Day Trip to Ridgewood - New Jersey Monthly - Best of NJ

Seen in: Towns & Schools

New Jersey politics is known for being two steps ahead of peculiar (see: McGreevey, Jim). Filmmakers Kristian Fraga and Juan Dominguez capture the weirdness in Anytown, U.S.A., a documentary about the 2003 mayoral campaign in, of all places, Bogota.

Seen in: Jersey Celebrities, Jersey Living

Paul Jennis recently spent six months to complete each of two murals in the renovated basement of the Church of St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi in Flemington —reproductions of The Crucifixion, by Renaissance artist Pietro Perugino, and The Pentecost, by 18th-century neoclassicist Jean Restout.

Seen in: Jersey Celebrities, Jersey Living

Mila Tsang McDermott uses ancient Chinese art in a modern American way, designing neckties that feature traditional Eastern symbols.

Seen in: Jersey Celebrities, Jersey Living

When soon-to-be-former acting Governor Richard J. Codey rejected the proposed state slogan “New Jersey: We’ll win you over”—too negative, the guv said—he asked the public for ideas.

Seen in: Jersey Living

A bevy of buff cops grace an arresting new calendar.

Seen in: Jersey Celebrities, Jersey Living

Although he spent most of his life in Philadelphia, Ben Franklin made a few memorable visits to Burlington, just across the Delaware River.

Seen in: History, Towns & Schools

The Salem County Historical Society premieres a new film this month about the history of the county’s black population, part of a multimedia effort called the African-American Oral History Project.

Seen in: History, Towns & Schools

In his lifetime, Charles Willson Peale, one of the finest portrait artists America has ever produced, created 60 portraits of George Washington, whose birthday we celebrate this month.

Seen in: History, Towns & Schools

Just in time for the spooky season, author Lynda Lee Macken has compiled Ghosts of the Garden State III (Black Cat Press, $8.95). Her fourth book about possessed places features more than 35 historically haunted landmarks, including two in Forked River, Macken’s hometown.

Seen in: Jersey Living