Pennington United Methodist Church Holiday Bazaar
2025-12-14 12:00 - 16:00, 2025-12-21 12:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Pennington United Methodist Church, 60 S Main Street, Pennington, NJ, United States
We are back again this year and excited to bring you the expanded North Pola Bar & Cafe, homemade baked goods, Christmas stockings, jewelry, holiday cards, AND…our special theme this year: “Nativity Sets from Around the World”! All proceeds go directly to support PUMC Missions! The bazaar is happening on two Sundays, December 14 & 21 from 12:00 – 4:00pm. The church is located at 60 South Main Street, in Pennington. Come join us!

Sensory Play Group: Tiny Tots Big Senses
2025-12-17 10:30 - 11:00 | Zoom Online
This special playgroup will be led by Liz Kidney, pediatric occupational therapist and founder of Tiny Tots Big Senses. Each playgroup is designed to engage all the senses through hands-on play, movement, music and connection. Join us!
Registration Required: PenningtonLibrary.org/SensoryPlayGroup
Recommended for ages 6 months – 5 years.
Siblings welcome.
About Our Presenter: Liz Kidney is a pediatric occupational therapist & founder of Tiny Tots Big Senses. This neuro-affirming, strengths-based OT practice offers occupational therapy services & sensory playgroups. Visit TinyTotsBigSenses.com to learn more!

Sensory Play Group by Tiny Tots Big Senses
2025-12-17 10:30 - 23:00 | Pennington Public Library, 30 North Main Street, Pennington, NJ, 08534, United States
This special playgroup will be led by Liz Kidney, pediatric occupational therapist and founder of Tiny Tots Big Senses. Each playgroup is designed to engage all the senses through hands-on play, movement, music and connection. Join us!
About Our Presenter: Liz Kidney is a pediatric occupational therapist & founder of Tiny Tots Big Senses. This neuro-affirming, strengths-based OT practice offers occupational therapy services & sensory playgroups. Visit TinyTotsBigSenses.com to learn more!
Recommended for ages 6 months – 5 years.
Siblings welcome.
Registration Required. See https://www.penningtonlibrary.org/ for more info.

Westminster Community Orchestra presents “Holiday Favorites and Sing-along”
2025-12-17 19:30 - 20:30 | Hillman Performance Hall, Westminster Choir College, 101 Walnut Lane, Princeton, NJ, 08540, United States
Celebrate the holiday season with Dr. Ruth Ochs and the Westminster Community Orchestra at their annual free family holiday concert on Wednesday, December 17 at 7:30 p.m. in Hillman Hall, in the Marian Buckelew Cullen Center on the Westminster Campus, 101 Walnut Lane, Princeton. Audience members requiring seating assistance should arrive at 7:15 p.m. Free-will cash donations to benefit area food pantries will be accepted.
The festive performance will feature holiday favorites as “Frosty the Snowman,” “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer,” and more. The program will also include Tchaikovsky’s March from The Nutcracker and the “Polonaise” finale from Symphony No, 3, plus compositions written by two members of the orchestra: Beth LaPat’s Chanukah Songs and the World Premiere of Cliﬀ Wilson’s Opening Presents. The audience will be invited to lend their voices in Leroy Anderson’s popular “A Christmas Festival.”
No tickets are required for the free hour-long program. For more information on the performance, please contact the Westminster Conservatory office by phone, 609-921-7104, email, westminster.play@gmail.com, or visit Rider’s event page, https://www.rider.edu/about/events/westminster-community-orchestra-holiday-favorites-and-sing-along-0

Democracy on the Corner
2025-12-20 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-12-27 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-01-03 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-01-10 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-01-17 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-01-24 13:00 - 14:00
Join community members every Saturday from 1 to 2pm at the corner of Greenwood and Broad for a peaceful, visible demonstration of resistance. Participants bring signs and stand together in opposition to what they describe as illegal, unhealthy, and unconscionable actions by the current federal government. The weekly gathering offers comfort, connection, and solidarity among like-minded neighbors, and serves as a reminder to commuters that the community continues to stand up and speak out. The gathering typically lasts about an hour.

