Photo by R. Birkel
Memorial Day Weekend is the unofficial first day of summer, but you wouldn’t think so with the current temperatures. Let’s hope it gets warmer by the holiday. However, if you plan on staying in town, there will be a lot to do to keep you entertained. Here’s a breakdown of planned events.
Friday, May 27
Hamilton Jewelers is holding their annual watch fair 10 AM – 8 PM. You will be able to view hundreds of timepieces, and they will offer trade-ins and 18 months interest free financing during their event.
All the Days is playing on the Berlind stage at McCarter Theatre Center. Friday’s performance will be at 8 PM.
Saturday, May 28
Hamilton Jewelers holds their annual watch fair 10 AM – 6 PM. You can view hundreds of timepieces, and they offer trade-ins and 18 months interest free financing during their event.
Labyrinth Books is hosting an author talk at 11 AM. Kate Siegel will present an essay collection titled Mother, Can You Not? It’s based on her popular Instagram account @CrazyJewishMom about life with the woman who redefined the term “helicopter mom”.
Community Park Pool will open its doors for the first time this year 11 AM – 8 PM. These opening hours will continue on weekends until Wednesday, June 15, when it will open daily until Labor Day weekend.
The Princeton Battlefield Society will be staging Washington Returns! Encampment and Reenactments With the Second Pennsylvania Regiment 11:30 AM – 4 PM at the Princeton Battlefield Park.
For the first time in 20 years, the Spirit of Princeton will not host Fourth of July fireworks. However, they will be hosting the Memorial Day parade on starting at 10 AM. As always, it will begin from the corner of Princeton Avenue and Nassau Street and continue to Princeton Monument Hall, the corner of Bayard Street (Rt. 206) and Stockton Avenue (Rt. 27).
Princeton University Alumni will also hold their own parade cleverly named P-rade. It’ll begin at 2 PM starting on campus at FritzRandolph Gate (at Nassau Street), continuing to Canon Green (behind Nassau Hall), along Chapel Drive (Clio & Whig), and then down Elm Drive (Edwards and Dillon Gym), ending on Poe-Pardee Field. Don’t miss the tiger themed clothing and accessories they will don. (Click here to read a satirical piece about it)
At 7 PM, the Princeton Triangle Show: Tropic Blunder will be performed on the Matthews stage at McCarter Theatre Center sponsored by the Princeton Triangle Club.
All the Days will be playing on the Berlind stage at McCarter Theatre Center at 8 PM.
If you don’t go to the Triangle Show, you could head over at 8 PM to Blair Arch to hear the Kindred Spirit Reunions Arch Sing, or Campbell Fields to hear the Princeton University Orchestra Lawn Concert.
At 9:15 PM, the university will cap off the evening by holding a fireworks display at Campbell-Finney Field for their reunions sponsored by the Alumni Association of Princeton University. This will be the only opportunity for residents to witness fireworks in town this year.
Sunday, May 29
Community Park Pool will be open 11 AM – 8 PM.
All the Days will be playing on the Berlind stage at McCarter Theatre Center at 2 PM.
I’m a bit confused. There is only one fireworks event and it’s not a town event but a university event. The fairs are just a marketing gimmick by Hamilton Jewelers and Labyrinth Books. The only real community event is the The Princeton Battlefield Society event at Battlefield Park.
What am I missing?
Hi Khürt! If you are strictly looking for community events, there is the season opening of Community Park Pool, The Memorial Day Parade, and the Battlefield encampment and reenactments. While the fireworks display is sponsored by Princeton alumni, locals have made it a community event by gathering on Campbell Field with picnic baskets, footballs, and glow-in-the-dark items awaiting the spectacle. I am sharing entertainment and events happening in Princeton.