Cherry Hill Sun

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  • Art blooms at Croft Farm juried exhibit

    Cherry Hill’s annual Art Blooms Juried Art Exhibit opened at Croft Farms Arts Center on May 6, welcoming artists, their friends and family and the community.

    The exhibit’s pieces – displayed on the center’s wall – are comprised of painting, drawings and mixed media presented by the Cherry Hill Arts Board. 

    Artists were invited to enter up to three pieces each, for a fee of $10 each. The money benefits the Juried Photography Exhibit, which provides funding for the Gaye Pino Scholarship Award to students pursuing art, music and theater at the township high schools. 

    This year’s Cherry Hill East scholarship winner is theater student Madeleine Pierlott; West’s winner is Julian Dappolone, also a theater student. 

    Photos by Abigail Twiford/The Sun
    Cherry Hill East theater student Madeleine Pierlott accepted her scholarship award at the exhibit on May 6.

    A total of 67 pieces were chosen out of 137 submissions. Winning work for first, second and third place were on display at the back of the exhibit and labeled with their ranks.

    Gwynn Di Pilla was the overall winner for her piece, “Simpler Times,” a watercolor painting depicting a vintage sign for a soda fountain that reads “Waltz Rexall.”

    Gwynn Di Pilla stands next to Mayor Dave Fleisher with her exhibit award, a painting she calls “Simpler Times.”

    Di Pilla recalled seeing the Rexall sign on a visit to Maine. 

    “We went by it a couple times, and waited for the light to be just right, snapped the photograph and worked from there,” she recounted. “I specialize in watercolor, and I actually have quite a few students in the show.” 

    Second place for the exhibit went to Peter Ehlinger for his watercolor piece, “Butterflies and Bamboo,” which depicts a variety of colorful butterflies in a bamboo frame. Third place was awarded to James Frankovich for his pen and ink drawing, “Roadrunner.” It depicts a stylized person driving a car with an angry expression. 

    Next to the three winners were a collection of honorable mentions arranged on the same wall of the center. Jeff Chorney had multiple pieces in the show; his piece, “Let’s Communicate,” showed multiple teenagers in a group texting on their phones.

    “Just getting into this show is in itself an accomplishment,” Chorney acknowledged. “The award is just being, having your piece accepted.” 

    Mayor Dave Fleisher was in attendance to celebrate the exhibit opening and observe what he described as record-breaking attendance. 

    “I think people are excited to be together, and we continue to give people the opportunity to participate and to be part of a broader community,” he observed. “And people are really embracing it.” 

    Each of the exhibit winners and those with an honorable mention accepted a certificate from the mayor in front of their pieces. Winners also received monetary prizes. Residents from throughout the township filtered in and out during the event.

    “I’d like to say township is defined by geographic boundaries,” Fleisher said, “but a community is defined by events like this evening.”

    The exhibit continues through Thursday.

  • Donald Norcross home after rehab

    Congressman Donald Norcross has returned home after a brief stay at a rehabilitation facility, according to his Cherry Hill district office.

    The 66-year-old congressman was admitted to Cooper University Health Care on April 7 after suffering a gallbladder infection known as cholangitis that had progressed to sepsis. He was first taken ill in Raleigh, N.C. Norcross is expected to continue outpatient rehab in the coming weeks and will have his gallbladder removed.

    “It is good to be home,” the congressman said. “I owe a debt of immense gratitude to the incredible health professionals at Cooper Hospital who saved my life and have been instrumental in helping me recover so quickly. I want to sincerely thank the incredible South Jersey community for the outpouring of prayers, cards, calls and well wishes.

    “Be assured that I will continue to fight for our seniors, veterans and hardworking families each and every day.”

  • Paint and sips at library’s Jewish heritage event

    In honor of May as Jewish America Heritage Month, the Cherry Hill library held a paint and sip event on the evening of May 6 in collaboration with the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Southern New Jersey and the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey. 

    Susan Dermer is on the board of the JCRC.

    “We just have women that are gathering together to celebrate Jewish Heritage month,” she explained, “and the whole focus is strength and resilience of Jewish women.”

