The Hammonton Gazette 06/06/18 Edition | Page 5

Organizers planning for June 24’s Red, White & Blueberry Festival Page 4 • Wednesday, June 6, 2018 • The Hammonton Gazette FESTIVAL, from Page 1 grounds uptown at the corner of the White Horse Pike (route 30) and Old forks road from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 24. the family-friendly event will feature nearly 70 food vendors and crafters, inflatable and mechanical kiddie rides, a large collection of vintage vehicles hosted by Cruisin’ Classics auto Club, live music from energetic local band Stealing Savannah, DJ entertainment from festival host and Hammonton native 98.1 WOGL’s Nick “Nicky G.” Giorno, a blueberry pie-eating contest, a pancake breakfast courtesy of the Hammonton Kiwanis Club from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and naturally, more than 14,000 pints of freshly-picked blueberries from six different Hammonton farms, all of which will be hauled in on a refrigerated truck and may be gone before the day’s end, weather permitting. “it’s all based on the weather that day, and the weather dictates the crowd. it’s too hot, or if it’s raining, the crowd’s not there. Or, the crowd comes out early and if it gets hot, they leave. But, normally by 3, almost everything is sold out,” John Garrison, a member of the Chamber’s red, White and Blueberry festival planning committee, said. the red, White and Blueberry festival has consistently evolved and grown over the past 32 years. it used to be held on the grounds of St. Joseph High School on Vine Street and Hammonton Middle School on Liberty Street but its footprint has since expanded tenfold, according to Greater Hammonton Chamber of Commerce executive Director John runfolo, who was an inaugural member of the volunteer committee the puts the festival together every year. runfolo said the red, White and Blueberry festival has become a hallmark annual event not just in Hammonton, but all of southern New Jersey. “it has become a standard in South Jersey; it’s well- known, it’s appreciated by many people and it’s an earmark for our town. it supports the trademark that Hammonton is a great place to live, work and play, which is what we support at the Chamber of Commerce,” runfolo said. this year’s festival will feature a special guest in Carmen Cincotti, a Mays Landing native who holds several Major League eating (MLe) records and recently devoured 60 hot dogs in 10 minutes to finish second behind competitive eating legend Joey Chestnut (72 hot dogs) during the 101st Nathan’s annual famous international Hot Dog eating Contest, which took place on the fourth of July last year in Brooklyn, N.Y. Cincotti has been to the festival before, and will return this year to showcase how many miniature blueberry cannoli he can eat in five minutes—a feat that runfolo isn’t sure there is a world record for, but one he said the town will embrace anyway. “We’re going to say it’s a world record just like we say we’re the ‘Blueberry Capital of the World,’” runfolo said. Mannino’s Cannoli express will be providing the cannoli that Cincotti will wolf down during the festival. Gabriella Mannino, owner of Cannoli express perfected her blueberry cannoli recipe at the red, White and Blueberry festival shortly after she began volunteering in 2009. Since then, Mannino’s blueberry cannoli has become a highly-acclaimed treat during the festival, which she said is a unique and unifying community event. See BLUEBERRY, Page 10 SOLD! 800 S. White Horse Pike (Crowley Center), P.O. Box 1119 • Hammonton • 561-0505 • [email protected] • www.CrowleyCarr.com Congratulations on your new home ALYSSA SALVATI! Thank you for putting your trust in Crowley & Carr. “The Best Place in Town to Find the Best Place in Town.” With nearly 30 years in business, who better to guide you on all your Real Estate needs than the CROWLEY & CARR REAL ESTATE TEAM!