Count Basie Center For The Arts Announces 16-Month ‘Centennial Celebration’

RED BANK, NJ — Ahead of its 100th birthday on Nov. 11, 2026, the nonprofit Count Basie Center for the Arts has announced a 16-month-long “Centennial Celebration” to commemorate the organization’s century-long presence in Red Bank and impact throughout the state.

At the celebration’s kickoff event, a dramatic vignette voiced by comedian Jon Stewart traced the landmark theater’s place in the region’s history, while Basie Center Chairperson Jeremy Grunin, President/CEO Adam Philipson, organizational leadership and others revealed key ingredients of the celebration, including:

• Installing the Count Basie Center Walk of Fame: Honoring area artists whose early performances on the historic Basie Center stage gave way to worldwide fame and recognition. The induction of the Walk’s first performing artists – William James “Count” Basie and a surprise performer to be revealed later this summer – will take place on Sept. 25.
• “100 Years of Soul, Sounds and Stories": A project to collect and share personal histories of community members’ experiences at the Count Basie Center, from the Reade’s Carlton era through present day.
• A 2026 Roast of New Jersey: Celebrating the state’s rich comedy history by gathering comics for a hilarious, tongue-in-cheek night of state-deprecating humor.
• Collaborations: Collaborating with community businesses and partners, like Newark-based Brix City Brewing’s new Basie Center CentenniALE IPA and Bridging The Gap’s Basie Center Centennial Swing coffee, sales of which will benefit the Basie Center as well as support groups and services for veterans.
• ParkStage: The previously announced outdoor venue partnership with Monmouth County Tourism, opening Summer 2026 at the East Freehold Showgrounds.
• Stamped Stories: An initiative with Monmouth Arts to commission designs for a commemorative, 12-month postcard set celebrating the Basie Center by decade. The first design, from Red Bank artist and muralist Michael White, depicts the present-day façade of the Basie Center’s historic marquee and main entrance.
• The Century Club: An opportunity for donors and members of the public to invest in the Basie Center over the next decade to help propel the organization into its next decades of service.
• A decade-by-decade celebration of film at Basie Center Cinemas, whose White Street exterior will also serve as the space for a new community mural commemorating the Basie Center’s centennial.
• A three-day “throwback” finale in Nov. 2026 to feature prices, fashion and other bits of 1926 pop culture, including a screening and live musical accompaniment of "The Quarterback," originally shown on opening night at Reade’s Carlton theater in 1926.

“We’re excited for all of the moments the community will experience during our Centennial Celebration,” Philipson said. “This 16-month effort will celebrate and recapture our legacy by inviting the community to not only share their experiences here over the last century, but also to be part of commemorating that heritage — from concerts, community gatherings and activations, plus partnerships with area businesses and fellow nonprofits.”

Known as the “crown jewel” of the Count Basie Center, the center’s historic theater opened as Reade’s Carlton on Nov. 11, 1926.

Originally a film and vaudeville house, the landmark has remained a mainstay in central New Jersey’s thriving arts community, and in 1984, the building – by then known as Monmouth Arts Center – was renamed in honor of Red Bank’s own William “Count” Basie, one of the most iconic American jazz artists of the 20th century.

Following a series of high-profile restorations and renovations – including a 2020 expansion that saw the addition of the Grunin Arts Education Building and The Vogel – the “Count” Basie name was elevated to represent the entirety of the facility, now known as the Count Basie Center for the Arts.

Annually, over 300,000 patrons attend events at the Basie Center, while the organization’s arts education programs reach 20,000+ students in the region every year through onsite offerings at the Turner Academy of the Arts, plus additional programs in schools and the community.

“The Count Basie Center is able to celebrate 100 years because of the community that has been here, continuously, to support it,” Grunin said. “Now is the time for us to not only look back at that history, but to solidify the future of arts education and entertainment, and how we may best be poised to celebrate again one hundred years from now.”

To learn more, you can visit the Count Basie Center for the Arts website.

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