Things to Do in Linden

Since its beginnings in 1980, Staten Island Fencing Club has developed the skills of collegiate athletes and Olympic hopefuls under the guidance of head coach and founder Steve Khinoy, a Johns Hopkins PhD with more than 30 years of coaching experience. In 2010, the club—once relegated to college cafeterias and church basements—took up permanent residence at Staten Island Fencing Center, a full-time facility as bright and spacious as the Man in the Moon's front yard, complete with fencing strips, an armory, and a pro shop. There, Dr. Khinoy cultivates an atmosphere of camaraderie, teaching both novice and advanced swordsmen to master the Olympic and NCAA sport's triumvirate of blades: foils, sabers, and épées.

Beyond the center's one-hour introductory lessons, regular courses stretch for several weeks, during which competitors learn the strategies and fancy footwork necessary to best opponents on the piste and during freestyle dance contests. Summertime day camps and clinics sharpen slashing technique with five hours of daily instruction that include warm-ups, basic drills, and individual lessons. The staff also hosts parties for birthdays or other celebrations, in which guests practice the art of dueling amid cake, refreshments, and bouquets of colorful balloons shrieking in terror.

Established in 1998, Cornucopia Cruise Line's three ships transport guests along the New York City harbor or the inland waterways along the New Jersey and Staten Island shorelines. Each ship is appointed with uplit ceilings, brass railings, hardwood dance floors, and glittering lights. During evening cruises, wait staff serve a sit-down dinner of surf-and-turf entrees as the DJ's tunes coax diners onto the dance floor. Excursions on Saturday and Sunday sate guests with buffet-style lunch or brunch, respectively. The ships range in size from the Cornucopia Majesty's vast 1,200-person capacity to the Cornucopia Destiny's intimate 250-person quarters, where guests should wear business-casual attire, eschewing gym shoes on their feet and flip-flops on their hands.:m]]

Kristin Hanson began her journey toward fine jewelry-making mastery by walking down a path less traveled. Raised in a home where expression was encouraged, she spread her roots to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Then she took a leap. She traveled to the wilds of Colorado to apprentice under master goldsmith Harold O'Connor, learning his nuanced, perfectionist techniques and method for training squirrels to be workshop assistants. Her studies then carried her to Florence and Tuscany before drawing her back to the East Coast.

Kristin's life-inspired works embody the contemporary with forms that highlight the innate beauty of her materials. Her trademark couture jewelry has caught the eye of such publications as Lucky and InStyle. In short courses and intensive programs, she hews to a teaching philosophy that fosters others' styles instead of encouraging copycats of her own. Except during special exhibits, Kristin handcrafts each piece in 60 Reade, her 6,000-square-foot Tribeca gallery, and specializes in conflict-free pink diamonds from an Australian mine.

Great New York Tours' guides with oodles of gossip, fact, and lore lead convoys past the mammoth skyscrapers of New York, sauntering by sites and venues important to culinary history and pop-cultural moments trapped in time. With eclectic tours to choose from—such as the New York Ghost Walk and Hipsters Food Tour of Williamsburg—visitors and locals indulge in both the mysterious and fantastical sides of one of the world's most storied cities. Great New York Tours also offers private tours, as well as chauffeured tours for an intimate way to encounter the city while avoiding running into King Kong on the street.

The organizers of Garden State BrewFest invite beer lovers to sample the ales and lagers of tri-state-area brewers in the name of charity. After collecting donations of canned food for the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, gate attendants usher visitors in to taste two-ounce samples, each freshly poured by representatives from breweries such as Philadelphia’s Yards Brewing Company and Cape May County’s Tuckahoe Brewing Company. An array of entertainment engages guests throughout the four-hour fete, including live bands, a beer-pong tournament, and a keg-icing contest. Their Homebrew Competition lets DIY brewers enter their best fall-season beers, and the grand-prize winner gets to work alongside master brewer Brendan O’Neil of New Jersey Beer Co. Brewery for a day. Garden State BrewFest’s team donates a portion of the proceeds to St. Jude Children's Hospital.

Seacoast Sailing presents sweeping skyline views to guests on New York Harbor tours aboard the spacious New Horizons, a 60-foot custom-designed and Coast Guard–certified Tortola motorsailer. During public voyages, the ocean craft ferries groups of up to 47 toward some of New York's most iconic landmarks. Passengers ogle at Manhattan's lively waterfront, and take in the twin grandeur of Governors and Ellis Islands.

Guests also sip on complimentary soft drinks and nibble on snacks as they marvel at the Statue of Liberty's majestic torch, and read the fine print on the "For Sale" sign hung atop the Brooklyn Bridge. Passengers aboard nighttime sails witness the dazzling lights of the New York skyline or fading amber glow of the sun as it sets or burns out.