Upcoming Aquarium Events

This weekend, February 3rd and 4th, Camden's Adventure Aquarium will be hosting some special events to celebrate African American History Month.

Baba Abiodun, an African storyteller, tells animal, folk, family, and community tales.

Diego, a live action version of the tv show "Go, Diego, Go" will meet aquarium guests and be part of a sea turtle show

The Universal African Dance & Drum Ensemble of Camden will give a presentation as well.

Details here.

New Production at South Camden Theatre Company

The South Camden Theatre Company is currently presenting "The Exoneration," by Jessica Blank and Eric Jensen. The play won the Outer Circle Critics Award for best off-Broadway play of 2003. It is based on interviews with forty exonerated death row inmates.

"The Exonerated" will run from January 19th through February 4th, 2007 in the basement of Sacred Heart Church located at the intersection of Broadway and Ferry Avenue in Camden, NJ. Shows will be on Friday and Saturday evenings at 8PM and Sunday afternoons at 1:30PM.

Tickets are $15 [ seniors and students $12] and reservations can be made; contact information is on the theatre's website, www.southcamdentheatre.org. Seating is limited. There is plenty of on-site parking.

Coming Soon: Miss G's

One day this week I went down to the Subway store in the Victor building to get some lunch (good sandwich, okay chips, great cookie) and noticed a few things:

The New England Soup Company is closed. Sorry to see it go.

An Italian restaurant will be opening. The area is under construction now.

Miss G's Convenience Store should be opening soon. It looked like the shelves were being stocked. From the outside looking in there seemed to be a lot of floor space and I look forward to
stopping in a soon as they open.

Merchantville Native to Take Lead Role in Iraq

From the Courier Post on January 6th ("S.J. Native Gets Role in Bush's Iraq Strategy," by Carol Comegno) :

Navy Adm. William J. Fallon, who was raised in Camden and Merchantville, has been chosen to oversee U.S. forces in Iraq.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates recommended Friday that President Bush nominate Fallon as new chief of the U.S. Central Command overseeing the Middle East, calling him "one of the best strategic thinkers in uniform today." The command is based in Tampa.

Stem Cell Research Center Coming to Camden

There was a lot to celebrate on New Year's Eve in Camden. According to an article in the Inquirer, "Camden looks forward to new stem cell center," by Troy Graham (12/31/06), the city will see a new research center, built near the Cooper Hospital. It could take 3 years to plan and build, and eventually house 100 researchers, complete with its own business incubator to develop potential commercial applications. More good news for the city!