Fall festival circuit heats up with unexpected competition

Written by Mary Linehan Thursday, September 27, 2012 11:30 am

 LOWER TOWNSHIP – The annual Rotary Pumpkin Festival, a fall tradition here, will face some unexpected competition this year from Middle Township’s Harvest Festival, as both events are slated for Saturday, Oct. 20.

The Rotary event, now in its 21st year, shared its expertise with organizers in Middle Township when that festival kicked off 15 years ago.

“Well, of course we helped. And, they’ve always scheduled the weekend after us,” said Claudia Kammer, president of Lower Township’s Rotary Club. “It’s worked for both events. When I saw that they had moved their date, I called town hall but haven’t heard back from anyone.”

The Lower Township event is sponsored by the local Rotary Club, an international service organization. Lower’s Rotary chapter was founded in 1966 and, even with changing demographics and economics, continues to serve the community through a variety of programs.

Many of the programs are funded by proceeds netted at the fall festival, said Kammer.

“We host the event at Cold Spring Village and pay a $2,000 fee to the village, so there’s no admission cost. We’ve always been well-attended,” said Kammer. “But, truthfully, vendor registrations have been a little slow for us. The Harvest Festival in Middle is a huge event, sponsored by the township there. We will likely hang on to local vendors, but seem to be losing out on those that travel to the area.”

The Pumpkin Festival has traditionally featured a variety of vendors selling food and merchandise, as well as pumpkin painting, children fair games, a Halloween costume parade, and Hay Rides.

“The boy scouts have always put on the ‘haunted barn’ as a fundraiser for themselves and we try to give a check to the local troop as well,” said Kammer.

“Our event is a little more homey, I guess,” she added.

Vendor spaces reflect that homier nature. In Lower Township, food vendors pay $75 and merchandise and craft vendors pay $40, compared to $250 and $65 respectively in Middle Township. Both events open at 10 a.m. Saturday, October 20, but Lower’s closes up at 4 p.m. and Middle’s wraps at 5 p.m.

Kammer directed interested vendors to the Rotary Club’s local website, administered by club runner.

“The website has a long address because it’s administered by the national organization. People can find us on the Internet by Googling ‘Lower Township, NJ Rotary Club,’” said Kammer, “or they can call me at 827-8771 for information.”

Middle Township’s vendor registration information is available through their recreation department.

“Vendor fees are where we really make any money,” said Kammer. “We try to make the event affordable for everyone. It is a community event.”

The Halloween Costume Parade, which is sponsored by the Lower Township Recreation Department, takes place at noon at the Pumpkin Festival, but entrants can register ahead of time by calling the recreation department at 886-7880. There are age groups for two and under; three to five; six to eight; nine to 12, as well as for group and group/family or float.

Locally, South Jersey Rotary chapters distribute dictionaries to all third graders, sponsor a variety of youth and recreation sports teams, and spearhead food drives for those in need.

“We are asking that people bring a non-perishable food item to donate,” said Kammer. “It is part of the ‘Spread the Harvest’ program.”