Chess + Coffee at Montclair Public Library
Come play chess and drink coffee at the Montclair Public Library, located at 50 South Fullerton Avenue, on Thursdays from 2PM to 4PM. Chessboards will be provided, but feel free to bring your own. This is a drop-in open play, there will be no guided instruction.
AAPI New Jersey’s Color Run Returning to Essex County on 4/27
Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month is just around the corner, and an Essex County-based organization is celebrating our incredible AAPI community with an event full of color, fitness, and fun. AAPI New Jersey will host its annual Color Run in celebration of Holi and Songkran, taking place at Bloomfield's Brookdale Park on Sunday, April 27th. The event is a chance for locals to race through a course inside the park, while getting splattered with colorful powder along the way. Read on for more about AAPI New Jersey's Color Run in Bloomfield and how you can participate in this vibrant happening.
Event Details
AAPI New Jersey's 2025 Color Run will take place on Sunday, April 27th, in a closed course at Brookdale Park in Bloomfield from 8:30AM-11:30AM. The event is both a 5K race and a 1-mile Fun Run, with both runners and walkers welcome. The 5K starts at 8:30AM, and the Fun Run kicks off at 10AM. Strollers are welcome (though those with strollers start are asked to start in the back of the pack), and dogs are not permitted.
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The Color Run is a celebration of spring festivals and events in the AAPI community, including Holi (aka Festival of Colors + Festival of Spring) and Songkran (aka Thai New Year). Per AAPI New Jersey's website, Holi is a Hindu celebration that marks the end of winter and honors the triumph of good over evil as people throw colored powder at one another. During Songkran, people pour water on each other to symbolize washing away the past year’s bad luck and welcoming happiness, renewal, and prosperity.
AAPI New Jersey is also raising funds for its Teach Asian American Stories (TAAS) initiative this year through the Color Run, which works to ensure that educators throughout the state have access to the training and resources they need to incorporate AAPI history and contributions into lesson plans. More information can be found on AAPI New Jersey's website.
Registration is open to all, but space is limited. Locals can sign up here — the 5K costs $35, and the Fun Run costs $30.
About AAPI New Jersey
AAPI New Jersey, formerly AAPI Montclair, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that represents Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Montclair, Essex County, Northern New Jersey, and beyond. Its mission is to help create a more inclusive community by uplifting the experiences of AAPI people while promoting awareness and education about AAPI culture and history. The organization hosts a variety of events throughout the year to help spread the core values of inclusion and belonging, community, diversity, and justice, including special events for each year’s AAPI Heritage Month. One of the most popular happenings is the annual Lantern Festival for Justice and Unity, which will take place on May 17th this year. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more details about the event.
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