Charter Day 2012, the 252nd anniversary of the founding of the Township of Bernardston, was celebrated under perfect sunshine that seemed to brighten the  annual festival and street fair even more than usual. The event ran from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. and was attended by thousands. There was music, fun, food and displays of local history and artwork by many Bernards Township students. The street fair also drew many community organizations and businesses from the area to add entertainment, delicious meals, treats and drinks and helpful information to the mix. Patch also presents a video of the …

The Bernards Township third annual Mayor’s Cup Golf Tournament brought three dozen golfers out to compete last Saturday at the municipal Coakley-Russo Memorial Golf Course for golf, lunch and trophies on a day with perfect weather. The 2012 Mayor’s Cup Tournament Champion Team trophy went to golfers John Meyers, Mike Porter, Patsy Ragonese IV and Dave Schneider. Two groups were tied at 3 under par (32) for the tournament, said township golf supervisor Jack McGrath. In the playoff, the winning foursome made a birdie (2) on the first hole of sudden death playoff. The sun was shining, and …

The Friends of the Bernardsville Public Library continued the group's series of free Sundays at Three concerts at the library last weekend, featuring pianist John Bianculli and singer Jackie Jones in an intimate performance of jazz, popular standards and original compositions. Bianculli, a composer, teacher and bandleader as well as a performer, also is a regular at The Bernards Inn on Thursday evenings. Bianculli has brought his music to venues throughout New Jersey and New York, including the New York Hilton and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. He said he sometimes is accompanied at …

The semi-annual rummage sale to benefit the Visiting Nurse Association of Somerset Hills is spread over 26 departments for this year's sale, running from Friday through Sunday, filled with thousands of items, from the useful to the tastefully decorative, along with a few outlandish pieces—consider the wooden carving of a giant fish swallowing a fisherman. There's furniture, clothing for men, women and children, books for all ages and tastes, electronics, lamp shades, Halloween costumes, artwork, toys, fine silver and more. The three-day sale will be held at the Far Hills Fairgrounds between 9…

The late Basking Ridge resident Lu Huggins was the impetus for Miles For Matheny back in 1998 when she started Matheny's Wheelchair Walk with the intent of creating a day out in the community for patients of the school and medical center that has called Peapack-Gladstone home. The 15th annual Miles for Matheny came home to Liberty Park in downtown Peapack-Gladstone, following two years away at nearby Natirar County Park, with the now renamed Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk still the highlight of the day. The annual community celebration also is an important fundraiser for the Center for Medicine …

This Saturday afternoon, the Somerset Hills YMCA again is combining its Healthy Kids Event with an Earth Day celebration for "Healthy Earth, Healthy Kids Day." Every member of the community was welcome at the free event incorporating the national Y’s annual Healthy Kids Day that offer fun and health-encouraging events such as karate, making your own train mix, hula-hooping, painting and more. Among the day's scheduled activities were live music and a DJ, climbing wall, healthy food, hip hop for kids, karate classes for all, mad science fun, tile painting with Color Me Mine from Bernardsville…

Company executives from France and representatives for state, federal and local government attended Wednesday's ribbon-cutting for Ipsen North America, an affair that marked the international pharma company's arrival in Basking Ridge. Ipsen relocated from its offices in December from Brisbane, Calif., and moved temporarily into rented quarters on Mount Airy Road in Bernardsville. The new 30,000-square-foot headquarters off Allen Road will house mostly commercial operations but also coordinators for research and development in the Boston area and elsewhere in the United States, according to …

The colorful festival of Holi — a springtime Hindu celebration — was being held Basking Ridge-style at The Hills Highlands Clubhouse on Sunday afternoon, with plans to culminate in the tradition of tossing powdered colors on participants as the grand finale. In Bernards Township, that big ending to the day's celebrations was planned to take place on the nearby soccer field in The Hills development. "It's like welcoming spring," said Sundari Arni of Basking Ridge, an organizer of an event she said has been going ten years and strong as an annual festival that this year attracted about 200 …

Sunny weather and a stocked pond at Southard Park on made for a "perfect" day for Bernards Township's annual fishing derby, attended Saturday morning by about 150 to 200 anglers of all ages. Participants in one of the town's most popular local traditions had to bring their own poles and bait before casting into the pond. The derby was held to see who could catch the biggest fish, with Sean O'Grady, assistant director of the township parks and recreation department, and recreation coordinator Heather Re measuring out contestants on a yardstick. As of shortly after 10 a.m., the biggest fish …

A half-dozen local "Power Wheels" racers braved whipping winds for a chance to get behind the wheel in races held at Pleasant Valley Park on Monday morning, as the first of the township Parks and Recreation department's planned activities lined up for four days this week, while township schools are on spring break. The children, from Basking Ridge and nearby Long Hill Township, got to participate in several races under sunny skies at the park's highest point before winning prizes from a "treasure chest." Among the most enthusiastic participants were Ashwin Barama, 7, and Vinav Shah, 5, from …