    Attendees were given a plastic zipper storage bag with a picture frame, pallet, two brushes, a cup, a sponge, a disposable apron and a piece of paper. The project consisted of painting two wooden symbols important to Judaism, the tree of life and the hamsa, a symbol of the ancient Middle East.

    Photos by Abigail Twiford/The Sun
    Examples of the finished hamsa and tree of life symbol artworks at the paint and sip library event on May 6.

    The tree of life means growth, wisdom and the connection between generations of Jewish women together. 

    “The deep roots passed down through generations together are to honor the legacy of a strong Jewish woman: grounded, resilient and always moving forward,” Dermer noted.

    The hamsa – an open hand with five fingers and an eye in its center – represents protection and feminine strength. 

    Stacey Rosenblum was in attendance at the library event.

    “It’s meaningful, because I’ve actually had hamsa keychains and things from Israel, from other places, and I lost my hamsa,” she said. “Now I get to paint one.”

    The wooden symbols were in the back of the room at the library on a table that held the bottles of paint. Participants were instructed to paint the hamsa first, to ensure it had time to dry. The paper included in the bag could be painted as a background for the tree or the hamsa. 

    As the participants painted and enjoyed light refreshments, Moriah Benjoseph Nassau, director of leadership development and learning for the Jewish Federation, gave a talk on influential and important American Jewish women in history. She began with the Old Testament and Torah figures like Esther, Miriam and Ruth.

    Nassau then went on to discuss poet Emma Lazarus, who wrote “The New Colossus,” the poem at the base of the Statue of Liberty; Zionist leader Henrietta Szold; feminist Bella Azbug, a lawyer and later congresswoman from New York; Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the first Jewish woman on the Supreme Court; and musician Debbie Friedman.

    Nassau also mentioned the first four women to become rabbis for each of the major movements of Judaism. And she addressed the Laurel Thatcher Ulrich quote – “Well-behaved women rarely make history” – and its true meaning.

    “What most people mean when they say it today is, you should stand up and make a lot of noise, because otherwise it doesn’t get put in history books …” Nassau pointed out. “She (Thatcher) means nearly the complete opposite. Well-behaved women rarely make history, and that is okay.

    “We don’t need to be in the history books to make a difference.”

    After the presentation, the library group was instructed on how to put the project together, placing the dried and painted wooden figure onto the glass of the picture frame, then putting a paper border around it, with the paper background on top of both, then putting the back of the frame back on. 

    Three of the attendees at the library event displayed their completed works, two hamsas and a tree of life.

    “It was an important, amazing, fun event,” said another attendee, Chevy Cianci. “I learned about some important Jewish women I didn’t know about, which is pretty cool.”

  • Local artist presents solo exhibit

    The Appel Gallery at the Katz JCC will host a solo art exhibition by local mixed media artist Romina Ranjbari on Thursday, June 5, from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

    Her collection features 24 original works, each exploring themes of identity, transformation and the emotional landscape of human experience.

    Ranjbari is an emerging voice in the world of contemporary art who brings a poetic approach to mixed media. Her works combine texture, photography, paint, and layered symbolism, inviting viewers to step into quiet, reflective inner spaces.

    Inspired by both spiritual depth and daily emotion, Ranjbari’s art balances intensity with softness.
    This is her first U.S. solo show and she sees it as “an offering of everything I have carried in silence, now turned into color, contrast and form.”

  • Cherry Hill Calendar

    Wednesdays

    Barclay Farmstead public tours Noon to 4 p.m. Barclay Farmstead, 209 Barclay Lane (off West Gate Drive). For more information, visit Barclay Farmstead: A Living History Museum | Cherry Hill Township, NJ. 

    May 7 – May 14

    Happenings at the Cherry Hill library at 1100 Kings Highway North. For more information, call (856) 667-0300 or email info@chplnj.org. 

    May 14 – 10:30 a.m. – Introduction to Microsoft Windows 10: Part 2.

    May 14 – 10:30 a.m. – Social Security: You Earned it!