Countryside Christmas at the Vineyard
2025-12-21 12:00 - 17:00 | Unionville Vineyards, 9 Rocktown Road, Ringoes, NJ, 08551, United States
Celebrate Countryside Christmas at the Vineyard with us on December 20th and 21st from 12-5PM. Some fun festivities will include live music from carolers on Saturday, Rich Tarpinian with holiday jazz on Sunday, fire pit, diy cork ornaments, and mulled wine. Enjoy a cozy afternoon with us in celebration of the holidays! No cover charge and all ages welcome!

Pennington Borough Council Meeting
2025-12-29 19:00
Pennington Borough Council meetings are hosted by zoom on the first Monday and the last Monday of each month unless there is a holiday (ex: meeting on Tuesday September 2). For details please contact Pennington Borough.
See schedule here: https://www.penningtonboro.org/1211/Mayor-and-Council

MLK, Jr. Day(s) of Service
2026-01-03 10:00 - 16:00, 2026-01-10 10:00 - 16:00, 2026-01-17 10:00 - 16:00, 2026-01-24 10:00 - 16:00 | Hopewell Branch Library – MCL, 245 Pennington-Titusville Road, Pennington, 08534, United States
In the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Day of Service, we are giving back to the community! Drop in today and use materials provided to create handmade cards or write letters to be sent to homebound participants of the Mercer County Meals on Wheels program. Registration is not required.

Robotics Team Demo
2026-01-03 14:00 - 15:00 | Mercer County Library – Lawrence Branch, 2751 Brunswick Pike, Lawrenceville, NJ, United States
Come see the robot created by Hopewell Valley Central High School Robotics Team and do some hands-on activities! For kids ages 8 years old and up. Sponsored by Friends of the Lawrence Library. Registration is required.

Beginning Genealogy: Starting Your Family Tree
2026-01-07 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom Online
Wednesday, January 7, 2026 @ 7 pm via Zoom
Registration Required: Please see the Pennington Public Library’s website, https://www.penningtonlibrary.org/ to register.
If you’re just getting started with family history, this presentation is for you! Together, we’ll walk through the basic steps, so you can feel confident as you begin your research. You’ll get help choosing family tree software, and we’ll explore the many kinds of records that can reveal your ancestors’ stories—like census pages, military files, courthouse papers, and old newspapers. Direct links to the most helpful free and subscription genealogy sites in the US will also be shared, so you’ll know exactly where to look. With practical suggestions from an experienced genealogy librarian, you’ll have everything you need to get started on the right track.
About the Presenter: Archivist, librarian, and genealogist Nancy Loe has been helping researchers with their family trees since 1977. She specializes in US and European family history research, presenting at webinars and conferences in the US, Canada, and Australia. Nancy’s genealogy e-books and free monthly newsletter are available at sassyjanegenealogy.com. Nancy works on her own tree in the US, Prussia, Scotland, Austria, Romania, Norway, and Sweden. As of summer 2025, she visited all eight villages of her great-grandparents in Europe.

Princeton and the American Revolution: The Ten Crucial Days
2026-01-08 19:00 - 20:00
This is the story of the desperate hours at the end of 1776 when the American Revolution seemed lost. Struggling through unimaginable difficulties, the Continental Army crossed the Delaware River on Christmas, winning three battles in 10 days, culminating in the Battle of Princeton on January 3, 1777. These victories changed the course of history and enabled the birth of our free nation. Presented by Barry Singer, Princeton Historical Society. Please visit events.mcl.org to register to receive the link to the program.

FREE Native Gardening Educational Video Call
2026-01-14 18:00 - 19:30 | Zoom Online
Learn how to grow a beautiful native garden while supporting local wildlife. Join our Native Seed Sowing event series—great for beginners and experienced gardeners alike.
• Native Plant Gardening 101
• How to choose the right plants
• Preventing common seed-starting problems
RSVP for your link to join. It’s free! tinyurl.com/NativeSeeds2026

New Jersey Homeschooling Basics
2026-01-14 19:00 - 20:00
Join us for an overview of homeschooling in New Jersey and get answers to your questions. Are you considering homeschooling your child in NJ? Has your child asked to be homeschooled, but you don’t know where you would even start? A panel of experienced homeschooling parents will cover the basics of homeschooling in NJ, including homeschooling law, the range of approaches to homeschooling, resources and communities that support homeschooling (in-person and online), paths after homeschooling (high school, college, work, trades, etc.). A Q & A session will follow the presentation. Please visit events.mcl.org to register to receive the link to the program.

