Things to Do in Linden

Gamers Baseball Academy busts summer’s monopoly on the game, giving athletes an indoor, year-round destination where they can learn the ins and outs of both baseball and softball from a crack staff of college coaches, professional athletes, and college players. The 10,000-square-foot facility nurtures players with its collection of hitting and pitching tunnels, batting cages, defense areas, and a changing room for molting mascots.

Gamers Baseball Academy can adapt to meet the training needs of each individual boy and girl or an entire squad. Athletes can then put their newfound skills to work on the academy’s own baseball and softball teams to recreate the live games’ speeds and intricacies no matter the month.

When Claudia Avans decided to end a successful public-relations career and open her own business, her family and friends had their reservations—but that didn’t stop Avans. As reported by Jessica Remo of the Clark-Garwood Patch, Avans used to spend her time throwing launch parties for luxury brands throughout the United States and Latin America. But when she started attending kids' parties with her two young daughters, she was disappointed in the events' levels of customer service and knew she had the skills to raise the bar.

The culmination of her experiences in marketing and mothering is Parti-licious: the ultimate personalized party destination for kids. An EntrepreMoms blogger who attended the studio's opening-day festivities found Avans and her team to be "warm, kind, and professional," and felt that the crystal chandeliers, feather boas, and jewelry helped guests "channel their inner princess." But if a princess theme isn't your daughter's cup of tea, not to worry. She can choose from plenty of other options, ranging from runway diva to a literal cup of tea in the Tea-time Delite Parti, which comes complete with hats and gloves, a cupcake tower, and glamorous add-ons such as a chocolate fountain or limo ride.

Avans focuses not only on the guest of honor's every whim, but on convenience for parents. "The years pass by so quickly," she told David Choi of the Cranford Chronicle. "Special moments shouldn’t be spent planning, they should be spent enjoying the party and creating memories." Her girl-power-fueled School of Glam also makes parents' lives easier with manners workshops, where youngsters can learn proper table etiquette, guidelines for online behavior, and the most compassionate way to tell an invisible friend she isn't real.

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.

Balanced several feet off the ground inside silky white hammocks, students at Core Connection practically levitate as they tackle challenging yoga poses during the studio’s antigravity yoga classes. Core Connection’s wide-ranging slate of classes helps students connect physical wellness with mental wellness through strength building and a non-competitive environment.

Surrounded by vast windows and gleaming wood floors, the passionate instructors lead sessions such as Bar Sculpt, a core-building class that uses the ballet bar and isometric exercises to create lean muscles. Core Connection also rents out its picturesque space for meetings, photo shoots, and parties that combine exercise with catered meals, massages, and spirited games of Pin the Tail on the Yogi.

Statue Cruises enthralls sightseers of all types with spectacular views of New York's skyline and Ellis Island during decadent sunset cocktail cruises. Aboard the luxurious yacht, tour-goers spy on city life from a distance while washing down the harbor's historical eye candy with complimentary snacks. Cruisers can hop aboard the New York–style gondola in Liberty Landing or Battery Park, and she'll set out to sea, graciously aiding passengers' aquatic appearances with two hours of fresh summer breezes and flirtatious compliments from loggerhead turtles. To finalize reservations before the Internet goes out of business, patrons must book their excursions before July 31, 2011.