James E. McGreevey
Governor

William D. Watley
Secretary of Commerce

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Karen Wolfe - 609.292.2523

FEBRUARY OVERFLOWS WITH AFRICAN-AMERICAN CELEBRATIONS

Trenton, N.J. (January 30, 2003)—Black History Month not only recognizes the struggles of African Americans through history, but also celebrates their incredible resilience. New Jersey, as a cradle of resistance to slavery, a major underground railway corridor and a leader in the ongoing struggle for equality, offers a wealth of diverse events throughout February to celebrate Black History Month.

"The Office of Travel & Tourism seeks to promote informative, educational and just plain fun activities to showcase our rich African American culture," says Nancy Byrne, executive director. "February is a great month to visit our museums, most of which have special exhibits; sample cuisine that comes from the deep south, Caribbean and Africa; see African American dance performances and dramatic presentations; and listen to jazz and blues -- they're all abounding throughout the state."

Travel & Tourism even publishes an extensive guide booklet. In addition to listing special events, exhibits and activities, the guide offers travel itineraries through each of the six regions, highlighting African American points of interest. A sampling is listed below:

Shore Region (eastern New Jersey, from Sandy Hook to Holgate-Monmouth and Ocean counties. Call 732-244-9238): Sightsee famous African American homes -- T. Thomas Fortune, founder of an early leading black newspaper and the Afro-American League in Red Bank and the Heath Farm in Middletown. Dine at Blue Marlin in Bradley Beach and Sampler Inn in Ocean Grove. Shop at Afridesia in Red Bank. Check out exhibits and events at Count Basie Theatre in Redbank.

Greater Atlantic City Region (Atlantic County, including Atlantic City and environs. Call 888-ACVISIT; website- www.atlanticcitynj.com): Sightsee the designated historic beach site, Chicken Bone Beach in Atlantic City. Dine at Corbin's Soul Food in Atlantic City. Check out exhibits and events at Atlantic City Arts Center; Noyes Museum of Art, Oceanville; Stockton Performing Arts Center, Pomona.

Southern Shore Region (Cumberland and Cape May Counties. Call 800-227-2297; website:www.njsouthernshore.com) Sightsee the African American towns of Whitesboro and Gouldtown. Stay at Akwaaba Bed & Breakfast in Cape May. Dine at Tiffany's Greens Beans 'n Birds in Whitesboro; Bank Street, Chalfonte Hotel Magnolia Room and Freda's Café in Cape May. Check out exhibits and events at Cape May County Historical & Genealogical Society in Cape May.

Special exhibits: Jan 18- May 4, Stompin' At The Shore, Carriage House Gallery, Cape May: the story of black entertainers and famous visitors (among them Aretha Franklin, Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Billie Holiday) who came to the Jersey Shore from the turn of the century through the 1950s. Included are photographs, period advertisements, memorabilia, artifacts and oral histories.

Delaware River Region (southern and mid-New Jersey along the Delaware, from Salem to Princeton--Salem, Gloucester, Camden, Burlington and Mercer Counties. Call 856-757-9400; website-www.visitsouthjersey.com) Sightsee underground railroad safe havens in Lawnside - New Jersey's first all-black community, Camden and Burlington); churches in Burlington and Camden, Burlington Island (one of the first places in New Jersey where African slaves were brought to shore, as far back as 1659); New Jersey Manual Training and Industrial School for Colored Youth in Burlington and the Historical Society of Princeton, for self-guided African-American heritage tours (609-921-6784). Dine at Maxine's in Trenton. Shop at LaUnique African American Bookstore & Cultural Center in Camden. Check out exhibits and events at the Center for the Arts in Southern New Jersey, Marlton; South Jersey Performing Arts Center, Camden County Cultural & Heritage Center and Walt Whitman Cultural Arts Center in Camden; Afro-American Expo, Burlington County Library, Westhampton and the McCarter Theatre in Princeton. Special exhibits: Feb 22: Day-long festivities, exhibits, story-telling, jazz, hip-hop and dance will celebrate the evolution of black culture and history will be celebrated at the New Jersey State Aquarium. Camden City residents will be admitted free throughout February. Throughout Feb: A Stitch in Time, performances and story-telling based on themes in quilts, hand-made and presented by Seven Quilts for Seven Sisters in branch libraries of Voorhees, Merchantville, Gloucester, Haddon Township and South County; days and times vary. Battleship New Jersey will recognize African American Naval Officer, Louis A. Ivey, M.D., F.A.C.S, with its 2nd annual award in his name. Dr. Ivey, who is currently a practicing surgeon in Maryland, reported to the New Jersey for duty in 1954. He has since gone on to become the first African American thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon at Cornell Medical Center in New York. Located on the Camden Waterfront, The Battleship New Jersey is the most decorated ship in U.S. Naval history.

