Sarah Griesbach, Author at Hoboken Girl

Alcohol-Free Activities in Hoboken + Jersey City

Sarah Griesbach — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 12:00:39 +0000

Even though Hudson County is known for its incredible nightlife scene, sometimes a person needs to mix it up. With many people exploring the sober-curious lifestyle, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite alcohol-free activities to enjoy in Hoboken and Jersey City. From learning a new skill to trying out an adventurous hobby, there are plenty of choices for a fun way to spend the day or evening. Read on for some of the best alcohol-free activities in Hoboken and Jersey City, NJ.

Make Coffee an Event

Bwè kafe has coffee and so much more. The Hoboken Ukulele Appreciation Society meets every Thursday at 7:30 PM in the Bwe Kafe at Washington and 10th. With a donation of $20, beginners can borrow a ukulele and join in the circle. “Cheaper than therapy, more fun than going to the gym,” says Dave Lambert, who organizes these happy events. All kinds of pursuits — be they intellectual, athletic, or social — are way more satisfying when amped up on copious amounts of caffeine. Finding your fit for a coffee home is easy in a place where ambiance abounds. The signature sparkling espresso drinks at Sober Shot will definitely fire up neurons, motivate, and inspire.

Try an Only-Safe-When-Sober Skill

Some activities — such as rock climbing at Gravity Vault, go-kart racing at RPM Raceway, Jet-Skiing with New York Harbor Jet Ski, and archery at Aerow Archery are not advisable for the inebriated. Beginners and experienced rock climbers can stretch their limits at the Gravity Vault in Hoboken. At Jersey City’s RPM Raceway, thrill seekers can go fast and furious on 3,000 feet of lightning-fast straightaways and 90-degree hairpin and spiraling ramps. While jet skiing, you’ll cruise up and down the Hudson River, around Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, with the potential for a full loop around Manhattan. Aerow Archery delivers a unique and healthy way to move your body in an 8,000-square-foot open loft space that features 24 lanes of tournament-style targets ranging from 11 to 22 meters.

Do Something New

Patrons can book a virtual cooking class with a chef at Tony Baloney’s or an in-person cooking class at Hudson Table. Or, learn to box for fun and fitness. Budding artists can take a painting class at Urban Arts at Monroe Center. Collect some friends for an open studio sewing session at Galastella Studio in Hoboken, or if you’re into fashion, visit Youssoufiani in Hoboken — a leather craftsmanship studio that lets you create your own designer bag.

Workshops at Blue Sky Pottery are ninety minutes of stress-free, messy fun with a take-home prize to be proud of. And despite the name, Tipsy Tie Dye doesn’t serve alcohol and is BYOB for those who want to participate tipsy. The ticketed events — private party sessions are available — include tie-dying sweatshirts, sweatpants, t-shirts, hoodies, towels, baby onesies, dog outfits, you name it. Painting does not require sipping at Art Mango in Jersey City.

Learn All About the Area

The constant calendar of events at the Hoboken Historical Museum runs a vast gamut between regionally reflective artists, film showings, lecture series, and exhibitions that tell stories of the Mile Square City in more ways than there are residents. The Jersey City Free Public Library’s New Jersey Room holds a trove of documents, artifacts, and new and old tomes telling tales of regional history for the history-curious. A search for information about the former homeowners of a property can become a romantic mystery for current-day residents, wondering what those walls have seen.

A Hoboken Food Crawl

With all of the tasty treats in Hoboken, one could easily organize a different food tour each weekend. Salty, sweet, or savory could each be the theme. Maybe the crew missed the summertime MutzFest — just pick a handful of Hoboken’s fantastic delis and compare the mutz. Perhaps mortadella or meatballs is more your speed. There are easily a dozen spots in Hoboken and Jersey City to do an ‘around the world’ style taste test. Or organize your own pizza tour, comparing slices from all around town.

The sweet tooths of the group aren’t left out of the fun. Hoboken is home to New Jersey’s top-rated chocolate chip cookie at Baking Mama. Pick up competitors from other local bakeries like Chip City or Dolce + Salato to see how they stack up. And if you’re one of the people who thinks ice cream is a year-round treat (let’s be honest, it is), Hoboken and Jersey City are lucky enough to have several top-tier ice cream shops. From il Laboratorio del Gelato and Morelia Ice Cream Paletas in Hoboken to the classic Jersey City shop Torico, the choices are anything but bland.

