• David Martin, historian, author, public speaker and president of the Friends of the Monmouth Battlefield, will speak about the humor of George Washington at 7 p.m. Feb. 11 at the Monmouth County Library headquarters, 125 Symmes Drive, Manalapan. This free event is open to the public.
• Joseph W. Hammond, Curator of Museum Collections for the Monmouth County Historical Association, will host a gallery workshop at 10:30 a.m. Feb. 13 at the museum, located at 70 Court St., Freehold. The workshop will highlight pieces from the “Of the Best Materials and Good Workmanship: 19th Century New Jersey Chairmaking” exhibition now open at the museum. The 90 minute workshop will cost $10 per person. Reservations are required. Details: 732-462-1466, ext. 11 or pgithens@monmouthhistory.org.
• iPlay America, Freehold Township, will host an evening of fun, fashion and fabulous foodstuffs to benefit the Susan G. Komen Central and South New Jersey Affiliate on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. The Pink Power Party is a “ladies night out” featuring a roaming fashion show, local vendors, food and cocktails. Tickets are $35 per person and include two raffle prize tickets. Details: jenniferq@iplayamerica.com.
• The Street Corner Sounds Society will present a Valentine’s Day doo wop get-together at Garvey’s Family Restaurant and Bar, 405 Spotswood-Gravel Hill Road, Monroe Township, from noon to 5 p.m. Feb. 14. Admission is $8; ladies free. Lunch menu available. There will be a capella singing and live DJ music. Details: 732-236-8104.
• The Freehold Memorial Day Parade Committee will host two fundraisers on Feb. 16. One will be held from 5-10 p.m. at The Cabin Restaurant, 984 Route 33 East, Howell. The other will be held from noon to 10 p.m. at TGIFriday’s, 3492 Route 9 South, Freehold Township. The parade committee will receive 20 percent of the pre-tax, pre-liquor bill as a donation. Visit www.freeholdmemorialdayparade.com
• The Italian American Cultural Society of New Jersey will hold a dinner meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 11 at La Cashina Ristorante, 53 Route 34, Marlboro. The restaurant is BYOB. The cost is $35 for members and $45 for nonmembers. Cash is preferred. No credit cards. Details: 917-743-3311 or 732-861-9465 or www.italianamericansnj.com.
• The Performing Arts Ensemble will hold open auditions on Feb. 7 and Feb. 14 at 10 Mechanic St., Red Bank, for its winter and spring performances The ensemble is looking for teen and young adult female points dancers; boys and girls ages 4-12; male actors; gymnasts; and dancers of any kind. The call time for pointe dancers is 10 a.m and the call time for younger dancers is 11 a.m. Auditions will also be held at 7:45 p.m. on Feb. 5 and Feb. 12 at the same location for all ages. Details: 732-614-5426.
• Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Monmouth County, Marlboro, will hold a casino and horse races night at 8 p.m. on Feb. 6. The event will take place at The Center for Jewish Life, 176 Route 79 N., Marlboro. Advanced registration is $90 per person and $110 per person at the door. Registration includes $100 in chips per person. The admission price includes a dinner buffet, open bar, table games (blackjack, roulette, poker, action packed horse racing viewed in full color and sound), dessert buffet and music. Prizes will be awarded. Register online at www.ssgmc.com/thebigevent.
• The American Legion Ladies Auxiliary Monmouth Unit 54, 62 W. Main St., Freehold, will host a Quarter Auction at 2 p.m. Feb. 20. Doors open at 1 p.m. The cost is $10. Details: 732-431-8664 or Mabiggs@optonline.net.
• The Monmouth Ski Club will host its monthly meeting at 8 p.m. Feb. 3 at the Wild Rover, 153 Shrewsbury Ave., Red Bank. The meeting is free and open to the public. Details: www.monmouthskiclub.com.
• No Stigma Network, Inc. will hold a support meeting from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 20 at the CentraState Health Awareness Center, 901 W. Main St., Freehold Township. Community members who seek support and understanding about mental health challenges are invited to share their experiences in a confidential setting. Participants may bring lunch to the meetings. Support meetings are held the third Saturday of every month. Details: 732-533-7632 or 732-939-2092 or email nostigmanetwork@gmail.com.
• First United Methodist Church, 91 W. Main St., Freehold, will host a pancake dinner and concert featuring the Mardi Gras with Joyful Noise Praise Band! from 6-8 p.m. Feb. 6. Details: www.freeholdmethodist.org.
• The Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County, 310 Mount’s Corner Drive, Freehold Township, will host Professor Maurice Mahler as part of its Jewish Artists lecture series at 1 p.m. Feb. 15. Mahler will discuss the life and work of Amedeo Clemente Modigliani, a Jewish Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. The cost is $8 for members and $10 nonmembers. Details: 732-252-6990 or jhmomcpr@optonline.net.
• The Arcadian Chorale will begin its new spring season with rehearsals every Tuesday from 7-10 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Matawan, Route 34 at Franklin Street. People who like to sing and are interested in becoming new members are invited to attend an open rehearsal on Feb. 9. Membership in the group is free. For Spring 2016, the chorale will offer “L’Chaim, to Life!,” a gala program celebrating Jewish music and culture to be performed at several area synagogues in April and May. Details: www.arcadianchorale.org or email arcadianchorale@yahoo.com.
• The Bishop Reiss Council of the Knights of Columbus (Marlboro) is sponsoring a Valentine’s Day dinner and dance from 7:30-11:30 p.m. Feb. 13 at Eagle Oaks Country Club, Howell. There will be a cocktail reception, filet mignon and chicken duet dinner, coffee and desert, and a full open bar all evening. There will be dancing all night with live DJ music. Cost for the event is $85 per person with proceeds being donated to local charities sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. Tables of eight to 10 people can be accommodated. Details: chrismiseo@optonline.net or 732-536-3049.