    May 14 – 10:30 a.m. – Tales for Twos.

    May 14 – 7 p.m. – Growth of the Camden County Jewish Community. 

    May 15 – 10:30 a.m. – Community Conversations: Hip and Knee Pain Workshop with JAG Physical Therapy.

    May 15 – 10:30 a.m. – Story Time.

    May 15 – 1:30 p.m. – Adult Crafting Program: Wax Paper Luminaries.

    May 16 – 10:30 a.m. – Music and Movement.

    May 17 – 10:15 a.m. – Yoga for Everyone.

    May 18 – 2 p.m. – Live Music Entertainment featuring Sweet Spot.

    May 18 – 2:30 p.m. – Intro to Coding with Python.

    May 19 – 4 p.m. – Library Board Meeting.

    May 20 – 10:30 a.m. – Rhyme Time.

    May 20 – 6:30 p.m. – Teens Anime Night.

    May 21 – 10:15 a.m. – Friends of the Library Meeting.

    May 21 – 10:30 a.m. – Keep Yourself, Your Computer and Your Money Safe Online.

    May 21 – 10:30 a.m. – Tales for Twos.

    May 21 – 7 p.m. – Novel Writing 101: 10 Week Series.

    Camden County events

    For more information, visit www.camdencounty.com.

    May 14 – 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Celebrating Older Americans Month, Carol Norcross Senior Center, 512 Lakeland Rd, Blackwood.

    May 14 – 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Chair Yoga, Cherry Hill Municipal Building, 820 Mercer St., Cherry Hill.

    May 14 – noon to 2 p.m. – Billiards & Bowling, 30 Strikes Lanes, 501 White Horse Pike South, Stratford. 

    May 14 – 3:30-4:30 p.m. – Lil’ Bugs Club, Camden County Environmental Center, 1301 Park Blvd, Cherry Hill.

    May 14 – 3:30-6 p.m. – Celebrating Older American’s Month Senior Dance, Donald E. Wilson Community Center, 425 Brooke Ave., Magnolia.

    May 14 – 6-7 p.m. – R.E.A.L Sports Bocce Ball, Louis F. Cappelli, Sr. Bocce Ball Court, 5300 N. Park Dr., Pennsauken.

    May 14 – 6-8 p.m. – Stress Busting for Family Caregivers, St. Marys Villa, 220 St. Mary’s Drive, Cherry Hill.

    May 15 – 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Pickleball for Seniors, DeCou Park Pickleball Courts Evesham and Crowell Roads, Cherry Hill.

    May 15 – 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Senior Golf Lessons, Camden County Driving Range, 8001 S Crescent Blvd., Pennsauken.

    May 15 – noon to 1 p.m. – Board of Commissioners Meeting, Camden City Hall, 6th Floor 520 Market St., Camden.

    May 15 – 4-5 p.m. – Healthy Meals for Healthy Seniors Workshop, Camden County Technical School, 6008 Browning Rd, Pennsauken.

    May 15 –  6:30-8:30 p.m. – County disABILITIES Dance Class, Magnolia Community Center 425 Brook Ave., Magnolia. 

    May 16 – 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – 2025 Job Fair, Cherry Hill Mall 2000 NJ Route 38, Cherry Hill.

    May 17 – 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Household Hazardous Waste Collection, Atco Parking Area, Atco and Raritan Avenues, Atco.

    May 17 – 10 a.m. to noon – Mental Health Awareness Walk: Not All Wounds Are Visible, Wiggins Park, 2 Riverside Drive, Camden. 

    May 17 – 10 a.m. to noon – New Brooklyn Park Cleanup Camden County Service Fair, New Brooklyn Park, Sicklerville. 

    May 18 – 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. – Healthy Kids Running Series, Haddon Lake Park, Hillside and South Park Ave., Haddon Heights.

    May 18 – 2-3 p.m. – Together in Song, Virtual Event.

    May 18 – 3-7 p.m. – Somerstock Music Festival, Passanante Park, 300 Kennedy Blvd., Somerdale.

