Broadcast Bash 2024 – the 86th anniversary of the broadcast

Join us for our annual Broadcast Bash celebration!

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It was 86 years ago on Mischief Night that a young director, Orson Welles, captured the attention of the nation through his dramatic radio broadcast of a play based on the novel War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. Panic ensued when news spread that aliens from Mars had descended upon Grovers Mill, NJ (a part of present day West Windsor). Even after so many years, we are still captivated by the story of how a work of theater in the form of a ‘fake’ broadcast became a local phenomena and a national media event.

Come and enjoy Halloween crafts, snacks, and learn more about this famous event that “never happened” right here in West Windsor, NJ.

Costumes not required, but always encouraged!

Saturday October 26
1 – 4 pm
$10 per adult
$5 per child, under 5 free

Activities for all ages include:

• Halloween crafts and snacks for all ages.
• Improv theater games led by Tim Moran inspired by the broadcast and the alien invasion!
• Artists Eric Schultz, who created the 12-foot martian sculpture outdoors at the art center, and Robert Hummel, who has made several paintings inspired by the broadcast including the one at Grover’s Mill Coffee in West Windsor, will also be on site to talk about their art and display current works.
• Several of our mini-martian mascot sculptures will be on view.

Artist bios

Tim Moran is a member of SAG-AFTRA and holds a B.A. in Theater with a double-concentration in Acting and Directing/Stage Management from Ramapo College of New Jersey. He has been teaching acting to ages varying from 6 to 18 for over a decade. Tim has performed on camera and on stage throughout the tri-state area. He has worked in comedy, drama, musical theater, Shakespeare, and sketch comedy. Credits include Arsenic and Old Lace (Mortimer), 12 Angry Jurors (Juror #8), Moon Over Buffalo (Paul), Romeo and Juliet (Capulet), You Can’t Take It With You (Tony), The Last Place on Earth (Curtis), and It’s a Wonderful Life (George Bailey).

Eric Schultz’s first assemblage sculpture, at 15, was a dragonfly made of aluminum flashing and washing machine parts. He pursued an arts education, earning a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from Temple University’s Tyler School of the Arts. For the last 25+ years, he’s been using lost and discarded parts—including trash—to create a range of works, from colossal robots to small animals. Schultz has shown in many exhibitions including the Ellarslie Open annual juried show, which he won four years in a row. His range of works have also been shown at or are in the collections of the Noyce Museum of Art, Grounds for Sculpture, West Windsor Arts, Chapin School, Lawrenceville School, the Cherry Hill Children’s Museum, and Philadelphia’s Art Gallery at City Hall.

Robert Hummel has created numerous paintings for his ongoing series of images inspired from listening to the original 1938 Orson Welles War of the Worlds broadcast. Residing first near Grovers Mill, and now in Princeton, Hummel has been fascinated by the area’s history and tales of this broadcast for at least 24 years. He displayed his first 4 x 6 foot painting at the Grover’s Mill Coffee House in West Windsor NJ for its grand opening and it continues to be viewed there today. Since then, Hummel has been inspired to create a continuation of scenes based on what listeners may have imagined that October night in 1938 while listening to their radios. Hummel’s War of the Worlds images have been featured in the press, TV news, and in Princeton Magazine. Hummell’s paintings have been exhibited across the state at many anniversary broadcast events and have been exhibited at Princeton University several times as well as the Nassau Club, Peyton Observatory, and others. Prints of his creations have been shipped to broadcast fans around the world and can be ordered and seen at BattleAtGroversMill.com. Robert Hummel has also been creating scenes of Princeton and the area since 2000 which can be found at PrincetonArtimpressions.com.