Skylands Region (western New Jersey, along the Delaware River from Lambertville to the New York state border -- Hunterdon, Somerset, Warren, Morris and Sussex counties. Call 908-725-1552; www.skylandstourism.org): Sightsee Underground Railroad havens(Boonton: Liberty Hall, the Grimes Homestead and Powerville Hotel) and African American churches (Somerville: St. Thomas AME, Zion). Dine at Tib's Caribbean Place, Morristown. Shop at Annie's Gift & Card Shop. Check out exhibits and events at Morristown Community Theater; Morris Museum.

Gateway Region (east-coast, along the Hudson River, from New Brunswick to the New York state border-Middlesex, Union, Hudson, Essex, Bergen, Passaic counties. Call 201-436-6009): In Newark, Montclair, New Brunswick, Jersey City: Sightsee churches (Mt. Zion AME, New Brunswick; St. James AME, Clinton Memorial AME Zion and First Baptist Peddie Memorial Newark); Gethsemane Cemetery and the Great Falls in Little Ferry and Paterson. Dine at Freshwaters in Plainfield; Delta's, Green Grotto and Makeda's Ethiopian Restaurant in New Brunswick; Maggie's Southern Kitchen in Teaneck; Je's, John's Place, Maize and Priory in Newark; Ms. Wes', Niecey's and Yanick's in South Orange. Shop at Temitayo's Place in Teaneck; Dem Two Hands, Options Gallery, Oyo Gallery and Serengeti Plains

in Montclair; Ellen Ashley Gallery, God's Grace, Iandor Fine Arts and Source of Knowledge in Newark; Tunde Dada House of Africa in Orange; Gallery 61, Good Shepherd Christian Book & Gift Shoppe and Little Candleshop in South Orange; Word Works in Jersey City; Just Art in Piscataway; Majoc and Ourstory in Plainfield. Check out exhibits and events at the African Art Museum in Teaneck; Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Museum in New Brunswick; Afro-American Historical Society and Jersey City Museums in Jersey City; Montclair Art Museum; Aljira Center for Contemporary Art, Newark Museum, James Brown Room at Newark Public Library, Newark City Hall, The Newark Museum and New Jersey Historical Society in Newark; New Jersey State Museum in Trenton; Princeton University Art Museum; Jersey Explorer Children's Museum in East Orange.

Take in events at John Harms Center for the Arts and the Public Library in Englewood; African Globe Studios, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Sumei Art Center, NSA Stella Lass Theater and Rutgers University in Newark; Trumpets in Montclair and the State Theater in New Brunswick.

For further information, copy of the African American Tour Guide and a complete vacation kit, contact the New Jersey Office of Travel & Tourism, 800-VISITNJ (847-4865); or check the website, www.visitnj.org

"America the beautiful-only smaller," New Jersey encompasses less than 9,000 square miles, but it's surprisingly diverse, combining the best of metropolitan sophistication with rural farmlands, rivers and mountains - all accessible within a few hours. Ocean beaches stretch 127 miles, from Cape May Point to Sandy Hook. Vast expanses of forever-green acres are exemplified in the 70,000-acre Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and 1.1-million-acre Pine Barrens Reserve. There are mountains for skiing and climbing; trails for hiking, towns for shopping and culture. While super highways, express buses, trains and ferries provide quick and direct access into New York City and Philadelphia, back roads wind through historic hamlets, farmlands and pristine forests. Along the way are botanic gardens, historic architecture, museums, sporting events, gaming casinos and kids' action parks. New Jersey is a vacation destination for the best days of your life!