By Nadir Roberts
Correspondent
Endless amounts of food, laughter amongst friends and a range of live performances filled the College’s campus on Saturday, Sept. 23, as Ewing Township and the College held its annual Community Fest.
Live performances included the Antheil Elementary School Choir, Jonathan Savage and the Classic Rockers, DJ Barry Friedman, and the Ewing High School Marching Band.
Several local small businesses, organizations and vendors also attended the festival.
Dan Marrazzo is the owner of Koneheads Ice Cream, which is located on Olden Avenue. As a first time food vendor of the Community Fest, Marrazzo was able to expand his clientele at the festival.
“We had a lot of people (approach us) who didn’t even know we existed,” Marrazzo said.
Koneheads Ice Cream opened its doors for business two years ago. With the community hosting festivals and events like these regularly, more people have become aware of small, local businesses.
An important feature of Community Fest was the Community Fest Village, which was set up on campus between Trenton Hall, Mayo Concert Hall and Art and Interactive Multimedia building. The village, made up of a plethora of organizations and clubs, displayed what Ewing and the College strive to achieve — unity.
Over the years, both the College and the township have grown tremendously.
Leslie Summiel, a Ewing resident who was stationed at the farmer’s market table, emphasized the growth of the crowd and its constant positive effect on the community.
“It’s become more community oriented, which means more community groups are participating,” Summiel said.
Every year, Community Fest incorporates the College’s students with residents from Ewing.
“It brings all of Ewing together for profit, non-profit, community groups (and its) citizens,” Summiel said.
Often times, people believe that big corporations or businesses are needed to help smaller sanctions and groups, but thankfully, Community Fest proves that wrong.
Malik Sanders, a Ewing resident, finds the festival to be a family-friendly atmosphere with new things to explore every year.
“I’ve lived in Ewing all my life and I never knew that some of these places were here (in Ewing),” Sanders said.
For students, Community Fest was a great way to see what the township has to offer outside of the campus.
The fest also provided a range of child-friendly activities including pumpkin painting, spin art and inflatables.
Jasmine Yoo, a sophomore elementary education and English double major, worked with the Teachers of Young Children organization table at the event. She helped families and children paint pumpkins.
“It’s filled with a diverse group of people,” Yoo said. “I loved that the community could come together and celebrate their neighborhood with past and current generations.”
Community Fest was able to display both the College and Ewing Township community in a positive light, as unity was a common theme present throughout the day.
