By Jennifer Ersalesi Matt Payne and his youngest daughter Stella at an Author Visit at Washington School Local author, Matt Payne, has been an author for eighteen years. His latest book is a paranormal horror novel titled Pumpkin Apocalypse, which follows a middle schooler who hates Halloween, but somehow must confront unfortunate and frightening incidents involving pumpkins. This is Rutherford interviewed Matt Payne to learn more about him as an author, a dad, a proud Ruth

Submitted by Pam Tully, Rutherford Public Library Rhoda Portugal, reference librarian at Rutherford Public Library for 32 years, has retired from an extraordinary career spanning more than 50 years as a librarian. Rhoda is a knowledgeable and intellectually curious and enthusiastic resource for all things library, research, genealogy, museum passes, periodicals, and yes, even microfilm! We celebrate all of her contributions to the library and wish her well. In honor of her ye

By Jennifer Ersalesi Photo credits: Rutherford Recreation Department This past Sunday, June 28th, the Rutherford Recreation department held its 94th Annual Baby Parade. This longstanding tradition welcomes all families with young children to participate in the parade demonstrating their American pride and their enthusiasm for the upcoming July 4th holiday. The parade began on Elliot Place in front of Rutherford High School and traveled to Lincoln Park. Once they arrived at

By Jennifer Ersalesi Photo credits: Dan Meredith On Wednesday, June 17th, Rutherford brought the community together for an extremely successful Dining Out event on Park Avenue. Restaurant tables along Park Avenue remained full throughout the evening as musicians performed from various locations along the avenue. Musicians included The Baddies and Fretless, Hunter and Jack Bandola, School of Rock, Joe Murphy, and Vinny Valentino Jazz Trio. Organizations and businesses, su

By Jennifer Ersalesi Arts play a vital role in our community. One particular non-profit organization, the Rutherford Arts Council, has found a number of ways to bring all forms of art to the Borough of Rutherford through art exhibits, talent shows, creative expression workshops, and so much more. This is Rutherford interviewed the Rutherford Arts Council to learn more about what they have planned over the next several months. TIR: The Rutherford Arts Council has been busy

By Jennifer Ersalesi This year's South Bergen PrideFest will take place on June 6, 2026 from 12 PM until 5 PM (the rain date will be June 7th). After months of planning, the Rutherford Pride Alliance's South Bergen PrideFest Committee cannot wait to bring this festival to Lincoln Park. This is Rutherford interviewed two Board members of the Rutherford Pride Alliance, Chair Kat Ruhno-McCallum, and Treasurer, David Grassetti to learn more about South Bergen PrideFest. TIR: P

By Jennifer Ersalesi Growing up in Jersey with a family with a great sense of humor, Colin Doyle learned how to appreciate humor and that he had the ability to make laugh at a young age. While he was in college, he started doing stand-up comedy and discovered just how much he enjoyed it. He is coming back to his hometown of Rutherford on May 28th to share his talent at the Williams Center of Rutherford on May 28th. This is Rutherford interviewed Colin to learn more about t

Submitted by Pamela Tully, Rutherford Public Library Rutherford Public Library celebrated the winners of its Summer Reading Design contest at the May 11 Rutherford Borough Council meeting. Mayor Frank Nunziato presided as Barbara Bivin, a Friends of the Library of Rutherford board member, presented the winners with a certificate, award ribbons, and a gift certificate to Barnes & Noble. Sreya Sriju, First Place Winner First place went to Sreya Sriju, whose winning design is o

By Jennifer Ersalesi Over the next three months, there are many visual, practical, and performing arts events at all of the schools within the Borough. Please see the list below. Kindergarten Center Washington School Lincoln School June 9th at 6 pm Spring Music Concert - Washington Elementary School May 14th at 6 pm Art Show June 10th Music Concert 6 pm - Grade 1 7 pm - Grade 2 8 pm- Grade 3 May 20th at 6 pm Art Show June 3rd Music Concert 6 pm- Grade 1 7 pm - Grade 2 8 pm

By Jennifer Ersalesi Photo credits: Borough of Rutherford Over the past few months, children and young adults in the community submitted their artwork to the Borough to be displayed on art banners throughout the Borough. The theme of this year's submissions was "Celebrating Our Nation's 250th Birthday". Rutherford Arts Council Board members, Genesee Orlowicz and Sarah Orlowicz, partnered with the Borough to coordinate this project. These Youth Art Banners are currently o

