Center Partnership Reelects Board Members, Approves Budget

The Freehold Center Partnership, Freehold Borough's special improvement district organization, held their yearly Board of Directors meeting yesterday to elect members, vote on bylaws, and pass their budget.

The Freehold Center Partnership and its special-events division, Downtown Freehold, puts on annual s ummer festivals including concerts in the Hall of Records parking lot, above.

The partnership approved a yearly budget of $305,000, made up mostly of SID-taxes on properties within the district, along with sponsorships and barter-deals.
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Christmas Tree Lighting Videos

If you missed it last night, here's a quick glimpse at the sights and sounds of the Christmas Tree Lighting in Freehold Borough:

The Rock N' Roll Chorus:

See another Christmas video after the jump!

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Christmas Tree Lighting in Freehold

Last night's Christmas Tree Lighting at the Hall of Records drew a couple of hundred people to Downtown Freehold on a mildly cold night to kick off the holiday season.

The event was organized by  the Freehold Center Partnership and 107.1 The Breeze, and was hosted by The Breeze's on-air personality Lisa Anderson. The Rock N' Roll Chorus and Freehold Township High School Holiday Ensemble provided Christmas tunes, while Santa provided candy canes and gift promises.

Check out the scene:

Who Knows What Happened to Her Nose?

Here's a mystery for an ambitious gumshoe: what happened to this pretty lady's nose?

The hallmark statue of downtown Freehold--located at the front of the Hall of Records parking lot-- is looking a bit like Owen Wilson these days, and we're wondering who's run off with her honker.

Want to get on the case? Check out the missing schnozz for yourself tonight at the Tree Lighting: 5PM in front of the Hall of Records.

If you can solve the mystery of the missing nostrils, we've got a special Freehold prize for you.

Downtown Freehold Announces Holiday Lineup

With scarecrows still lining our leafy streets, Downtown Freehold is looking towards the holiday season. A new banner across Main Street announces the Holiday Happenings, including Breakfast with Santa, the Tree Lighting and Menorah Lighting, a Holiday Concert, and the Jolly Trolley.

The festivities kick off on December 1 with the Tree Lighting at Hall of Records.

Check out the full schedule of events after the jump:
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Freehold Center Partnership Honors Partners

The Freehold Center Partnership, the non-profit special improvement organization that runs Downtown Freehold, held their First Annual Sponsors Party at Positano last night. Freehold businesses that help fund events like Freehold Idol, the upcoming Jolly Trolly, and the Holiday Concert.

A Who's Who of Freehold business-owners, the 2009 Spoonsors Party included reps from CentraState, Center Playhouse, Metropolitan Cafe, The Court Jester, and Greater Media News.

And the Winner Is…

Marlboro High School's winning entry, created by Taisiya Zaretskaya outside Angelo's Restaurant

Marlboro High School!

The high school took top honors in the borough's annual window painting contest, the official kick-off of the popular Western Monmouth Halloween Spooktacular.

Art students from all six schools in the Freehold Regional High School District took over Freehold Tuesday,  leaving their scariest, funniest and most creative Halloween visions on storefronts throughout the downtown.

The Halloween scene painted by Marlboro student Taisiya Zaretskaya on the windows of Angelo's Restaurant was chosen as this year's winner.

Coming in second place was Freehold High School, which won for the painting of a faceless freak-show performer created by Alexis Papazoglou, Sara Yip, Neil White and Richard Cavanaugh at Golden China restaurant.

The third place winner was Manalapan High School for the design by Heather Fisch, Alyson Clark, Angela DiPaolo, Jacqui Cotton and Ryan O'Grady. Their work can be seen at Sweet Lew's cafe.

Borough Gets Ready for Nerds Concert Tonight

The Hall of Records parking lot is looking all set for tonight's end-of-summer rock show by the Nerds. Freehold's favorite cover band will take the stage from 7-9PM tonight, thanks to one last sunny Friday evening.

The concert was originally scheduled for August, but was rescheduled due to summer showers.

Freehold Poised for Rock Stardom

Songwriter Jo Wymer Introduces the Legends & Lyrics Series to Freehold this weekend.

In a number of stories over the past few weeks, we've been following a growing interest in live music in Freehold Borough that has brought singer-songwriters to the gazebo, punk bands to Zebu, talent searches to the Hall of Records, and major names in classic rock to our little town.

Freehold, it seems, is making a rock comeback.

