PARSIPPANY — Eat, drink, and be scary! On Tuesday, October 31, all families with little trick-or-treaters are invited to enjoy a faboolous kids eat free special at Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar^® locations in New Jersey, including 1057 Route 46.

Specifically, families that dine in with kids in costume at Applebee’s on Halloween will receive up to two free Kids’ Meals with an adult entrée purchase. Children ages 12 and under can choose any entrée on the Applebee’s Kids’ Menu, accompanied by their choice of a side dish, and juice, milk or chocolate milk. With 26 menu items and more than 650 combinations of entrées, sides and beverages, the Applebee’s Kids’ Menu offers more Kids LiveWell – approved meals than any other national casual dining restaurant.

Having a spooktacular party at home? Applebee’s to-go party platters feature the perfect finger foods guaranteed to satisfy the hungriest of goblins attending your wicked soiree. For more information please contact a local Applebee’s manager or visit applebees.com. 

The Kids Eat Free special is available at locations owned and operated by Doherty Enterprises in New Jersey, Long Island, Florida and Georgia. In New Jersey, Applebee’s is located in Brick, Bridgewater, Butler, Clark, Clifton, East Hanover, Edison, Flemington, Garfield, Hackensack, Hackettstown, Hillsborough, Howell, Jersey City, Jersey Gardens, Kearny, Lacey, Linden, Manahawkin, Manalapan, Manchester, Middletown, Milltown, Mt. Olive, Newark, Newton, North Bergen, Northvale, Ocean, Paramus, Parsippany, Phillipsburg, Piscataway, Rockaway, Tinton Falls, Toms River, Totowa, Union, Wall and Woodbridge.

Established in 1985, Doherty Enterprises, Inc. is recognized as the 68th largest privately-held business in the New York Metro area by Crain’s Business and the 11th largest franchisee in the United States as ranked in the Restaurant Finance Monitor, operating seven restaurant concepts including: Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar, Panera Bread, Chevys Fresh Mex, Quaker Steak & Lube, Noodles & Company, and two of its own concepts, The Shannon Rose Irish Pub and Spuntino Wine Bar & Italian Tapas. In 2015, Nation’s Restaurant News ranked Doherty Enterprises as the 78th largest U.S. Foodservice revenue company, up from 85 in 2014. To date, Doherty Enterprises owns and operates over 150 restaurants in northern, southern and central New Jersey, on Long Island, as well as locations throughout Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and sections of Florida and Georgia. The Doherty vision is to be the “Best Food Service Company in the Communities We Serve” and its mission is to “Wow Every Guest Every Time, Wow Our People, Wow Our Communities and Wow Our Suppliers.” (www.DohertyInc.com). 

PARSIPPANY — Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar presents a check for $36,393 to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation on October 13 to support the non-profit organization’s mission to eradicate childhood cancer. Throughout July, Applebee’s locations owned and operated by Doherty Enterprises in New Jersey, Long Island, Florida and Georgia donated 100 percent of proceeds from sales of its paper lemons and 25 cents from sales of its Summer Squeeze cocktails, raising a total of $36,393, of which $10,575 was raised in New Jersey. The month-long campaign marks the twelfth straight year that Applebee’s franchisees have supported Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, with nearly $7 million in fundraising proceeds generated to benefit the organization since 2005.

Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar is located at 1057 Route 46.

PARSIPPANY — A young baby marvels at the spectacular wonderment of twinkling lights and extravagant decorations arranged in the Mandir’s main chamber and throughout the greater Mandir campus. New parents tied to the Hindu diaspora, seeking to preserve and pass on heritage and religious teachings to their children in the United States, find a place of learning and cultural preservation at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir’s Annual Diwali Celebrations.

Annual Diwali Celebration

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Diwali, a five-day celebration of various rituals and practices, welcomes the New Year for Hindus and celebrates the triumph of good over evil in scriptural events. For many visitors, the most popular attraction and a highlight of the festivities is the Annakut festival on the fifth day. As practiced by BAPS Swaminarayan Mandirs, the Annakut is a unique and awe-inspiring sight of devotion where hundreds of different traditional Indian foods and even some fusions with western cuisine are prepared by devotees in the community and arranged in front of the Mandir’s sacred images. In the evening, the offered dishes are served at dinner to everyone.

In addition to the Annakut, the BAPS’ Diwali celebrations featured spiritual and cultural themed events, which engaged both children and adults, in order to bring positive energy into the New Year. Furthermore, visitors and members learned about scriptural events related to Diwali, and observed traditions such as rangolis and other traditional forms of decorations. Finally, all children were invited to participate in a children’s fair and Kids Diwali Celebration which included food, games and fun activities. Attractions included a fireworks display.

Kaushal Shah said, “Diwali is my favorite festival because of the excitement that fills the air when the festival nears. After coming to the Diwali Celebrations at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Chicago, I felt like I was in India. I experienced Indian culture while getting a taste of fine Indian cuisine. I truly felt at home.”

