Taylor Ham And History: Tell Why North Jersey Should Be 'Heritage Area' At Meeting

NORTH JERSEY, NJ – What’s special about North Jersey? You can give your thoughts at two virtual meetings on Thursday, and help the area become eligible for funding for economic development and the arts.

The Northern New Jersey Community Foundation will hold two sessions of the North Jersey National Heritage Area (NHA) Information Session, one on Thursday afternoon and one in the evening.

If the region is designated as a NHA, it could receive up to $1 million in federal funding and more, the group said.

The group described a National Heritage Area as "a federally designated region notable for having made a special contribution to American history and culture. This designation could bring up to $1 million in funding to North Jersey and more in economic activity."

The group hopes to use the funding to provide public performances, grants to artists, and more.

“To obtain the National Heritage Area designation will take time and resources. This project will help showcase the distinct history and culture of our communities. We need people’s input and support for this to occur,” said NNJCF's Executive Director Leonardo Vazquez, who will lead each session.

You can sign up for the 2 p.m. or 7 p.m. session online. Each session is free and open to the public.

Pre-register for each session here: www.nnjcf.org/events. Upon registration, participants will receive a link via email to attend the online session.

During each session, participants will also be able to ask questions.

For information about the project, visit www.nnjcf.oreg/NJNHA.

For additional information about the session, contact Leonardo Vazquez, at leo@nnjcf.org or call 201-568-5608 extension 2.