fanwood arts council report 2011

8/6/2019 Fanwood Arts Council Report 2011

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/fanwood-arts-council-report-2011 1/16

The Fanwood Arts Council

&

The Carriage House Poetry Series

Report – Summer 2011

Prepared by Adele Kenny, Director

Submitted to

Mayor Colleen Mahr

Borough Council Liaison Councilwoman Kathy Mitchell

Fanwood Borough Council



2

The Fanwood Arts Council

&

The Carriage House Poetry Series

History

Fanwood Arts Council History begins with theCarriage House Poetry Series, which was

established in December of 1998 with the support

and assistance of State Assemblywoman LindaStender (former Union County Freeholder andFanwood Mayor) and former Fanwood Mayor Maryann S. Connelly. The initiative began as a project

funded in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Department of State, through a grantadministered by the Union County Division of Cultural and Heritage Affairs. The Poetry Series (named

for the Fanwood Carriage House, now the Kuran Arts Center) was so well received that Mayor Connelly,

sensing the need for a comprehensive arts program within the community, established the Fanwood

Cultural Arts Committee in March of 1999. The committee was originally a special mayor’s committeecomprised of volunteers appointed by Mayor Connelly and chaired by long-time Fanwood resident Adele

Kenny. In June of 2005, Fanwood Mayor Colleen Mahr changed the name of the committee to Fanwood

Arts Council . Also in 2005, Fanwood resident Tom Plante was appointed Arts Council Co-Director withAdele Kenny. The Arts Council’s goals and mission remain the same. Both projects are home-based at the

Kuran Arts Center.

The Carriage House Poetry Series, while remaining independent and under Adele Kenny’s direction,

currently functions as a satellite project of the Arts Council. It has featured some of the finest

contemporary poets, including a Pulitzer Prize winner, a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, a National Book Award winner, an American Book Award winner, and four-time National Poetry Slamwinner. Numerous other poets have included NJ State Arts Council fellowship recipients, Geraldine R.

Dodge Foundation poets, Pushcart Prize recipients, and winners of other honors and awards. While theseries is now nationally known for its high caliber, it is not an elitist project – distinguished local andregional poets are invited to feature, and open readings follow most features to offer audience members

performance opportunities.

From its Poetry Series momentum in 1998 to the present, the Arts Council has presented and scheduled

scores of events (see list on pages 7-15), and scheduling is ongoing. Events have included multi-cultural

and multi-disciplinary arts festivals, art shows, dance programs (including classical and folk ballet, East

Indian, Irish, Chinese and international folk dance), instrumental and vocal music (for several years anannual “Bandstand Concert”), and student performances.

Appointment & Funding

The Mayor appoints Arts Council members. An annual budget for the combined projects is

provided by the Fanwood Borough Council, for which the Arts Council remains profoundly

grateful. Additional funding over the years has come from the NJ State Arts Council, UnionCounty Freeholder grants, donations from Merck & Company, grants from the ScotchPlains-Fanwood Service League, the Fanwood Recycling Association, and through donations

from local individuals and merchants.

ContentsPage

History 2Appointment & Funding 2

Programming 3

Meetings & Calendar 3Awards 3

Goals (Mission Statement) 4Arts Council & Poetry Series Online 4Carriage House Series Book 5

2011 Arts Council Members 6

Events 1998-Present 7-15A Brief History of The Carriage House 16



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Programming

All programs are family-oriented, and admission is always free. TheArts Council provides programming as a service to the community and

for guests who attend from other towns. (Please note: The Fanwood

Performance Series is a recent and separate entity and does not

function in collaboration with the Arts Council in any way.)

Meetings & Calendar

The Arts Council meets as needed. Recognizing that all members are volunteers with busy schedules,meetings are only called when necessary – we do not meet merely for the sake of having meetings.

With a few special exceptions, there are generally no Arts Council events held in January, July, andAugust – these are the severest weather months, and we seek to conserve energy by not using fans or

heating the Kuran Center during these months. Arts Council events are scheduled periodically and, when

possible, in conjunction with Poetry Series events.

