(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- State Theatre New Jersey will host its second annual Fête at the Farm, a gala event celebrating live performance, community, and history on Saturday, June 3, 2023. The State Theatre Benefit Gala will be hosted at historic Suydam Farms in Somerset, NJ. The event includes dinner, dancing, and an intimate performance by The Bacon Brothers.

Gala tickets are $700. For tickets or more information on Fête at the Farm, email gala@stnj.org.

At this year’s Fête at the Farm, the State Theatre will honor the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the founders of Wash & Learn New Brunswick: Maritza Acevedo, Gisela Ciancia, and Anne-Marie Riveaux McMahon.

The Gala festivities begin at 5:30pm and will include a silent auction, a locally sourced farm-to-table dinner by Fritz’s New Brunswick, yard games, dancing, and an intimate performance by The Bacon Brothers.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is committed to improving health and health equity in the United States. In partnership with others, RWJF are working to develop a Culture of Health rooted in equity that provides every individual with a fair and just opportunity to thrive, no matter who they are, where they live, or how much money they have.

Wash & Learn is a program that promotes literacy and continued education for both students and parents. Held at the Handy Street Laundromat in New Brunswick for students from Roosevelt Elementary School, the program provides free books, games, and crafts. In addition, each workshop has a guest reader that reads to the group and follows that up with an activity in art, music, history, or science that relates to the story.

State Theatre presents The Bacon Brothers live in concert. The Bacon Brothers will perform hits from their albums including Bacon Brothers, Erato, and Forosoco in an intimate setting.

Having performed music together since they were boys, the brothers have only been a working band since 1994. Bound by blood and a mutual love of American roots music, The Bacon Brothers have spent the past quarter-century in a creative whirl creating their genre-blending sound. A blend of folk, rock, soul, and country influences, their sound has taken the siblings across the world, from shows in Japan to performances at American landmarks like Carnegie Hall and the Grand Ole Opry.

All proceeds from the State Theatre New Jersey Gala help provide education and community engagement programs for children, families, and underserved residents and support the continued excellence of its world-class mainstage performances. A portion of each ticket price represents a tax-deductible contribution to the State Theatre. Benefit Gala tickets start at $700, sponsorship and advertising opportunities are also available. For more information or to reserve Benefit Gala tickets email gala@stnj.org.

After major renovations, State Theatre New Jersey has reopened and celebrated its 100th Anniversary in December 2021 in a fully renovated theater including newly renovated lobbies, all new restrooms, upgraded HVAC systems, a new elevator for access to all levels, and brand-new theater seats. Originally built as a silent film and vaudeville palace, State Theatre’s historic significance was honored by PBS by featuring it in its documentary series, Treasures of New Jersey, in the fall of 2018. “Treasures of New Jersey: State Theatre New Jersey” can be streamed online.

Today, State Theatre is the largest performing arts center in Central New Jersey and has welcomed more than six million people through its doors since reopening as a nonprofit performing arts center in 1988. State Theatre New Jersey is a cornerstone of the cultural vitality of Middlesex County and averages a total economic impact on New Brunswick and the surrounding area of more than $18 million a year. The mainstage programs have featured high-caliber artists such as Diana Ross, Tony Bennett, Kevin Hart, Ringo Starr, Melissa Etheridge, John Leguizamo, Harry Connick, Jr., Diana Krall, and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Program offerings include Broadway, orchestra, family, dance, comedy, rock/pop, jazz, Performances for Schools, and Sensory-Friendly Performances. 

State Theatre New Jersey’s programs are made possible by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Grant funding has been provided by the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners through a grant award from the Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund.