Historic Jersey City and Harsimus Cemetery

Claus will all be on tap at the Historic Jersey City & Harsimus Cemetery on Saturday, Dec. 1, for the cemetery's annual tree lighting and Victorian Yuletide Carolers Concert from 5 to 6:30 p.m.All are welcome to gather around the huge Christmas tree and join in on the countdown to light it up and ring the holiday season.Santa and Mrs. Claus will greet parents and children with cookies and candy canes. Holiday tunes will also be provided by the Victorian Yuletide Carolers. The event is free and open to the public. The Historic Jersey City & Harsimus Cemetery is located at 435 Newark Ave., Jersey City. ...

Halloween arrives early this year when the 12th annual Ghost of Uncle Joe's benefit comes to the Historic Jersey City & Harsimus Cemetery on Saturday, Oct. 20. Organized by local promoter "Dancing Tony" Susco, each year local musicians dress up and cover the songs of their musical heroes for the event, while much of the audience comes in costume, making it the biggest Halloween party in town.This year, bands will pay tribute to everyone from classic country artist Hank Williams to classic rockers like Steely Dan and Queen to contemporary acts like the White Stripes, Vampire Weekend and Weezer. But the fun doesn't end at sundown.Five Jersey City clubs – FM, Pet Shop, LITM, Porta and Low Fidelity – will host after-parties with even more bands, including salutes to the Ramones, Cheap Trick, the Beastie Boys, the Velvet Underground, Sade, and No Doubt."I like that we have a couple of contemporary bands this year," Susco said. "A lot of times it skews towards classic rock, but this year, I know Tom (Barrett) has been working really hard on White Stripes, and we've got the Black Keys, Vampire Weekend, Weezer." The Ghost of Uncle Joe's (named after the Jersey City rock club that closed in 2005) always serves up plenty of fun, and it also provides vital funding for the self-sustaining historic cemetery, which dates back to the Civil War. The cemetery solely relies on donations for its upkeep and renovations and last year, blessed with beautiful weather and burgeoned by unparalleled enthusiasm among Jersey City's music community, the event raised a record sum. Organizers are hoping to do even better this year."Every year it gets bigger, but this year there's definitely more pressure because of last year's turnout," Susco said. "So we're trying to make everything a little better. I think we had 2,000 people last year and we got hit really hard, so we were a little short staffed and I spent most of last year bartending. Luckily for us we ran out of alcohol so I had the opportunity to actually enjoy the show. But definitely we're ...

The annual event was emceed by Anthony "Dancing Tony" Susco and featured The Sensational Country Blues Wonders, Demolition String Band, The Tribe of Uncles, Terry Haman Band, Carolyn Light, and more. The goats are used as a natural way to remove weeds that grow on cemetery grounds. Other attractions included cemetery tours, a swimming pool and food and crafts vendors.Click on the photo gallery above for a look back on the event. ...