Volume 27 • Issue 37

Kristin Guglietti / THG

Brooke ( left ), Hunter ( middle ) and Shea O ’ Brikis have fun on the jumbo bounce pad at Red Barn Farm ’ s second annual Sunflower and Fall Festival on Sept . 1 .

by Kristin Guglietti

GAZETTE STAFF WRITER

The Red Barn Farm held a grand opening weekend for the second annual Sunflower and Fall Festival on Sept . 1 . The festival will run from now until Nov . 12 .

According to Fred Penza of Red Barn Farm , this is the first time the farm has grown sunflowers .

“ First time growing sunflowers . We ’ ve done corn for a bunch , but sunflowers it ’ s our first time ,” Penza said . “ I don ’ t know if you ’ ve been out there , but they look pretty .”

The sunflowers are expected to last until the end of September and they

by Jennifer McGraw FOR THE GAZETTE

might last going into October depending on the weather .

Last year ’ s festival featured a corn maze , hayrides and pick-your-own pumpkins during the day .

At nighttime , the farm also held bonfires and people walked through the corn maze with flashlights .

The corn maze this year features a Jersey Devil holding a Penza pie . Evelyn Penza , Fred ’ s mother , is known for her award winning pies .

“ It ’ s the Jersey Devil , and I just came up with it ,” Penza said . “ It was like two different legends : the legend of the Jersey Devil and the legend of my mother , who ’ s 82 , who ’ s known throughout the country for those pies .”

While the Philadelphia Phillies continue to be the hot team in Philly sports , getting to see the action live gets to be a treat . Hammonton resident Cayla Kalani gets to enjoy the team thanks to a unique gameday job opportunity .

Kalani is a pre-med student at Thomas Jefferson University with a goal to be an anesthesiologist . A softball player at Thomas Jefferson University , Kalani also works on the field at Citizens Bank Park as a Phillies ball girl . Her passion for the Phillies inspired her to become a ball girl .

“ Growing up , I ’ ve always loved sports and grew up playing sports and softball was obviously my number one ,” Kalani said . “ When I saw that they were having tryouts and applica-

See BALL GIRL , Page 4

To create the 7-acre maze , the farmers plant and fertilize the corn , and after the corn reaches a certain height , a company from Utah burns off the corn with GPS .

“ They use weed spray , and they just burn off the corn and everything else grows up . We come up with our design ahead of time and then they use the design and it just grows into the design ,” Penza said .

The idea for the Fall Festival started when Penza and his brother , Vincenzo Penza , came together and said they should get into agritourism .

“ My brother and I just came together and said we should get into agritourism ,” Penza said . “ It ’ s a huge thing . We

See RED BARN , Page 13

Courtesy Photo

Hammonton resident and Philadelphia Phillies ball girl Cayla Kalani .

by Donald Yamasaki FOR THE GAZETTE

The Hammonton Education Foundation ( HEF ) is hosting their 15th annual Recycling Central event on Sept . 16 from 9 a . m . to noon . The event will be located at the Our Lady of Mt . Carmel grounds at Third and French streets .

The event is meant to raise funds for grants and initiatives for the programs within the Hammonton school district . The Hammonton Education foundation has provided over $ 500,000 dollars for the school district since it began in 2005 . The organization is giving $ 44,000 of grants to 13 various projects for the 2023-24 school year .

“ We have provided over $ 500,000 for our school district

See RECYCLE , Page 3

by Kristin Guglietti GAZETTE STAFF WRITER

The Town Wide Yard Sale will be held on Sept . 30 from 8 a . m . to 2 p . m .

During the fall , residents of Hammonton sell their stuff while people buy hidden treasures at the Town Wide Yard Sale .

Deadline to register for people who want to participate is Sept . 22 . No mailed forms will be accepted .

Forms can be picked up and dropped off at the Hammonton Family Success Center ( HFSC ) located at 310 Bellevue Ave . The Hammonton Family Success Center is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a . m . to 5 p . m . and Friday from 9 a . m . to noon .

Locations will be posted in The Gazette and on the Hammonton Drug Alliance ’ s ( HDA ) Facebook page along with the Hammonton Family Success Center pages during the week of the event .

A map of the Town Wide Yard Sale will be available in the Sept . 27 edition of The Gazette .

See YARD SALE , Page 10

75 cents