    May 18 – 5-7 p.m. – Serenity on the Sea, Battleship New Jersey, 62 Battleship Place, Camden.

    May 18 – 6:30-10 p.m. – Whose Live Anyway?, Scottish Rite Auditorium, 315 White Horse Pike, Collingswood.

    May 19 – 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Chair Yoga, William G. Rohrer Memorial Library: Haddon Twp Branch: Haddon, 15 MacArthur Blvd., Westmont.

    May 19 – 4:30-7 p.m. – Seniors After Hours Ceramics Class, Carol Norcross Senior Center, 512 Lakeland Rd, Blackwood.

    May 19 – 6:30-7:30 p.m. – disABILITIES Dance Class, Camden County Environmental Center, 1301 Park Blvd, Cherry Hill.

    May 20 – 10-11 a.m. – Board of Elections Meeting, Virtual Event.

    May 20 – 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Senior Golf Lessons, Camden County Driving Range, 8001 S Crescent Blvd., Pennsauken.

    May 20 – noon to 2 p.m. – Senior Bocce Ball, Louis F. Cappelli, Sr. Bocce Ball Court, 5300 N. Park Dr., Pennsauken.

    May 20 – 1-2 p.m. – Tai Chi for Seniors, Wayne Bryant Community Center, 323 E Charleston Ave., Lawnside.

    May 20 – 4:30-7 p.m. – Seniors After Hours Ceramics Class, Carol Norcross Senior Center, 512 Lakeland Rd, Blackwood.

    May 20 – 6:30-7:30 p.m. – disABILITIES Horticultural Therapy Class, Camden County Environmental Center, 1301 Park Blvd, Cherry Hill.

    May 21 – 11 a.m. to noon – Meditation Classes, Virtual Event.

    May 21 – 1-2 p.m. – Meditation Classes, Cherry Hill Municipal Building, 820 Mercer St., Cherry Hill.

    May 21 – 6-7:30 p.m. – Camp Sunny Side Online, Virtual Event.

    May 21 – 6-8 p.m. – Stress Busting for Family Caregivers, St. Marys Villa, 220 St. Mary’s Drive, Cherry Hill.

    Wednesday, May 14

    Art Blooms Juried Art Exhibit 4-7 p.m. at Croft Farms Arts Center.

    Thursday, May 15

    Board of Fire Commissioners regular meeting 7-9 p.m. at 1100 Marlkress Road

    Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting 7:30-11 p.m. via Zoom.

    Art Blooms Juried Art Exhibit 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Croft Farms Arts Center.

    Saturday, May 17

    Trail Crew Session: Kresson Trails 9 a.m. to noon

    Monday, May 19

    Planning Board meeting 7:30-11 p.m. via Zoom.

  • Township library pantry addresses period poverty

    Period poverty has been an issue throughout the world for decades, but in recent years, New Jersey has made several efforts to reduce its impact.

    Period poverty occurs when menstruating females are unable to afford adequate sanitary products or don’t have access to hygiene facilities and education. The situation can lead to health issues like urinary tract infections and depression. An estimated 25% of women have trouble accessing or affording products. 

    To combat the problem, the Cherry Hill library partnered with the Alice Paul Institute’s Girls Leadership Council in 2023 to create a period pantry for teen patrons. Jasmine Riel is a teen librarian who helped set that up.

    “I think it took a while for people to really understand that it was a permanent fixture in the library,” she recalled. “It wasn’t just like a drive and a project that the students who helped organize it did for a short period of time.”

    For most of its existence, the pantry has been located on shelves in the library’s upper-floor teen section, where it provides various sizes and types of tampons, pads and panty liners. Due to construction, it has been temporarily relocated to a table in the same section. 

    Riel says the pantry is clearly necessary; she can see products being taken week to week, especially maxi and regular pads, regular tampons and menstrual cups from Alice Paul, the only reusable option in the pantry.

    “We would like to offer more reusable products, like period panties and things like that,” Riel noted. “It’s something that we’ve definitely talked about.”