The Carriage House Poetry Series readings were held on the second Thursday for the first eight years, but

because of Fanwood’s Municipal Court schedule and related parking issues, the schedule has been

changed to the third Tuesday.

No Arts Council or Carriage House Poetry Series events were held between July 2007 and February 2008during restorations to the Kuran Center.

The Arts Council’s annual Bandstand Concert was incorporated into the annual Fanny Wood Day

celebration for several years (the Arts Council provided and paid for a musical group to perform at anumber of Fanny Wood Day events), but this has recently been taken over by the Fanwood PerformanceSeries. This was not an Arts Council decision, and the Council was sorry to discontinue this service.

Awards

The Fanwood Arts Council has been honored with:

• a special resolution from the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders (1999),

• the Scotch Plains/Fanwood Times “Best Of” Award for the best cultural arts program (2001),

• a State and General Assembly resolution (by Senator Scutari, Assemblyman Green, and

Assemblywoman Stender), which noted, “Whereas, throughout a decade, the leaders andmembers of the Carriage House Poetry Series have worked tirelessly and prolifically in benefit of their community, and are acknowledged and saluted for the exemplary dedication and motivation

that have contributed to the project’s sterling reputation.” (2008),

• a resolution from the Fanwood Mayor and Borough Council, presented by Mayor Colleen Mahr (2008).

• and Arts Council director Adele Kenny was honored with a Women of Excellence Award (Union

County Commission on the Status of Women) in part for her volunteer work with the ArtsCouncil and Carriage House Poetry Series (2011).



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Arts Council and Carriage House Poetry Series Goals (Mission Statement)

• To maintain a cultural arts program that will provide a wide range of arts experiences for

Fanwood’s residents as well as for visitors from other communities; to put Fanwood on New

Jersey’s “cultural map.”

• To create a venue in which New Jersey artists, and artists from other geographic areas, will bringtheir particular gifts and talents to the public.

• To preserve and protect the Kuran Arts Center (formerly the Fanwood Carriage House), and tomaintain its character and integrity, understanding that it is first and foremost one of Fanwood’simportant historic sites and a vulnerable architectural treasure.

• To present programs that will encourage arts awareness, appreciation, education, and participation.

• To work cooperatively with the Fanwood Mayor and Council and other Borough commissions andcommittees for the benefit of local residents and guests to our community.

Fanwood Arts Council & Carriage House Poetry Series Online

Carriage House Poetry Series Website:

http://carriagehousepoetryseries.blogspot.com/

Our Videos on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29-iGfFD9dUhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhNWBCDGfwQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot7cTRP4qTk

The Carriage House Poetry Series on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_222821817728963



5

Carriage House Poetry Series Book

Muse-Pie Press, Publisher

Publication Date: December 2008

ISBN: 978-0-918453-22-8

Perfect Bound

$12.00

Order from the Publisher:http://www.musepiepress.com/publications.html

NOTE: This book was professionally printed, bound, and published by Muse-

Pie Press, a literary small press inPassaic, NJ, solely on the basis of literary

merit and at no cost to the Borough of

Fanwood (without grants, donations, or

any other local funding sources).

Poems by selected poets who featured in the series 1998-2008: Renée Ashley, Amanda Berry, Laura Boss,

Robert Carnevale, Catherine Doty, Stephen Dunn, D. M. Dutcher, Martin Jude Farawell, Adam Fitzgerald,Sondra Gash, Maria Mazziotti Gillan, Therése Halscheid, Lois Marie Harrod, Penny Harter, William J.Higginson, David Keller, Adele Kenny, Gina Larkin, Deborah LaVeglia, Diane Lockward, John McDermott,

Peter Murphy, Priscilla Orr, Alicia Ostriker, Rev. Alex D. Pinto, Tom Plante, R. G. Rader, Linda Radice,

Christine Redman-Waldeyer, Susanna Rich, Edwin Romond, Gwen Samuels, Nancy Scott, Gerald Stern,Carole Stone, Madeline Tiger, BJ Ward, Joe Weil, Jack Wiler, Gretna Wilkinson, & Sander Zulauf.



