gotta Dance,” here are a few of the many places you can go to get your groove on.

The Fred Astaire Dance Studio
Upper Montclair
973-783-8999

Indigo Ballroom Dance Studio
Somerville
908-218-9418

Academy of Dance Arts
Red Bank
732-842-9262

Sharon’s Studio of Dance
Whippany
973-386-0529

All For Dance
Robbinsville
609-426-4050

Alice’s Dancin’ Corner
Forked River
609-971-7501

Academy of Ballroom Dancing
Northfield
609-645-2010

Nobody puts Baby in a corner…

OK, raise your hands. Who needs a time-out from the weariness of winter? Is it me or does it seem like the days are greyer than Jon Hamm’s suits on Mad Men? Vacation time in the Bahamas? Cruise to the Caribbean? Hotel in South Beach? If we have the time, there is usually no money. If we have the extra cash, we rarely have the time. Those two things never go hand in hand. But among the many definitions of escape, there is this: “To get away from work or responsibilities and take a trip or short vacation.” And in New Jersey there is no better short vacation in the dead of February than a night or, preferably, a weekend at one of the state’s cozy and inviting Bed and Breakfast hideaways.

Fortunately, we have many to choose from, in every region of New Jersey. Beaches, mountains, small towns and big cities are represented by any number of homes, lodges and retreats that are just waiting for you to arrive all tired and numb, and then to send you back into the world refreshed, renewed, and reinvigorated. So we here at eNJoynj.com took it upon ourselves to check out some establishments on our own. Tough job, huh?

Chimney Hill Estate Inn
Lambertville
chimneyhillinn.com
You know you’re in for a pretty rural setting when the location is a street named Goat Hill Road. Think English country estate without Ricky Gervais. Wooden ceiling beams, warm oriental rugs and a grand piano. Innkeepers Terry and Richard Anderson will gladly engage you in conversations about the grounds where George Washington once surveyed the Delaware River. Thirteen rooms for the original thirteen colonies make for a nice historical statement.

Inn at Fernbrook Farm
Chesterfield
innatfernbrookfarms.com
Nestled within the 250 acres of farmland in Chesterfield, there is a beautifully restored Georgian estate, brought to life by the hands of its proprietors Lawrence and Susie Kuser. The property is exquisite; the décor is a stately colonial masterpiece and the food from their organically grown garden is a culinary delight. And between April and October, the mansion is available for weddings. Hear that Larry King?

The Wooden Duck
Newton
WoodenDuckInn.com
Yes, there are ducks everywhere. Porcelain ducks, decoy ducks, duck paintings, coasters, statues, and soap. No sign of Daffy or Donald but I’m sure they have been guests at one time or another (You know how those Hollywood waterfowl are – they like their privacy). The décor, however feathered, is distinctively modern with an abundance of light from oversized windows, skylights and gas fireplaces. Beth and Karl Krummel prepare spectacular breakfasts to energize you for all the Skylands region has to offer – lakes, parks and forests. But please, no duck hunting.

The Gables
Beach Haven LBI
gableslbi.com
It began as housing for lifeguards (Ah, yes, I can see David Hasselhoff now, lying on the floor eating a cheeseburger while his German-language recording of “Forget You” plays in the background). From that auspicious debut in 1892, it became a postal drop followed by an all-girls boarding house. Years removed from this housing mélange, it is now a beautifully restored haven by the sea that features a mix of old (Victorian period furnishings, antiques, needlepoint rugs) and new (flat-screen TV’s and Wi-Fi). That’s so you can view Baywatch reruns.

There are many more choices throughout the state. Look for the one that’s perfect for you, whether it’s a quiet book escape, an antique hunt, or a romantic rendezvous. In New Jersey, there is something for everybody.

Sayreville War Memorial High School has had some pretty talented guys graduate from the little Washington Road location across from what used to be the “claypits.” We would drift off and stare out those windows when we’d had enough Millard Fillmore and quadratic equations. Yes, I was among the faithful but less than famous of my compadres at one time. Sebastian Bach from “Skid Row” sat there and probably scribbled song lyrics on his English 202 notebook cover. Greg Evigan, the still good-looking kid from Oak Tree Village drove to band gigs in his dad’s car before he drove an 18-wheeler with a chimp on “B J and the Bear” and “My Two Dads” was simply inconceivable when you were fifteen. But the one student who really went to the top of the class was one friendly and ambitious named John Bonjovi, or as we now know him, Jon Bon Jovi. He was always gracious and generous. I know this because one summer I was his camp counselor. I am a few years older than Jon and when I was working a summer job for the Parks Department, he was one of my dozen or so charges at President Park. He’d make key rings and give them to another kid. Always shared the racquets and balls, or split his sandwich with someone else… a nice kid who grew up to be one of the most philanthropic artists in the nation. A singer/ songwriter rock star, actor, sports team owner who donates both his time and money to many causes that benefit the residents of this state, his state (his Soul Foundation builds hundreds of homes for low-income families), has now added another venture that is at its heart and soul, a fantastic and groundbreaking concept.

Jon has opened a new restaurant in Red Bank called “Soul Kitchen” with the slogan “Hope is Delicious.” The concept: To provide gourmet quality meals to the hungry while enabling them to volunteer on community projects in return. An average restaurant goer can leave a $10 donation in the envelope on the table, or leave more to be be used for patrons that cannot pay. In exchange for a meal, you can wash dishes, bus or wait tables, or be a sous chef. Many choose to work for the myriad of community projects that the staff set up for them. It is a win-win in every way.

And FYI, this is no soup kitchen. There is linen and silverware on the tables and the menu includes items like grilled salmon with mashed sweet potatoes and rainbow beet salad. This is an experience that will be remembered long after the meal is digested. This is a restaurant that has more to do with feeding an appetite. It feeds the community and for those of us who will always “Keep the Faith,” it feeds the soul.

Soul Kitchen
Red Bank

www.jbsoulkitchen.org