Photo Credit: Morelia Gourmet Paletas

Why not roll from one easily walkable great food location to another with a taste-testing mission? Fresh mozzarella aficionados will attest to the superiority of one mild velvety ball over another. What could be more delightful than a great sober date themed around a tour di mutz stopping at Fiore’s, Vito’s, Biancamano’s, Lisa’s, and Luca Brasi’s? Try one shared plate from each to tally which is creamy but firm, milky sweet, and most irresistible. Or compare sizes — the bocconcini are slightly smaller egg-sized balls, versus ciliegine, slightly smaller cherry-sized bites. If that’s too much dairy, you and yours might center an eating outing on shared cupcakes. Pit delicious bites of moist vanilla bean lusciousness at Baking Mama and Carlo’s Bakery against one another. Everyone wins.

There are actually professional foodies ready to take the crowd on a walking tour showcasing four or five of the best and most unique restaurants in town. Beyond the Plate seats walking tour groups around a table, to chat with chefs and owners, and hear delicious stories about the local food scene.

Jersey City Art Crawl

Jersey City has a serious art scene. What could be more uplifting than gathering a group of besties to discover contemporary art by regional artists? The best-laid plan for art enthusiasts is to jump on any JC Friday or attend the popular JCAST, Jersey City Artist + Studio Tour, when nearly 150 art spaces provide a weekend of performances, installations, studio tours, and art exhibitions.

Catch a Show

Jersey City Theater Center boasts two adjacent professional theatrical venues that host an impressive lineup of local and regional artists and performers for a fun ticketed night out. Snagging a seat at a local production set in the black box theater of Mile Square Theatre is not particularly difficult, but very rewarding. The global music, vibrant regional theater productions, and raw and innovative dance acts at Nimbus Arts Center are way more memorable than barstool antics. Shows are typically similar in cost to a movie.

Pursue a Challenge

Free pickleball or very affordable ice skating at Newport Skates in the winter is a great reason to hang out in Jersey City’s Newport area near the Hudson River waterfront. Push your limits by joining a local run club and elevate your fitness routine.

Play Well with Others

From billiards to board games, Play! Hoboken is a great place to have fun with friends. Symposia Bookstore has so much going on that a general theme is impossible to pin down. Open mic nights, trivia, philosophy discussions, book groups, craft-making events, and you name it — Symposia will host it.

Treat Yourself

We all need a little help taking care of ourselves. Everybody loves a luxury treatment experience, and a spa day with friends is a terrific treat for celebrating healthy living. Facial treatments, massages, and sand and pumice stone full-body exfoliation are the rewards we all deserve. Some spas to check out are Mia Spa 11, Evolve, Attain, Aspen Prime, Hello Hydration, and more. We also have a list of spas in Northern New Jersey here.

Explore Your Home Sweet Home

A group photo walk may be just the thing for exploring our picturesque city streets. Capture the beauty of cozy corner cafes and stately architecture, and document the fact that Hoboken and Jersey City are home to stunning landscapes and vibrant cityscapes. Bowling in the basement of the Barrow Mansion or a trip to historic Harsimus Cemetery are very cool ways to experience local splendor. Planning for a picnic party in a stunning setting is always a great activity, too.

Take a Nature Bath

Hoboken and Jersey City hold many unique park corners and green nooks to restore and refresh among the trees. There are also a few excellent locations for full nature immersion. For tips on how to get the most eco-explorative experience of Liberty State Park, it’s best to start at the Nature Center at Liberty State Park. The year-round center features exhibits focusing on the natural history and ecology of the Hudson River Estuary and has all kinds of cool programs for exploring and learning. Lincoln Park West is home to a wonderful preserved natural habitat for birds. Jersey City Reservoir No. 3, a decommissioned reservoir atop Bergen Hill in the Heights of Jersey City just south of Pershing Field, is another great place for finding the peace that only comes in nature.

See More: Date Ideas for Dry January in Northern New Jersey

Follow @thehobokengirl on Instagram + TikTok for the latest Hoboken and Jersey City updates, sign up for our weekly newsletter here that shares everything you missed each week, and check out our events calendar, which has over 100+ events weekly to peruse.

