PHOTO CREDIT: PHOTOS COURTESY OF NEW JERSEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
When Horizon Sounds of the City kicks off this summer—with the much-anticipated return of WBGO deejay Felix Hernandez and his rollicking, old-school Rhythm Revue Dance Party— the dance floor will be bigger.
In summers past, New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s (NJPAC) free Thursday-night outdoor concert series has often filled the Arts Center’s front yard, Chambers Plaza, to overflowing. Roughly 3,000 people boogied on the brick-paved space each week.
Now, those dancers will have more room to spin, shuffle, and spread out. After roughly a year under construction, Chambers Plaza officially reopened earlier this month, gorgeously reappointed. Its familiar curved brick terraces have been replaced by a wide-open space floored with smooth gray stone. For those who prefer to people- watch, a new addition to the Arts Center’s campus, the Essex County Green, offers a grassy lawn for reclining, relaxing and taking in the show.
“We can’t wait to welcome all our neighbors and friends over for a good, old-fashioned dance party in the beautifully redesigned Chambers Plaza,” says John Schreiber, President and CEO of NJPAC.
“This is the first piece of our whole-campus redevelopment project to be finished. By 2027, Chambers Plaza will be the nucleus of a whole new neighborhood on our campus. But this summer, we’re excited for our community to rediscover Chambers Plaza and the new Essex County Green as a wonderful space to people watch, soak in the sun and listen to some wonderful music.”
The reimagined space will also have movable seating and sun umbrellas. But some of the biggest innovations can only be appreciated once the show starts: On four “totems” that now rise from the flat plaza, state-of-the-industry audio and light equipment has been permanently installed, making for a better outdoor musical experience—and more elaborate lighting.
