A weekend of drinks, art, and more in Hudson County

New Play Festivals begins this week

The Jersey City Theater Center has announced that the 2022 New Play Festival begins Thursday, May 5, through Thursday, May 26, with selected works centering on the theme of strength. The festival is curated by Catalina Florina Florescu, Ph.D.

The New Play Festival kicks off at 7:30 p.m. with a series of short plays directed by Lynne Marie Rosenberg and Michelle Chan. A Q&A will follow the performance. This is an online-only event and tickets can be found at www.jctcenter.org.

That’s not all. The INKubator New Play Festival will feature new plays written by the playwrights from the 2021-2022 cohort. Like JCTC, there will be a Q&A with the writers, directors, and actors after each performance. The festival will take place at the Grassroots Community Space, 54 Coles St., Jersey City.

INKubator kicks off on Sunday, May 8, with “Daxton on the Night Shift at 7/11″ by Riley Elton McCarthy at 7:30 p.m. “Scratched Record” by Nay Harris will premiere the following night on Monday, May 9, at 7:30 p.m. All patrons must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination at the door and masks are required. The show is free but advance registration is required and there is a suggested donation of $5. You can register at .

Cinco de Mayo bar crawl in Hoboken

It’s May and that means the first big celebration of the month is Cinco de Mayo. While the celebration for Mexico’s victory in the Battle of Puebla takes place on Thursday, Hoboken is getting the celebration underway this weekend with the Cinco de Mayo Bar Crawl on Saturday, May 7.

Hoboken will have some of its best-known bars participating in the celebration as outdoor weather returns. Participating locations include Texas Arizona, 80 River, The Shannon, Tally Ho, Mills Tavern, and Wicked Wolf among others.

Tickets can be found on the bar crawl’s Eventbrite page at . Group rates can also be found at PubCrawls.com. Tickets for admission get you into all participating bars and exclusive drink specials.

Rosalind Grant celebrates two occasions

Vocalist Rosalind Grant, along with Winard Harper and friends, will host and perform a Mother’s Day Celebration and Grant’s Birthday on Sunday, May 8, from 7 to 10 p.m. at Moore’s Place located at 189 Monticello Ave., Jersey City.

An afternoon of music, poetry and dance to celebrate culture

The Hoboken Public Library and In Full Color will be celebrating Asian-American Pacific Islander Heritage Month with Arise, a celebration featuring choreographer and dancer Amita Batra on Saturday, May 7 from 3 to 4 p.m. at the Gazebo in the center of Church Square Park

Batra and her troupe are fusing Eastern and Western dance traditions, such as ballet and Kathak, the Indian classical art of storytelling. The show is free and open to all ages. A Q&A will follow.

Church Square Park is located on Willow Avenue between 4th and 5th St., Hoboken. In case of inclement weather, the program will be moved inside to the main branch of the Hoboken Library at 500 Park Ave.

“COVID” debuts in Hoboken Museum’s Upper Gallery

Hoboken painter Lou Carbone’s latest exhibition, “COVID,” will debut in the Hoboken Museum’s Upper Gallery with an opening reception on Saturday, May 7, from 2 to 5 p.m. There will also be a live artist talk with Carbone on the Museum’s YouTube page on Friday, May 6, at 7 p.m.

“COVID” will feature 25 16×20 acrylic paintings done under quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Hoboken Historical Museum is located at 1301 Hudson St., Hoboken.

ProArts announces Curators Choice 2022

ProArts Jersey City will present Curators Choice 2022, curated by Audra Lambert, on Saturday, May 7, from 1 to 4 p.m. A panel discussion titled “What Makes a Top Pick Portfolio?” featuring the selected artists and curators will take place on Saturday, May 21, from 2 to 4 p.m.

The artists in upcoming exhibition were selected for their portfolios following Pro Arts’ 11th annual Meet the Curators portfolio review event. Over 45 artists met with professional curators for one-on-one 20-minute reviews of their work to gain insights, feedback, and make valuable connections. The curators then selected their top pick portfolios to be included in this show.

Featured artists include Eitan Barokas, Guillermo Bublik, Santiago Cohen, Eileen Ferara, Cheryl Gross- Valerie Huhn, Andrea McKenna, and Deborah L Morris. The show will be held at IECC Casa Colombo Gallery, 380 Monmouth St., 2nd Fl., Jersey City. Gallery hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturdays from 1 to 4 p.m.