This story has been updated because the Jersey Devil Fable Festival, scheduled for Saturday, has been postponed. Let's go fly a kite! Pier Village welcomes expert and novice flyers to its annual Kite Festival, happening Saturday. Watch the pros fly inflatable kites up and down the beach, or bring your own and get in on the fun. Kites will be available to purchase. The fest also features a makers market on the boardwalk, plus face painting and live music by the carousel. There also will be stilt walkers, dance performances, miniature golf and a family-friendly scavenger hunt. The rain date is Sunday. Tickets are not required.
Go: Pier Village Kite Festival, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, 50 Chelsea Ave., Long Branch, piervillage.com. Here are other things to do at the Shore this weekend, including the Jersey Devil Fable Festival in Asbury Park, and a Children's Festival in Toms River.
Asbury Park First Friday
Welcome the warmer weather with Asbury Park First Friday, described as a vibrant celebration of art, music and local creativity.
Go : Asbury Park First Friday, 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Asbury Park Train Station; 732-775-2100,
cityofasburypark.com .
Children's Festival in Toms River
Celebrate early childhood education with art, music, entertainment and activities on Saturday during the 2025 Ocean County Children’s Festival at the Toms River branch of the Ocean County Library. Presented by the New Jersey Association for the Education of Young Children, the event runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. This free, drop-in family event will have programs and activities geared for young children, plus family resources and community connections. No registration is required. The theme is “The Wonderful World of Art,” and children can make an original piece of art to take home in the Budding Artists’ Gallery. There also will be an interactive family sing-along with music teacher and early childhood specialist Brenda Limaldi of Musically Mindful. More information on NJAEYC is available on Facebook and Instagram.
Go : 2025 Ocean County Children's Festival, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Ocean County Library, 101 Washington St., Toms River, free; 732-349-6200,
theoceancountylibrary.org ,
njaeyc.org .
'Rock of Ages' at Axelrod
The Tony-nominated musical "Rock of Ages" begins performances Friday at Axelrod Performing Arts Center in Deal Park. With plenty of hairspray, spandex and glam rock, the jukebox musical celebrating the best of 1980s rock runs through Sunday, May 18. Directed and choreographed by Lisa Stevens, you'll hear songs from Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister and more. “I love this show because it doesn’t take itself too seriously — and yet, somehow, it sneaks up and hits you right in the heart," Stevens said. "It’s loud, it’s unapologetic, and it reminds us that chasing your dreams, no matter how messy or wild, is always worth it." Small town girl Sherrie (Landry Champlin) meets city boy Drew (Chad Marge) in 1987 on LA's famous Sunset Strip at the Dupree Room, a legendary club that's threatened with demolition. The arrival of rocker Stacee Jaxx (Danny Drewes) could be the key to their dreams — or what splits Drew and Sherrie up. The musical's book is by Chris D’Arienzo. Tickets are $32 to $74.
Go : "Rock of Ages," Friday through Sunday, May 18, Axelrod Performing Arts Center, 100 Grant Ave., Deal Park, $32 to $74; 732-531-9106,
axelrodartscenter.com .
Grover House in Red Bank
Navesink Maritime Heritage Association's headquarters will be open during the Weekend in Old Monmouth tour. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, you can learn about the history of Grover House, the historic 1730s farmhouse that serves as the association's headquarters. Grover House is on the National and New Jersey Registers of Historic Places, and successive generations of the Grover family played important roles in the founding of Monmouth County as farmers and traders, including one who became the first clerk of Middletown Township, and another a New Jersey Legislator. There will be tours of the house, coffee, and you can purchase NMHA merchandise. The building is ADA accessible.
Go : Weekend in Old Monmouth, Grover House, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, 930 W. Front St., Red Bank;
navesinkmaritime.org/Events .