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2011

Fanwood Arts Council

Members

Adele Kenny

Arts Council Director

Carriage House Poetry Series Director

Phone: 908-889-7223

Email: [email protected]

Tom Plante

Arts Council Co-Director

Publicist

Phone: 908-889-5298


Kathy Mitchell

Borough Council Liaison

Phone: 908-322-9410Email: [email protected]

Carol Oakes

Secretary

Phone: 908-322-6238

[email protected]

Rev. Alex Pinto

Email: NonePhone: 732-382-7642

Linda Radice


Gary Szelc

Phone: 908-889-7791


George Weiss

Videographer & Member Emeritus

Email: NonePhone: 908-889-1752

David Blechinger

Fanwood Performance Series Director




7

Fanwood Arts Council

&

Carriage House Poetry Series Events

December 1998 - Present

1998

1. December 10, 1998

Carriage House Poetry Series

Inaugural EventFeaturing National Book Award Winner,Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets,

Gerald Stern

1999

2. February 11, 1999

Carriage House Poetry SeriesFeaturing Stephen Dunn (Pulitzer Prize in 2001)

March 1999

Arts Council & Carriage House Poetry Series

NOTE: Mayor Maryann Connelly established the Fanwood Cultural Arts Committee, a special

mayor’s Committee, to be home-based at the

Kuran Arts Center. Adele Kenny was appointed

director.

The Carriage House Poetry Series, the success of

which inspired the establishment of an arts

committee, is designated to function as an

independent project under Adele’s leadership but

will operate under the auspices of the Arts

Committee with which it will share its budget.

Under Mayor Colleen Mahr, the name of this

committee was changed to “Fanwood Arts

Council” in June of 2005 at which time Tom

Plante was appointed Co-Director of the Arts

Council with Adele Kenny. (Adele remains sole

director of the Carriage House Poetry Series.)

3. March 11, 1999


Featuring Renee Ashley

4. May 13, 1999

Carriage House Poetry SeriesFeaturing David Keller & Maria Gillan

5. June 19, 1999

Carriage House Poetry SeriesFeaturing Alicia Ostriker

6. September 23, 1999

Carriage House Poetry SeriesFeaturing Sander Zulauf & R. G. Rader


Fanny Wood/Carriage House Poetry Awards in

Conjunction with the Annual Fanny Wood Day

Celebration; Presentation of Awards at the

Fanwood Clock.Judges: Tom Plante & Alex Pinto (167 entries)First Place: Deborah LaVeglia (Cranford)

Second Place: Stuart Leonard (Westfield)Third Place (tie): Robert Selig (Westfield)

and Erin O’Brien (Westfield)

Honorable Mention: John McDermott (Cranford)Special Award for a Poem about Fanny Wood:

Barbara Swindlehurst (Fanwood)



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8. October 2, 9,19,16, 1999

Arts Council & Carriage House Poetry SeriesSaturday Morning Writing Workshops at the

Carriage House in Observation of National Arts &Humanities Month; Participants ranged from Teens

to Seniors; Funded by HEART grant (written by

Adele Kenny), coordinated by Adele Kenny andfeaturing guest instructors

9. October 10, 1999

Arts Council

Multi-Cultural Festival (An All-Day Event Indoorsand Outside under the Rented tent)

Featuring Dance, Music, Vocals, & InternationalFood Booths: Italian/Neapolitan Vocal &

Instrumental Music, Asian Indian BhangraDancers, Hispanic Dance (Ballet Folklorico), Irish

Dance, Chinese Vocal Music & Dance, and

African-American Gospel Singers

10. October 26, 1999

Arts Council & Carriage House Poetry SeriesFeaturing Poets from the Can of Corn Poetry

Project/Food Collection for the Homeless(benefitting the Fanwood Presbyterian Church &

the Elizabeth Coalition for the Homeless)

11. November 18, 1999

Carriage House Poetry SeriesFeaturing BJ Ward & Catherine Doty


Arts CouncilFanwood’s Winter Festival at the Train Station in

Conjunction with the Holiday and Winter Decorating Committee. The Arts Council provideda two-hour musical concert.

