Member Events

A speaker from the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts will speak on emergency planning for dramatic weather patterns that threaten your collection or even your museum itself. Have you planned for storm driven higher tides and/or flooding? How about damage from tornadoes? Hurricanes? This session will help you identify and plan for perils to your organization’s assets. Showing of Changing Tides followed by a tour of the A.J. Meerwald, New Jersey’s official tall ship. Discussion of the new oyster industry followed by a tour of the 1904 Oyster Shipping Sheds and the Delaware Bay Museum. For a complete schedule and a registration form, visit the League website www.lhsnj.org and click on the News & Events tab, Spring Meeting. | Date & Time: April 5, 2025- event STARTS at 9am. | More information and registration.

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Create art from material destined for the recycling bin or trash can for our 11th Annual Recycled Art Contest! Atlantic County residents of all ages are invited to get creative. Guidelines: Artwork must be made from a minimum of 75% recyclable or non-recyclable (trash) materials. Entries will be judged based on creativity, use of recycled materials, and overall presentation. Maximum size: 2’ x 2’ x 2’. Pieces will be judged in the following categories: Ages 8 & younger; 9-13; 14-17; 18 & older; or Group. Submit artwork with completed entry form attached to a participating Atlantic County library between October 1 and October 31, 2025. Entries will be displayed at libraries through October 31. Artwork will then be transported to ACUA to be entered for judging. Awards will be presented, and artwork will be showcased at ACUA’s America Recycles Day Event on Saturday, November 15, 2025.

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You’ve seen him on America’s Got Talent, Jimmy Fallon, Masters of Illusion, and Penn & Teller: Fool Us! Illusionist Leon Etienne’s jaw-dropping, critically acclaimed hit show Magic Rocks! is not to be missed. Witness this family-friendly spectacular featuring the world’s best illusions, award-winning sleight of hand, and hilarious comedy. This show is an immersive experience that brings joy, laughter, and wonder when the world needs it most! About Leon Etienne From Radio City Music Hall to Planet Hollywood Casino and from Studio City Casino in Macau to his very own theater on the beautiful island waters of Saipan, the unique performance style of Illusionist Leon Etienne attracts entertainment producers to book him all over the world. He’s rocked stages from coast to coast in the USA and in dozens of countries, including England, Ireland, France, China, and Australia. His performances frequently leave celebrities like Jimmy Fallon, Howard Stern, and Heidi Klum speechless. Hailed by critics as “America’s Rock Illusionist,” Leon is a worldwide hit with audiences, critics, and producers. Etienne is recognized for his on stage charisma, a fast paced, high energy, rock n’ roll edge performance style, and his no nonsense approach to magic. He has appeared on the world’s biggest TV shows, trended worldwide on social media, and performs live at entertainment hotspots around the world. Leon’s original creations, a passion for sleight-of-hand magic, and the best jaw-dropping grand illusions in the world explode on stage in his critically acclaimed hit show, “Magic Rocks!®“

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Broadway, television, and film star Robert Neary creates an unforgettable tribute to one of the greatest recording artists in history. Two hours packed with 24 classic hit songs, nostalgia, multimedia, stories, trivia, and a finale that is pure Broadway caliber, this is a true immersion into Neil Diamond’s life and career. Critical praise all across the internet and social media has called this show “the most authentic and professional tribute to Neil Diamond and delivers nothing short of a true Neil Diamond concert experience.” With over 40 years in the entertainment business, Robert has 3 Broadway leads and over 60 major guest-starring television and film roles to his credit. He created this incredible show in 2019 and perfected it during the pandemic along with NY’s premier band, The Mystic. Now in its fifth year, “So Good! The Neil Diamond Experience” is selling out venues all over the US, and there is no end in sight!

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After 13 years living in Philadelphia, Delwin Fiddler Jr., a champion grass dancer, embraces indigenous culture by returning to his ancestral home on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota. Leaving his big city life behind, Delwin aims to protect his centuries-old Lakota heritage and heal from family tragedy through his passion for dance. Join us for a film screening with a post-show talk with Delwin Fiddler, Jr. This film screening is made possible through generous funding from the Ocean County Cultural & Heritage Commission and the Mid-Atlantic Tours program of Mid-Atlantic Arts with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

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Join Duo Radliff-Niessen, consisting of the renowned violinist Robert Radliff and Dutch pianist Sharon Niessen, for an extraordinary performance at the Grunin Center for the Arts, with masterpieces of Beethoven and Brahms. Radliff, a celebrated performer with orchestras such as the New Jersey Symphony, the New England Symphonic Ensemble at Carnegie Hall, and the Curtis Institute Orchestra, brings his extensive experience and passionate playing to the stage. Radliff’s performances have captivated audiences across the United States and worldwide, and has collaborated with some of the most celebrated classical artists such as Yo Yo Ma, Jamie Laredo, and Itzhak Perlman. Niessen, praised for her expressive playing and virtuosity, captivates audiences with her interpretations, having performed internationally with orchestras like the Philips Symphony Orchestra and Youth Orchestra of the Netherlands, and collaborated with renowned musicians such as world champion whistler Geert Chatrou and recording artist Dutch flutist Ilonka Kolthof. As a duo, Radliff and Niesssen blend their dynamic artistry. With their international career spanning prestigious venues from Carnegie Hall to the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, this concert is sure to be one of the highlights of the season. This event is funded by the Ocean County College Foundation.

