(HACKENSACK, NJ) -- This fall, a range of public art programming will be featured at SACKtoberfest in Hackensack.  This fun-filled festival of art, food, brew, and live music returns to Hackensack, on October 15 from 1:00pm to 8:00pm at Atlantic Street Park.  The festivities, organized by The Sack Business Alliance and the City of Hackensack, are free and open to the public.

ArtsBergen, an initiative of the Northern NJ Community Foundation, will present these three public art programs around the theme of storytelling:

1. Community Tiled Mural  3:30pm-5:30pm.  co-LAB Arts, a nonprofit with a mission to engage artists, social advocates, and communities to create transformative new work, will collaborate with Hackensack-based mural artist Amrisa Niranjan to design a mural that will be cut into tiles.  Festival participants will actively participate in the development of the mural by sharing their own 'Main Street moments' on the tiles.  The mural image, along with participants’ stories, will be unveiled, as the tiles are pieced together.  A photo of the finished mural and the stories will be incorporated into the 'Stories on Main Story Map' on The SACK's website.

2. 'Stories on Main Street' Docuseries  4:00pm and 5:30pm.  Two public showings of the series will be presented inside the Hackensack Performing Arts Center (HACPAC), located at 102 State Street.  Watch the inspirational stories of immigrant business owners Domenico and Marco Daniele from Coffee Break, Nelfita Rodas from Colombia Bakery Factory, Yusef and Tugce Ural from El Turco Grill, and Aida Yungasaca from Colombia Fashion LLC.  Award-winning filmmaker Dana Glazer filmed and produced the four, five-minute documentaries spotlighting immigrants, who own and run a business on Main Street in Hackensack, New Jersey.

The docuseries is a project supported by a grant from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) through the American Rescue Plan Act.  Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the project do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or the New Jersey Council for the Humanities.

3.  'The Hacktivator'  4:30pm to 6:30pm.  Two sets of actors will perform a participant-prompted comedy improv and 'mad lib stories' for participants activating the Hacktivator booth.  Confirmed actors scheduled to appear are Howdy Stranger and Claire Porter.  SACKtoberfest attendees will be invited to activate the 'Hacktivator' and watch the actors create a personal comedy performance just for them.

Howdy Stranger, winner of the New York City Tournament of Improvisers, presents professional improvisation comedy shows and classes in New Jersey.   Award-winning choreographer, performer, and writer Claire Porter of Portables is known for her comedic text-movement dances and her skilled teaching.

This program is made possible in part by a grant administered by the Bergen County Division of Historic & Cultural Affairs from funds granted by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.  Funding was also provided by the Alfred N. Sanzari Family Foundation.   

Founded in 1998, the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation (NNJCF), a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization based in Hackensack, New Jersey, focuses primarily on the arts, civic engagement, education, the environment, philanthropy, and public health.  The NNJCF works with local governments, school districts, businesses, non-profit organizations, and citizen groups in Northern New Jersey to improve community life.  The Foundation's partners identify and resolve regional problems and opportunities by talking and learning from each other and sharing ideas, best practices, services, and resources.

The Northern New Jersey Community Foundation’s ArtsBergen initiative, a regional arts alliance, works with various stakeholders.  These stakeholders encompass artists, arts organizations, businesses and municipal leaders, who use the arts to shape the social, physical, cultural, and economic identity of communities.  Creative placemaking, a community-led, arts-driven approach, is used to increase vibrancy, spur economic development, and build capacity among residents to take ownership of their communities. 

ArtsBergen is the only initiative in Bergen County, New Jersey offering a range of services in creative placemaking.  The initiative has partnered with multiple municipalities facilitating creative teams, developing public art and creative placemaking plans, and directing and managing public art projects to preserve and express community culture.