By: Dana Norflett

Music by a DJ, popcorn, a cotton candy machine, a photo booth, and a bouncy castle…sounds like quite the party, right? Actually, once you factor in the gymnasium full of presentations by school organizations and local community groups, it sounds a lot like Keyport’s Community Day 2012.

On Saturday, March 31st, Keyport High School hosted its annual Community Day, giving local businesses and organizations the opportunity to spread awareness about their business or cause. Upon walking through the doors to the KHS gymnasium, guests were greeted by lively musical entertainment and eye-catching rows of tables containing colorful displays and promotional keepsakes.

Family Fun

There was an overall family-friendly atmosphere, with something to satisfy guests of all ages. For the adults there were brochures and information sessions pertaining to school affiliated organizations, ways to get involved in the community, and even demonstrations on how to get in shape and work on those New Year’s resolutions. Children were running amuck with handfuls of popcorn and bouncing around in the inflatable obstacle course. Guests of all ages took advantage of the photo booth provided by DJ Double C Productions, making funny faces with crazy hats and sunglasses. For anyone who may have just walked in off the street, Community Day could have easily been mistaken for a social soiree!

It’s All About Community

Many community groups made an appearance at the event including the Keyport Recreation Commission, the Senior Citizen Center, the Keyport Food Pantry, and CERT (the Community Emergency Response Team). Castle of Dreams, a local animal rescue organization, provided information about animals available for adoption. The Keyport Garden Club demonstrated their commitment to beautifying our community by handing out packets of wildflower seeds. They continue to promote their upcoming Garden Walk event which will take place on June 9th and 10th.

Don’t Forget About the School!

Several Keyport School District student organizations prepared presentations as well, including the KHS Key Club, the Lifeline and VIP groups, the National Honor Society, and the KHS Baseball and Softball teams. Faculty presentations included demonstrations on guided reading by Keyport’s literacy coach as well as artwork and classwork presentations by various grade levels at the Central School. Maschio’s Food Services, Inc. provided information on maintaining a healthy diet and contributed hamburgers and other food for the event.

DJ Double C Productions kept spirits high on this drizzly day by providing music that had all guests tapping their feet. Children and adults alike were entertained by magic tricks, ventriloquism, and comedy by the comedy magic of local entertainer Tom Durnin.

Overall, Community Day 2012 was a success for guests of all ages; everyone seemed to leave enlightened, knowing more than ever that their families are lucky to belong to the wonderful town of Keyport, New Jersey.

Photos by: Areeba Syed

The parade was packed full of local organizations, including visitors from all around the Bayshore area. Sirens blared as fire trucks, ambulances, and first aid groups paraded down the route, prompting fascinated children to plug their ears and dance in excitement.

Parade participants included such groups as the Keyport First Aid Squad Cadets, the Keyport Indians Youth Football and Cheerleading teams, and the Keyport Garden Club, whose members were dressed as flowers, butterflies, and other friendly garden inhabitants. Several pipes and drum bands were also present, including the American Celts band from Keyport and The Guard Pipes and Drums from Basking Ridge. As always, the parade was a wonderful opportunity for the town of Keyport to come together and celebrate. The tremendous turnout and festive atmosphere speak volumes about the pride local residents have in their community.

We want to give a big thanks to Kerrin McLaughlin for coming through last minute to provide some excellent images of the event.  Great job Kerrin!

Saturday March 24, 2012 • Step off at 1:00 PM

If you wish to be a peddler at the Keyport Parade, you must file an application with the Clerk’s Office.

Click here for Peddler/Solicitor Application

Please note: Any vendor without a visible peddlers permit issued by the Borough of Keyport will be removed.

Click here to see flyer

The format for judging was new in an effort to be fair to the winners. New forms were provided to Judges for their top three favorites. The top three of each judge were then placed in a hat and selected one category at a time.

The winners are as follows:
Mayors Choice - Bernie Kappes – 1963 Dodge Polera
Council Choice – John Paulin – 1970 Plymouth Cuda
Police Department – John Christman – 1963 Chevy Corvette
Fire Department – Bill Schinn – 1963 Chevy Nova
First Aid – Phil Galvano – 1943 Dodge Ambulance
People’s Choice – Nettie Gaeta – 1972 Chevy

Kudos to the Keyport Police Explorers for their assistance with the fair judging process and with the logistics of the event.

Thank you to Councilman Joe Sheridan for showing up to select the Council Choice. Thank you to Police Officer Sorber for selecting the KPD Choice and providing the police explorers.

Admission and parking is free, with the event taking place on West Front Street, which will be closed to traffic during the event from Broad to Beers streets. The event will take place from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM, rain or shine, offering great food and fun for the whole family.  There will be a beer and wine garden.

