Planet Princeton Weekend Picks, Sept. 27-28

One of  the Fired Up Flatbread Company's creations.
One of the Fired Up Flatbread Company’s creations.

People can’t seem to get enough of food trucks lately. Area food truck events in Princeton, West Windsor, Hopewell Boro and Lambertville this year have attracted large crowds and long lines. The food truck craze doesn’t look like it will end any time soon. People love sampling a variety of foods at one event from unique food vendors.

Joe Kuzemka and TC Nelson are satisfying the large appetite for food truck samplings in Trenton today with their first ever Capital City Food Truck Battle. Ten food trucks will compete for bragging rights today from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Trenton Social,which is located at 449 S. Broad Street across from the arena in Trenton. The event includes live music, graffiti, a beer garden, and a farmers market. Local artists Scot Thompson and Bruce Lindsay of AbOminOg Intl. have created a funky green bobblehead trophy to honor the winner.

We recommend arriving early to avoid long lines.

The food trucks:

Featuring 10 of the areas finest food trucks who will be vying for your vote, including:
El Lechon de Negron (Puerto Rican BBQ)
Bacon On Wheels (Bacon-inspired cuisine)
Cupcake Carnivale (Cupcakes!)
Fired Up Flatbread Company
Pura Vida (Costa Rican cuisine)
Dapper Dog (Gourmet hot dogs)
KAMI (Korean cuisine)
Brazbq (Brazilian BBQ)
7 Summits (healthy, seasonal eats)
Surf and Turf Truck (Lobster rolls)

Saturday, September 27

Area Farmers’ Markets – Montgomery Friends of Open Space, Village Shopping Center, 1340 Route 206 South, Skillman, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. West Windsor Community Farmers’ Market, Vaughn Drive Parking Lot, Princeton Junction Train Station, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Pennington Farmers Market, Rosedale Mills, 101 Route 31 North, Pennington, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Hunter Research is currently conducting an archaeological study of Morven’s grounds in pursuit of clues to Morven’s past.
Hunter Research is currently conducting an archaeological study of Morven’s grounds in pursuit of clues to Morven’s past.

Archeological Discovery Day at Morven – Tours, Colonial chamber music concert performed by the Practitioners of Musick, and more. 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 55 Stockton Street, Princeton. Free. www.morven.org

Statewide Voter Registration Day – The League of Women Voters will celebrate Statewide Registration  Day at McCaffrey’s in Princeton from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and at the Farmers’ Market in Montgomery until 1 p.m.. Registration also takes place each Saturday in September  from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the West Windsor Farmers’ Market.

Princeton HealthCare System Community Health Fair –  Free health screenings, classes, refreshments, a magic show, crafts, games, prizes, and information. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Princeton Fitness & Wellness Center, 1225 State Road, Princeton. Free.

PRINCETON Soldier Battlefield
Celebrate New Jersey’s 350th anniversary at the Princeton Battlefield Park this weekend.

Princeton Battlefield Society Celebrates New Jersey’s 350th Anniversary – Come out to the Battlefield to celebrate New Jersey’s 350th anniversary and learn about what happened in 1664. Find out why in 1777 the Battle of Princeton was such a crucial turning point in the American Revolution. A town crier will be alerting visitors of different events. The 43rd’s Royal Artillery will be giving demonstrations. Learn why artillery was so important in this battle, see displays from the National Marine Corps Museum along with military encampment demonstrations including cooking, laundry, spinning, herbal medicine and others. Learn how a musket works (musket replicas can be borrowed or purchased); ice cream making & tasting for kids; meet General Washington; book signing with author Michael Harris; see Iain Haight-Ashton’s collection of antique extra long swords. Visit the Old Penster and find out about General Reed at the Young Patriots’ Table. Take a tour of the Battlefield and the 1772 Thomas Clarke House. Music, Princeton Photography Club, food vendor, toy soldier vendor & more. 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Princeton Battlefield Park, 500 Mercer Rd. Princeton.

Hopewell Harvest Fair – Live music, food, food trucks, contests, kids activities and more. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 35 Princeton Avenue, Hopewell Boro.

Rummage Sale for Community Connection of Princeton HealthCare – Small furniture, art, linens, books, hardware, sporting goods, small electronics, clothing, kitchen stuff, holiday decor, and toys. Proceeds benefit the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro. 9 .am. to 2 p.m. Princeton Airport, 41 Airpark Road, Princeton.

