Eclectic Music At This Year’s Monmouth County Fair

Springsteen! The Premier Tribute to the Boss

Local cover bands and tribute singers will headline this year's annual Monmouth County Fair that begins July 22, featuring a Bruce Springsteen tribute band and a Motown-style cover band on each of the fair's weekend nights.

"We opted to try a mix of local and big-name acts this year," said Entertainment Chair Susan Liu about such groups as Springsteen! The Premier Tribute to the Boss, Total Soul, and the Colts Neck Swing Band. "We had a tighter budget than usual, but tried to go for bands with big local followings."

On Wednesday evening, the local Celtic pipe-and-drum band the Atlantic Watch will help kick off the Opening Ceremonies at 8PM, providing the national anthem and traditional Irish music for the fair's opening night.

For weekend visitors, the fair's nighttime lineup offers a chance to rock out or dance along. On Friday night, Freehold-based Springsteen! pays tribute to another Freehold native, the Boss, with a two-hour set beginning at 8pm on the main stage, while Motown cover band Total Soul will offer R&B hits on Saturday night from  8:30 PM to 10PM.

Local favorites The Colts Neck Swing Band will provide the week's musical finale on Sunday at 12 PM and 1:15 PM on the main stage, and smaller acts will play throughout the week on the outdoor entertainment stage. The Monmouth County Fair runs from July 22-26, and the musical acts are included in the fair's admission price ($7 for adults, free for children under 12).

Hunting the Hunters: Geocaching sequal

BY JOSHUA RILEY

STAFF WRITER

Like early Cro-Magnon man, who planned hunts with knowledge of their prey's habits, I've been searching for high-tech, GPS hide and seek hobbyists using geocaching.com, and then seeking these hidden boxes (hoping to find easy and often visited ones) in which to drop my calling card with a note of explanation:

Not that I haven't used more traditional methods, i.e. sending emails, but that's not generating responses.  Besides, I'm getting first-hand experience.

And, on my second search, I struck out. 

It's not easy, largely due to the fact that geocachers don't want their stashes found and damaged or moved by someone serendipitously stubling upon it. 

I learned a valuable lesson that day: if the cache entry online has the work "nano" in it, the cache is hidden in a film canister sized, or smaller, holder. 

Something that size was hidden underneath the Gateway to the Shore town walking bridge:

I turned over a lot of rocks be for I turned away.

These people must not give up unless they've literally left no stone unturned.

The hunt for the hunters continues...