Featuring vocalist/musician Billy Populus.

2000

13. February 14, 2000

Arts CouncilSweetheart NightFeaturing Lyric Soprano Sheila Lounsberry &

Pianist John Bauers

14. March 16, 2000

Carriage House Poetry SeriesFeaturing Penny Harter & William Higginson

15. April 13, 2000

Carriage House Poetry ReadingFeaturing Charlie Mosler

16. May 18, 2000


Featuring Maria Gillan & Laura Boss

17. June 11, 2000

Arts Council

Multi-Disciplinary Festival & Art Show,

Afternoon-long, Indoors & OutdoorsFeaturing Ten Performers & Various Art Exhibits,

including Bagpipe & Drum Performance, DavidIszard Jazz Quartet, Kelly School of Irish Dance,

Al Madison Singing Blues & Soul, the 4-LifeAlternative Rock Band, an “On the Green” Art

Show (Scotch Plains-Fanwood Art Association),

T’ai Chi Demonstration & Instruction, aWandering Minstrel, Face Painting, and the“Balloon Man”

18. June 15, 2000

Carriage House Poetry SeriesFeaturing Joe Weil & Deborah LaVeglia

19. September, 14, 2000

Arts Council

Instrumental Music Featuring Students from theScotch Plains/ Fanwood High School Jazz Band

20. November 16, 2000

Arts CouncilArt Exhibit/Slide Show/Lecture

Featuring Internationally Acclaimed RealistPainter Maria Mijares

2001

21. February 14, 2001

Arts CouncilSweetheart Night

Featuring Students from the ScotchPlains/Fanwood High School Repertory Theater Singing Love Songs



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22. April 7, 2001

Arts Council & Carriage House Poetry SeriesPoetry Writing Workshop in Observance of

National Poetry Month Led by Adele Kenny andLaura Boss

23. May 10, 2001Arts CouncilHow To Write An Arts Grant (Workshop)Featuring Susan Cohen from the Union Country

Division of Cultural and Heritage Affairs

24. June 9, 2001

Carriage House Poetry SeriesFeaturing Students from Middlesex County Arts

High School

25. August 5, 2001

Arts CouncilFirst Annual Bandstand ConcertMusical Variety Show Featuring Five Vocal and

Instrumental Music Groups

26. October 11, 2001


Open Mic

27. December 13, 2001

Arts Council & Carriage House Poetry SeriesMusic & Words Concert

Featuring Students from the ScotchPlains/Fanwood High School Band and Student

Writers (Poetry and Short Stories) from ScotchPlains/Fanwood High School

2002

28. February 14, 2002


Sweetheart Night

Featuring Al Madison Singing Blues Style LoveSongs

& Joe Weil Reading Poems of Love and Loss

29. March 23, 2002

Arts CouncilOpen Mic Instrumental Music Concert Featuring

Local Musicians Recommended by The ScotchPlains Music Store (Park Avenue) with Outdoor

Exhibit of Photographs by Local Photographers

30. April 30, 2002

Carriage House Poetry Series National Poetry Month Observance

Featuring Deborah LaVeglia & Tom Plante

31. May 9, 2002

Carriage House Poetry SeriesOpen Mic


Arts Council

Bandstand ConcertMusical Variety Show Featuring VariousPerformers: The Bantry Boys, Al Madison, Torch

Singers (Vocals & Instrumentals, Joe Weil &Deborah LaVeglia), and Students from the Scotch

Plains/Fanwood High School Chorus

33. December 12, 2002


Featuring Haiku and Short Poetry by Twelve Open

Readers

34. January 23, 2003Carriage House Poetry Series

Showcase of Union County Poets, Editors, andLiterary Journals

(Including Black Swan Review, Big Hammer,Journal of NJ Poets, Exit 13, and other Small PressJournals)

2003

35. February 11, 2003


Featuring Yictove



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36. March 15, 2003

Arts CouncilArts Symposium

Morning-Long Panel Discussions of Various ArtsModalities by Artists in Dance, Painting,