Sweet Dreams
Sweet Dreams

Film “Sweet Dreams” – Award-winning documentary follows a group of Rwandan women as they emerge from the devastation of genocide and learn to rebuild their lives. Through participation in Ingoma Nshya, a women’s drumming troupe open to those on both sides of the conflict, the women begin to heal the wounds of the past. Then, by opening Inzozi Nziza (Sweet Dreams), Rwanda’s first ice cream shop, they learn to create a new future for themselves. The screening will be followed by a talk by Rob Fruchtman, who produced and directed the film with Lisa Fruchtman, his sister.  Ice cream courtesy of the bent spoon will follow the talk, and a drumming demonstration by Egun Omode, Trenton’s West African dance and drum performing arts group, will take place on Hinds Plaza. 2 p.m., Princeton Public Library Community Room. Free. Co-sponsored by the library and the Baker Street Social Club.

Italian American Festival at Mercer County Park – Named one of New Jersey’s Best Fall Festivals by CBS New York, this annual celebration of Italian and Italian American Culture features a Food Piazza with more than 40 vendors including Italian restaurants; a wine and beer garden; two stages of continuous entertainment including Lou Christie on Saturday on the Investors Bank Stage; amusement rides; children’s activities; bocce; Fireworks on Friday; an Italian Market with contemporary and traditional Italian products; a Heritage Pavilion with art and memorabilia; and a Cultural Theater with guest speakers and cooking demonstrations. noon to 11 p.m. Saturday, noon to 9:30 p.m. Sunday, Mercer County Park, 1678 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor. Adults $5, children 12 and younger free.

Shakespeare’s Pericles – Directed by Sam Kessler, a member of the Princeton Shakespeare Company, as a special production by his own theatre company.  With General George Washington’s appreciation of theater and music as a way to distract the troops at the time of the American Revolution, it seems particularly fitting to put on Pericles at Princeton Battlefield Park as one of Shakespeare’s earliest comedies – one that isn’t put on too often but has a great mythic, although complicated storyline.  It also seems like a befitting way to celebrate Shakespeare’s 450th Anniversary. In the storyline there is a riddle, a famine, a shipwreck, a jousting contest where Pericles wins the hand of a girl named Thaisa, a great storm, and more. Bring a lawn chair, flashlight, and  a jacket. 6-7:30 p.m., Princeton Battlefield Park, Clarke House. 500 Mercer Road, Princeton. Free.

Cafe Improv – Live music, poetry and more at the Arts Council of Princeton. 7 to 10 p.m. Stop by for a few acts or stay the entire show. $2 admission, $1 for students, seniors and Arts Council of Princeton members.

Navratri Raas Garba Celebration – The India Foundation of Metropolitan Princeton, celebrates with music and dancing. 7 p.m. at West Windsor Plainsboro High School North, 90 Grovers Mill Road, Plainsboro. Admission $10.

Bruce Hornsby and Sonny Emory Visit McCarter Theater – Singer and pianist Bruce Hornsby and percussionist Sonny Emory, in concert. Hornsby’s new double album, “Solo Concerts,” is included with the purchase of each ticket. 8 p.m., Matthews Theatre at McCarter, 91 University Place, Princeton. Tickets $32 and up. www.mccarter.org

Princeton Singers 30th Anniversary Concert – Celebrate 30 years with The Princeton Singers as they perform some of their favorite pieces and premiere new works by Pulitzer-Prize winning composer Steven Stucky commissioned specially for the occasion. 8 p.m., Trinity Church, 33 Mercer Street, Princeton. Visit the Princeton Singers website for more information.

Sunday, September 28

Howell Living History Farm Corn Maze – New Jersey’s longest running corn maze at the Howell Living History Farm. 17 Valley Road, Lambertville.  Admission $10 for adults, $8 for children, 4 and under free.

Princeton Elks Flea Market – More than 50 vendors with household items, books, furniture, clothing, art, toys, gift items, electronics, and more.9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 354 Route 518, Blawenburg.

Fall Harvest Festival at Terhune Orchards – Corn stalk maze, adventure barn, pumpkin painting, pick your own apples and pumpkins, food tents, live music, wine tasting and more. Admission $5. Children under 3 free. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. 330 Cold Soil Road, Princeton, NJ 08540.

Lefkowitz
Lefkowitz

Lecture: Black Soldiers in the American Revolution – The last event for the weekend celebration New Jersey’s 350th anniversary. Arthur Lefkowitz is the author of “The Long Retreat”,  “George Washington’s Indispensable Men”, “The American Turtle Submarine” ,  and “The Best Kept Secret of the American Revolution”. His latest book, “Benedict Arnold in the Company of Heroes”, is the story of the lives of the American patriots who served under Arnold and how he influenced them.  5 p.m., Princeton Public Library Community Room. Free.

The Princeton Symphony Orchestra Presents  Romantic Imaginings – Works by Bruch and Bruckner.. Pre-concert lecture at 3 p.m. 4 p.m., Richardson Auditorium, Princeton University. Tickets $30 and up. www.princetonsymphony.org