    Donations from Alice Paul continue to be the main source of pantry materials, though individual donations are also accepted. Since it began, the pantry has proved to be valuable even to those who aren’t in need of its products.

    “We’ve also had parents tell us that it’s been a great visible educational tool for them to share with their own children,” Riel explained, “especially if they have children who don’t (yet) menstruate. They can say, like, ‘Hey, you have friends who have periods. Can you imagine how much money they have to spend on these all the time?’”

    Riel believes the pantry is a tool not just for information, but for teaching empathy that can in turn help break existing stigmas around menstruation.

    “We don’t just say feminine products anymore, we say period products,” she emphasized, “because that’s what it is. It’s a biological experience that people have.”

    In addition to local programs, there have been efforts statewide in the last two years to combat period poverty. In the summer of 2023, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill that requires school districts to provide free menstrual products to students in grades six through 12. And last year, New Jersey became the first state to allow use of welfare and cash assistance programs to buy period products.

    Since much of the pantry’s stock comes from Alice Paul, a nonprofit, there is concern that recent upheaval in federal government grant allocations may make it more difficult to routinely stock its products.

    “They (Alice Paul) are a nonprofit, so with things kind of going on in the world right now, it’s hard to tell how frequently they’ll be able to buy and supply certain things,” Riel acknowledged.

    Though donations were initially discouraged when the pantry first opened due to limited space, Riel now encourages them, as well as donations to Alice Paul.

    “It’s important to donate something like menstrual products,” she observed. “That kind of want to help people is really special, and it’s very unique. It’s a very unique way of giving back to your community.”

  • ‘Everything survives’

    To honor the anniversary of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, the township library hosted tour guide and reenactor Michael Jesberger on April 30.

    Jesberger offers 45 lectures on various aspects of the Revolutionary, Civil and World War eras. Though the anniversary of Lincoln’s shooting was April 14 – he died the next day – Jesberger’s talk was held on the last day of the month due to scheduling.

    He began by addressing major historical events that took place over the years in April, from the Battle of Lexington and Concord to the sinking of the Titanic. He then transitioned to the Civil War and the Lincoln assassination plot.

    “In my opinion, it’s absolutely tragic that this president who got us through those four (war) years is given the news that Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9 … And then he’s killed. He has no time to enjoy it,” Jesberger noted.

    He then went on to talk about how Lincoln was not the only target for assassination. Accused killer John Wilkes Booth did not work alone, and it is believed he and others planned to murder leading members of the federal government, including Grant; Vice President Andrew Johnson; and Secretary of State William Seward, who was seriously injured.

    Jesberger used informational slides and images of surviving era artifacts throughout his talk, including clothing.

    “Everything survives,” he maintained. “The flag, the (president’s) shirt collar, her (Mary Lincoln’s) dress …”

    His images also included one of the 44-caliber pistol Booth used in the assassination, and Jesberger described how the assassin crept through a door at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C., locked the entrance to the president’s private box and timed the shot into Lincoln’s head when he knew – as an actor – the audience would be laughing.

     Booth then escaped by jumping from the balcony and onto the stage, breaking his leg.

    “He goes over the balcony,” Jesberger recounted, “but when he does that, he catches his spur in this brand new decoration that was there that night. He catches his spur in the bunting, and it throws him off balance.”

    Jesberger also talked about Lincoln’s last hours in a bed that was too small for his lanky frame at a home near the theater, because he couldn’t be brought back to the White House fast enough. Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd, was asked at one point to leave the room because of her emotional outbursts. Lincoln’s younger son Tad, saw a different play that night and was not initially aware of the tragedy.

    Jesberger also described Booth’s escape and his April 26 killing, when a New York cavalry soldier went against direct orders, shooting and killing Booth when he saw the assassin hiding in a burning barn in Virginia.

    “Sgt. Boston Corbett, was present,” Jesberger explained, “and he believed that he was an instrument of Jesus Christ. He was on this planet to do God’s bidding. So he ignores the orders.”