Literature, Photography, Instrumental Music, and

Vocal MusicFeaturing Instructors from Kean College

37. April 30, 2003


Nation Poetry Month ObservanceFeaturing Five Union County Poets

John McDermott, Joe Weil, Deborah LaVeglia,Tom Plante, and Adele Kenny (emcee)

38. May 17, 2003

Arts Council

How to Prepare a HEART Grant (Workshop)For All Union County Arts Modalities and ProjectsLed by Paula Long from the Union County

Division of Cultural and Heritage Affairs



Fifth Anniversary CelebrationFeaturing Music by Al Madison

& Open Mic for Poets

2004

40. April 13, 2004


National Poetry Month Salute to America’s Poets

Featuring Readings of Dickinson, Poe, Whitman,and Other American Poets by Edie Eustace

(Director of Poetswednesday at Barron Arts Center in Woodbridge)

41. May 11, 2004


42. June 8, 2004



Carriage House Poetry SeriesFeaturing BJ Ward


Arts CouncilBandstand Concert

Featuring Nashville and Disney Singer/Songwriter Mark Johnson

45. October 3, 2004Arts Council & Carriage House Poetry SeriesFanny Wood/Carriage House Poetry AwardsIn Conjunction with Fanny Wood Day

Judges: Tom Plante & Alex Pinto

(231 Entries)First Place: John Kenworthy (Elizabeth)

Second Place: Barbara Wirkus (Kenilworth)Third Place: Gary W. Szelc (Fanwood)

46. November 11, 2004


Open Mic


Carriage House Poetry Series“A Celebration of Regulars”

Featuring Open Mic Regulars

2005

48. March 8, 2005


Reading of Famous Poets Works by Selected

Regular Attendees

49. April 9, 2005


Poetry Workshop in Observance of NationalPoetry Month

Led by Tom Plante

50. April 12, 2005


Featuring Winners of the 2004 FannyWood/Carriage House Poetry Contest: JohnKenworthy, Barbara Wirkus, & Gary Szelc

51. May 5, 2005


Featuring Renee Ashley



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62. April 21, 2006

Arts Council & Carriage House Poetry Series“Festival of Famous Poets”

Gala Costume Party and Reading in Observance of National Poetry Month

Featuring

Master of Ceremonies Li Bai (Robert Chang)Elizabeth I (Adele Kenny)Walt Whitman (Tom Plante)Anne Sexton (Deborah LaVeglia)

Gwendolyn Brooks (Gwen Samuels)

Gerard Manley Hopkins (Rev. Alex D. Pinto)Emily Dickinson (Amanda Berry)

Lord Byron (R. G. Rader)Arthur Rimbaud (Adam Fitzgerald)

William Butler Yeats (John McDermott)Elizabeth Barrett Browning (Penny Harter)

Robert Browning (William J. Higginson)

Dylan Thomas (Joe Weil)(Open Mic after Show for Audience Members inCostume)

63. April 30, 2006

Arts CouncilAn Afternoon of Chinese Music and Dance

Featuring the Chinese-American Music and DanceEnsembles (Chinese & Western songs sung by

Children, and Chinese Folk Dances from Various

Provinces in China)

64. May 2, 2006Carriage House Poetry Series

Publication Reading for Tiferet Journal (a national poetry journal)

Featuring Distinguished Poets Whose PoemsAppear in the Current Issue

65. May 11, 2006

Carriage House Poetry SeriesFeaturing Therese Halscheid

66. June 8, 2006

Arts Council & Carriage House Poetry Series“Music and Words”

Featuring Deborah LaVeglia, and Gloria HealyWith Music by Evan LaVeglia & Joe Weil


Carriage House Poetry SeriesFeaturing Diane Lockward

68. October 12, 2006

Carriage House Poetry SeriesFeaturing Robert Carnevale

69. November 9, 2006


Publication Reading for 5th Anniversary Issue of Edison Literary Review Featuring Editor Gina Larkin, Tony Gruenewald,John Larkin, and Other Poets from the Anniversary