Lifestyle

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How to Properly Dispose of Your Christmas Tree

Sarah Griesbach — Sat, 03 Jan 2026 13:00:25 +0000

For the holiday revelers who have enjoyed the pine scent of a real Christmas tree at home this season, the unfortunate part you’ve dreaded is here — taking down the tree. From squeezing it through narrow brownstone doorways to elevators filled with needles to wrapping your tree in a fitted sheet like a dead body, sometimes it feels like the tree always wins. Luckily, we’re here to help with what to do — and not do — when it’s time to take down the Christmas tree. Read on to learn what to do to safely and responsibly dispose of your tree in Northern New Jersey.

Christmas Tree Do’s

Municipalities throughout New Jersey all have their tree collection schedules. In most cases, the trees are chipped and made into mulch, which is often freely available to residents.

Hoboken — Trees should be placed at the curb on Tuesday or Thursday evenings after 7:30 PM (after 9:00 PM on Washington Street).

Jersey City — Place your tree curbside Wednesday evening between the hours of 7:00 PM + 10:00 PM. Trees are picked up every Thursday citywide through January 29th.

Weehawken — Curbside pick-up is easy, but needs to be arranged with the Department of Public Works.

Montclair — The Parks and Shade Tree Division at the Department of Community Services will collect Christmas trees from curbside throughout January weekly.

Christmas Tree Don’ts

For curbside pickup, Christmas trees must be free of ornaments, tinsel, lights, stands, and anything else that isn’t a tree. Do not wrap the tree or put it in a garbage bag. Wreaths and garlands are not part of the municipal tree pickup. You’ll have to put those with your regular garbage.

It should go without saying that you cannot recycle your artificial Christmas tree, but we’ll still say it here just in case.

Never burn your Christmas tree in a fireplace or wood stove. Burning the tree may contribute to creosote buildup and could cause a chimney fire. It’s also worth noting that coniferous needles contain nitrogen and substances called terpenes, which are highly toxic when burned, making the smoke unsafe.

Fire Hazard

Strictly speaking, a real Christmas tree is always a fire hazard. As the needles start to dry out, that fire risk increases. Four weeks, continuously replenishing the water, is the generally recommended time for safely keeping your tree up. That’s separate from the tradition that directs Christmas tree removal 12 nights after Christmas (yes, like the song), on the Christian day of the Epiphany, January 6th, that celebrates the three Wise Men who followed a star to make it a bit late for the baby Jesus welcoming party.

If you’ve invested in an artificial tree, all rules are off. Feel free to keep that baby up year-round as a coat rack, fully decorated for Christmas in July, or for whatever purpose you wish.

Get Crafty

Everyone is a maker these days. The more techie our work lives get, the more we want to construct something with our hands. Your old Christmas tree offers up quite a few potential projects if you aren’t quite ready to kick it to the curb.

Wider parts of the tree’s trunk can be cut into tree rounds and used for all sorts of things. You can make coasters and trivets from the rounds and tic-tac-toe game sets from assorted pieces. Cut a groove in a piece of wood for a card stand to keep your wifi login on display for guests. Make fresh-scented sachets from the needles. Bird feeders are an easy project and act of kindness to the birds: cut a foot-long branch off your tree, cover it in peanut butter, roll it in birdseed, hang it from a tree outside, and start waiting for spring.

See More: Cozy Things to Do in Montclair This Winter

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94 Spots That Prove Hudson County, NJ is a Foodie Destination

Sarah Griesbach — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 02:00:28 +0000

Hudson County has become known for excellent dining experiences at every budget. The area’s rich cultural diversity has resulted in a wide cross-section of cuisine that nails local restaurateurs’ traditional heritages and boldly invents fusion tastes to draw crowds and kudos. Read on for a highlights tour of some of the many restaurants, cafes, and food trucks that are giving Hudson County its foodie credentials.

So Many Choices!

Options for dining out in Hudson County just keep multiplying. Jersey City alone has close to 1K restaurants to choose from, with new eateries popping up all over the place. Neighborhoods like Newport in Jersey City — that previously quieted down in the evening without restaurants for residents — have seen a sudden flurry in new hot dinner spots. Multiple years of Wine Spectator Awards and our own Local Girl write-ups have likely brought on the need for table reservations at the most popular places. It seems that it’s Hudson County’s culinary moment in the sun.

Recognizing Old-School Icons

From the relatively recently established iconic locals like Zeppelin Hall (est. 2009) to the long-lived Fiore’s of mozz fame and glory (est. 1913), Hudson County has been performing fabulous culinary feats to manifest all our food fantasies for ages. We respect our elder restaurants even when their fare has changed with the times and the arrival of new generations — like Liberty House’s Maddy Rose, where the view is historical and majestic but the menu is fresh and fabulous.

