The Week Ahead in Newark

Today, Monday, marks the entrance of the 41st class into the Newark Fire Department  training academy. The 30 recruits, while coming from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, all have something special in common: they’re all military veterans and make up the first recruit class ever to consist entirely of ex-servicemen. Mayor Cory Booker, members of the Newark Municipal Council, Chief John G. Centanni and Fire Director Fateen Ziyad are among the dignitaries scheduled to attend a welcoming ceremony today.

Also Monday, the 7th annual Lincoln Park Music Festival kicks off in the historic arts district, located at Lincoln Park and Broad Street. A full menu of events are scheduled between now and July 29, including performances by jazz, gospel, house and hip-hop artists. Today, between 10 am and noon, there will be a hip-hop yoga session at the park.

The Victoria Foundation, which since the 1960s has channeled many of its efforts towards breaking the cycle of poverty in Newark, moved its offices to the city earlier this summer from Glen Ridge. The nearly 90-year-old organization, founded by an insurance magnate, now calls the fifth floor of the Episcopal House, 31 Mulberry St., home. The foundation is scheduled to have an open house at its new digs Wednesday, July 25. For more information, call 973-792-9200. 

The state Department of Environmental Protection will host an air quality hearing Thursday, July 26 from 7 to 9 pm at city hall, 920 Broad Street. The hearing is being held as part of the application process for a permit that would be granted to Hess Corp. for the proposed Newark Energy Center, a natural-gas power plant to be built in the East Ward. The public will be able to speak during this hearing.

The Newark Black Film Festival, a celebration of cinema that began earlier this summer, heads into its final days this week, with screenings of two short films beginning 7 pm Wednesday at the campus of the New Jersey Institute of Technology. The festival concludes Aug. 1, when the Paul Robeson Awards, a biennial recognition, are handed out to filmmakers, actors and other artists. Click on the link above for complete details.