Cranbury Day is a day when residents come out to celebrate the best of their community.
Organized by the Cranbury Business Association (CBA), the day will feature amusement, food and music.
“This really is a family fun day. The vendors will have games and food,” said Juliana Lako, one of the organizers of the event and member of the CBA. “This is just a cute and great way for the community to come together.”
Scheduled for Sept. 7 from 9 a.m. through 4 p.m., residents will be able to participate in pony rides, helicopter rides and enjoy live music.
CBA members, Lako, Christine Thompson and Frank Marlowe are responsible for organizing this year’s event.
“The Cranbury Business Association has been getting this event set up for more than 30 years. This year it took a lot to get things to get together,” Lako said. “With the full efforts of Thompson and Marlowe, they stepped up to the plate.”
She said once the 2019 Cranbury Day is over, the group will be planning for 2020.
“From my perspective, this is a very important day for Cranbury. This is a day when this community comes together,” Lako said. “Everyone gets to know more about what each other does including businesses.”
Live music will be preformed by Ed Goldberg and Odessa Klezmer Band, Lenox Underground Foundation, Big Country and FPG, Tone Rangers, and After Hours.
Joining the bands through the town, will be the Mummers Parade. A signature part of Cranbury Day that’s included every year, the Mummers are believed to be the oldest folk festival parade in the United States.
Dressed in elaborate garb, the group is most-known for its annual New Year’s Day parade in Philadelphia. With a mixture of cultures from Swedish, Irish, English, Finnish, European and German backgrounds, the Mummers plan to return through downtown Cranbury.
“Everyone can come out and celebrate Cranbury Day and celebrate with their neighbors. They can eat hotdogs from the Fire Company and burgers from the Lions Club,” Cranbury Mayor James Taylor said. “Everyone is just engaged. If we had more events like this, communities would be in a much better place.”
Taylor stated that if you were to take random township residents from other areas and place them in the township of Cranbury, their society would be much better for it.
“Everyone would get to know each other; the whole day is about civic engagement,” Taylor said. “I hope people understand life is short and this opportunity to be with family and friends is really important. We are all in this to build a better community the best way we can.”