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The first Glenn Miller Orchestra did not make it at all. It was a total and absolute economic failure. But Glenn knew what he wanted, held to that dedication, and relentlessly worked to succeed. He launched his second band – the one that lives on today – in March of 1938. The Glenn Miller Orchestra has been a “hit” ever since. The legendary Glenn Miller was one of the most successful of all dance bandleaders back in the Swing Era of the 1930s and ’40s. A matchless string of hit records, the constant impact of radio broadcasts, and the drawing power at theatres, hotels, and dance pavilion, built and sustained the momentum of popularity. Glenn disbanded his musical organization in 1942 at the height of its popularity to volunteer for the Army. There, he organized and led the famous Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band. It went to Europe to entertain servicemen performing numerous live and radio shows. On December 15, 1944, Major Miller took off in a single-engine plane from Europe to precede his band to France, disappearing over the English Channel, never to be seen again. The army declared him officially dead a year later. With the release of the major motion movie The Glenn Miller Story featuring Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson in 1954, interest and popular demand led the Miller Estate to authorize the formation of the present Glenn Miller Orchestra. On June 6, 1956, and under the direction of drummer Ray McKinley who had become the unofficial leader of the Army Air Force Band after Glenn’s disappearance, the reformed Glenn Miller Orchestra performed its first concert and has been on the road ever since. Other leaders have followed Ray including clarinetists Buddy DeFranco and Peanuts Hucko, trombonists Buddy Morrow, Jimmy Henderson, Larry O’Brien, and Gary Tole, and tenor saxophonist Dick Gerhart. Since January 2012, vocalist Nick Hilscher leads the band. Today, the 18 member ensemble continues to play many of the original Miller arrangements both from the civilian band and the AAFB libraries. Additionally, it also plays some more modern selections arranged and performed in the Miller style and sound. Just as it was in Glenn’s day, the Glenn Miller Orchestra today is still the most sought-after big band in the world.

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About the OCC Foundation Concert Event Since 1965, the OCC Foundation has proudly served the Ocean County College community, supporting thousands of deserving students. Over the past 60 years, we’ve awarded over $22 million in scholarships and special program funding. Your generosity continues to make a lasting impact, supporting initiatives like the Helping Hands Food Pantry, the Blauvelt Speaker Series, the Global Travel Experience, select programming at the Grunin Center for the Arts, the Robert J. Novins Planetarium, and the Veteran & Military Resource Center (VMRC), resources for Athletic programs, and support for many other college and student-led programs. About Chris Botti GRAMMY-winning trumpeter Chris Botti has been one of the most popular instrumentalists in the world for nearly three decades; he’s collaborated with some of the biggest superstars on the planet, including Sting, Paul Simon, Barbra Streisand, Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Bette Midler, Joni Mitchell, Steven Tyler, Andrea Bocelli, Herbie Hancock, Yo-Yo Ma, and others; he’s topped the jazz charts with numerous albums, earned multiple Gold and Platinum records, performed with symphony orchestras and on prestigious stages from Carnegie Hall to the Hollywood Bowl to the Sydney Opera House. In short, Chris Botti really needs no introduction. Yet with his Blue Note Records debut, he’s offering one anyway. Vol.1 is in many ways a fresh start for the trumpeter. Having successfully crossed over from jazz renown to pop stardom, Botti’s first album in more than a decade finds him crossing back, with a small group project focused on acoustic jazz and classic standards. “I turned 60 in 2022, at a time that seemed like a restart for so many things in the world,” Botti says. “I wanted to strip away all the orchestral arrangements and special guests and focus more on my playing, the playing of my band, and these jazz classics that we always love playing on stage.” While Botti could boast of the major names with whom he’s shared stages, this project allows him to share his enthusiasm for the jazz greats past and present that excite him – his conversation is peppered with references to everyone from Miles Davis to Keith Jarrett to Pat Metheny to Brad Mehldau. He points to landmark albums like Davis’ Kind of Blue, John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, or Metheny’s duo outing with Charlie Haden, Beyond the Missouri Sky as models for the kind of “lifestyle” music he set out to make – music that is exquisite on its own but can also set the scene for a coffee shop or hotel lounge, instantly generating a sophisticated mood. Of course, Botti couldn’t have found a more ideal home for this artistic rebirth. Blue Note has been a standard-bearer of jazz throughout its storied history, and the trumpeter found a receptive partner in label president Don Was. “Anyone that’s lucky enough to say they’re on Blue Note Records should be pinching themselves,” Botti says. “It’s a fantastic honor. I had great runs on Verve and Columbia, so it’s amazing to now arrive on the most famous traditional jazz record label.” Sponsors Event sponsorships are available through the OCC Foundation.

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Yates Musical Theatre for Children returns for another year of tradition with A Christmas Carol. This show is a musical adaptation of the tale of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, who hated Christmas. On Christmas Eve, three ghosts take him on a journey. During his nighttime reflection into the past, the present, and the future, he witnesses the lives of his poor office clerk, Bob Cratchit, and the crippled Tiny Tim. Yates Musical Theatre has brought these unforgettable characters from the page to the stage. They’ve added a melodious score and wrapped it all up in a beautiful holiday present of a production. Join us for this heartwarming theatre experience that will put everyone in a holiday spirit. Please note that it is the Grunin Center Policy for all Family Shows that all attendees, regardless of age, require a ticket.

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Come along for an unforgettable evening of music, cheer, and holiday spirit as the OCC Concert Band presents The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. This festive concert brings together a dazzling collection of your favorite seasonal tunes performed by the talented members of the OCC Concert Band. From classic carols to contemporary arrangements, plus a visit from Santa, the concert will fill the air with warmth, joy, and celebration.

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