Andrea Salumeria | 247 Central Avenue

Augustino’s | 1104 Washington Street, Hoboken

Barge Inn | 324 Third Street, Jersey City

Benny Tudino’s | 622 Washington Street, Hoboken

Cafe Michelina | 423 Bloomfield Street, Hoboken

Carlo’s Bakery | 95 Washington Street, Hoboken

Fiore’s Deli | 414 Adams Street, Hoboken

Leo’s Grandevous | 200 Grand Street, Hoboken

Liberty Brand Pastries & Food | 2409 Central Avenue, Union City

Liberty House | 76 Audrey Zapp Drive, Liberty State Park, Jersey City

Neptune Bakery and Deli | 1612 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Jersey City

Piccolo’s | 92 Clinton Street, Hoboken

Zeppelin Hall | 88 Liberty View Drive, Jersey City

Innovative + Trendy Hot Spots

Hudson County restaurants are not boring. The art on the walls, the many genres of live music, unique collabs, and uncommon creations — like Departed Souls’ amazing gluten-free beer or Dark Side of the Moo’s alligator sausage, wild boar tacos, kangaroo or yak burgers — provide adventuresome foodies with something new to discover just around the next corner.

87 Sussex | 87 Sussex Street, Jersey City

Ani Ramen | 218 Newark Avenue, Jersey City

Busy Bee Organics | 451 Palisade Avenue, Jersey City

The Cliff | 38 Congress Street, Jersey City

Dark Side of the Moo | 52 Bowers Street, Jersey City

Dear Maud | 205 First Street, Hoboken

Departed Souls Brewing Company | 150 Bay Street, Jersey City

Drift | 1200 Harbor Boulevard, Weehawken

LoKal Eatery & Bar | 2 Second Street, Jersey City

Traditional & Fusion Heritage Homage

Like the massive portions of authentic Ecuadorian food at Bayonne’s Tagua and the glorious Peruvian sopas at Harrison’s B-52’s, these purveyors of spice done right bring rave reviews. Many of them are getting noticed, including Jersey City’s Korai Kitchen, which recently received a James Beard nomination. Here are but a tiny fraction of the abundance of restaurants bringing bountiful world flavors to our plates.

B-52’s Lounge & Restaurant Ceviche Bar | 200 North Second Street, Harrison

El Aguila Dorada | 830 Broadway, Bayonne

El Artesano Restaurant | 4101 Bergenline Avenue, Union City

El Eslabon Restaurante | 6013 Park Avenue, West New York

Korai Kitchen | 576 Summit Avenue, Jersey City

Lotus Thai Cuisine | 7007 Park, Guttenberg

Masala Cafe Chettinad | 839 Newark Avenue, Jersey City

Q’Tal Bar + Grill | 3 Kearny Avenue, Kearny

Rumba Cubana | 6909 JFK Boulevard, Guttenberg | 1807 45th Street, North Bergen | 235 Pavonia Avenue, Jersey City

Tagua | 269 Broadway, Bayonne

Takorea BBQ | 805 Frank E Rogers Boulevard, Harrison

The Indian Tapas | 101 Greene Street, Jersey City

Photo-Friendly Brunch & Rooftop Culture

Sweet and swanky restaurant spots bring cheer to a bad weather or bad mood day because fancy fabulousness is a fun solution to whatever’s got us down. Hudson County is loaded with gorgeous locations to meet up with friends over mimosas and toast togetherness in a place where the ambiance sparkles invitingly.

Anthony David’s | 953 Bloomfield Street, Hoboken

Barbès | 1300 Park Avenue, Hoboken

Bin 14 | 1314 Washington Street, Hoboken

Elysian Cafe | 1001 Washington Street, Hoboken

Fork Hill Kitchen | 201 Sixteenth Street, Union City

Halifax | 225 River Street, Hoboken

Hudson + Co | 3 Second Street, Jersey City

The Kitchen Step | 500 Jersey Avenue, Jersey City

The Lola | 102 Sinatra Drive, Hoboken

The Rooftop at Exchange Place | 1 Exchange Place, Jersey City

Metropolis | 96 Hudson Street, Hoboken

Vale’s Kafe + Kitchen | 825 Twenty Second Street, Union City

Neighborhood Fixes

There are so many beloved Hudson County mom-and-pop delis and bistros that keep us well-coffeed and fed. Those favorite tucked-away places and corners are hot spots for happiness. These neighborhood staples are the setting for making memories and slowing down time, nestled in comfort, away from the world’s chaos.

