The afternoon classes run from 12:45 to 3:15 p.m. and are offered on Mondays, Sept. 13, 20, and 27. Each session features a different theme. A snack will be provided during all sessions.

Fees are $50 for three-day session per person. Register online.

Adventure Guides Dads are parent/child programs for children in grades kindergarten through third grade.  The new Y-Trail program is offered for parents and their children in fourth through sixth grades. Both programs strive to strengthen the bond between children and their fathers/male role models. Activities focus on fun, adventure and a shared sense of discovery. “Expedition events” may include a trip to the circus, campouts, a museum overnight, children’s theater, sporting events, and additional activities such as  bowling, hiking and roller skating. New last year, the Y-Trail program (Trail Blazers and Trail Mates) is open to children in grades 4, 5 and 6 that offers more challenging activities such as river rafting, hiking and camping.

The Somerset Hills YMCA Adventure Guides program runs concurrently with the school year with small groups, called circles, meeting each month for games, crafts and refreshments.

Adventure Guides was originally conceived in 1926 by Ojibwa Indian Joe Friday and YMCA Director Harold S. Keltner, as Y Indian Guides. The Adventure Guides program has evolved but continues to be based on dignity, patience, endurance, spirituality, feeling for the earth and concern for the family.

Native plants provide food, shelter and nesting sites for birds, butterflies, and other New Jersey wildlife. Native plants are best adapted to the local climate and once established, need less watering, mulching, and fertilizing than exotic plants.

As part of the Native Knowledge program, both Leonard J. Buck Garden and Colonial Park Gardens will offer native plant container displays throughout the month. "Native Knowledge" handouts highlighting the native plant collections will be available throughout September at both gardens. The handouts and guided tours will introduce visitors to the many native plants that flourish within the garden’s unique setting of woods, stream, and rock outcroppings.

Leonard J. Buck Garden will host free garden tours on at 2 p.m. Wednesday, September 15 and 22 that will provide instruction on how to keep a garden and the surrounding environment healthy and attractive with native plants. Preregistration is not required. For information, call Buck Garden at 908-234-2677 or the Colonial Park Gardens at 732-873-2459.

Garden State Gardens is a consortium of New Jersey’s public gardens whose mission is to increase the public awareness of and appreciation for the beauty and horticultural, educational, artistic and historic value of New Jersey’s public gardens.

Allegra Campbell, 15, of Far Hills, Alexandra Ursino, 14, of Basking Ridge and Marie Fosket, 40, of Liberty Corner, have been named finalists in the second annual National Anthem Contest conducted by Somerset Medical Center of Somerville.

The winner will be selected on the evening of Thursday, Sept. 16, after the finalists perform at the medical center’s Steeplechase Cancer Center, which was named in honor of the Far Hills Race Meeting Association, the medical center’s largest benefactor.

The winner will sing “The Star-Spangled Banner’’ before a crowd of nearly 40,000 at the race meet. As part of the competition they were required to complete an application saying why they wanted to sing at the prestigious Race Meeting.

For more on their individual reasons for singing, read Basking Ridge, Far Hills residents in National Anthem finals.

The parade will kick off the celebration at 11 a.m. from the flagpole in the center of Liberty Corner. The parade will continue west on Church Street and end at the Liberty Corner Fire House.  The parade will be a wonderful display of the latest fire engines, ladder trucks and rescue apparatus with fire fighters and other emergency workers marching, more than 20 nearby and mutual aid companies have been invited to march.  Civic groups of all ages, color guards, bagpipes and marching bands will round out the parade lineup.

Fresh picnic fare will be provided by Ronnie's All American Bar-B-Que Co. of Morris Plains; amusement rides will be provided by Seashore Amusements; live music will be provided by The Troublemakers, a N.J. favorite offering a huge selection of rock, 60s, blues, Motown, oldies, Beatles and kids fun songs, and a DJ will entertain attendees.

In honor of this special milestone in its history, the Fire Company is publishing a historical 100^th Anniversary Commemorative Book featuring local history, pictures and family booster sponsorships and commercial advertisements.  The 100^th Anniversary Commemorative Book will be distributed at the Family Fun Fair, and business ads also will be published for one year on the Liberty Corner Fire Company Web site as part of the Fire Company’s commitment to the community.

For information about marching with your group in the parade, or joining as a firefighter, fire police or auxiliary member, please call Ken White, president, at 908-647-3530 or via email him at president@libertycornerfire.org or the 100^th Committee  at 100th@libertycornerfire.org.

The Hartford’s grant is part of a $300,000 gift to YMCA of the USA, the resource office for the nation’s Ys, in recognition of The Hartford’s bicentennial.

“Dedication to community has always been a part of The Hartford’s culture,” said Paul Vater, regional vice president. “The Y’s national scope and focus on education provides an opportunity to deepen our commitment to local communities, like the Somerset Hills area, and enhance educational value not only to children, but to their families as well.”

As part of its bicentennial celebration, The Hartford is recognizing the contributions of its valued partners, including its longest-tenured agents with 50 or more years of service. “We are making each contribution to a local Y on behalf of those agents,” Vater said.

“The Y has a longstanding commitment to youth development,” said Zane Moore, COO, Somerset Hills YMCA. “This generous support from The Hartford will help us strengthen that commitment by enhancing these four key youth initiatives, and we look forward to demonstrating meaningful impact in the months and years to come.”

Laura Clare Pugsley earned a degree in horticulture as part of her training before becoming a florist, but it wasn't until she lived in Europe that she said she saw how flowers are considered by some to be an essential ingredient of daily life.

In Europe, she said, being a florist is considered a very serious career.

"A lot of people take the time to appreciate flowers," she said.

Many European households are decorated with fresh flowers, Pugsley explained.

"It's a unique gift," she said of a floral design.

Stopping to smell the flowers, she said, can make people realize that time is precious.

Pugsley said she creates floral designs for many special events through her shop, Laura Clare Design, just off the borough's Olcott Square. She and her staff also help plan events through a studio she operates in Hoboken, she said.

But Pugsley said she also notices the small details that can make a simple anniversary bouquet better appreciated. Many men come in seeking the usual dozen roses for an anniversary or Valentine's Day. She said she often suggests a more personal mix of flowers, which often pleases the recipient even more.

One of her shop's services is a reminder for customers of when such special events are coming up, she said.

Pugsley said she believes flowers can be an important part of every aspect of life. Like special moments, flowers are here for only a short while, she said.

Pugsley also worked alongside high-end florists in New York City. She opened her first shop 10 years ago in Mendham, where her husband had grown up. She said she moved her retail shop to the borough about five years ago.

Her shop includes plants, as well as table linens and other decorations to help plan an event.

Puglsey said she and her staff can handle many aspects and references for event planning without actually taking on the title of an event planner. But she said that is a direction that her business might grow in the future.

LAURA CLARE FLORAL DESIGN & EVENTS DÉCOR
Address of business: 1 Morristown Road, Bernardsville
Type of business: Floral design and event decor
Principal: Laura Clare Pugsley
How long in business: Five years in Bernardsville, started in 2000 in Mendham
Number of employees: Six
Telephone number: 908-221-0007
Web site: http://www.lauraclaredesign.com