Driving Jersey spotlights Asbury for 5th anniversary

Asbury Park

Driving Jersey spotlights Asbury for 5th anniversary

Here’s The Story: Season's Greetings from Asbury Park airs 8 p.m. Weds

By Michelle Gladden

Driving Jersey brings us “Here’s The Story: Season’s Greetings from Asbury Park” in honor of their 5^th anniversary airing on PBS/NJTV at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

The broadcast, their first hour-long show, takes a comprehensive look at Asbury’s past, present and future, according to a written announcement. It spotlights the reflections and predictions of those who live, work, create, and haunt this city on both the east and west sides of town, show creator and executive producer Steve Rogers said.

“This is a particularly special film for us,” Rogers said in a written statement. “We’ve been at work on it for over a year, so we’ve been living with it, existing in it for a while, so it feels great to finally be able to show our experiences and tell the stories, which are all rich in interesting ways, many dealing with adversity and redemption.” 12345534_10153129556247175_515372632921089396_n

The Emmy-nominated series tells the Asbury Park’s story against the backdrop of the Premier Theatre Company’s 12^th annual production of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” at the Paramount Theater on the boardwalk. The soundtrack includes music by Jesse P. Pollack, Sourland – the Lambertville-based indie rock band, and Joe Makoviecki of Thomas Wesley Stern.

Interviews include those with art and music impresario Jenn Hampton, muralist Porkchop, restauranteur and community activist Marilyn Schlossbach, musicians Paul Eichlin and Nick Nasty, and director and producer Mark Fleming.

Local historian Werner Baumgartner, who provided rare old images for the show, was thanked on via Facebook.

“Being a city’s historian is probably both a fun and thankless job, but take one look at just a small sampling of his collection and appreciate his efforts at giving present and future lovers of Asbury and the Jersey Shore a beautiful window into yesterday. Thanks Werner!” the post read.

And, iStar’s Brian Cheripka, Vice President of Land and Development, speaks to how the city’s waterfront landscape will transform in the coming years.