Shortly after lunch on Thursday, about a dozen members of the Basking Ridge Garden Club arrived in the downtown with trowels and garden flats in hand, and a mission of filling the town's planting boxes with spring pansies. Their annual ritual also will include weeding and trimming and watering through the year's warm months, said Robin Oas, co-chairwoman of the club's planting committee. New club members "are always welcome," she said. After the town's Charter Day Celebration in May, the women even will replace the spring pansies with summer flowers better able to withstand strong sunlight …

As if they don't spend enough time volunteering, the members of the Basking Ridge Fire Co. No. 1 and First Aid Squad donated their time (and cooking abilities) to hold a fundraising pancake breakfast on Sunday morning. With donations from several local food stores and restaurants, the fire company and first aid squad members, along with family and friends, cooked up a steady stream of breakfasts with "the works" — pancakes, eggs, bacon and sausage, accompanied by coffee, tea and orange juice. The volunteers were out on the morning after St. Patrick's Day, in the kitchen and serving tables at …

Joe Giudice, husband of reality TV celebrity Teresa Giudice, one of  "The Real Housewives of New Jersey," visited the Kaleidoscope Hair & Body Artistry Salon in The Hills section of Basking Ridge for a St. Patrick's Day Open House on Saturday. Giudice's visit was arranged by Stephen Marinaro, a stylist at the salon and celebrity blogger The Salon Guy. Although Teresa couldn't make it, Joe Giudice arrived from the family home in Montville Township accompanied by three of the couple's four daughters, Gabriella, Gia and Milania. Giudice's visit to the salon was to demonstrate the use of …

This weekend, starting tonight, is the premiere for the two big spring musical productions at both Ridge High School and at Bernards High School; "The Secret Garden" at Ridge's Performing Arts Center, and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at the PAC at Bernards High. Meanwhile, Thursday night was the opening reception for the creations of another group of Ridge artists — the Advanced Placement art studio students at the high school. "Roots, Rocks and Relics" is this year's annual exhibit by the AP class. It will remain at the Environmental Education Center in Basking Ridge …

A week following the grand re-opening of Kings Food Store in Bedminster, shoppers on Saturday morning were still being treated to jalapeno cheese, espresso spiked with hazelnut, mini kobe burgers and other samples of the supermarket's expanded offerings. Tom McNerny, area director for Kings, had promised the new store would continue its gourmet foods stations and cooking demonstrations throughout the week after the now 24,000-square-foot store re-opened with a party on Feb. 3. The store also continues to collect donations for the Food Bank Network of Somerset County. Shoppers and invited …

The first annual Community Art Show, featuring Bernards Township artists, attracted contributions from 40 local artists that will be on display at the Somerset County Environmental Education Center in Basking Ridge through Feb. 26. A public reception to kick off the show — which officially opened on Saturday at the EEC at 190 Lord Stirling Road — took place on Sunday afternoon at the EEC. During the reception, the 2012 Mayor's Arts Awards Recipients also were announced by Bernards Township Mayor Mary Pavlini. The non-juried show — that the township hopes to make an annual event each February…

By Saturday morning, many of the main roads were clear but most side roads were still untouched by plows in Somerset County. Many people were indoors as the snow changed to freezing rain and the winds added to the chill in the air—but not everyone. Those that were out in the first winter snowfall of the year were determined to get some sledding in—or, like Meghan Maffey, were shoveling out a driveway. It may not have been an impressive snowfall for most people, but for one 15-year-old, who was visiting a cousin in Bernardsville, the snow was a miracle. Nancy Villenueva, 15, of Honduras, said …

At midnight we toasted the new year as the calendar turned another page. It's not that our lives changed overnight, but rather our mindset. When we look back years from now at our personal timeline, the calendar years will help us pinpoint our plans, achivements, milestones, relationships, setbacks and losses throughout our lives. As we thumb through the pages of this virtual photo album, we can only hope that the resolutions we made have become the captions that describe our photos.  During the last week of 2011, Patch asked a few people who live and/or work in the area to share their New …

The performances and emotions of student athletes during the year have provided us with wonderful opportunities to capture those moments. Here are more of photographer Terry Boudreau's selections (okay, he had more, but he had to restrain himself) for top sports photos of the year. Click here to view Sports Photos of the Year 2011, Part 1, which ran on Friday. Saturday's selection includes scenes from girls and boys lacrosse, Little League, fencing, additional scenes from a championship baseball season and more.

I have been shooting sports and events around Basking Ridge for the last four years. I have been blessed with access to coaches, players and fans that helped me make these some of greatest moments in my life and record them for all of you. I have always been made to feel like a member of the community and appreciate all the good will I have received.  I have been working hard to develop my craft and doing it in Basking Ridge makes it even better. I have been making some changes over the past year and I hope that you can see them. I hope to continue to improve as time goes by. I had a …