LONG BRANCH, NJ - Memorial Day weekend is traditionally the kickoff to everything that the Jersey Shore is famous for - and on May 25, art lovers can enjoy a bigger, better-than-ever event that sounds its own unique keynote to the summer season.

Marking its milestone Tenth Anniversary edition, Art in the Park returns to West End Park at the corner of Ocean and Brighton Avenues in Long Branch, on the Sunday before Memorial Day; a free, public-invited festival that runs from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.

More than 60 local and regional artists, representing a myriad of media and a gamut of stylistic influences, will be exhibiting their works in the open-air market and gallery that's grown in attendance (and attendant buzz) since it was first presented in 1999. Sponsored by the Long Branch Arts Council in partnership with the Long Branch Historical Society and the City of Long Branch, it's a new and improved event that offers a range of exciting enhancements.

Featured for 2008 are a series of on-premises artist demonstrations between the hours of 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. A variety of works will be available for sale by the participating artists, and awards will be given out in each category, including a People's Choice award selected by event attendees. For the first time, live music will be presented from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., courtesy of the Paul Marino Band. And, in a nod to the "people power" that remains the core strength of the area's artscape, a "community painting" project will be created by participating artists and members of the public, with the resulting work slated to be displayed afterward at Long Branch City Hall.

"The artists and the art lovers of our local community are the engine that's helped this event to grow exponentially over the past decade," explains event coordinator Mare Akana. "The quality of the work on display is a direct reflection of the energy and passion that goes into Art in the Park every year.

"This city is fast becoming the go-to destination for the arts on the New Jersey coastline; a place where a storied past and an exhilarating future have combined to create a very exciting present for the people of the greater Long Branch area."

Artists demonstrating their technique and creative process include:

LS Beedle Jr., Highlands "My work can be described as an impression of the day completed on location...I am the ‘master of the three-hour painting'.": From Southern California to Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, "LS" has long taken inspiration from his surroundings; nowadays the dunes and surf of the Atlantic Ocean and Sandy Hook Bay.   At West End Park, he will create an acrylic scene of the show itself, using his skills for painting on-site and on a timetable.

Carol Colvin, Toms River "Life can be harsh, but art, music and faith are there to keep us balanced." :  Watercolor is her medium, and the Jersey Shore is her muse - composing with the light and atmosphere of the beach, the artist discovered a talent for painting when she became a Shore fixture herself in the late 1960s.

Victoria Grant, Tinton Falls: Employing such elements as unusually shaped stones, distinctively hued beads and surprising "found" objects, the artisan produces custom jewelry that, it's been said, "ranges from playful to stunning."

K. Dorsey Lucas,  Red Bank  "The forms focus on the conveyance of feelings through faces and abstracted postures.": Large-scale or small; indoors or outdoors; freestanding or mounted; the sculptor's explorations in clay are her calling card, and the subject of a solo show at the Monmouth Beach Cultural Center this month.

Mary Monagle, Spring Lake  "Nature never disappoints in providing a continuing abundance of possibilities for painting." : Creating in contexts that range from representational to abstract, the mixed-media artist - a former professor at Rutgers University and consultant to AT&T -  will be demonstrating her acclaimed technique in water media and collage here at the Park.

Yvonne Yaar , Toms River "When I was a little girl, I saw a glass blowing demonstration and have been mesmerized by glass ever since." : Working with a torch and glass canes, the president and founder of the Toms River Artists' Co-operative creates glass beads for wall displays and jewelry via a fascinating process known as "lampworking." 

Rain date for the tenth annual Art in the Park event is Memorial Day Monday, May 26. For more information, call Mare Akana at (732)542-1307 or Gabe Barabas at (732)229-3166. 

The Long Branch Arts Council is a partnership dedicated to working with the city government, civic and business organizations and the arts community to re-establish the City of Long Branch as a thriving regional center for the arts. Our aim is to accomplish this goal by attracting artists and arts organizations, by coordinating fundraising and development efforts, by establishing arts education programs, and by presenting arts-oriented events that draw upon the natural resources, accessibility, historic assets and "people power" that are unique to our beloved city.