Riverwalking Notes

The Adventure Aquarium is landscaping the area along the river. Hopefully the plants will survive this week's colder weather. The greenery will really perk up the view.

Riverwalking Notes

It is still a little chilly along the river but the fisherman are out, school groups are taking field trips to the Aquarium, and the Battleship is open for business again. Spring has arrived.

Brian Dennehy in Camden

Actor Brian Dennehy will be in town to do a benefit performance for the Camden Creative Arts High School. Friday, March 20th, 7:30 (another report said 7:00) at the Haddonfield Memorial High School.

Trivia: Dennehy was in Camden around this time last year also.

New Eagle is Camden Native

According to Fox News, Rashad Baker, newly signed to the Eagles, is a Camden native.

Roller Girls Redux

The 2009 Roller Derby season is underway. On March 14th hometown team, the Murder Beach Militia battles it out with the Right Coast Rollers at the Convention Hall is Asbury Park.

For more information see the Jersey Shore Roller Girls site (http://www.jerseyshorerollergirls.net/)

March on the Battleship

The Battleship New Jersey sent around a list of upcoming events (info theirs, headings mine). For your perusal:

Tours
Battleship Open for Guided and Self-Guided Tours on Weekends;
Opens Daily on March 13th!

Spring is in the air! As we enter March, the Battleship is preparing herself to open everyday from 9:30 am to 3 pm, which begins Friday, March 13th. Our volunteers and staff have had a busy winter painting, maintaining and upgrading the tours throughout the Big J!

The Battleship is currently open for tours on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays from 10 am to 3 pm.

Come on aboard and relive history this March on our nation's largest and most decorated battleship.

Live Irish Music
Guests touring the Battleship on Sunday, March 15th can enjoy live Irish music on the Fantail , presented by AmeriHealth. The Hamilton Celtic Pipes and Drums Band will perform during the afternoon at 1 pm, 2 pm and 3 pm. Irish beer and refreshments will be available for purchase. These performances are free with any tour, or for a $10 donation that allows fantail access only.

Tickets can be purchased at the Battleship Ticket Office or online at www.battleshipnewjersey.org.

Driver's Ed on the Big J
The Battleship will host a special driving behavior modification course on Sunday, Mar. 15th from 9:30 am through 3:30 pm. New Jersey drivers who participate in the course can get 5% off insurance rates and a reduction of
2 points off their driving record.

Further, there has been a marked decrease in violations after the course is taken. Learn how to handle road rage, new challenges from weather conditions, the seriousness of Blood Alcohol ratios, fatigue issues, the physics of stopping a
vehicle, the margin of safety, and perhaps most importantly the need to minimize distractions of all kinds such as cell phones and even cell phone discussions.

For more information or to register, visit www.VoiceBehindTheCurtain.com.

Travel Expo '09
Visit with many popular travel professionals and plan your dream vacation while on the Battleship! The 2009 South Jersey Travel Expo will take place on the Fantail, presented by AmeriHealth, on Sunday, March 29th from 10 am to 5 pm.

Representatives from Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, Grand Canyon Railway, Star Clippers, Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, the Philadelphia Zoo and more will be on hand to answer questions about their venues. 92.5 WXTU will also be distributing tickets to their upcoming anniversary show and playing music.

Admission to the expo is free. And guests can get a special $8 ticket to take a self-guided tour of the Battleship that day.

Battleship New Jersey Institute
Attention Teachers and the General Public! Come and earn professional credits while exploring parts of the ship not yet open to the general public.

DATE: March 20 OR 21, 2009, 9:30AM to 3:30PM

COST: $45 per person (Lunch Included)

PLACE: Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial
Camden Waterfront, NJ

DETAILS: The Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial is hosting Battleship Institute 2009 on The Big J! Experience demonstrations in the machine shop and the radio room. Guests will also visit the Engine Room, an area not yet open to the general public. The focus of the seminar will be MATH and SCIENCE and will contain two lessons that Teacher’s could use in their classrooms! New Jersey Teachers can earn five professional development credits.


Odyssey Experience
The Battleship will host the McCarter Theatre's Odyssey Experience on Saturday, April 4th. This interactive show, based on the literature epic of the Odysseus voyage, will take place ont he Battleship's Fantail at 11 am. Prior to the show, guests can experience a self-guided tour of the ship and then some activities and games on the fantail.

Tickets are $20 per person and includes the self-guided tour, or $10 per person to see and participate in the show only. Tickets can be purchased at the Battleship Ticket Office or online at www.battleshipnewjersey.org.

Children and War Conference

Mark your calendars:

The Department of Childhood Studies at Rutgers University–Camden is sponsoring an international conference on the topic of “Children and War” to be held April 3-5, 2009. Rutgers–Camden is a leader in the national and international discourse on the state of children and childhood both at home and internationally.

The impact of war and armed conflict on children, and the various roles they play during wartime, is a timely subject of keen interest that cries out for historicizing and in-depth investigation. Scholars from around the world in fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, history and religion have accepted invitations to speak at the conference. They will be joined by human rights lawyers and NGO officials.

The “Children and War” conference will be held in Philadelphia and on the Rutgers–Camden campus. The conference is free and open to the public.

For conference registration and schedule, please visit http://childhood.camden.rutgers.edu

Miscellaneous Restaurant Notes

A few notes on lunch over the past few weeks:

The soup at the Victor Pub is good.

Deep dish pizza and turkey wraps at the Market Street Pizzeria are also worth a trip out in cold weather.

Tax Assistance

Students at the Rutgers Law School in Camden are part of the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program. Those needing help filling out tax forms can take advantage of this program:

The Rutgers–Camden law school VITA program is offered on the Rutgers–Camden Campus on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 3:30 to 7 p.m. through April 8, and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon on Feb. 21, Feb. 28, March 7, March 21, and March 28. Each session will be held in West Conference Room A on the lower level of the Campus Center, located on Third Street, between Cooper Street and the Benjamin Franklin Bridge on the Rutgers–Camden Campus.

This for federal and New Jersey state forms. In 2008 students help over 400 people with their tax forms which led to a total of over $400,000 in returns. More information available here.

Rutgers Camden Closed Tomorrow

The Camden campus of Rutgers will be closed tomorrow (Monday, March 2nd) due to an expected snow storm.