“Preparations for the festivities begin months in advance. Devotees, young and old, sacrifice their time to help in creating decorations, food preparation, children’s Diwali celebration arrangements, as well as decorating the stage for the most significant ritual of Diwali, the Annakut,” said, Chandresh Patel, a BAPS volunteer.

Diwali was also celebrated at the Diwali Celebration at the Pennsylvania State Capitol, Harrisburg, PA, USA. The event was organized and hosted by the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha in conjunction with State Senator Chuck McIlhinney (Pennsylvania 10th District).
The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha’s commitment to preserving the Hindu cultural and religious practices is inspired by His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj and His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj. Their life teachings compliment the richness of the Diwali celebrations and embody Hindu history, practices, and principles. Through involving youth in the preparation and execution of the celebrations, BAPS Swaminarayan Mandirs also provide a forum for young people to learn and lead the community in cultural preservation and practice.

The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) is a worldwide spiritual and humanitarian organization that is dedicated to community service, peace, and harmony. Motivated by Hindu principles, BAPS strives to care for the world by caring for societies, families, and individuals. Through various spiritual and humanitarian activities, BAPS endeavors to develop better citizens of tomorrow with high esteem for their roots and culture. Its 3,300 international centers support these character-building activities. Under the guidance and leadership of His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj, BAPS aspires to build a community that is free of addictions as well as morally, ethically and spiritually pure. For more details click here.

His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj is the sixth and current spiritual successor of Bhagwan Swaminarayan. He was ordained a swami by Yogiji Maharaj in 1961 and named Sadhu Keshavjivandas. As he was appointed the head (Mahant) of the Mandir in Mumbai, he became known as Mahant Swami. His devout, humble and service-focused life earned him the innermost blessings of Yogiji Maharaj and Pramukh Swami Maharaj. Mahant Swami Maharaj travels throughout the world inspiring people through his insightful spiritual discourses and disciplined conduct. His virtuous lifestyle and profound devotion to Bhagwan Swaminarayan and gurus are ideals toward which devotees strive. Mahant Swami Maharaj became the guru and President of BAPS upon Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s passing in 2016.

Pramukh Swami Maharaj was the fifth spiritual successor of Bhagwan Swaminarayan. Under his leadership, BAPS grew into an international spiritual and humanitarian organization with over 3,300 centers worldwide. He dedicated his life to the well-being of others, traveling throughout the world to foster love, peace, harmony, righteousness, faith in God, and service to humanity. With genuine care and compassion, he reached out to all members of society irrespective of class, color, or age. Recognized and respected as one of India’s greatest spiritual teachers, he lived by and promoted the principle: “In the joy of others, lies our own.”

PARSIPPANY — Members of the Health Care community gathered at Care One, Madzabrook Road for a early morning Halloween Networking.

CareOne at Morris Assisted Living shares its campus with CareOne at Morris nursing and rehabilitation center, which offers sub-acute rehabilitation, long-term care and a variety of specialized clinical programs.

CareOne facilities are available to all non-profit groups to hold meeting, networking or other events. For more information contact Kimberly Polacheck at (973) 524-2105.

PARSIPPANY — For most, Halloween is a time of good fun, memorable costumes, and, of course, lots of candy. With the passing of the holiday and the beginnings of November, many households have surplus candy that goes uneaten.

The Rauchberg Dental Group is proud to announce themselves as a drop-off location for Operation Gratitude, a non-profit organization dedicated to the delivery of care packages to veterans, deployed service members, first responders, and their families. Operation Gratitude sends out over 200,000 care packages per year and has, since 2003, delivered nearly 1,800,000 of these notes of appreciation.

The Rauchberg Dental Group’s office in Parsippany will serve as a donation hub for candy destined for Operation Gratitude’s very special “thank-you” packages. Dr. Rauchberg has set a goal of collecting 200lbs of candy.

Rauchberg Dental Group is located at 199 Baldwin Road.

PARSIPPANY — Members of the Woman’s Club of Parsippany-Troy Hills, along with Parsippany Patrolman Andy Sadowski, recently visited the Parsippany Child Day Care Center to promote Halloween and overall safety. While at the Center, club members treated the children to afternoon snacks and stickers along with McGruff Coloring Safety Flyers. Patrolman Sadowski spoke to the children about Halloween and other safety topics.  He supplied the students with police badges and packets of information for their parents.

At the culmination of the visit the Woman’s Club presented Peggy Raucher, Parsippany Child Day Care Center Director, with a donation from the club’s Education/Scholarship Committee. Parsippany Child  Day Care Center is a township owned, non-profit organization, established in 1968.

The Woman’s Club of Parsippany-Troy Hills is a member of the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs, which is the largest volunteer women’s service organization in the state, providing opportunities for education, leadership training, and community service.

For more information call Cathy at (973) 984-0758, e-mail the club at womansclubofpth@gmail.com, visit their website by clicking here or follow them on FaceBook.

PARSIPPANY — Area children got a head start on Halloween with a free trunk-or-treat hosted by the Living Waters Church.

The festivities took place on Saturday, October 28 and was free to the public. Children enjoyed candy, hot chocolate, games and pumpkin painting.

