FREEHOLD – January and February are usually slow tourism months, but not so in Monmouth County this year.

 

“From a remembrance of our servicemen and women in the Vietnam War, to the many plays, concerts, art exhibitions and bird watching in between, there is enough to make winter zip by,” said said Jeanne DeYoung, Monmouth County’s tourism representative.

           

Her agency, the Monmouth County Department of Economic Development and Tourism, maintains an up-to-the-minute calendar of events that lists nearly every public event. Users find things to see and places to go everywhere in the county just by logging onto Monmouth County’s home page, www.visitmonmouth.com, clicking on Tourism and navigating to the Calendar of Events, she said.

           

Most items provide a Web link and/or phone number to the organization presenting the event so visitors can glean more information, she said.

           

Among the continuing highlights are “We Made a Difference: Positive Accomplishments of Service Personnel During the Vietnam War” at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial, Exit 116 on the Garden State Parkway; bird watching at Huber Woods in Middletown and Sandy Hook, and First Saturday in Asbury Park.

           

“Fiction to Fact: Space Toys & Memorabilia” displays toys, posters, games and other artifacts of the space race between the U.S.S.R. and the United States. It is being shown at Brookdale Community College, Lincroft, through August.

           

Theatergoers can choose plays, concerts and lectures. Monmouth University’s lecture series presents Annu Palakunnathu and Isidro Blasco. Kathleen Madigan, Cirque LeMasque, “VH1’s Best Week Ever – Live!” and the Monmouth Symphony Orchestra are at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank. Also in Red Bank, the Two River Theatre offers “Re-entry,” a look at the lives of returning servicemen and women, and “Mary’s Wedding.” “Prescription: Murder,” performed by the Monmouth Players, debuts at the Navesink Library Theater in Middletown.

           

Last, but certainly not least: Valentine’s Day is Feb. 14, but the Ocean Grove Chamber of Commerce starts a week earlier with Chocolate Lovers’ Weekend, replete with a walking tour of historic inns, the hunt for hearts and more.

           

“Try as many as you can,” DeYoung said. “Winter is a great time to get out of the house for a day, evening or weekend. Monmouth County has great year-round restaurants, theaters and galleries. They can be the best cure for cabin fever.” 

 

 

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