Califon Street Fair – A Great Celebration For All Ages

With warm sun and clear blue skies, guests to Califon’s Annual Street Fair on Sunday, October 4, were treated to great fun, food, music and vendors.  The Fair transformed Califon’s picturesque historical downtown into a lively area of entertainment, activities and shopping.

Organizer Jason Beard was thrilled by the perfect day. “It was a great celebration of the Califon community and it was wonderful to welcome over 600 guests from near and far to experience Califon’s unique charms and boutique family owned businesses.” 

Trevor B. Power and the Treblemakers kicked things off with a great mixture of blues and soul that rocked the crowd. 10 Years Gone got the crowd moving with classic rock favorites. “I had to check once and make sure it was not Stevie Nick’s band playing,” said Susan Kibler.

The Open Mic brought an eclectic and talented mix to the stage. There were many great performances including such talented aspiring performers as Ziggy Grover, Grace Gilbert, Grace Medea, Kevin Cubberly, Thomas Johnston, Jason Beard and Bill Gensch, who had the crowd singing along with real enthusiasm.

The Kids’ Zone was a huge success with pumpkin and face painting, a bounce house, carnival games and a keg of birch beer on tap courtesy of Bourbon Street Liquor. In addition to all the great food Rambo’s Country Store always has on offer, they served up Street Fair Cheeseburgers that had fairgoers seriously raving.

Bex’s was a hot spot to pick up some delicious treats and a specialty coffee, in addition to some great Street Food fare outdoors. Visitors could not get enough of the mouthwatering creations of The Pulled Fork. Their pulled pork, ribs and special creations “the Peacemaker” and “Are You Kidding Me Corn,” were tastier than the mouthwatering smells wafting down the street from their barbecue.

“We are lucky to have such a great diversity of family owned businesses and local community services in Califon.” said Nina Tramutola, the vendor organizer, “It was a great opportunity for visitors to meet our local business, as well as our diverse community organizations and service providers (Rescue, Fire, Churches, Scouts and more), perhaps for the first time. It was a celebration of Califon.” said Mayor Charlie Daniel.

In addition to the Street fair festivities, there was the Jon Slusher Memorial Bridge to Bridge 5K run/walk (www.jonhslusher.org). The winners were Men’s Gavin Richards, age 13, time 18:15, from Annandale, NJ; Women’s Jennifer Brennan, Age 39, time 21:34, from Milford, NJ; Walker:  Anthony Antonacci, age 83, time 48.09, from Winnebow, NC. The proceeds from the race go towards scholarships for students majoring in journalism and communication. For more information and a full list of medalists, contact Shirley Slusher at 908-832-7838.

Thank you to everyone who came out for the day, the Califon community, those who provided parking, vendors, musicians, business and residents who contributed space and resources and to the organizing committee and all the numerous people unmentioned that contributed to making this day a success.

The Street Fair event is sponsored annually by The Borough of Califon. To see more, check out https://www.facebook.com/groups/CalifonStreetFair/

Last modified: October 14, 2015