    As he neared the end of his talk, Jesberger acknowledged he didn’t have time to go over the entire episode of Booth’s killling and the trial of his co-conspirators. He looked to librarian Katherine Grady as he mentioned his enthusiasm for a possible part two of the discussion.

    “We’re so glad to have history programming that appeals to so many of our patrons,” Grady said. “Michael was so animated and interesting. I’m sure we’ll bring him back.”

  • Prestigious choices

    Courtesy of Jayne Feld
    Veterans of American Legion Post 372 have selected a group of local high-school students to attend the 79th annual American Legion Jersey Boys State session as delegates the week of June 15 at Rider University in Lawrenceville. The 12 students were nominated by school counselors. They are Thomas Andrews, Haddon Township (seated left to right); Shaun Maloney, Haddon Township; Eddy Perez, Camden Catholic; James Watson, who is home-schooled; Max Ivory, Cherry Hill West; Max Kukafka, Cherry Hill East; Landon Schuster, Cherry Hill East; Uchenna Ekeabu, Camden Catholic; Lennon Chrisman, Paul VI; Nico Spatucci, Cherry Hill East; and Cary Bloom, Cherry Hill East. Not pictured is Jacob Adler, Cherry Hill East.

  • Cherry Hill Calendar

    Wednesdays

    Barclay Farmstead public tours Noon to 4 p.m. Barclay Farmstead, 209 Barclay Lane (off West Gate Drive). For more information, visit Barclay Farmstead: A Living History Museum | Cherry Hill Township, NJ. 

    May 7 – May 14

    Happenings at the Cherry Hill library at 1100 Kings Highway North. For more information, call (856) 667-0300 or email info@chplnj.org. 

    May 7 – 10:30 a.m. – Introduction to Microsoft Windows 10: Part 1.

    May 7 – 10:30 a.m. – Tales for Twos. 

    May 7 – 2 p.m. – Music and Movement. 

    May 7 – 7 p.m. – Novel Writing 101 – 10-Week Series.

    May 8 – 10:30 a.m. – Story Time.

    May 8 – 7 p.m. – Concoctions Book Club: This is How You Lose the Time War.

    May 9 – 10:30 a.m. – Celebrate! Jewish American Heritage Storytime.

    May 10 – 10:15 a.m. – Yoga for Everyone.

    May 10 – 1 p.m. – Japanese Americans and Seabrook Farms.

    May 10 – 2 p.m. – Artist Reception: Photographic Explorations.

    May 10 – 2 p.m. – Needlework Meetup.

    May 10 – 3 p.m. – Teen Volleyball.

    May 12 – 10:30 a.m. – Relaxing Through Technology.

    May 12 – 2 p.m. – Movie Monday: White Bird.

    May 12 – 6:30 p.m. – Delicious Reads. 

    May 12 – 6:30 p.m. – Let’s Talk about Mental Health.

    May 13 – 10:30 a.m. – Rhyme Time.

    May 13 – 1 p.m. – Citizenship Preparation.

    May 13 – 1:30 p.m. – LEAP Intermediate.

    May 13 – 2 p.m. – Needlework Meetup.

    May 13 – 7 p.m. – CHPL Book Club: Yellowface by R. F. Kuang.

    May 13 – 7 p.m. – Crafter Hours: Boho Wall Hoops. 

    May 14 – 10:30 a.m. – Introduction to Microsoft Windows 10: Part 2.

    May 14 – 10:30 a.m. – Social Security: You Earned it!

    May 14 – 10:30 a.m. – Tales for Twos.

    May 14 – 7 p.m. – Growth of the Camden County Jewish Community. 

    Camden County events

    For more information, visit www.camdencounty.com.

    May 7 – 1-2 p.m. – Meditation Classes, Cherry Hill Municipal Building, 820 Mercer St., Cherry Hill.

    May 7 – 4-6 p.m. – Camden County Technical Schools Job Fair, Camden County Technical School- Gloucester Township, 343 Cross Keys Rd., Sicklerville.

    May 7 – 4-6 p.m. – 2025 Job Fair, Camden County Technical School- Gloucester Township, 343 Cross Keys Rd., Sicklerville.