The birthplace of Springsteen is pushing to become the re-birthplace of rock in Western Monmouth County, and at the forefront of that mission is local musician Jo Wymer, a blues guitarist and singer-songwriter who is organizing a new event kicking off this Sunday at Zebu: The Legends and Lyrics Songwriters Series.

We got the chance to chat with Wymer, 43, of Freehold, about how this series will help transform Freehold Borough into a live music hub:

FinJ: Okay, let's do the nuts and bolts. What is the Legends and Lyrics Songwriters Series and who will be playing?

Mad Dog

Wymer: It's basically a showcase for big names in Jersey Shore music to gather an intimate audience, perform, and explain where that song came from, and why it came about--who inspired it and what style it is.

This Sunday, we picked five songwriters-- four big-name Jersey Shore music  guys and me, who've been around the music scene here for forty or fifty years. We all have different styles of music but write from similarly personal places, about relationships or broken hearts or personal pain.

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Summer Kruises Out of Sight

Dark and threatening clouds remained at bay long enough last night for classic cars to take center stage one final time this summer.

The last installment of the monthly Kruise Night event welcomed over 100 old cars (made at least 25 years ago, before this reporter's birth) and hundreds more car enthusiasts and spectators to the Hall of Records parking lot and spots along Main Street.

Some photos contributed by Patricia Hopkins.

From 5PM to just before 10 PM, tunes from the 60s and 70s blasted through speakers in front of the Hall of Records while the Freehold volunteer EMS sold hot dogs and sodas to car owners, hobbyists, and Freehold area residents.

Kruise Night's benefit to local businesses and restaurants was also apparent, as sidewalk dining areas in front of Federici's, Court Jester, Angelo's and more filled with leather-clad diners.

The Nerds To Perform Sept. 18

Freehold Borough will be able to hang onto summer just a little bit longer than the rest of the state this yera. The summer concert series will be extended to September 18, when the Nerds will take the stage in the Hall of Records parking lot from 7-9 P.M.m.

The famous funnymen from New Jersey tour the country playing covers of classic rock, R&B, soul, and pretty much anything else you can think of. They're famous for their "Sweet Caroline" sing-a-long, their nerdy outfits, and their Monty Python-style sense of humor on stage.

The concert was originally scheduled for August but was cancelled due to thunderstorms. The scheduling geniuses at the Freehold Center Partnership worked to reschedule the concert as soon as possible, and the show will close out the summer series for 2009.

Classic Rock Comes to Freehold

The Wings' guitarist Denny Laine

The Freehold Center Partnership has just announced a rockin' September concert to be held in the Hall of Records parking lot: Denny Laine, former guitarist of Wings, and Terry Sylvester, former guitarist and singer for the Hollies.

Terry Slyvester of the Hollies

The classic rock duo will take the stage on Friday, September 11, at 7:30 P.M. to play hits from the 60s and 70s, when both musicians spent time touring and playing with the Beatles.

After playing lead guitar for the 60s-era Moody Blues, Laine left to cofound Wings with ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and his wife Linda. The three were the only members to remain in the band until it broke up in 1980, following world tours, 14 Top Ten singles in the US, and the hit song, "Mull of Kintyre."

Slyvester, meanwhile, founded his first band The Escorts in Liverpool, England in the early 1960s and played many local shows with the Beatles around Liverpool. In 1969, Sylvester replaced Graham Nash (of Crosby, Stills, and Nash) in the Hollies, and later recorded solo albums at Abbey Road Studios with famed producer Allen Parsons.

Idols Of Summer

The Freehold Idol finales last night blew the crowd away with a summer's worth of talent and hard work.

Here, some sights and sounds from the penultimate week of Idol '09:

Photos courtesy Patricia Hopkins

Congratulations to Samantha Citro for taking home first place this summer!

Freehold is Rockin’

Downtown Freehold loves to boogie. For the musically-inclined, the rest of this week offers daily opportunities to get your dance on.

Tonight: Freehold Idol FinalsTonight is week two of the Idol Finale for the 15-22 age group. Come see favorites you've been tracking from the beginning, plus special guest performances. There's only one week of Idol left this summer after this, so get your Cowell-knockoff while you can.

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Freehold Borough & Township Celebrate National Night Out

A Freehold Borough girl gets her face painted by a clown at the Borough's National Night Out on Tuesday

According to Gianna Simone, 6, of Freehold, the best part of any National Night Out carnival is always the pony rides.