Allaire Village Receives Grant From Area Bank

Allaire Village recently received a grant from OceanFirst Foundation aimed at forwarding the historic village’s music and cultural programs throughout the year.

The foundation, the charitable arm of OceanFirst Bank, awarded the nonprofit Historic Village at Allaire $4,000 to continue its programs at the popular living history museum, according to a joint release.

The foundation provides grants to organizations that meet community needs within the OceanFirst marketable area. It has contributed more than $23 million more than 600 local charities in Ocean, Monmouth, and Middlesex counties, the release says.

Allaire has received a total of $8,000 from the foundation in 2011 and 2012 – enough to nearly cover the cost of this year’s programs, said Shannon Gance, events and operations manager at Allaire Village.

“OceanFirst has been incredible to us,” Gance said. “And we’re eternally grateful.’’

This year, the Historic Village at Allaire is set to present music and cultural programs including Irish Folk Music by “Three Pints Shy” (March 8 & 9), a Sherlock Holmes program (May 4), two Halloween programs, including “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (October 4 & 5), and “An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe” (October 11 & 12), and “A Christmas Carol” (December 6 & 13).

The village’s year kicks off in February with a George Washington’s birthday celebration, scheduled for February 17.