HEF’s Taste of the Town will have a ‘Country Hoedown’ theme
Wednesday, February 19, 2020 • The Hammonton Gazette • Page 3
TOWN, from Page 1
town turned 150 years old we did
a Through the Years theme where
we went back and incorporated
the beginning to now. Every year
we put it out to vote on what we
think we will be fun,” Calderone
said.
This year, the theme is “Coun-
try Hoedown,” which, according
to committee member Jaime Por-
retta, will feature “red, black and
white with balloons and hay bales
and country barn doors.”
Porretta said that this was going
to be last year’s theme, but was
switched to help coordinate that
event with entertainment provided
by high school play cast members,
who were performing Grease.
“We switched the Country Hoe-
down to this year. It was some-
thing that I always wanted to do ...
I thought it was a fun theme to do.
Everybody liked the country hoe-
down, and it’s easy to decorate in
a large venue,” Porretta said.
Calderone said that entertain-
ment will be provided during
Taste of the Town by area stu-
dents.
“We have students from the
school district perform. We have
Susan Watson Leiser Piano Stu-
dio, her students will perform. The
high school play cast will do a 45-
minute excerpt from Shrek The
Musical that they’re doing this
year. We also have the high school
jazz band that plays in the lobby
as people enter, for about 45 min-
utes. Dawn Baldwin’s Dance
Magic, she has about 15 students
that will perform dances from
their recital. We try to pull every
bit of the community in to have
it,” Calderone said.
Additionally, members of the
Hammonton High School Culi-
nary Arts Club, under the direc-
tion of Chef Lou Caruso, will
have a table set up to serve food
that they have prepared.
The event will be emceed by
Hammonton Police Chief Kevin
Friel, who is also a trustee with
the foundation, and who will be
dressing for the occasion.
“He’s got his get-up all ready.
He’s got a cowboy hat, the vest,
boots and everything,” Porretta
said.
Calderone said that the enter-
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tainment typically performs in 45-
minute intervals, leading up to
chance auctions and a 50/50 at the
end of the event.
Proceeds from Taste of the
Town directly benefit the students
of the Hammonton school district.
“All the money we raise goes
directly back to the school district
through the Foundation. Every
single penny. We don’t take any-
thing. Then, the teachers in the
coming months fill out a grant
proposal for something that they
want. At the end, we sit and go
through them, and award grants to
teachers with the money we’ve
raised throughout the year. It’s all
for the students,” Calderone said.
Pullia said that this is especially
beneficial because teachers have
insider knowledge of what can
most help their students.
“We don’t know what they
need. We can guess, but the teach-
ers and staff know what the kids
need and what would be useful or
helpful ... If the teachers want
something that is educationally
advancing their students, they put
in a request to us. We look at all
the requests, and we try to grant
all of them, if we can. So, the
more money that we can raise, the
more grants that we can give.
These past two years, we were
able to provide everything that
was asked for,” Pullia said.
According to Pullia, the 30 in-
dividuals who make up the Ham-
monton Education Foundation
come from various walks of life.
“We have teachers, we have
parents, we have community
members like me—my kids have
been out of school for years now,
but I’m still involved because it’s
worth it. It makes our community
better; it makes our kids better; it
makes our school system better.
It’s a great thing,” Pullia said.
Pullia said that Taste of the
Town could not be possible with-
out the support of the community.
“We are so appreciative of the
school, the board of education, all
of the restaurants that support us
and donate their time and wonder-
ful food. It really helps to make
the event a success,” Pullia said.
Tickets for the event are $25 for
adults and $10 for students and
can be purchased by calling Por-
retta at (609) 839-9527, Calderone
at (609) 839-6502 or Roseann
Struble at (609) 432-7977. They
can also be purchased at Casciano
Coffee Bar & Sweetery, Joe Ital-
iano’s Maplewood Inn or The
Golden Feather.
“It’s fun. It’s a nice environ-
ment. We have a really good fol-
lowing. People come every year,
the vendors come every year and
it’s great. It’s a good time: music,
fun, food ... what else is there?”
Porretta said.
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