Last Saturday was one of the prettiest days of the year. The sun shined brightly through a clear blue sky. Nary a cloud was spotted. The oppressive humidity that had strangled Weehawken throughout the summer months was a thing of the past. Temperatures hung right around 75 degrees, with a hint of summer and a smidgeon of fall. Only one word could describe the setting: perfect.
And yes, it was a perfect day to hold a township-sponsored festival, complete with music and dancing for the elderly and rides and games for the kiddies. There was free food galore and activities to last the day away.
It was the 13th Annual Weehawken Day Festival, a way to celebrate the small-town wonderment that is Weehawken, a free celebration for residents to get together and have a good time on the waterfront.
And this year, with no threats of rain, with no thoughts of heat and humidity, everything was just perfect.
It made one anonymous resident marvel and say, “Mayor [Richard] Turner controls everything here. On a day like this, it makes you wonder whether he can actually control the weather, too. I wouldn’t put it past him. Turner probably ordered this up as well.”
The splendid weather brought out a record crowd at this year’s Weehawken Day Festival, with more than 6,000 residents of all ages attending the event.
After more than a dozen years, the Weehawken Day Festival still draws the majority of the township to the waterfront, for a day of fun, frolic, games and food – with the rest of their neighbors on hand.
Cotton candy Most of the day’s activities were free of charge to Weehawken’s residents, with only a handful of the games of chance requiring a slight fee.
The food – hot dogs, hamburgers, veggie burgers, soda, cotton candy and popcorn – was all free. It was estimated that more than 14,000 hot dogs, hamburgers and veggie burgers were cooked that day, spearheaded by Township Manager Jim Marchetti, who spent the entire afternoon slaving over the grill.
“We thought there might be a slight falling off, but the place was packed all day,” said Weehawken Recreation Director Chuck Barone, who organized the event. “It looked like the Feast of San Gennaro at one point, with all the people. When you see so many people enjoying themselves, it really becomes worth all the work.”
“It was one of the first times where we had people who didn’t want to go home after we closed at 6 p.m.,” Turner said. “We had about 1,000 people still there not wanting to go home. It was amazing.”
Turner thanked the 370 volunteers who worked in some capacity enabling the day to run very smoothly.
“It was a beautiful day and the crowd was evenly distributed,” Turner said. “Everyone was working all day to make sure everyone had a good time. The police, the Department of Public Works, the Parks Department; it was a major town effort. But it all ran well and there were no incidents and certainly no complaints.”
Children of all ages had tons of fun.
Fourteen-year-old Justin Kinney spent a good portion of the day trying to ring the bell with a hammer in a game of chance. The eighth grader, wearing his Weehawken Pop Warner football jersey, was determined to make that bell clang, along with many of his friends.
“It’s a lot of fun, with the games and rides,” Kinney said. “It’s a lot of fun for people our age. I get to see everyone, people I don’t usually see. Everywhere you turn, there’s a smiling face.”
Turner said that there was more of an emphasis this year to cater to the teenagers.
“We made sure that there were more things for the teenagers to do this year,” Turner said. “The kids last year made suggestions that there wasn’t enough for them to do, so we made it a priority this year.”
The kiddies were taken care of. They had popular characters, like Elmo, Spiderman and Bob the Builder performing around the grounds. They had face painting and arts and crafts, hayrides and pumpkin picking.
“The face painters were going all day long,” Turner said.
From kids to seniors The senior citizens had a blast as well. Marie Schmid is a life-long resident of Weehawken who wasn’t hesitant about revealing her age.
“I’m only 20,” Schmid laughed.
But Schmid had a grand time spending the afternoon with her friends.
“It was very nice,” Schmid said. “It’s a chance to meet my neighbors and see people I don’t see all year. Of course, there’s a view to die for. The weather wasn’t too bad, either. The mayor must know someone up there, because he always gets good weather. I look forward to the day every year. I have fun listening to the music, playing Bingo, chatting with my friends and getting something good to eat. It’s just perfect.”
Seemed like the prevailing theme of the day.
“It just keeps getting bigger and better,” Turner said. “We tried new things this year, like a baby crawl contest. We’re always getting new ideas. The original intention of the day was to encourage Weehawken’s small-town atmosphere. We have people from all walks of life, all economic, social and ethnic backgrounds coming together.”
Turner said it is also a good way for new residents to learn more about Weehawken, with information booths and tables set up to inform residents of township activities.
“They’re all able to learn more about their community and have a great time in the process,” Turner said.
All of the day’s activities were free of charge to Weehawken residents, courtesy of a state grant provided to the Weehawken Against Drug and Alcohol Alliance.
Plans are already underway for next year’s celebration.
“We have to start now and get everything blocked in,” Turner said. “It’s a 12-month thing now with the planning. Chuck Barone and his staff start booking things now for next year, because other towns have festivals and fairs at the same time. We have to make sure we’re able to get everything people want.”