• The Bimah Players Community Theater seeks actors, singers and musicians of all ages for “Fools Rush In,” a play with music about love based on works by great classic and contemporary writers from Shakespeare and Chekhov to Matt Groening, creator of “The Simpsons.” It is a readers theater production so memorization is not required. To make an appointment to audition, email dirbimahplayers@aol.com or call 609-395-2969. Auditions will be held at the Monroe Township Jewish Center, 11 Cornell Ave, Monroe Township, Feb. 8 from 1:30-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m., Feb. 9 from 7:30-9 p.m. and Feb. 11 from 1:30-4 p.m. Performance dates are May 15 and May 29 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and May 25 at 8 p.m.
• Congregation Sons of Israel, Gordons Corner Road, Manalapan, will host the Jewish Choir of Central New Jersey at 3 p.m. Feb. 21. The choir includes Cantor Joanna Alexander of Temple Rodeph Torah, Cantor Wayne Krieger of the Marlboro Jewish Center, Cantor Jason Rosenman of Temple Beth Shalom and Cantor Wayne S. Siet of Temple Shaari Emeth. The choir is in its 13th year of performing in central New Jersey. Admission is $5 if RSVP before Feb. 15 and $8 at the door. Details: 732-446-3000.
• The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance will meet in the spiritual center of St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, 1 Phalanx Road, Colts Neck, from 7:30-9 p.m. every Thursday. Details: 732-536-5826 or 732-320-0029.
• The Freehold Art Society will hold a meeting at the Monmouth County Library Headquarters, 125 Symmes Drive, Manalapan, at 7 p.m. Feb. 3. Dana Cohoon, a Neptune photographer, will present “Photography: The Basics of the Digital Darkroom for the Artist.” The meeting and program are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. Details: 732-938-6415 or www.freeholdartsociety.homestead.com.
• Quality Insights Quality Innovation Network is partnering with the YMCA of Western Monmouth County to provide free diabetes education from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. every Friday from Feb. 5 to March 11 at the YMCA, 470 East Freehold Road, Freehold Township. Details: 732-462-0464, ext. 116.
• The Monmouth County Historical Association, 70 Court St., Freehold, will exhibit “Of the Best Materials and Good Workmanship: 19th Century New Jersey Chair Making” now through July 9. Details: 732-462-1466 or www.monmouthhistory.org.
• The Monmouth County Audubon Society will host a free bird walk at 10 a.m. Feb. 13. Participants are asked to meet in the parking lot of the closed visitor center at Sandy Hook in northern Monmouth County. Members and nonmembers of the Audubon Society are invited, and registration is not required. Participants should dress appropriately for cold temperatures and windy conditions. Binoculars and a field guide are recommended. Details: info@monmouthaudubon.org or www.monmouthaudubon.org.
• The American Association of University Women Freehold branch is accepting book donations for its 2016 book sale. With the exception of Reader’s Digest condensed books and textbooks, all book donations in good condition are appreciated. Contact Joan at 732-431-2297 for drop-off instructions. Proceeds from the book sale support scholarships for women who are returning to college and monetary awards for graduating female seniors from the Freehold Regional High School District.
• The Essential Tremor Support Group meets from 7-9 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month (Feb. 4) at the Jack Aaronson Conference Center at CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township. Details: 732-462-8304, after 10 a.m.
• The Novo Nordisk Diabetes Center at CentraState Medical Center is offering a support group for people with diabetes and their families. The group will meet on the third Wednesday of every month (Feb. 17) from 1-2 p.m. in the Jack Aaronson Conference Center in the Star and Barry Tobias Ambulatory Campus, 901 W. Main St., Freehold Township. Details: 732-308-0570.
- The Relay For Life kickoff celebration will take place at 7 p.m. March 9 at the American Hotel, 18 E. Main St., Freehold. The event will include music and light refreshments. Details: 732-292-4262 or tara.novak@cancer.org.
- The Reformed Church of Freehold will hold a family-style roast beef dinner from 4-7 p.m. March 5 at the church, located at 67 W. Main St., Freehold. The cost is $18 for adults and $6 for children ages 6-12. Tickets will be available at the door or through the church office. Details: 732-462-1717.
- The Freehold Borough High School Class of 1996 will hold a 20-year reunion at 7 p.m. June 4 at Paul’s Tavern, 1705 Main St., Belmar. The cost is $65. The event will include an open bar from 7:30-10:30 p.m., buffet and live music. Tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be sold at the door. Details: http://stellikris.wix.com/classof1996.
• The Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County, 310 Mount’s Corner Drive, Freehold, will host Joseph Levy in a presentation on “The Forgotten Refugees,” the Jews from the Arab countries at 1 p.m. Feb. 21. This will be followed by a related film of the same name. Levy, an attorney whose family fled to the United States in 1958 in what he calls the “Yetziat Mitzrayim Shayni,” the second exodus from Egypt, subsequently grew up in Deal. The cost is $8 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Details: 732-252-6990 or www.jhmomc.org.
• The Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Monmouth County, 22 School Road E., Marlboro, will host a free library character breakfast and pajama party from 10-11:15 a.m. March 6. Children from 6 months to 6 years old are invited to this event which will include games, prizes and a character parade. Children are encouraged to wear their favorite pajamas. This program is open to the public. Reservations are required. Details: Linda@schechtergmc.com.
Items for the Datebook may be sent via email to cbarcia@gmnews.com. Please send items at least two weeks prior to a scheduled event.
