Governor Chris Christie to Visit Liberty Hall Museum, 4/29

Liberty Hall Museum at Kean University has announced it will host an exquisite Governors' Ball on its grounds the evening of Monday, April 29. Governor Chris Christie will serve as Honorary Chairman of the event, with a number of New Jersey's former governors expected to attend. The Governors' Ball will Mark Governor Christie's first visit to Liberty Hall Museum, the former home of New Jersey's first elected governor, William Livingston, and six successive generations of the prominent Livingston and Kean families.

Governor Christie last visited Kean University in July 2011, where he commemorated the thirtieth anniversary of New Jersey's Sister State Agreement with China's Zhejiang Province with a celebratory luncheon attended by Zhejiang Party Secretary Zhao Hongzhu. The Governor's luncheon and subsequent discussions with Secretary Zhao have widely been credited as instrumental in fast-tracking the University's dreams of opening a campus in Wenzhou, located in Zhejiang Province. In March of 2012 - six years after Kean first announced its intention to open a campus in China - Chinese and University officials broke ground on Wenzhou-Kean University, which anticipates an enrollment of 5,000 full-time students by fall 2016. To date, Kean is one of only a handful of American universities to be granted permission to construct a campus on Chinese soil.

Billed as an elegant evening of dinner and dancing under the stars, the Governors' Ball is the first major fundraising event of a larger campaign to benefit the preservation and sustainability of Liberty Hall Museum, which encompasses twenty-three acres of manicured grounds, and houses extensive collections of antique furniture, ceramics, textiles, toys and tools owned by seven generations of the Livingston and Kean families. The Ball will take place in Liberty Hall's fablEd English gardens, and feature music by a grand orchestra. Celebrating "the best of New Jersey" and highlighting the unique creativity and talents of residents of the Garden State, organizers of the Ball have pledged to exclusively employ in-state vendors for the planning and production of the event, with ingredients for the much-anticipated dinner menu sourced from area farms, including Liberty Hall.

Topping the virtual "who's who" list of acclaimed in-state vendors is caterer Laurence Craig Distinctive Celebrations, based in Maplewood. Founded in 1996 by industry leader Laurence Craig, who grew up in neighboring Middlesex County, Laurence Craig Distinctive Celebrations has been profiled in numerous regional and national publications, including New Jersey Monthly, The Montclair Times, and Martha Stewart Weddings. Mr. Craig himself has served as a special guest expert on both cuisine and style for the popular television series, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Executive Chef Anthony Garruto is a graduate of the famed Culinary Institute of America, and has worked at renowned restaurants and clubs throughout the tri-state area, as well as a number of exclusive New York hotels, including the St. Regis and The Regency.

Management and technical production of the event will be coordinated by Jennifer Kraft, a graduate of Ithaca College and the former Director of Special Events at Christie's. Ms. Kraft's company, Kraft Event Management, Inc., is located in Basking Ridge and was also founded in 1996. Almar Party and Tent Rentals of Irvington will supply tenting for the event, while Country Club Services based in nearby Springfield will provide valet parking.

Entertainment for the evening will be provided by the much sought-after Tony Allen Band. Multi-instrumentalist Tony Allen and his eponymous orchestra have performed with such luminaries as Harry Belafonte and Etta James, and headlined countless celebrity weddings and high-profile parties. The Tony Allen Band has also appeared on a number of popular live televised events, such as the Presidential Inaugural Ball, The New York Rangers' Stanley Cup Celebration, and Live! with Regis and Kelly.

Liberty Hall Museum at Kean University chronicles more than 240 years of American history. The Firehouse Museum, built in 2004, houses three antique fire engines, including a rare 1911 American LaFrance Metropolitan Steam Engine. Public tours of the Museum are available Monday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Tours begin on the hour (last tour departs at 3:00 p.m.), and are conducted by the Museum's friendly and knowledgeable staff in exquisite reproduction clothing from the early-20th century era. Admission is $10.00 for adults; $8.00 for Kean alumni; $6.00 for children, college students, and seniors; and free for Kean students and faculty.

For reservations and further information, please call 908-527-0400, e-mail libertyhall@kean.edu or visit www.kean.edu/libertyhall. Please follow Liberty Hall Museum on Facebook and Twitter at https://www.facebook.com/libertyhallmuseum or https://twitter.com/LibertyHallKean. More information on Liberty Hall Museum's new Community Farmers Market is available at https://www.facebook.com/libertyhallfarmersmarket.

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