Cedar Grove Seniors Earn Awards At Essex County Art Show

CEDAR GROVE, NJ — Several artists from Cedar Grove recently captured awards in the county’s annual senior citizen art show.

A total of 37 people received awards in the 2025 Essex County Senior Citizens Juried Art Show. The list includes three Cedar Grove residents:

• Jane Ballinger received an honorable mention in the professional watercolor category with “Spring Lake Visit.”
• Denise Fitzgerald received an honorable mention in the professional acrylic category with “Transitions.”
• Richard Hanifan won first place in the professional works on paper category with “Unforgotten.”

The annual contest is open to all professional and non-professional artists ages 60 and older. Artwork is judged on originality, composition, style, quality and creativity. Judging was done by Heather Carter, founder of Carter Fine Art Services.

Seniors whose artwork was awarded first place are automatically entered into the NJ Senior Citizens Art Show.

The winning artists were recognized during an awards ceremony on Sept. 12 in the Robert O’Toole Community Center in Cedar Grove Park.

“Essex County has a thriving fine arts community and our Senior Art Show enables our older residents, both professionals and non-professionals, to display their original creations where the public can see them,” Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said.

“This is an excellent event for us to promote the arts and inspire our residents to use their talents,” he added.

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