The department is cooking up some exciting programming for residents.
By: Amy Filippone, Dept. of Parks & Recreation
Come enjoy some local musical talent at Moorestown Parks and Recreation Department’s Teen Café on Saturday, March 24 from 7 to 10 p.m. This is a free event and open to the public. It takes place on the third floor of the Church Street Recreation Center, which will be transformed into a cabaret-style space.
Teen Café began in the spring of 2015 when Rich Corbin of the Moorestown Parks and Recreation Department connected with a Moorestown High School student, Sam Scheibe, to coordinate a night of musical performances. From its inception it has grown to multiple Teen Café events a year. Michael Gural and Jillian Carruthers have taken up the baton coordinated the last two Teen Cafés. They work with other Moorestown high schoolers to recruit talent, find volunteers to help produce the event and procure food and drink donations.
Musical acts range from solos to small groups of four to five people and perform one to three songs. Some kids play instruments and some perform accapella. The number of acts can range from 20 to 25 with 75 to 150 people attending.
The top floor of the Recreation Center will have a cool, clubby vibe with subdued lighting, small tables with table clothes and electric candles, couches and a spotlit stage. This is a first-rate production that includes a sound technician who sets up prior to the event to run sound checks with the performers.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Rich Corbin said. “It’s a good experience for the kids who organize it and a good experience for the kids who perform. There are kids who are very comfortable on stage and they’ll be others who have never performed before and it gets them out of their comfort zone. That’s why it’s great.”
- Spring Break Cooking Classes:
Moorestown Parks and Recreation Department is offering three cooking classes over spring break. Chef Katie Sklarow who has a bachelor of science in culinary management from the Art Institute of Philadelphia will teach all classes. She is passionate about her profession, which she shares through teaching. She believes strongly in working with local and sustainable ingredients and making dishes healthy and tasty. All of Chef Katie’s recipes are made from scratch.
All spring break cooking classes will be held at the Church Street Recreation Center on the 3rd floor from noon to 3 p.m.
- Sushi Making Workshop:
This workshop for grades four to eight will be on Tuesday, April 3. Traditional Japanese techniques and flavor profiles will be explored. Students will make shrimp tempura with mango and avocado rolls and sweet potato tempura with cucumber and scallion rolls.
- Intro to Culinary Workshop
This workshop for grades two to five will be on Wednesday, April 4. This is a beginner’s class for first time cooks with a focus on preparing healthy dishes. Students will learn how to make baked chicken fingers, roasted mixed veggies and root veggie mash. This class introduces students to kitchen fundamentals like knife skills, seasonings and learning about wholesome foods. It provides a gentle entry into the culinary world.
- Comfort Foods
This class for grades four to eight will be on Thursday, April 5. This program is designed to help adolescent students learn culinary practices and fundamentals they can build on. Dishes are macaroni and cheese and perfectly seasoned oven fried chicken.
For more details and to register, visit www.moorestownrec.com