Issue


Arts CouncilHoliday Concert

Featuring the SomerTomesBarbershop Style Singers

71. December 7, 2006Carriage House Poetry SeriesEighth Anniversary Celebration

Featuring Renee Ashley and Peter Murphy

2007

72. February 13, 2007


Celebration of Black History Month

Featuring Gretna Wilkinson & Gwen Samuels

73. March 13, 2007


Featuring Susanna Rich

74. April 30, 2007

Carriage House Poetry Series“Celebrating Seniors”

National Poetry Month Observance

Featuring New York City Octogenarian Author and Playwright Marvin Cohen with CharlesDeFanti, Ph.D. reading from Plays by Marvin

Cohen (some produced by Plays in the Park)

75. May 8, 2007

Carriage House Poetry SeriesFeaturing Jack Wiler



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76. June 12, 2007

Carriage House Poetry Series“Sonnets, Sestinas, and Villanelles”

Formal Poetry: Lecture and ReadingFeaturing British Poet Anna Evans

77. September 30, 2007 (Fanny Wood Day)Arts CouncilBandstand ConcertFull Count Band Provided by The Arts Council

As Part of the Fanny Wood Day Celebration

Downtown Fanwood (Not in the Kuran Center)

NOTE: No events were scheduled to be held in the

Kuran Center (Carriage House) from July 2007

through February 2008 during the Kuran Center

restorations. The annual Arts Council bandstand

concert for 2007 was incorporated into Fanwood’s

Fanny Wood Day on September 30 th.

2008

78. March 11, 2008


Featuring Nancy Scott & Lois Marie Harrod

79. April 11, 2008

Arts CouncilFolk Dance Recital

Featuring the Morristown Folk Dancers

Performance, Instruction, and AudienceParticipation

80. April 25, 2008

Carriage House Poetry Series“Gothic”: A celebration of the Gothic Tradition in

LiteratureGala Costume Performance and Reading National Poetry Month Observance

Featuring

Bob Carnevale, Catherine Doty, Adele Kenny,Diane Lockward, Tom Plante, Alex Pinto, &Susanna Rich

(Open Reading after Show for Audience Members

in Costume)

81. May 20, 2008


Featuring Priscilla Orr

82. June 17, 2008

Carriage House Poetry SeriesFeaturing Martin Farawell

Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Poetry ProgramDirector

83. July 15, 2008Carriage House Poetry Series20th Anniversary CelebrationFor Fanwood-Based Literary Journal Exit 13



Featuring Christine Redman-Waldeyer


Arts Council

Bandstand Concert

In Conjunction with Annual Fanny Wood DayArts Council Provided Full Count Band Again AsPart of the Downtown Festivities

86. October 21, 2008

Carriage House Poetry Series“An Evening with Muse-Pie Press”

Featuring R. G. Rader, Owner/Publisher Discussion and Reading

87. November 18, 2008


Featuring Carole Stone & Deborah LaVeglia

88. December 16, 2008


Carriage House Series 10th

AnniversaryCelebrationand Book Launch for The Carriage House Poetry

Series Anthology

Featuring Jazz Singer Denise DeLeo &Accompanists on Guitar and BassReadings by Poets in the Anthology

2009

89. February 17, 2009


Featuring James HabaDirector of the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry

Program (1986-2008)



15

106. December 14, 2010

Arts Council & Carriage House Poetry SeriesCarriage House Series 12

thAnniversary

CelebrationFeaturing Brian Celardo (Vocal & Instrumental

Music)

and Performance Readings from the Works of Robert Service by Raymond S. Londa, Esq.