By Jennifer Ersalesi Photo credits: Nicholas Yee Photography Based on the 1984 hit movie Footloose , the musical Footloose will bring the same story to the RHS stage this upcoming weekend, March 13-15. Teenager Ren McCormack and his family move from Chicago to a small town, Bomont, where the the minister has forbidden dancing and rock music. Ren brings his peers together to fight for their right to dance and in doing so unites his community. This is Rutherford interviewe

By Jennifer Ersalesi Photo credits: Erin Ersalesi This past weekend, the Friends of the Library hosted one of their most popular events the Mini-Golf Fundraiser, presented by BCB Bank and Brosnan + Clark Orthodontics. This 18-hole mini golf event was set up throughout the Library by various local businesses and community organizations. Each hole had a special theme with unique decorations. On Friday, 3/6, there was an adult session with drinks, snacks and DJ sets and on

By Jennifer Ersalesi One of the community's favorite winter activities, the Friends of the Library's Mini Golf event at the Rutherford Public Library is coming up in a couple of weeks on Friday, March 6th and Saturday, March 7th. This is Rutherford interviewed Friends of the Library member, Rosemary Jorda, about this upcoming event. TIR: Who are the Friends of the Library? Rosemary Jorda: Friends of the Library of Rutherford supports the programs and activities at our local

By Jennifer Ersalesi Throughout the year, the Rutherford Arts Council hosts a number of different arts events that are open to the public. In September, the RAC presented the first community-wide talent show, Rutherford's Got Talent . The upcoming RAC event, Winter Pop-Up Art Exhibition, will focus on the visuals arts in a beautiful space in the First Presbyterian Church. This is Rutherford interviewed Genesee Orlowicz, Board member of the Rutherford Arts Council, to lear

By Jennifer Ersalesi Rutherford is home to many talented musicians. Four of those musicians came together as young high school students to form the band, Foul Play . For the last few years, they have performed at many different venues, including local favorites, PorchFest and the Williams Center. This is Rutherford interviewed the band to find out more about the band as a whole and each of the musicians. Vinny Denunzio, Carlos Echeverry, Julian Statile, and Tyler Carroll.

Information provided by Rutherford Green Team The Rutherford Green team, a Borough Advisory Committee, is introducing a new Municipal Composting Program. They need twenty-five households to sign up using this link to get started. The Green Team explained, "Why compost? Food waste makes up 30% of household trash In landfills, it creates methane, a greenhouse gas 80x more potent than CO₂. Composting turns scraps into a resource that builds healthy soil and supports local

By Jennifer Ersalesi Since January 2023, when Governor Murphy passed a resolution declaring January as Muslim Heritage Month, communities throughout New Jersey have been celebrating the Muslim community and the core values of respect, unity, and peace that define Islam. The Rutherford Public Library has been hosting special events for the past three years to recognize our local Muslim community. This is Rutherford interviewed Usman Khan, one of the organizers of this year'

By Jennifer Ersalesi On Saturday, November 29th, the Rutherford Chamber of Commerce will kick off the holiday season with the 73rd Annual Holiday Parade. T he parade will feature music from rock bands and the RHS Marching Band, special characters, floats, sports teams, community groups, businesses, and much more. Before the parade begins at 4:00 p.m., various activities will take place on the West End starting at 2:30 p.m. Little Play Cafe will serve hot chocolate, local

Submitted by Rutherford Public Library Animal photographs by Erin Rodriguez Rutherford Public Library is currently hosting Rutherford photographer Erin Rodriguez’s exhibition of photographs on the mezzanine level of the Rutherford Public Library, starting Wednesday, November 5, and running through the end of the year. The series, Through Their Eyes: Portraits from Demarest Farm, focuses on the animals and the special role the farm plays for so many Bergen County families. “T

By Jennifer Ersalesi Photo credits: Nicholas Yee Each November, Rutherford High School presents its fall drama. This year's play, The Importance of Being Earnest, is a delightfully witty farce where secret identities, confusion, and hilarity abound. This year's cast cannot wait to perform for audiences twice this upcoming weekend; once on Friday, 11/14, and once on Saturday, 11/15, at 7 pm. This is Rutherford interviewed the Director of the play, Mrs. Patricia Blanchard.