15 Fox Place | 15 Fox Place, Jersey City

Cafe Dolma | 270 Grand Street, Jersey City

Cortaditos | 4501 Park Avenue, Union City

Garden Cafe + Bistro | 106 Country Road, Union City

Griot Cafe | 398 Central Avenue, Jersey City

Gussy’s Cafe | 292 Newark Avenue, Jersey City

Hamilton Inn | 708 Jersey Avenue, Jersey City

Harry’s Food & Drink | 8101 Bergenline Avenue, North Bergen

Roast & C.R.E.A.M. | 1620 Bergenline Avenue, Union City

Satis Bistro | 212 Washington Street, Jersey City

Subia’s | 506 Jersey Avenue, Jersey City

White Star | 179 Warren Street, Jersey City

New Rising Stars

New restaurants and cafes in our area have been stirring up quite a buzz. Mark Censits’ new farm-to-table restaurant, Maxwell Alley, and Korean and Japanese restaurant Yakitame Bento + Katsu are shining star examples of what can happen when brilliant entrepreneurs with exceptional taste cater to the sophisticated tastes of our region.

Apnaa Lahore | 557 Palisade Avenue, Jersey City

Blue Anchor | 166 River Drive, Jersey City

Blue Angel Artisan Cafe + Bakery| 79 Hudson Street, Hoboken

The Colonial Grill Foodtruck | 1 Newark Street, Hoboken

Forum Coffee | 1400 Washington Street, Hoboken

Haraz Coffee House | 89 Hudson Street, Hoboken

Little Mingo | 305 1st Street, Hoboken

Mile Square Cafe | 746 Park Avenue, Hoboken

Bergen Hall | 58 Maple Street, Jersey City

BRBQ | 532 Summit Avenue, Jersey City

Incontro Caffè | 351 Summit Avenue, Jersey City

Maxwell Alley | 12 Coles Street, Jersey City

Yakitame Bento + Katsu | 501 Central Avenue, Jersey City

RUN/Café | 1000 Garfield Avenue, Jersey City

Panaderya Salvaje | 9 Erie Street, Jersey City

Recent Wine Spectator Award Winners

An excellent overall experience is the norm at these celebrated restaurants, and the word has been out for quite a while now. The annual Wine Spectator awards, which highlight our region’s outstanding food destinations, are no surprise. Local foodies didn’t need an outside authority to confer credibility to their date night destination, but the recognition does feel nice.

Battello | 502 Washington Boulevard, Jersey City

Blu on the Hudson | 1200 Harbor Boulevard, Weehawken

Brazeiro Churrascaria | 103 Sixtieth Street, West New York | 7420 Broadway, North Bergen

Court Street | 61 Sixth Street, Hoboken

Del Frisco’s Grille | 221 River Street, Hoboken

Felina Steak | 2 Chapel Avenue, Jersey City

Hailfax | 225 River Street, Hoboken

Maddy Rose at Liberty House, 76 Audrey Zapp Drive, Jersey City

Molos | 1 Pershing Road, Weehawken

Sorellina Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar, 1036 Washington Avenue, Hoboken

Son Cubano | 40 Riverwalk Place, West New York

Perennial Local Girl Faves Not Listed Above

There are simply too many great Hudson County food options to name them all. There’s someplace for everyone and then another someplace for all the days of the month, yet the list of local “must-try”s just keeps growing. As long as they’re cooking, we will keep tasting and savoring what comes out of these kitchens.

Antique Bar + Bakery | 122 Willow Avenue, Hoboken

Chart House | 1700 Harbor Boulevard, Weehawken

Corto | 507 Palisade Avenue, Jersey City

El Artesano | 4101 Bergenline Avenue, Union City

Faubourg | 544 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair + 1100 Avenue at Port Imperial, Weehawken

Flour | 500 Jefferson Street, Hoboken

Gaia + Loki | 346 Grove Street, Jersey City

Korai Kitchen | 576 Summit Avenue, Jersey City

La Isla | 104 Washington Street, Hoboken

Razza | 275 Grove Street, Jersey City

See More: A Millennial Girl’s Guide to the Jersey Shore

Food + Drink

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All About Nimbus Dance in Jersey City

Sarah Griesbach — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 14:18:32 +0000

Nimbus Dance has been bringing wonder and joy to audiences and providing local students with top-notch dance instruction in Jersey City for 20 years. The company continues to grow its reach as the professional dance company expands its touring production schedule and opens an extension school in Summit, NJ. Read on to learn all about the magic of Nimbus Dance in Jersey City and beyond.

