Despite the COVID-19 pandemic disruptions to life in New Providence, 2020 continues to be an exciting and reaffirming year for our community. Please see below for some information on events that have already occurred, and the latest updates on events that are ongoing or coming up in the near future!
As always, we need everyone’s help to make these activities a success! Please consider volunteering by contacting the Tricentennial Committee to indicate where you’d like to help. Many hands make light work!
A Tricentennial Kickoff Celebration was held on February 22, 2020 at the DeCorso Community Center and was attended by over 200 attended by over 200 residents and officials. TAPinto Article on NP Tricentennial Kickoff Celebration
Celebrating NP’s history is the focus of two family-friendly events:
- The NP Library and the Heritage Committee teamed up for the widely successful Heritage Scavenger Hunt in mid-June. If you missed it, don’t worry, you’ll get another chance during the library’s Summer Reading 2020 program! Check here for details on how to register starting June 24th: https://www.newprovidencelibrary.org/books/summer-reading. There is a compilation of over 200 pictures from the first hunt documenting the hunters’ sightings here and fun was had by all!
- The New Providence Tricentennial – An At Home Celebration Activity Book, researched and compiled by resident Maria DeLuca, was released on the community’s website in early June 2020.
Take a journey into New Providence’s history with this filled with activities to celebrate our town. This easy to follow and informative booklet includes local history, recipes, exciting challenges, trivia, and even a place for your own personal story. Engaging for all ages. Answers to “Guess the antique tool” .
Be a part of history and submit your “My Story” (page 9) and Time Capsule (page 12) pages to be collected and archived. You can turn in printed pages to the Tricentennial box in the Municipal Center main lobby or email clerk@newprov.org
Memorial Day Celebration
This year, instead of New Providence’s traditional parade, residents were encouraged to submit photos and remembrances of their loved ones who fought and made the ultimate sacrifice for our country’s freedom. Photos of the good times shared in former parades were also gathered, and a beautiful video compilation was shared with everyone and can be found here.
Out of Many, ONE!
Our Community For All (OCFA) put out a call for residents to decorate a small flag in a way that depicts what you love about New Providence. With the help of Girl Scout Troop #40380, they created a colorful garland to encircle the pavilion in Centennial Park. This shows that we can all do something together, though we are safely apart. The goal is to collect at least 300 flags, in keeping with the Tricentennial celebration this year. Deadline for completion June 30, 2020 and the last of the flags will be added to the garland by July 1, 2020. Order your flag here and add your voice to New Providence’s celebration!
300 Stories
Tell the story of your life experience living, raising a family or working in New Providence. Young residents of New Providence will use audio and video recording to create an oral history of our town, and we’d like your perspectives represented. Volunteer to tell your story. Refer someone to us you think has great stories to tell. Or suggest to a young person you know that this project could add something interesting to their summer. By Labor Day, we hope to capture at least 300 stories, and create an audio-visual presentation we can share online and in person. Call 908-380-7715, or send an email to NewProvidenceOCFA@gmail.com, or follow New Providence OCFA on Facebook for more information.
New Providence Tricentennial Day and Turkey Dinner Canceled
The intent of the New Providence Tricentennial Committee was to celebrate the group of pioneers who, in 1720, fought to overcome all sorts of problems to attain their goal—a place to live where they would be free to raise their families in a safe and productive way. They found it when they discovered the area in which we now live—New Providence, Nice Place, Nice People.
As those pioneers struggled to do the best for their people, so too are today’s Pioneers trying to do the same. The COVID-19 pandemic carries with it concerns and risks as serious in nature as those which confronted the European settlers in 1720. Your Tricentennial Committee has decided that the public gathering of many people at the future Tricentennial events scheduled for 2020 would create an unreasonable risk to residents, visitors and volunteers.
Therefore, the Committee has decided that both Tricentennial Day scheduled for September 26, 2020, and the Turkey Dinner planned for October 17, 2020 are canceled. Should there be positive changes in the situation, consideration will be given to rescheduling in the future. Think “300+1” or “Tri-Again Centennial” We will keep you posted. If you have already paid for the Turkey Dinner, refunds will be issued by check, if you paid with a check, and credit card refunds will be issued if you paid with a credit card.
But wait…You can still contribute to “Tricentennial: An At Home Celebration”
Take a journey into New Providence’s history with this family-friendly booklet filled with activities to celebrate our town. This easy-to-follow and informative booklet includes local history, recipes, exciting challenges, trivia, and even a place for your own personal story. Engaging for all ages. **
Be a part of New Providence history and submit your “My Story” (page 9) and Time Capsule (page 12) pages to be collected and archived. You can turn in printed pages to the Tricentennial box in the Borough Hall main lobby or email clerk@newprov.org
*Please note that future events are subject to change and/or cancellation based on the COVID-19 restrictions in place at the time.