While at a new location at Berlin Park, the fall festival is expected to be able to more comfortably accommodate more people and attractions
The Borough of Berlin and others across South Jersey are anxiously awaiting the Eighth Annual Berlin Fall Festival, set for Saturday, Oct. 13, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at a new location than previous years.
Hosted by the Greater Berlin Business and Professional Association, the Fall Fest chairs and co-chair met at the conclusion of last year’s event and decided to move the location to the Berlin Borough County Park to allow for more space.
“A decision was made that we’d be able to have more cars for the car show and we would have less impact on homeowners and some of the businesses on Broad Avenue if we utilized the Camden County Park,” said Fall Fest Co-chair Betty Velie.
Within the park will be nearly all the activities going on, new and old, throughout the day. Food vendors and the beer garden will be near the park but not inside its limits, situated along West Broad Avenue, so as to not be near the children and family activities going on inside the park.
Cars for the car show should be registered and will be displayed along Park Avenue during the event with prizes being awarded for multiple categories.
According to Velie, the coordination and teamwork between the GBBPA and borough elected officials helped make such a large move possible, even though the festival is not run by the town itself, like most other municipalities in South Jersey, but instead an outside association.
Multiple different activities will be going on throughout the day. Outside of the car show, emergency services will be present to have vehicles on display with demonstrations for residents to explore, including fire trucks and ambulances.
The Battle of the Badges competition, according to Fall Fest Chair Julie Robel, continues to be a favorite among those attending the Berlin Fall Fest and will undergo another change this year, as it did last year, as police officers, firefighters and EMT’s square off in a different competition each year.
“The Battle of the Badgers has typically been sumo wrestling suits,” said Robel. “What we decided this year to do is jousting. They battle it out and it’s the police officers versus firefighters and EMTs. Everyone in the town gets pretty excited for that. Last year, we did the hamster balls, but we decided to come up with something alternative to that for this year.”
Last year, the newest addition to the Berlin Fall Fest was the “Zombie Shoot,” which now enters its second year. Simply put, attendees get the chance to shoot people dressed up as zombies with paintball guns inside a steel container while watched over by trained professionals to keep the environment safe.
Another activity taking place at the festival is the “Mutt Strutt,” with animals dressed up in costumes walking around the park, with prizes being awarded for multiple categories. Additionally, there will be a holiday tour through a decorated house on Broad Avenue.
Lastly, the event will have live music throughout the day with three groups and a solo artist performing, all in different genres in an attempt to satisfy fans of all styles of music. Berlin Police will be collecting expired medication throughout the day, and the annual Pink Porches Breast Cancer Awareness campaign will be displayed throughout the town, sponsored by the South Jersey Breast Cancer Coalition.
A schedule of events will be listed throughout the park during the day.
For more information on the event or questions, email FallFest2018@gmail.com. Additionally, a preliminary schedule is listed on the GBBPA website at greaterberlinbusiness.org. The rain date is scheduled for the next day on Sunday, Oct. 14, during the same time and location
