STATEWIDE – This special edition of State of the Arts explores Asbury Park, New Jersey, a small city with a big history, which is undergoing yet another transformation. At the time of year when New Jerseyans think about a trip “down the shore,” NJN presents an encore presentation of Greetings from Asbury Park, airing on Friday, May 23 at 8:30 pm, with a rebroadcast on Wednesday, May 28 at 11:30 pm. State of the Arts, NJN’s long running series, has earned 28 Regional Emmy Awards, including New York Emmy Awards in 2007 and 2005, and Mid-Atlantic Emmys in 2007 and 2006.

NJN Senior Producer Amber Edwards examines the history and culture of Asbury Park — from the 1870s to the present — against the parameters of Religion, Race, Real Estate, and Rock & Roll (or Ragtime, depending on your generation). The viewer will see how these four elements link the city’s past to its present, often converging in surprising ways. Founded as a Methodist retreat and named after Bishop Francis Asbury, the city’s history also reflects corruption, violence and racism.

Greetings from Asbury Park features:
• Daniel Wolff, cultural critic and author of “4th of July, Asbury Park: A History of the Promised Land”
• Helen Pike, historian and author of “Asbury Park’s Glory Days”
• Rick Benjamin, an Asbury Park native; founder of the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra; and specialist in the music of the late Arthur Pryor, composer and bandmaster who brought Ragtime music to Asbury Park.

State of the Arts, the award-winning, half-hour arts magazine, airs every Friday at 8:30 pm, followed by an encore presentation each Wednesday at 11:30 pm.

The current episode of State of the Arts can be viewed online at www.njn.net. Individual stories will be available to view following their broadcast by visiting the program online at State of the Arts.

Funding for State of the Arts is provided by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. The series producer is Susan Wallner and the executive producer is Nila Aronow.