Second Annual Asbury Park Day
Muralist Charles Trott among the featured artists and collaborators
Among those behind the Annual Asbury Park Day celebration is muralist Charles Trott.
The retired educator, artist, and lifelong city resident created the signature banner for the second annual event.
Trott spent years teaching art in several 
school districts throughout New Jersey, including Newark. He also taught art in Bermuda and was an artist in residence for the Bureau of Prisons in Miami, and in similar capacity for Monmouth Museum, the New Jersey Department of Education, the Monmouth County Parks System, and with Seton Hall’s Upward Bound program.
The Pratt Institute graduate’s current projects include a traveling exhibit entitled DIA [Diasporic Images of Africa]. The project has led him to incorporate art associated with his travels across the globe, from Cuba to Egypt.
“It is a series of illustrations, combined with photographs, slide and oral presentations which show the influence various African societies and civilizations had and have on the development of countries and cultures worldwide,” Trott said. “I use images, symbols, words and numbers to tell this story. People like the Olmec, the Taino, the Yoruba, the Moor, the Dogon and the Anasazi, are presented for the viewer’s critique. These are visual interpretations based on historical research executed by Dr. Ivan Van Sertima, Dr. John Henrik Clarke, Dr. Yosef Alfredo Antonio Ben-Jochannan and others.”
Trott also was among those who participated in the January Creative New Jersey Call to Collaborate meetings in Asbury Park. At the time he was among a group of 15 who discussed ways to make cultural differences more understandable through education.
“We were focused more on similarities than differences,” he said in a video profile following the event.
Below is a lineup of the day’s events:
Asbury Park Day begins at 8 a.m. with the Keepers of The Dream Breakfast at Trinity Episcopal Church, located at 503 Asbury Avenue.
From noon to 6 p.m. Love Thy Neighbor Day at Deliverance Temple [504 Prospect Ave] will feature a free food and clothing giveaway, as well as healthcare screenings and a Gospel Concert. From 1 to 4 p.m. there will be a bicycle rodeo sponsored by Meadowlands Transportation Brokerage Corporation, more commonly known as Meadowlink or EZ Ride.
From noon to 6 p.m. a Day of Unity will be held in Springwood Avenue Park, located at Springwood & Atkins avenues. Dubbed the Sounds of the Shore there will be music, food, exhibits and an array of vendors.
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. an Open Air Art & More Display will be held in Library Square Park, located at First and Grand avenues. The event features local artists Patricia Arroyo and Larry Walker, as well as demonstrations like the Community Crochet Jam led by Ramekon O’Arwisters as a part of the inaugural Siren Arts exhibit Summer of Radical Love, opening at the Collective Art Tank, located at 529 Bangs Ave. [In case of rain, the Community Crochet Jam will be held at the Collective].
Library Square Park is also headquarters for the Cookman Avenue Scavenger Hunt sign up, led by Lorraine Stone. Prizes will be awarded. At the nearby Atonement Lutheran Church, located at 308 First Ave, there will be a community yard sale.
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