On Saturday, October 8th, the Paul Marino Band will perform at 11:00 AM followed by the Due South Band at 1:30.  The Steel Rail BluesBand will take he stage at 4:00 PM.  On Sunday, October 9th, Mark Miklos will perform at 11:00 AM, followed by Michael Patrick and the Ring of Fire Band at 1:00 PM.  The Southern Steel Band takes the stage at 3:30 PM.  The bands will be performing in the mini-park on West Front Street overlooking the beautiful waterfront promenade. There will be additional performers such as the Legendary OK Cowboy, and strolling Cowboys and Cowgirls. The kids won’t want to miss their stunts such as knife juggling, gun spinning, whip cracking and lassoing.

Keyport’s downtown stores and cafes will be open throughout the festival, and specialty vendors and crafters lining the route, offering unique jewelry, clothing, handbags, gifts and other merchandise, will join them.
On Saturday, professional chili chefs from the Keyport Restaurants will be competing for a trophy.  The chili tasting and voting will run from Noon to 5:00 PM on Saturday where spectators can vote in the People’s Choice award category.  There are nearly a dozen Keyport Restaurants participating in the famous cook-off.  The tasting kits will be available for $5 each at the Visitor Tent located on the corner of Main & West Front Streets.   The Kit includes a Country Jamboree Tote Bag, a map with participating restaurants, utensils, wet naps and a ballot. Chili will be available for purchase throughout the weekend at the food court along with many other festival favorites.

On Sunday, from Noon to 4:00 PM, the Cake, Pie and Jam Contest will be opened to the general public for submissions.  The winners will be announced at 5:00 PM.  The Children’s Rides will be located on the West Front Street. The Keyport Country Jamboree and Chili Fest is hosted by the Keyport Business Alliance. For more information,  call 732-739-0690.

Keyport Business Improvement District, District Management Corporation, invites Keyport Commercial Property Owners to submit their name in writing, without petition, to the Board of Directors, according to the deadline and address listed below. Keyport Commercial Property Owners name submissions will be considered for inclusion on the 2012 Keyport Business Alliance ballot.

Keyport Residents and Business Operators are invited to submit petitions for nominations to the Board of Directors for consideration to be included in the 2012 election ballot.  Nominations by petition from Residents and Business Operators, and Commercial Property Owners (who submit their names in writing) will be considered to be included on the 2012 election ballot, to serve (if elected) as volunteer voting Board members for the non-profit District Management Corporation, Keyport Business Alliance(KBA), Keyport, New Jersey.  Keyport Commercial Property Owners will cast ballots by mail to determine the members who will fill the vacant seats on the KBA Board of Directors.  There are four(4) voting member seats open for the 2012 elections: Two(2) Commercial Property Owners, one(1) Business Operator, and one(1) Resident .

Click here to get a PDF copy of the KBA election petition (endorsed by eight assessed Keyport commercial property that are members in good standing with municipal taxes).  You may also obtain a copy Borough Hall, 70 West Front St., or by calling (732) 739-0690.  Original Petitions for Nomination should be completed and mailed to:  KBA Nominations, PO BOX 636, Keyport, NJ 07735 no later that 4 p.m. Monday, September 19, 2011.

A brief overview of one of its upcoming very impressive efforts was given to the KBA board. Working with other volunteer groups and students, this effort will utilize Isaiah Zagar, a well known mosaic mural artist from Philadelphia, in creating a mural in Downtown Keyport.

The KBA has made a $5,000 donation to this project to help secure Mr. Zagar’s help and to unleash the artistic abilities of so many of our residents under the guidance of the man responsible for such efforts as the very popular Magic Garden project in Philadelphia. (More to come on this as we get closer).

Some 30 vendors helped enhance our already diverse downtown business district as festival goers enjoyed a wide variety of food, music, crafts, bargains and each others company on a picturesque day near our waterfront.

With something for every age group, this event allowed entire families to enjoy themselves in a relaxed, cost effective way – the KBA way – all at no cost to the resident taxpayers of Keyport.

Led by Grand Marshall Bill Quinn, the parade had everything an attendee would want and more – fire trucks from all the surrounding towns joined Keyport’s bravest, marching bands with their bagpipes lending the traditional air of music from the Irish homeland and at the height of it all, even a marriage proposal in front of the Trinity restaurant by a Hazlet firefighter to his beloved in the middle of Broad Street (she accepted).

The businesses in town did very well by the influx of the spectators, as they stayed to toast St Patrick and feast on the more traditional meals of the day being offered at our various restaurants.

On behalf of our business community we say, Thank you, Keyport !!