The Daily Newarker — Press Wire

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

2009 Essex County Cherry Blossom 10K Run
Date: Sunday, April 5
Time: 7:30 am registration (fees apply)

Run through the Park in this USATF-sanctioned race. Children’s Fun Run and Race for the Disabled. A portion of the fees will be donated to Special Olympics. Sponsored by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. For more information or to register, please call (973) 268-3500 ext. 254 or visit www.essexcountynj.org.

Cherry Blossom “Brown Bag” Lunchtime Lecture Series
Dates: Monday, April 13 to Friday, April 17 and Sunday, April 19
Time: 12:15 pm to 12:50 pm
Place:Essex County Cherry Blossom Welcome Center (north of Heller Parkway, past the tennis courts)
Bring your lunch and enjoy a free series of 35-minute presentations on a variety of topics focused on Newark, Essex County Branch Brook Park and Cherry Blossoms.

Topics and presenters (subject to change)

• April 13: Newark Through the Ages, hosted by Elizabeth Del Tufo, NewarkTours.com
• April 14: What if…there was no Branch Brook Park? hosted by Dr. Clement A. Price, Director of the Rutgers Institute on Ethnicity, Culture, and the Modern Experience at Rutgers University – Newark Campus; and Trustee, BBPA
• April 15: Flowering Cherries for the Home Landscape, hosted by Kathleen Salisbury, Horticulturist, Essex County Department of Parks
• April 16: The Gilded Age, hosted by Barbara Bell Coleman, Co-chair, BBPA
• April 17: History of Essex County Branch Brook Park, hosted by Kathleen Galop, author Branch Brook Park
• April 19: The Gilded Age, hosted by Barbara Bell Coleman, Co-chair, BBPA

2009 Branch Brook Park Alliance Cherry Blossom Gala
Date: Tuesday, April 14 Time:5:30 pm – 10 pm
Tickets required
Dinner, entertainment, trolley tours and a silent auction at Nanina’s in the Park restaurant in Belleville. For more information or to purchase tickets, please call (973) 268-2300.

2009 Essex County Cherry Blossom Bicycle Tour
Date: Saturday, April 18 Time:Various races will be run from 7 am to 1 pm (fees apply)
Race through the cherry tree groves in a cycling tradition or cheer on the cyclists while enjoying a day in the Park. For more information or to register, please call (973) 268-3500 ext. 254 or visit www.essexcountynj.org

Essex County Nature Photography Workshop
Date: Saturday, April 18 Time:9 am to 1 pm
Fee:$35. Pre-registration is required.
Join Brien Szabo as he leads an indoor/outdoor photography workshop focused on the County’s historic cherry tree collection. For more information or to register, please call (973) 239-7072 or visit www.essexcountynj.org

2009 Essex County Bloomfest
Date: Sunday, April 19 Time:11 am to 5 pm
Enjoy a free, family-friendly festival in the Park. A daylong schedule of events is planned, featuring Japanese cultural activities, including demonstrations on origami, bonsai, ikebana, and dance. For more information or to register, please call (973) 239-2485 or visit www.essexcountynj.org

Susan G. Komen North Jersey Affiliate, Race for the Cure
Date: Sunday, April 26 Time: 8:00am

To Join the BBPA/FHCA team or make a tax-deductible donation, please click the link: I want to join the BBPA/FHCA team!

ABOUT BBPA:
Branch Brook Park Alliance is a non-profit organization comprised of local residents and community leaders committed to raising awareness of the tranquility that Essex County Branch Brook Park offers to the local community as a sacred, democratic space where people from diverse backgrounds can meet on common ground. BBPA and the Essex County Department of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Affairs are partners in improving this oldest of Essex County’s parks, the “crown jewel” of the first County parks system in the nation and a tourist destination for visitors from around world. BBPA is self-supporting and helps to raise significant monies each year to finance its operations, create landscape improvement plans, and implement capital projects and programs. For more info: www.BranchBrookPark.org

Please join Branch Brook Park Alliance (BBPA) and Forest Hill Community Association (FHCA) in the fight against breast cancer on Sunday, April 26, 2009, as we join together to participate in the Susan G. Komen North Jersey 5K Race for the Cure® right in our backyard: Essex County Branch Brook Park in Newark (and Belleville), NJ.

The Race, which is 3.2 miles in the exhilarating setting of the Olmsted-designed park, will raise much-needed funds for research and critical breast health education, screening and treatment programs for underserved and uninsured women in our own communities. 75% of net funds raised by the Affiliate stay within its nine-county northern New Jersey service region; the remaining 25% is directed to Susan G. Komen for the Cure Award and Research Grant Program.

Every thirteen minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer and every three minutes a woman loses her battle with the disease.

How to Help Out

• Register to join our Race team or make a pledge/donation in support of our participation. Any amount you choose to give will be greatly appreciated.
• Join our team and walk with us! The larger the group, the more memorable the experience for all of us and the greater the impact of our efforts.
• To Join the BBPA/FHCA team or make a tax-deductible donation, please click the link: I want to join the BBPA/FHCA team!

ABOUT BBPA AND FHCA:
Branch Brook Park Alliance is a non-profit organization comprised of local residents and community leaders committed to raising awareness of the tranquility that Essex County Branch Brook Park offers to the local community as a sacred, democratic space where people from diverse backgrounds can meet on common ground. BBPA and the Essex County Department of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Affairs are partners in improving this oldest of Essex County’s parks, the “crown jewel” of the first County parks system in the nation and a tourist destination for visitors from around world. BBPA is self-supporting and helps to raise significant monies each year to finance its operations, create landscape improvement plans, and implement capital projects and programs. For more info:
www.BranchBrookPark.org

Forest Hill Community Association is a non-profit committed to fostering closer relationships among residents of the community, similar community-minded organizations and agencies of the government, in order to improve the quality of life for all the residents of the neighborhood. www.fhcanewark.com