    May 7 – 6-7 p.m. – R.E.A.L Sports Bocce Ball, Louis F. Cappelli, Sr. Bocce Ball Court, 5300 N. Park Dr., Pennsauken.

    May 7 – 6-8 p.m. – Stress Busting for Family Caregivers, St. Marys Villa, 220 St. Mary’s Drive, Cherry Hill.

    May 8 – 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Pickleball for Seniors, DeCou Park Pickleball Courts Evesham and Crowell Roads, Cherry Hill. 

    May 8 – 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Senior Golf Lessons, Camden County Driving Range, 8001 S Crescent Blvd., Pennsauken.

    May 8 – 12:30-1:30 p.m. – Senior Line Dancing Classes, Carol Norcross Senior Center, 512 Lakeland Rd, Blackwood.

    May 8 – 4-5 p.m. – Healthy Meals for Healthy Seniors Workshop, Camden County Technical School, 6008 Browning Rd, Pennsauken.

    May 8 – 6:30-7:30 p.m. – disABILITIES Bocce Ball, Camden County Environmental Center, 1301 Park Blvd, Cherry Hill.

    May 9 – 12:30-2:30 p.m. – Camden County Technical Schools Job Fair, Camden County Technical School, 6008 Browning Rd, Pennsauken.

    May 11 – 2-3 p.m. – Together in Song, Virtual Event.

    May 12 – 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Chair Yoga, William G. Rohrer Memorial Library: Haddon Twp Branch: Haddon, 15 MacArthur Blvd., Westmont.

    May 12 – 4:30-7 p.m. – Seniors After Hours Ceramics Class, Carol Norcross Senior Center, 512 Lakeland Rd, Blackwood.

    May 12 – 6:30-7:30 p.m. – disABILITIES Dance Class, Camden County Environmental Center, 1301 Park Blvd, Cherry Hill.

    May 13 – 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Senior Golf Lessons, Camden County Driving Range, 8001 S Crescent Blvd., Pennsauken.

    May 13 – 12-1 p.m. – Board of Commissioners Caucus Meeting, Camden City Hall, 6th Floor 520 Market St., Camden.

    May 13 – 1-2 p.m. – Tai Chi for Seniors, Wayne Bryant Community Center, 323 E Charleston Ave., Lawnside.

    May 13 – 4:30-7 p.m. – Seniors After Hours Ceramics Class, Carol Norcross Senior Center, 512 Lakeland Rd, Blackwood.

    May 13 – 6:30-7:30 p.m. – disABILITIES Horticultural Therapy Class, Camden County Environmental Center, 1301 Park Blvd, Cherry Hill.

    May 14 – 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Celebrating Older Americans Month, Carol Norcross Senior Center, 512 Lakeland Rd, Blackwood.

    May 14 – 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Chair Yoga, Cherry Hill Municipal Building, 820 Mercer St., Cherry Hill.

    May 14 – noon to 2 p.m. – Billiards & Bowling, 30 Strikes Lanes, 501 White Horse Pike South, Stratford. 

    May 14 – 3:30-4:30 p.m. – Lil’ Bugs Club, Camden County Environmental Center, 1301 Park Blvd, Cherry Hill.

    May 14 – 3:30-6 p.m. – Celebrating Older American’s Month Senior Dance, Donald E. Wilson Community Center, 425 Brooke Ave., Magnolia.

    May 14 – 6-7 p.m. – R.E.A.L Sports Bocce Ball, Louis F. Cappelli, Sr. Bocce Ball Court, 5300 N. Park Dr., Pennsauken.

    May 14 – 6-8 p.m. – Stress Busting for Family Caregivers, St. Marys Villa, 220 St. Mary’s Drive, Cherry Hill.

    Wednesday, May 7

    Art Blooms juried art exhibit 4 to 7 p.m. at Croft Farms Arts Center.

    Thursday, May 8

    Board of Fire Commissioners workshop meeting 7 to 9 p.m. at 1100 Marlkress Road

    Art Blooms juried art exhibit 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Croft Farms Arts Center.