Nimbus Dance is a Jersey City Treasure

Each December, the brilliant choreography, dynamic sets, and sophisticated costumes of the Nimbus original Jersey Nutcracker Ballet ratchet up the drama to make a traditional story wonderfully new. This is an urban adventure, replete with a colorfully corrupt mayor and an appearance from the Statue of Liberty. The Waltz of the Flowers becomes the Waltz of the Hipsters. The sweetness of the 1816 E.T.A. Hoffman story, made enchanting by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s magnificent score in 1893, is renewed in its sweetness and enchantment with innovations that keep the audience laughing and gasping and so glad they came. The Jersey Nutcracker Ballet is a company staple with audiences clamoring for the next year’s creative iteration all over the state.

Nimbus has its own tradition of weaving bold new elements into the fabric of the most classic ballets. Its Firebird is like no other. The Nimbus version takes Aaron Copeland and Martha Graham’s Appalachian Spring becomes Spring when performed by Nimbus, shifting the time and place while taking every advantage of Copeland’s moving score and Graham’s emotionally expressive technique. This combination of our contemporary world with nineteenth-century ballets based on old folktales makes Nimbus productions of the classics one of a kind.

Attending approachable, relatable, evocative ballet is a treat. Seeing these world-class dance performances at a local venue performed by a local theater company is, for many, inspirational. Nimbus founder Samuel Potts was already bringing ballet to audiences throughout New Jersey when he realized that there was no pre-professional dance program in Jersey City. Children couldn’t access after-school or summer dance classes unless they commuted out of the city, a restriction that kept scores of would-be dancers from their jazz, tap, and toe shoe dreams.

A City That Needed a Dance School

Jersey City benefits in all sorts of ways from its across-the-river distance from NYC. Some things are, arguably, made more difficult for Chilltown by that proximity. Arts institutions have not fared as well as they might have without the bright and shiny competition for donations, members, and audiences on the other side of the Hudson. Samuel Potts, the founder of Nimbus Dance Company and School, had danced with the American Repertory Ballet and as a soloist with the Martha Graham Dance Company. He founded Nimbus in 2005 because he knew the importance of accessible professional dance programs to young people for whom proximity would mean possibility.

“Dance is a great leveler,” says Samuel. “When you go into a dance studio, it doesn’t matter where you have come from; you are celebrated for what you bring to the studio, to the stage. And each dancer brings their story. Within the choreography of any performance, there is an alchemy in the combination of the dancers’ stories.”

In September 2020, Nimbus relocated to a state-of-the-art center at the Lively in the Powerhouse Arts District of Jersey City at 321 Warren Street. Today, the Nimbus Arts Center is the largest dance-based arts center in the State of New Jersey, with interwoven wings of Nimbus Dance, the School of Nimbus, the Firmament Art Gallery, a Black Box Theatre, and an array of community engagement programs. The School of Nimbus offers professional dance instruction in ballet, modern, hip hop, tap, and many other dance techniques for children, teens, and pre-professional students. There’s even a class for toddlers and their parents — “Ma, Pa, & Me!” The school keeps class sizes small, and they are taught by dancers within the company.

It’s an “everybody can dance” environment until students set their sights on a dance career, and then it’s hardcore. Acting and voice classes are there for the triple threats, along with Zumba and Pilates. Pre-professionally trained 14- and 15-year-olds can even audition for the highly sought-after Jersey Nutcracker youth slots.

Nimbus is Spreading its Magic

The future is bright for Nimbus. The company performs regularly at NJ PAC, Keane University, and all across New Jersey. It is in demand. So much so that it is opening up a Summit satellite school. Through its residency program, Nimbus regularly partners with instructors who bring diverse dance forms to their students and contribute to the high-energy, edge-of-your-seat performances.