Speaker Series: "to be found in every house": Cider in Eighteenth-Century America
2026-01-14 19:00 - 20:30 | Hopewell Presbyterian Church, 80 W Broad Street, Hopewell, NJ, 08525, United States
Consumed by everyone from wealthy landowners to day laborers, cider was the most common beverage in early America. Much of it was made simply to be drunk, but a few Americans, like Washington and Jefferson, tried to create something truly special. We will explore the range of American cider culture from earliest settlement to the 1790s and see how cider was so ingrained in American culture that even the early Temperance movement thought it was safe.
Co-sponsored by the Hopewell Museum, the Hopewell Valley Historical Society, and the Hopewell Public Library.
About the Speaker: For over twenty years Mark A. Turdo, historian and museum professional, has been researching and recreating historic alcoholic cider. He is especially interested in early American cider and cider culture. In 2013 he began the Pommel Cyder blog (https://pommelcyder.wordpress.com), where he shares his adventures in cider research and his experiments in cidermaking. Turdo has shared his cider research at several cider events, cideries, and museums, including the Pennsylvania Cider Fest, Pour the Core Philadelphia, Philadelphia Cider Week, Pennsbury Manor, the Sigal Museum, Manoff Cidery, and Ploughman Ciders.

Token on the Freedman's Coat: The Story Behind Thomas Mundy Peterson's 1884 Voting Medal
2026-01-15 19:00 - 20:00
Thomas Mundy Peterson is celebrated as the first African American to vote under the Fifteenth Amendment. Gordon Bond, independent historian and publisher of NJ history website Garden State Legacy, will discuss the story of Peterson and how, on May 30, 1884, citizens of Perth Amboy, NJ, pinned a gold medal to his coat in honor of his having done something that, in another part of the nation, a noose might have been put around his neck for daring. Based on Bond’s book, To Cast a Freedman’s Vote. Sponsored by Friends of the Ewing Library. Please visit events.mcl.org to register to receive the link to the program.

Native Seed Sowing Extravaganza
2026-01-17 10:00 - 13:00 | Hopewell Valley Central High School, 259 Pennington-Titusville Road, Hopewell , NJ, United States
$5 per ready-to-go greenhouse jugs loaded with seeds (grows ~10 native seedlings)
Experienced volunteers will help you select seeds and prepare for success.
Over 60 species of native seeds to choose from!
RSVP at tinyurl.com/NativeSeeds2026

A Night for Gaza: Live Concert, Art Auction + Art Market
2026-01-17 17:00 - 20:30 | Hopewell Presbyterian Church, 80 W Broad Street, Hopewell, NJ, 08525, United States
An evening of community, music, and art to support children in need. All proceeds from the event will go directly to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. Come early to peruse the art auction and art market, featuring 25+ artists, and including works by Ironhorse Quillwork, Phoebe Wahl, and Hopewell’s own Source Element Designs . Then enjoy a live concert featuring Kristin Cahill (classical piano), followed by Princeton HUP (traditional Irish music performed on traditional Irish instruments). Refreshments provided.
5pm: Doors for the Art Auction + Art Market
6pm: Doors for the Live Concert
6:30-8:15pm: Live Concert (there will be one intermission during the performance. Art auction winners will be announced after the performance concludes, at about 8:15pm.)
To purchase a ticket:
1. Donate $30 per ticket via our Instagram fundraiser (if you don’t have Instagram, you can donate directly to The PCRF here)
2. Email your donation receipt to aNightforGaza@gmail.com

3. You will receive an email reply with your ticket(s) attached

More on the musicians:

