Hoboken Historical Museum Announces August Events

From the Hoboken Historical Museum:

Hoboken, N.J. – The Black Maria Film Festival Tour returns to the Hoboken Historical Museum this summer on Sunday afternoon, August 14, at 5 p.m. The gala event includes a barbecue and refreshments in the breezeway at the museum, followed by a screening of top selections from the Black Maria’s award-winning short films, including animation, documentary, experimental, and narrative. The program will be presented by festival director Jane Steuerwald.

Tickets are $10 in advance and can be purchased online through the Museum’s website or here. Tickets are $15 at the door.

One of the featured works is Films by Syrian Girls, a moving and insightful documentary produced by Laura Doggett. During a two-month workshop, Doggett worked with a group of teenage Syrian girls living as refugees in Jordan's Za'atari refugee camp. She provided cameras and training to the girls, who created expressionistic video diaries that provide openings into their everyday lives. “The idea behind giving the girls cameras so that they could tell their own stories, in their own voices, is really what motivated the workshop,” says Laura Doggett. “I think that the perspective we gain from the girls’ films and photography is very different from that of the mainstream media and the reporters entering their world for a brief period in time.”
Other works include Signwriter, a documentary (5 min.) by Paul Zinder, of Bishops Cleeve, Cheltenham, U.K. The film is a portrait of Graham Brown, who has had his dream job for 60 years, painting signs and narrowboats – a boat of a distinctive design, made to fit the narrow canals of the United Kingdom. His life is exactly what he wants it to be.

Dreaming of Peggy Lee – Narrative (11 min.) by James Everett, London, U.K. When Ingrid, an unsympathetic care worker, confiscates Belinda’s treasured picture of Peggy Lee, her friend Alexander decides to smuggle them both out of the home to visit a 1940s jazz club. When their dream is about to be cut short by the arrival of Ingrid, Belinda does something so extraordinary that it brings the entire jazz club to a standing ovation.

Daybreak/ L’aube – Animation (7 min.) by George Ungar, Toronto, Canada. Opening our eyes each new day, we stare for a few minutes into space, seeing the first sights, hearing the first sounds. It is neither night nor day but something in-between. Fragments of dreams refuse to expire, the grip of the day is not yet upon us, memory and desire hovers around the edges.

The Third Dad – Experimental (11 min.) by Theresa Moerman, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K. At the time of Cees Moerman’s death, his only daughter had not seen him for 15 years. In her twenties, she had asked him to stop drinking. When he told her he couldn’t, she cut off contact completely. Now, ten years after breaking all ties, and seven years after his death, she sets out to find his grave.

The Typist – Documentary (8 min.) by Kristine Stolakis, Palo Alto, CA. A gay Korean War veteran reflects on his time as an office clerk tasked with writing the discharges of outed gay sailors.

Nighthawks – Animation (7 min.) by Fang Ji, Chicago, IL. “Nighthawks” exposes the multi-sidedness of human nature. The filmmaker explores her doubts about the differences and distinctions between humans and animals. To her, the borders between species are dubious. She believes people can transform themselves into other creatures, as circumstances require.

The Black Maria Film Festival attracts and showcases nationally the works of highly accomplished independent film and video makers. The festival is a project of the Thomas A. Edison Media Arts Consortium, an independent nonprofit organization in residence at New Jersey City University’s Department of Media Arts. The Black Maria was founded in 1981 as a tribute to Thomas Edison’s development of the motion picture at his laboratory, dubbed the “Black Maria” film studio, the first in the world, in West Orange, N.J. The Black Maria Film Festival has been awarded the New Jersey State Council on the Arts Citation for Excellence for nine consecutive years. For further information, contact the Hoboken Historical Museum, 1301 Hudson St., Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-656-2240; or festival director Jane Steuerwald, jane@blackmariafilmfestival.org, 201-200-2043, or go here.

Sinatra Exhibition, Entertainers Continue Through December 30, 2016

The exhibition, “Frank Sinatra: The Man, the Voice and the Fans,” celebrating the centennial of Ol’ Blue Eyes’ birth on December 12, 1915, has been extended through the end of the year, due to popular demand. As part of the celebration, the Museum and the City of Hoboken’s Department of Cultural Affairs have collaborated on a “First Sundays Sinatra Singer” series, inviting contenders from the city’s “Sinatra Idol Contest” to perform at the Museum at 4 pm on the first Sunday of each month. On Sunday, August 7, at 4 pm, we welcome Stephen Verrone, who competed in Hoboken's Sinatra Idol Contest earlier this year. A CPA from Parsippany, N.J., Verrone began singing for his grandmother and others at a local nursing home in April 2000. Since then, he continues to volunteer his time to perform a monthly one-hour show singing Frank Sinatra songs and American popular standards. Admission is $5.

The exhibit features interactive displays and videos, cherished fan photographs and other unique artifacts to illustrate the singer/actor's formative years in Hoboken, and memories from long-time fans. Visitors can enjoy his talents in a media lounge featuring vinyl albums and digital documentary films, and contribute memories of their own to the Museum’s visitor journals. Visitors also can snap selfies in front of the new bronze star plaque honoring Sinatra’s centennial, installed in the walkway by the Museum’s entrance at 13th and Hudson Sts., or pick up a copy of the Museum’s “Sinatra Walking Tour Map,” for fans who wish to walk in his footsteps. Learn more at hobokenmuseum.org.

Annual Heirloom Tomato-Tasting Festival is August 28

The Museum’s Annual Heirloom Tomato-Tasting Festival returns Sunday, Aug. 28, from 1 – 5 p.m. in the breezeway outside the Museum’s entrance. Wantage, N.J., farmers Rich and Sue Sisti of Catalpa Ridge Farm will be back with over a dozen varieties of heirloom tomatoes, freshly picked and ready for sampling. The event, as always, is free.

Heirlooms are varieties that gardeners have saved by passing down seeds from one generation to the next. They’re usually the most flavorful varieties and often come in unusual colors and shapes — they hardly resemble the typical round, red tomato sitting in a plastic tray in the supermarket. The colors range from white to yellow to purple, and sometimes even red. Favorites over the years have included the tart “Aunt Ruby’s German Green,” the flavorful “Brandywine Pink,” and the ever-popular “Radiator Charlie’s Mortgage Lifter.” New varieties are grown every year. The Sistis also bring a selection of farm-fresh produce including garlic, herbs, peppers, onions, eggplant, summer squash and more, available for purchase.

About the Hoboken Historical Museum

Founded 1986, the Museum’s mission is to educate the public about Hoboken’s history, diverse culture, architecture and historic landmarks. In 2001, the Museum moved into one of the oldest buildings on the waterfront, in the former Bethlehem Steel shipyard, at 1301 Hudson St., Hoboken, where it maintains a series of rotating exhibits. The Museum is open six days a week, 2 – 7 pm on Tues. – Thurs., 1 – 5 pm on Fridays, and noon – 5 pm on weekends. Admission is jut $4. The Littleman Parking-Independence Garage (Shipyard Lane, at 12th St.) offers 3 hours of free parking with Museum validation (subject to special event or holiday blackout periods).

The Museum offers special exhibits, tours, events and lectures, as well as educational programs for adults and children on a weekly basis. An updated schedule of events and an online catalog of many items in its collections are available here. The Museum is a nonprofit tax-exempt 501(c)3 entity.

Image via the Hoboken Historical Museum