Founding Day Celebration
A Day of Community Service, Historical Education, Family Activities & Public Art
Millburn Township is hosting its second annual “Founding Day” celebration commemorating the founding of the town in 1857. The event will take place on Saturday, April 22, 2023 with a community litter clean up scheduled from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM and then activities, an art festival and live music from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM in and around historic Taylor Park in Downtown. There will be activities for all ages, including native garden planting, distribution of seeds to plant at home to attract Monarch butterflies, learning how to write letters in the 19th century style, historical games and costumed interpreters, and historic selfie backdrops and a birthday party for the 200 year old elm tree at the Millburn Avenue entrance to Taylor Park.
There will be an open-air fine art show with over 20 local arts curated by Main Street Pops, including several demonstrations. The art ranges from photography to painting to weaving to origami to collage. The community is welcome to participate in the creation of live public art with J. Nunez Gallery and Green Door Studios, attend a drop-in art class with Artevino at the rose garden and witness the live installation of a painted mural by world-renowned muralist Mustart. There will also be live music from the Victorian Era by the Florian Schantz Jazz Combo, and an exhibit of historical documents and artifacts from Millburn’s history.
Explore Millburn-Short Hills is providing additional services including the maintenance and repair of 50 tree pits throughout town and the installation of public art in vacant storefront windows and parking kiosk shelters. Explore encourages all participants to tour the town, shop local and make a day of it to celebrate the great history – and current success – of Millburn-Short Hills.
The rain date for Founding Day is Sunday, April 23, 2023. For a full list of Founding Day activities and to sign up to volunteer, visit https://exploremillburnshorthills.org/foundingday/
Founding Day is presented by Millburn Township’s Cultural, Engagement, Diversity and the Arts Committee (CEDA) in partnership with the Millburn Food Pantry, Green Team, Environmental Commission, Explore Millburn-Short Hills, Millburn-Short Hills Historical Society, Millburn Township, Paper Mill Playhouse, Shade Tree Commission and the Short Hills Garden Club. The open-air art show and public art are made possible by funds from the Essex County Division of Cultural Affairs, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
“Explore” is an independent 501c3 non-profit organization that serves as the Special Improvement District (SID) for the town. Established by the Township Committee in August 2020, the SID encompasses five distinct commercial areas (Downtown, Wyoming Business Center, Short Hills Station, Upper Millburn Avenue and Morris Turnpike at Short Hills) and serves nearly 500 businesses. Explore’s portfolio of services includes district-wide marketing, branding, placemaking, beautification, events including live music, direct business advocacy and overall economic development efforts.
If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Amanda Dean by email marketing@exploremillburnshorthills.org
