FAIR HAVEN
Writer, editor and tour leader Rick Wright will present “In Search of the Great Horned Mop” at the Monmouth County Audubon Society meeting at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 13. The meeting will be held at the Church of the Nativity on Ridge Road in Fair Haven.
The public is welcome; admission is free.
Even the best birders make mistakes identifying birds – but not every birder collects those mistakes. Join Wright for this entertaining journey through 35 years of blunders and bobbles. From the Great Horned Mop to the Russet-crowned Notmot, Wright’s “sightings” over the years have led him to develop a set of birding rules that, for the most part, help him avoid repeating the same mistakes – and may help you keep from committing them yourself.
A native of southeast Nebraska, Wright studied French, German, philosophy and life sciences at the University of Nebraska before earning his Ph.D. in Germanic languages and literatures at Princeton University. He served as a department editor at Birding magazine from 2004 to 2008, then signed on as managing director of WINGS, a birding tour company, from 2008 to 2010. Wright is a widely published writer, a popular lecturer at birding events, and an enthusiastic tour leader in Europe and North America. His time afield is documented in his blog, Birding New Jersey; his forthcoming publications include the ABA Guide to New Jersey Birds and the Peterson Reference Guide to Sparrows.
Further information can be obtained by visiting the organization’s website at www.monmouthaudubon.org, or via e-mail at info@monmouthaudubon.org.
HOLMDEL
The New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Foundation will host Dr. Saul Broudy at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19, as he presents his musical program and lecture titled “Oh You Saigon Girls, Can’t You Dance the Polka? – Folksongs of Americans in the Vietnam War.”
The program will be held at the Vietnam Era Museum & Educational Center, Exit 116 of the Garden State Parkway.
Broudy will sing many of the helicopter pilots’ songs in his repertoire, and will talk about the role songs and other folklore played in military life in Vietnam and how they reflect everyday life “in country.” Be aware that most of them deal with adult themes, and should be considered “PG-rated.”
The program is funded by the Horizon Speakers Bureau of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Council for the Humanities.
Broudy served with the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps in Vietnam in 1966-67. While there, he befriended helicopter pilots, through whom he discovered a widespread tradition of Army Aviation folksong – songs written by and generally known among the pilots. He collected songbooks and tapes from them, and this tradition became the subject of his master’s in folklore at the University of Pennsylvania.
For more information, check out the Vietnam Veterans Oral History and Folklore Project at faculty.buffalostate.edu/fishlm/folksongs.
LINCROFT
The public is invited to commemorate Martin Luther King Day at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 21, at the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House, 1475 W. Front St.
The program “The Selma March: Now and Then” is sponsored by the Monmouth Center for World Religions and Ethical Thought (MCWRET) and the Social Action Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Monmouth County. Two ministers, the reverends Gil Caldwell and John Licitra, will discuss the experience and meaning of the historic 1965 Selma march and celebrate the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
For more information please call Unitarian Universalist Meeting House at 732-747-0707 or email Lynn Dash at Ldash@comcast.net.
SHREWSBURY
The Shrewsbury Community Garden officially closed for the growing season on Dec. 1 after a very successful inaugural year. Plans are already under way for next year.
The community garden committee invites current and prospective gardeners to attend the annual gardeners meeting at 7:30 p.m., Monday, Jan. 14, at the Shrewsbury Historical Society.
During the meeting, members will have the opportunity to review the past season’s operations and successes, discuss possible areas of concern and explore opportunities for improvement for the 2013 planting season.
Seasoned veteran Master Gardeners of Monmouth County, Bob Mellert and Ellen Simonetti, will be keynote speakers. Attendees can stop by and learn how they can become a part of this vibrant, growing community.
