Come celebrate the rich history and cultural diversity of Bergen Square! Located at the intersection of Bergen Avenue and Academy Street, Bergen Square is the historical heart of Jersey City and today is a vibrant, bustling community where residents, pedestrians, commuters, shoppers, students, and church-goers come together to form an extraordinary, unique urban enclave.
Ancient home to the Lenni Lenape and established by the Dutch as the first permanent European settlement in New Jersey in 1660, Bergen Square has welcomed immigrants from around the world for centuries and now flourishes as the historical and cultural wellspring of Jersey City.
Come and be a part of this festival of
history, culture, and community!
THANK YOU TO OUR 2022 SPONSORS!
Become a sponsor, and see your logo here...
Want to become a sponsor? Make a donation?
Be a part of this festival of history, culture and community!
See the list of sponsorship opportunities or make a donation by clicking this button:
Thank you to our 2021 sponsors:
Bergen Platinum:
Namdar Group
Bergen Gold:
Central Square Market
Panepinto Properties
KRE Group
Bergen Silver:
Titanium Realty Group
C. H. Martin
Sub Hub Market and Fresh
Connell Foley
Supporters:
Friends of Liberty State Park
Skyway Park Conservancy
Individual Sponsors:
Rick and Ruth Cordner
Bill Armbruster
Martin Pierce
Bergen Square Day 2021
Last year's line-up...
Spirit of Life Ensemble
Jersey City's celebrated jazz ensemble!
Poet David Mills: New York and New Jersey Slavery and Colonial Settlers
David Mills is an internationally recognized poet who has been featured on ESPN and RCA Records. Mr. Mills will perform live/read from his bestselling, groundbreaking poetry collection, Boneyarn, the first-ever book of poems about slavery in New York City for Bergen Square Day at the Apple Tree House. Mr. Mills’ Boneyarn is the first-ever book of poems about slavery in New York City. The city holds the oldest and largest slave cemetery in the United States—the African Burial Ground—which was open from 1712 to 1795 and is located in Wall Street’s shadows. Fifteen thousand enslaved and free Blacks, some Native Americans, and poor whites are buried there. Mills creatively “excavates” the tragedies and triumphs of New York’s enslaved and free Black community. He writes about those who toiled as cooks, childhood chimney sweeps, sailed the Atlantic, fought in the Revolutionary War, maintained African traditions when burying the dead, helped build the “wall” where Wall Street gets its name, and regrettably were dehumanized in life and sometimes desecrated in death. The collection also includes a suite of poems dedicated to Jupiter Hammon; born into slavery in New York, Hammon was the first Black poet published in North America.
Speranza Theater Company and their new play...
Walk By the Way of The Moon - The Last Stop
By Jacqueline Kennedy
Walk By The Way Of The Moon, by Jacqueline Kennedy, is a 30 minute family-friendly historical play about Jersey City’s connection to the Underground Rail Road. Walk By the Way of The Moon - The Last Stop - Is a play that is dedicated to the enslaved people who found the courage to run to freedom despite the inherent danger of being captured. A story told through a child’s eye.
Deejay Khadi
Jersey City's own premier party DJ spinning Afrobeat on Bergen Avenue and Newkirk Street.
Flying South Latin Jazz Trio
Rescue Poetix
Jersey City Dance Academy
John Paul Garcia
More Music, Performance, and Kids' Activities posting here soon...
Vendors
list coming soon....
Bergen Square History Tours
Leaving every hour from the Apple Tree House
Community Groups
List coming soon...