Things to Do in Bayonne

Since its creation in 1965, Buzz-A-Rama has hummed with the zooming melody of miniature slot cars, 1/24-scale replicas that race around turns and down straightaways at speeds ranging from 20 to 100 miles per hour. Eight at a time, these mini-racers whip around five different tracks that range from 80 to 100 feet in length, some featuring steep banks and sharp turns for an extra challenge. Owner Buzz Perri likes to say that his fast-paced racing menagerie—open on the weekends for general racing, weekdays for parties—is recommended for ages 5–95. Nothing proves his point better than the fact that past generations of racers now bring in their children and grandchildren to teach them a thing or two about leaving their blinkers on.

At The Bloomfield School, instructors Kerrie Yeung and Melissa J. Tyson love the process of jewelry making as much as the intricate outcomes. With experience at home and abroad crafting and displaying their own work, they have amassed a grab bag of tips and techniques capable of invigorating a simple ring design or transforming a pocketful of beads and molten silver into an elegant pendant. Together, they use their skills to expand the jewelry-crafting community, hosting classes that instill an understanding of how to take a design from a wax idea to a metal reality. Yet they aren't interested in letting students walk away with only surface knowledge. Their intensive courses delve into the theory and collective know-how to create competent artisans capable of expanding on their projects in the future and re-creating their pieces without traveling back in time.