2011

107. February 15, 2011


“Sweetheart Night”

Taylor Mali & Marie-Elizabeth Mali

108. March 15, 2011

Carriage House Poetry SeriesFeaturing John Wareham

109. March 20, 2011 Arts CouncilVocal & Instrumental Music Concert

Featuring Kenny Woods

110. April 19, 2011


Featuring Gail Fishman Gerwin & John Amen

111. May 17, 2011

Carriage House Poetry SeriesRobert Carnevale & Madeline Tiger

112. June 21, 2011

Carriage House Poetry SeriesFeaturing Patricia Smith

113. September 20, 2011

Carriage House Poetry SeriesFeaturing Laura Boss

114. October 18, 2011


“Zen-like Poems with Music”Featuring Music by Massachusetts Trombonist andComposer Jeremy Starpoli with Zen Poems byAuthor Vincent Tripi

115. November 15, 2011


Featuring Edwin Romond & Diane Lockward

116. December 13, 2011


“Renaissance Night at the Carriage House”

Proposed FeaturesRenaissance Harpist

• Odarka Stockert

Renaissance Troubadour • (Portrayed by Edmund Baranowski)

Renaissance Poet Richard Herrick • (Portrayed by R. G. Rader)

Renaissance Poet Christopher Marlowe• (Portrayed by Gary Szelc)

Shakespeare’s Dark Lady• (Portrayed by Linda Radice)

Renaissance Monk Singing Gregorian Chants

• (Portrayed by Rev. Alex D. Pinto)Renaissance Poet Emilia Lanier

• (Portrayed by Diane Lockward)Elizabeth I

• (Emcee, Portrayed by Adele Kenny)Details TBA



16

A Brief History

of The Fanwood Carriage House

Built in circa 1750, one of the first buildings on theCarriage House site in Fanwood, New Jersey was a

humble pre-Revolutionary War farmhouse. The

identity of the first owners is unknown. During themid-nineteenth century, the farmhouse underwentvarious changes and became a guesthouse for

visitors to the community. In time, a rear wing was

added, and as many as fifty guests could beaccommodated.

Modest beginnings notwithstanding, the changing structure grew to three stories and was distinguished by high

ceilings, wide floorboards, and decorative fireplaces. The realignment of the railroad tracks through the“Fanwood Cut” in 1874-75 brought new numbers of visitors to what was, at the time, a country area. Known

until circa 1890 as the Russell House, the guesthouse grew in popularity as a haven for city dwellers who

sought escape from the confines of urban areas during the hot summer months and as a picturesque site for spring, autumn, and winter retreats.

The Boucher family (two maiden sisters and their brother) purchased the property around 1890 and renamed it

“The Homestead.” A large dining room was designed and became the center for musical evenings, dances, andother social events for guests and invited townspeople. Tennis courts and croquet areas were also added for theguests’ entertainment.

The Homestead included several out-buildings and a carriage house (now known as The Patricia M. KuranCultural Arts Center) that functioned as a barn for horses and as a storage facility for the carriages needed to

transport visitors to and from the railroad station. The nineteenth century building had sliding barn doors and

double-hinged doors with Italianate paneling and, although portions of the original carriage house no longer exist, the structure’s unique Gothic Revival architecture, brick and stone foundation, board and batten siding,

grain bins, and horse stalls remain intact. Two Victorian Era carriages also survive and are displayed annuallyduring the December holiday season.

After the deaths of the Bouchers, around 1931, the Slocum family purchased the property and proceeded with

significant alterations in order to remodel the structure for residential living. Much of the Homestead buildingwas eliminated, including the rear wing and the wide porches that surrounded it.

When the Slocums moved away in 1974, the property (including the Carriage House) was purchased by theBorough of Fanwood. It was hoped that the Homestead might be utilized as a new Borough Hall; however,after considerable study and debate, the building was found unsuitable and was finally demolished in 1978. In

1979, through a campaign spearheaded by former Fanwood Mayor Patricia M. Kuran, the Fanwood BoroughCouncil voted to save the Carriage House. Rededicated in January 1999, the Carriage House is now called the

Patricia M. Kuran Cultural Arts Center and has been designated for limited cultural arts use. Protection and

preservation of the historic building are always a priority.

Recent renovations to the Carriage House include a new staircase, installation of fire safety features, updatedlighting, and a patio on the Borough Hall side of the building. A $50,000 grant made extensive interior

restoration possible during 2007.

Facing Watson Road, across from Carriage House Park, on the grounds of Borough Hall, the Carriage House isnow part of Fanwood’s local historic district and all that remains of the Homestead property.

fanwood arts council report 2011

Documents