Editing Madison, New Jersey (section)

==Arts and culture==
[[File:METC Madison library jeh.jpg|thumb|[[Museum of Early Trades and Crafts]]]]
Madison holds an annual event, Bottle Hill Day, during which the community is able to celebrate with games, food, music, and a variety of activities for as many as 20,000 participants.<ref>[http://www.newjerseyhills.com/print_only/_headline_style/book_36/bottle-hill-day-will-return-to-madison-this-saturday-oct/article_5462c9df-ff3f-5c11-87b8-42ec9a933715.html "'Bottle Hill Day' will return to Madison this Saturday, Oct. 1"], ''New Jersey Hills'', September 26, 2016. Accessed November 12, 2016. "The 'Bottle Hill Day' street fair, an annual attraction for more than 30 years, will return to downtown Madison from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 1, courtesy of the borough's Downtown Development Commission (DDC), drawing 10,000 to 20,000 visitors and filling the business district with live music on four stages, food, amusements, sidewalk sales, more than 200 vendors, local craftspeople, displays by community groups, a Beer Garden and more in an all-day event free and open to the public – and capped by an evening fireworks display at Drew University."</ref>

Madison is home to the [[Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey]], one of 25 professional theatres in the state. Serving 100,000 adults and children annually, it is New Jersey's only professional theatre company dedicated to Shakespeare's canon and other classic masterworks.<ref>[http://www.shakespearenj.org/AboutUs/mission.html Mission & History], [[Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey]]. Accessed November 28, 2017.</ref> The F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre, the company's main stage, is a short walk from Madison's downtown shopping district.<ref>[https://www.shakespearenj.org/PlanYourVisit/madison.html Historic Madison], [[Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey]]. Accessed November 10, 2019. "The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is located in the charming town of Madison.... The vibrant downtown is comprised of unique shops, tree-lined streets, art galleries and more than 40 restaurants and eateries-all within a ten-minute walk from the Theatre's Main Stage."</ref>

Madison is also home to the [[Museum of Early Trades and Crafts]], a New Jersey history museum located in the historic downtown district. The building is listed on both the state and national registers of historic buildings. The museum houses a collection of more than 8,000 artifacts and is host to thousands of visitors each year, mostly school students on field trips.<ref>[http://www.metc.org Home Page], [[Museum of Early Trades and Crafts]]. Accessed August 27, 2020.</ref>

In October 2017, it was announced that a long-lost sculpture by [[Auguste Rodin]] had been found in the [[Hartley Dodge]] Memorial. A student from [[Drew University]], who had been hired to archive the art in the building, discovered the bust of [[Napoleon]] and reached out to the Comité Auguste Rodin in Paris to have it authenticated.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/20/nyregion/a-rodin-hiding-in-plain-sight-in-a-new-jersey-suburb.html "A Rodin Hiding in Plain Sight in a New Jersey Suburb"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 20, 2017. Accessed June 15, 2018.</ref> A public viewing was held for locals before the statue was loaned to the [[Philadelphia Museum of Art]].<ref>[https://www.dailyrecord.com/story/news/2017/10/21/rodin-sculpture-madison/771170001/ "Surprise of Rodin sculpture in Madison thrills even world travelers"], ''[[Daily Record (New Jersey)|Daily Record]]'', October 21, 2017. Accessed June 15, 2018.</ref> In 2023, a portrait of [[Abraham Lincoln]], researched by the same Drew student, was placed on loan to the [[National Portrait Gallery (United States)|National Portrait Gallery]].<ref>[https://drew.edu/2023/02/13/drew-university-alum-uncovers-provenance-of-lincoln-portrait/ "Drew University Alum Uncovers Provenance of Lincoln Portrait in Madison"], [[Drew University]], February 2023. Accessed January 29, 2025. "The backstory: In 1927, Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge commissioned the building of Madison’s town hall, eventually finished in 1932 and dedicated as the Hartley Dodge Memorial in 1935 in honor of her late son Marcellus Hartley Dodge Jr., who’d died in a car accident in France during the years the structure was being built. Dodge filled the building with art and furniture with ties to American history. A portrait of Lincoln she’d received from her brother’s estate was a natural fit, and Mortillaro knew it. After establishing the work’s history and authenticity, the U.S. government finally got its wish via a five-year loan from the Hartley Dodge Foundation."</ref>