Living Waters Church is located at 649 Vail Road. Questions? Email lwchurch649@gmail.com.

Trunk or Treat

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Trunk or Treat is a fun alternative to trick-or-treating. Instead of going house-to-house, children dress up and go car to car, where families have decked out their trunks in some theme and are passing out candy.

PARSIPPANY  — Members of the community visited IHOP, 792 Route 46 on Sunday evening to have dinner during a fundraiser for Glen Foli. IHOP will donate 15% of the proceeds to the family of Glen Foli.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the Foli Family, whose home was damaged in a fire on Saturday morning, October 14. Glen Foli, a member of Parsippany Rescue and Recovery, his wife Lauren Kratt Foli, a lifelong resident of Parsippany and their children Joey and Kaylee lost everything in the fire.

Click here to donate to the Foli Family.

PARSIPPANY — Liquid Church, one of New Jersey’s fastest-growing Christian churches, will launch its largest location, the church’s brand-new 125,000 square foot Broadcast Campus at 299 Webro Road on Sunday, November 5 with services at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. The launch kicks off a series of special events to celebrate the church’s Grand Opening, including a special appearance by New York Met, Tim Tebow, on Sunday, November 12. Tebow will take the stage as a guest speaker and the entire Morris County community is invited to attend.

PARSIPPANY — The Federal Emergency Management Agency in coordination with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection will hold two Open Houses on Wednesday, November 8 in Parsippany and Wednesday, November 9 in Lincoln Park to inform county residents about their specific flood risks shown on FEMA’s newly released preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs).

The Open Houses will provide residents with the opportunity to meet with experts one-on-one to learn more about their flood risk, get information on potential changes to flood insurance rates or requirements, and learn tips on how to mitigate and prepare for future floods.

Because of these map changes, some properties in Morris County may be included in a high-risk flood zone, known as the Special Flood Hazard Area, for the first time. This may result in those affected homeowners being required to purchase flood insurance.

It is vital that property owners understand their current flood risk, and take advantage of the tools and/or programs available to make their property and community safer and stronger against future flood risk.

The Open Houses will occur:

• Wednesday, November 8, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., at the Morris County Public Safety Training Academy Gymnasium, 500 W. Hanover Avenue, Parsippany.
• Thursday, November 9, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., at the Lincoln Park PAL/Community Center (next to Lincoln Park Library), 10 Boonton Turnpike, Lincoln Park.

There will be no formal presentations. Residents who plan to attend may come any time during the scheduled hours. Municipal officials also are encouraged to attend to provide a local perspective on the information presented to their residents.

To get the most out of the Open Houses, residents and property owners should bring a copy of their elevation certificates and flood insurance policies, if available.

On Feb. 26, 2016, FEMA released preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) to communities in Morris County for public comment. Since that time, the maps have gone through a period of review. The Open Houses are the first step in the map adoption process which should last 12-18 months.

The maps provide updated information each community’s flood risk, inform residents about potential insurance rates and purchase requirements, and help property owners make decisions about how to protect themselves and their properties against future flood events.

The FIRM and the associated Flood Insurance Study (FIS) report are the basis for each community’s floodplain management measures.

To view the Morris County Preliminary FIRM click here.

Additional information on mapping is available on FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center by clicking here and flood insurance information can be found by clicking here.

The Morris County Office of Planning and Preservation also has information on the FEMA FIRM and other flood related topics by clicking here.

PARSIPPANY — The Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany cooked dinner for the clients of Homeless Solutions.

The Kiwanis Club has been providing meals to Homeless Solutions for the past eleven and have served over 7,000 meals.  Members volunteer their time to shop, cook and serve the dinner.

This month, volunteers Bob Young, Deborah Young, Casey Kaushik Parikh and Dr. Lou Lorenzo prepared a nice hot delicious dinner.

Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany purchases all the food used by the volunteers.

The group of volunteers meet at Homeless Solutions to start preparing dinner for the guests in the transitional housing program.  The group prepared a fresh fruit salad, tossed salad with numerous dressings, baked ziti with meatballs and rolls and served chocolate cake for dessert. They also served iced tea and coffee. Other volunteer groups such as St. Ann’s Church, Kiwanis Club of Morristown, prepares dinner for the shelter on other days of the month. Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany has been providing meals to Homeless Solutions for the past eleven years.

Interested in learning more about the Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany, contact President Frank Cahill, by emailing flcahill@parsippanykiwanis.org.

Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany meets every Thursday at 7:15 a.m. at Empire Diner, 1315 Route 46. Join us for breakfast to learn more about our group of volunteers.

PARSIPPANY — Details are very sketchy but Parsippany-Troy Hills Police Department answered a call regarding an attempted carjacking in the Morris Hills Shopping Center, at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Friday, October 27.

Morris Hills Shopping Center is located at the corner of Parsippany Boulevard and Route 46.

The vehicle was parked horizontally to the Bank of America, directly in front of the drive thru lanes.

Parsippany-Troy Hills Police Department and Morris County Crime Investigation Scene were still at the scene at 7:00 p.m.

As details become available Parsippany Focus will update this story.