Bradley Beach Porch Fest Will Celebrate Music, Photography, Food, and Community
Visitors are invited to peruse the porches and stoops of beautiful Bradley Beach at the first annual Porch Fest, a town-wide celebration to be held on Saturday, May 18 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
There will be food, live music, photography, storytelling, poetry, and other surprises on 16 featured porches throughout the .63-square-mile beach town. Jump on at any porch and pick up a map of the exhibitions.
Porches will feature portrait photography created by seventh graders at Bradley Beach Elementary School telling the stories of “ordinary, extraordinary” members of the community. These beautiful, intimate photographs were created under the guidance of professional photographer Erik James Montgomery, who completed an arts residency at the school.
Other offerings include live musical performances by local bands, ghost stories by the school’s Gifted and Talented students, and a spoken word poetry performance by eighth graders. Finger food and beverages provided by local businesses will be served on the porches. A 14-seat limo will be on hand to transport guests. Feel free to walk or bike through town.
Admission is free, but donations are gratefully requested. All proceeds will benefit the Bradley Beach Parent Teacher Organization.
The event is sponsored by the Bradley Beach Parent Teacher Organization, the Bradley Beach Recreation Department, Bradley Beach Elementary School, and the Artists in Education Residency Grant Program, a project funded by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and Young Audiences New Jersey & Eastern Pennsylvania.
“This event shows how Bradley Beach embraces a spirit of inclusion and a culture of the arts,” said Kirsty Sucato, a BBES language arts teacher who helped organize the event. “Porches will serve as gallery spaces and gathering places for the community to share ideas and celebrate the extraordinary in our ordinary lives.”
Press and photographers are invited to attend
When: Opening ceremony at 11 a.m. , Saturday, May 18 (rain date Sunday, May 19).
Where: Bradley Beach Elementary School, 515 Brinley Ave., Bradley Beach.
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