Kristin Cahill holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Bowling Green State University. She also holds a Master of Music in Piano Performance with additional studies in Collaborative Piano from the University of Houston. An active adjudicator, Ms. Cahill is a member of the Royal Conservatory of Music College of Examiners. She has published articles in Piano Magazine (formerly Clavier Companion) in addition to presenting at the New Jersey Music Teachers Association State Conference, the MTNA National Conference, and the National Conference for Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP). Ms. Cahill is a member of Legacy Arts, where she co-directs the bitKlavier course for children in Princeton. At the New School, she is an instructor for theory courses, and she coaches the Junior PEPS Program, working with students as they advance in their studies and prepare to join PEPS.
Princeton HUP is a collection of Princeton area-based musicians who are dedicated to bringing the traditional Irish session experience to local spaces. Consisting of various traditional Irish instruments, the group is named after the expression that a lead musician will traditionally use to signal the change of a tune – “HUP!” More information can be found here: https://www.bethmeyersmusic.com/princeton-hup

Virtual Author Talk: Nature, Art, and Service as Medicine with Journalist Julia Hotz
2026-01-20 14:00 - 15:00 | Zoom Online
Information and Registration: https://libraryc.org/penningtonlibrary/105403
Be sure to jump start your new year with us as we chat virtually with journalist and author Julia Hotz about her book The Connection Cure: The Prescriptive Power of Movement, Nature, Art, Service, and Belonging.
The Connection Cure combines diligent science reporting, moving patient success stories, and surprising self-discovery to help us discover the lasting and life-changing power of social prescribing. Traditionally, when we get sick, health care professionals ask, “What’s the matter with you?” But around the world, teams of doctors, nurses, therapists, and social workers have started to flip the script, asking “What matters to you?”
Science shows that social prescribing is effective for treating symptoms of the modern world’s most common ailments—depression, ADHD, addiction, trauma, anxiety, chronic pain, dementia, diabetes, and loneliness. By integrating age-old medicines like art, nature, movement, and volunteer service into patient’s daily lives, social prescriptions are radically changing health and healthcare in more than thirty countries. Julia Hotz travels around the world to survey them —sea-swimming lessons for depression, “culture vitamins” for anxiety, a fishing club for ADHD, a farm-based day-care for dementia, a phone-buddy program for social isolation, and many more.
As the first book on social prescribing, The Connection Cure empowers you to find, experience, and implement this revolutionary medicine in your own community. The success stories Julia finds bring a long-known theory to life: if we can change our environment, we can change our health. By reconnecting to what matters to us, we can all start to feel better.
Register today to find out how you can use the wisdom of social prescribing to live your best life!
About the Author: Julia Hotz is a solutions focused journalist based in New York. Her stories have appeared in The New York Times, WIRED, Scientific American, The Boston Globe, Time, and more. She helps other journalists report on the big new ideas changing the world at the Solutions Journalism Network. The Connection Cure is her first book.

Introduction to Smart and Safe Investing
2026-01-20 18:30 - 19:30
Chase Bertoldo, from the Seton Hall University School of Law FINRA Investor Advocacy Program, will cover a range of practical financial concepts, including budgeting and inflation, as well as different investment and savings products. Throughout the program, he’ll focus on smart and safe investment practices, illustrating the challenges facing every investor and how to avoid common pitfalls. Please visit events.mcl.org to register to receive the link to the program.

Community Journalism "J Lab" Class
2026-01-22 17:30 - 20:00 | Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street, Princeton, NJ, 08540, United States
The Community Journalism “J Lab” certificate course sponsored by Mercer County Community College with support from the Princeton Public Library is offered twice a year. This free eight-evening class teaches participants the basic newswriting and reporting skills needed to cover issues of concern to their community. All materials are provided. No experience is required but students must commit to attending at least 6 sessions and be prepared to write a full article for their final project. Sessions are led by a journalism professor and include guest presentations from writers and editors from several community publications and national media outlets. Final projects are published online. Spring Session Dates: January 22, 29; February 5, 12 (on zoom), 19, 26; March 5 (on zoom), and 12.

Islamic Contribution to Civilization
2026-01-27 19:00 - 20:00
Muslims have been influenced by and contributed to other cultures in numerous ways. Particularly, during the medieval Golden Age of Islam, Muslims made major contributions in diverse fields, including art, architecture, music, mathematics, medicine, astronomy, philosophy, and literature, as well as in hygiene, cuisine, clothing, and furniture. Presented by Samina Sattar of the New Jersey Islamic Networks Group.