    Saturday, May 10

    Second Saturday Trail Crew session 9 a.m. to noon. Location to be determined.

    Monday, May 12

    Senior Savings: Navigating the New Property Relief Forms 3:30 to 5 p.m., 820 Mercer St.

    Township council meeting 7 to 9:30 p.m., N. John Amato Council Chambers and via Zoom.

    Tuesday, May 13

    EmpowerHER Women’s Wellness Night 6 to 8 p.m. at Camden County College Campus, William G. Rohrer Center.

    Wednesday, May 14

    Art Blooms juried art exhibit 4 to 7 p.m. at Croft Farms Arts Center.

  • Library marks Poetry Month with a Poe impersonator

    April marks National Poetry Month, a chance to make people around the country appreciate the art form and engage with it in some way.

    The Cherry Hill library took a unique approach to that with a recent event honoring the works of Edgar Allan Poe that featured an impersonator of the writer.

    Actress Helen McKenna – who has portrayed Poe for more than 30 years – donned a black suit, wig and painted-on mustache to perform some of the writer’s most famous works from memory, with the idea that Poe’s spirit had taken possession of McKenna’s body for the library event.

    The performance began with some background on Poe’s life story and childhood as the child of actors whose father left the family and whose mother’s death came when he was still a youngster. 

    “I was taken in by a family called the Allans,” joked McKenna as Poe. “That’s where the middle name comes from. They did not want to adopt me outright, because I was the child of actors, and actors are morally inferior people.”

    Another tragedy in Poe’s life detailed by McKenna was the loss of Jane Stanard, a friend’s mother who also became a close friend and confidant of the writer. The impersonator then performed the poem, “To Helen,” which Poe wrote about Stanard over the course of 14 years. 

    “Her name is Jane, plain Jane,” McKenna explained as Poe. “Of course, you would never call her that. So what name can I give her? Well, there’s Helen of Troy, the great beauty, the connection to the classic civilization. And so I decided to call the poem ‘To Helen.’”

    McKenna also discussed Poe’s volume of work, not just the amount of writing but also the number of genres in which he worked, from horror and mystery to literary criticism. McKenna performed one of Poe’s works as a critic, reciting his review of “Confessions of a Poet.”

    “People were angry. They didn’t like what I was doing,” noted McKenna, who then told the library audience about Poe’s rivalry with Rufus Griswold. He would go on to write a biography of the poet – often described as inaccurate – in the wake of Poe’s death in 1849.

    McKenna asked attendees if they knew how Poe died; they answered with everything from exposure to murder. 

    “So the reason I ask is that I don’t recall,” acknowledged McKenna, a reference to the still unknown cause of Poe’s untimely death at 40. That led to her performance of one of Poe’s most famous works, “The Raven.” 

    After she finished, McKenna told the audience the tale of Poe’s marriage and his wife’s subsequent death from tuberculosis.

    “I understand that I’m talking to a modern audience, so I am fully prepared for you to turn on me when I tell you yes, she was my first cousin, and she was 13 and I was 27,” Poe noted of his wife through McKenna. “So let that sink in.”

    McKenna then recited “Annabel Lee,” a poem in which the narrator laments the loss of his young love.

    The library audience was encouraged to ask questions; one individual wanted to know about the writer’s time in Philadelphia. While Poe is most often associated with Baltimore, some of his best known pieces were written in Philadelphia.

    “I lived in Baltimore for four years, and I died there …” recounted McKenna’s Poe. “I lived in Philadelphia for six years, so longer than I did in Baltimore, and I did a lot more significant writing in Philadelphia than I ever did in Baltimore.

    “So what I like to say is, ‘Baltimore has my body, but Philadelphia has the body of work.”

    Another asked if “The Raven” was actually the tale of a man who had killed his lover, which McKenna as Poe called “hogwash,” but McKenna still encouraged people to find whatever meaning they would like in Poe’s works.

    The event ended with a performance of “The Bells,” after McKenna described how Poe liked to experiment and saw poetry as music.