Two exhibits at Monmouth Museum
The Monmouth Museum is presenting a solo exhibition of Jersey City-born artist Fred Staloff, who passed away in 2019. A World War II veteran, Staloff painted most of his life, studied in Paris, and held exhibits throughout the United States. “Origins of a Modernist” celebrates Staloff’s artistic vision and talent. “The paintings may emerge intuitively from some inner need," Staloff said before his passing, according to Monmouth Museum's website. "Until the present, I have always felt the need to situate my forms in space, sometimes shallow, sometimes deeper. I assiduously avoid the flat rendition of form which leads to decoration or stylization." The exhibit is on loan from the Butler Institute of American Art. In the museum's Nilson Gallery are works by Carol Nussbaum. "Harmony, Balance & Symmetry" features original photographs, inviting viewers to view familiar objects in an original way through Carol’s mandala or circular designed fine art. "Each image offers the eye an adventure in harmony, balance, depth, contrast and symmetry," the museum states. "Found in every culture and faith, a mandala is structured around a unifying center and thought to represent both wholeness and the universe. “What’s seen with the eye can, with love and care, be transformed to suggest a period of time or even a movement in the art world,” Nussbaum said in a museum release. "Weaving elements of my travel photographs or even a trip to a toy store into an intricate mandala brings a new mood to the experience.”
Go : "Fred Staloff: Origins of a Modernist" and "Carol Nussbaum: Harmony, Balance & Symmetry," through Sunday, June 1, Monmouth Museum, 765 Newman Springs Road, Brookdale Community College campus, Lincroft (follow signs to Parking Lot 1), $14, free for kids under 2, $10 for seniors 65 and older; 732-747-2266,
monmouthmuseum.org .
Ulysses String Quartet in Red Bank
The Red Bank Chamber Music Society presents the Ulysses String Quartet at 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Trinity Episcopal Church auditorium in Red Bank. The free show features composers whose music re-imagines the traditions of the past, especially those of Hungarian and Slavic folk music. Opening the program is Dmitri Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 49, a youthful and spirited work filled with folk-inspired melodies and an undercurrent of emotional complexity that hints at the composer’s future brilliance. The Ulysses Quartet has performed at Carnegie Hall, the National Gallery of Art and more. Formed in 2015 and composed of musicians from the U.S., Canada and Taiwan, the ensemble's mission is rooted in the belief that music has the power to connect and inspire. Members of the quartet are Christina Bouey, violin; Rhiannon Banerdt, violin; Peter Dudek, viola; and Grace Ho, cello.
Go : Ulysses String Quartet, 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Trinity Episcopal Church, 50 White St., Red Bank, free;
rbcms.org .
Jazz in Beach Haven
"Fotografia," an afternoon of jazz celebrating imagery, takes place at 4 p.m. Sunday at Holy Innocents Church in Beach Haven. The concert, featuring vocalist Christine Kephart, will feature jazz selections including "Fotografia" by Antônio Carlos Jobim; "Blue Monk" by Thelonious Monk; "All the Things You Are" by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II; and "Popsicle Toes" by Michael Franks. Also performing will be Richard Kraus on saxophone, Rob Funesti on bass, and Brad Mandigo on piano. A freewill offering will be taken, and a reception will follow the concert.
Go : "Fotografia," 4 p.m. Sunday, Holy Innocents Church, Marine Street, Beach Haven, freewill offering; 609-492-7571,
[email protected],
[email protected].
Newark LGBTQ Film Festival
Presented by the Newark LGBTQ Community Center, the third annual Newark LGBTQ Film Festival includes a full slate of LGBTQ films made by, for and about Queer BIPOC people. Each of this year’s three feature and 27 short films have been selected to celebrate underrepresented and marginalized communities. The festival runs Thursday to Sunday, and most films and events take place at Express Newark, 54 Halsey St. Kicking things off at 7 p.m. Thursday is the opening night film "Ponyboi." Directed by Esteban Arango, the thriller stars River Gallo as a young intersex sex worker employed at a laundromat in New Jersey on Valentine’s Day with his pregnant best friend, Angel. The festival continues its collaboration with Express Newark’s Community Media Center and Paramount’s Content for Change to support emerging LGBTQIA+ filmmakers of the Greater Newark Area with the Sakia Gunn Legacy Filmmaking Fellowship. Awardees for 2025 are Odessa Whitlock and Erby Beauvil, and their films will be shown at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. On Sunday at New Jersey Institute of Technology's Jim Wise Theater is a screening of "To Be Young, Gifted & Queer Shorts Program." The showing, at 100 Summit St., is free for high school and college students. Festival tickets range from $7 to $15. A festival pass is $50. More information and a complete schedule is at newarklgbtqcenter.org/newarklgbtqfilmfestival.
Go : Newark LGBTQ Film Festival, Thursday to Sunday, most films and events take place at Empress Newark, 54 Halsey St., $7 to $15;
newarklgbtqcenter.org/newarklgbtqfilmfestival .
Have an event coming up? Tell us about it. Email Bill Canacci@[email protected].