Nimbus is a word for a raincloud that brings moisture and fertility when it enters the environment and changes the atmosphere, which, Samuel Potts feels, is the effect that art has on a community. Nimbus is also a term for a halo or an aura, and the dancers, according to Samual, are surrounded by light on a stage, glowing and rather magical. His dancers certainly are. And more audiences will have the opportunity to see them that way as Nimbus continues to expand its reach and push the boundaries of the arts with innovative new work.

See More: Studio 7: A Dance Studio for Kids + Adults at The Jersey Shore

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The History + Evolution of New Jersey’s Hudson River Walkway

Sarah Griesbach — Thu, 04 Dec 2025 02:00:29 +0000

On any given day, runners, commuters, grandparents with strollers, tourists, bikers, and hikers speed through or amble along the spectacular 18.5-mile Hudson River Walkway that lines the western shore of the Hudson. The expansive pathway was established through New Jersey’s Public Trust Doctrine and state requirements for riverfront development, which mandate public access and a continuous path along the waterfront. Now a defining feature of New Jersey’s Hudson River municipalities, this well-used public asset came as a massive improvement to a shoreline that has seen four centuries of dramatic change. Read on to learn about how this beloved trail, touting food, fun, and breathtaking views, came to be.

What the Hudson Walkway is Today

Our Hudson River West pedestrian thoroughfare runs through nine municipalities of Hudson and Bergen counties: Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, West New York, Guttenberg, North Bergen, Edgewater, and Fort Lee. The state planned the walkway to exist immediately adjacent to the river in a continuously connected 16-foot-wide path from the southern tip of Bayonne to the George Washington Bridge. It was built in segments and continues to improve and grow through the advocacy of state and local groups like the Fund for a Better Waterfront. Today, the non-profit Hudson River Waterfront Conservancy exists to monitor the upkeep and accessibility of the path for the public.

Pedestrian and bike-friendly, the long promenade offers a ton of excellent restaurants with sensational views along each stretch. Urban adventurers can take to the water from boating launch sites like the Hoboken Cove Community Boathouse and Urban Paddle in Jersey City.

Though officially the pathway runs 18.5 continuous miles along the Hudson shoreline, it meanders into parks, piers, and plazas to provide well over 20 miles of opportunity for exploration and selfies taken with a backdrop of iconic New York City views. Public access 24/7 is written into the rules of the walkway. Making sure that it stays accessible is an ongoing project that keeps the Conservancy partnered up with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the local municipalities it cuts through, along with all the many waterfront property owners, and members of the public who wish to join the effort.

From Eden to a Busy, Booming Riverfront

In 1609, Henry Hudson sailed for the Dutch West India Company into the river now named for him and first dropped anchor in what is today the New York & New Jersey Harbor, the estuary that runs from the southern tip of Manhattan to the Atlantic Ocean. His ship, the Half Moon, then stopped in Weehawken Cove. His first mate noted the Cove’s white-green cliff — now known as Castle Point. Henry Hudson and his crew had landed on a shore defined by a diverse ecosystem of forests and extensive tidal wetlands. All around them, saltmarsh cordgrass, cattails, wild rice, wild celery, waterlilies, buttonbush, and goldenrod grew in lush marshland and coastal meadows.

It takes some imagination to picture the Hudson River shoreline as it was before the Lenni Lenape people were forced to contend with European colonialism. Dutch poet Jacob Steendam, who lived in New Netherlands from 1650 to 1660, on what is now Manhattan, described the land along the Hudson River as uniquely beautiful: This is the land, with milk and honey flowing/ With healing herbs like thistles freely growing/ The place where the buds of Aaron’s rods are blowing/ O, this is Eden.

Not long after he penned that verse, a densely populated, thriving commercial riverfront developed on both sides of the southern tip of the Hudson. The Hudson River’s west coast quickly became home to a burgeoning fur trade and a wildly successful oyster industry, along with brick manufacturers and iron producers.

When New Jersey’s Waterfront was All Industry

The Hudson waterfront quickly became a vital point in the US economy. And it stayed that way. Up until the early 20th-century, ships were the only mode of transportation for people and goods to get in and out of Manhattan. Wharves and warehouses along the river swarmed with workers moving cargo. This was a time before bridges and tunnels crossed between New Jersey and New York. Ferries were the only method for the tens of thousands of commuters to shuffle back and forth between Jersey and Manhattan. The docks and railyards were in constant action. The rough lives of the longshoremen and widespread corruption of the shipping industry is memorialized in the 1954 Marlon Brando crime drama, On the Waterfront.

