Northern NJ Community Foundation to Spotlight Community Enhancement at ArtsBergen's Connect the Dots

The Northern New Jersey Community Foundation's ArtsBergeninitiative will highlight the benefits of tactical urbanism at the fourth Connect the Dots networking event on Wednesday, October 19, 2016. The program will be held at Fairleigh Dickinson University's Giovatto Library, located at 1000 River Road in Teaneck, New Jersey, from 6:00 p.m.to 8:00 p.m.

Connect the Dots is free and open to artists, musicians, actors, writers, dancers, performers, arts administrators, educators, municipal and community leaders, business owners, nonprofit representatives, and arts supporters living or working in Bergen County. Refreshments will be served.

ArtsBergen, an initiative of the NNJCF, is an emerging arts alliance in Bergen County, New Jersey that supports and encourages creative placemaking, the practice of integrating arts and culture into a neighborhood, town, or region to build community and livability and boost local economy.

The program includes a presentation about tactical urbanism, a Latin dance performance, and networking. The NNJCF's quarterly community engagement project focuses on homeless working families serviced by Family Promise of Bergen County.

Tactical Urbanism

Speaker Mike Lydon will discuss Tactical Urbanism: Low Cost, High Impact via Creativity. An internationally known planner, writer, speaker, and advocate for livable cities, Lydon developed tactical urbanism, an approach to urban change that makes low-cost, temporary changes to the environment with the goal of improving neighborhoods and city gathering places.

Each Connect the Dots event highlights the arts with a live performance. Bogdan Tabaka and Juliana Henriques from Anchor Dance Studio in Oradell, New Jersey will present Latin dances and provide an interactive dance program.

The Foundation's quarterly community engagement project is collaborating with Bergen Family Promise, the only organization servicing working homeless families in the county. NNJCF is undertaking a collection of laundry products that will be given to Family Promise to distribute to its consumers. People attending the Connect the Dots event are asked to get involved in this effort and bring laundry detergent and related products.

During 2016, the Connect the Dots series is exploring creative placemaking, the practice of integrating arts and culture into the fabric of a region, town, or city block. The series seeks to create an environment stimulating conversation about creative placemaking and encouraging partnerships that can initiate projects across Bergen County.

"One of the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation's ArtsBergen goals is to encourage towns in Bergen County to engage in creative placemaking, strategies using the arts to increase quality of life. Mike Lydon will share concepts and examples of simple, inexpensive projects attendees can initiate themselves to beautify and take pride in their communities," said Danielle De Laurentis, Associate Director of the Northern New Jersey Community.

Space is limited. Pre-registration is required and may be done online. For further information, call 201-568-5608.