The Hudson River shoreline shifted dramatically and rapidly as commercial industries moved in and out. Among the many companies that built along the riverfront were some edifices with business names that spark nostalgia in longtime residents — like Colgate-Palmolive, Maxwell House, and Lipton Tea — along with those of industrial giants — like Standard Oil, Bethlehem Steel, Ford Motor Company, Lever Brothers (now Unilever), and Archer-Daniels-Midland. These industries often moved away or shut down, leaving bits of their businesses behind. The New Jersey view of the east side of the river in New York was equally ridden with machinery, warehouses, trucks, and railroads. The waste byproducts, water, soil, and air pollution that surrounded these operations did not inspire notions of leisurely strolls along magnificent vistas. By the latter half of the twentieth century, the Hudson shoreline had become an industrial eyesore.

A Matter of Vision

The vision of a New Jersey riverfront that would take advantage of its unparalleled views of New York City’s skyline and celebrate the natural beauty of the Hudson River took shape as the region began to flourish as a financial center. The push to make it happen looked toward the very successful waterfront regulations in New York for precedent. Starting in 1988, Coastal Zone Management Rules created by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection mandated that builders erecting anything within 100 feet of the water provide at least 30 feet of public space at the waterfront. This mandate aligns with the NJ Public Trust Doctrine, which established the public’s right to access all tidal waterways and shorelines.

There were many hurdles along the way to building the promenade we have today. A great deal of the walkway’s length is controlled by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Each town along the waterfront has its own zoning rules. Private landowners were provided exceptions to the regulations that made development of the pathway possible. Those corporate and individual owners have not been obligated to provide recreational space for the public until their property is redeveloped, sold, or repurposed. Until then, they are required to provide access to the waterfront, but no more. The process of building and improving upon the expansive riverfront’s public space is a lengthy process, largely due to unpredictable shifts in land use.

Walking through Garden State History

There are markers and signs along the Hudson River Walkway that encourage reflection upon time gone by. Kieft’s War, also known as the Pavonia Massacre, is recalled at a bypass between sections of the walkway in Jersey City at the Newport PATH station. King’s Bluff,

where the Hamilton-Burr duel took place, is located along the Weehawken stretch of the waterfront walkway. Informational signage reports on the use of the waterfront in Jersey City for those working within the Underground Railroad to ferry enslaved Black people toward freedom.

A plaque marks the site of the 1916 Black Tom munitions depot explosion. Walkers can use signs to identify the buildings they see in Manhattan when they look across the water or to name the birds flying overhead.

How to Get There

The walkway is both popular and practical. Even if commuters were totally disinterested in the majestic views, open sky, pretty landscaping, and general loveliness of the walkway, it would still pull in crowds of people every day. Every New Jersey ferry stops along a branch of it. PATH, the Hudson-Bergen light rail, and the NJ Transit bus system all connect various parts of NJ and NY at points along it. Citybike stations dot the path. For those coming in with cars, there are easy access points suggested by the Hudson River Waterfront Conservancy:

Edgewater Commons Shopping Center / 555 New River Road, Edgewater

Edgewater Harbor Shopping Center / 15 Somerset Lane, Edgewater

Port Imperial / 4800 Avenue, Weehawken

River Street / 333 River Street, Hoboken

Exchange Place / Jersey City

Liberty State Park / 200 Morris Pesin Drive, Jersey City

See More: New Jersey Towns with Lenape History: Hoboken, Weehawken, + Beyond

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The post The History + Evolution of New Jersey’s Hudson River Walkway appeared first on Hoboken Girl.

Hoboken’s Historic Role in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Sarah Griesbach — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 20:00:58 +0000

Thanksgiving is this week — which means the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is also on the horizon. These floats — and one of their popular creators — actually have a cool connection to Hoboken. In 2022 the Hoboken Historical Museum highlighted the tale of master float-builder John Cheney’s career. All of us who have annually watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade have unknowingly enjoyed this artist/welder/carpenter/engineer’s brilliantly constructed moving dioramas, hand-animated characters, and huge sculpted cartoon figures as they rolled through New York City. From 1960 until 2011, the studio where the magic was made was located in an old Tootsie Roll factory on 15th Street and Willow Avenue in Hoboken. Read on to learn more about John Cheney and Hoboken’s role in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.