The Autumn in Moorestown festival was back in full swing on Oct. 9 and plenty of vendors, classic cars and residents showed up.
Hosted by the Moorestown Business Association, vendors sold handmade items from woodwork to jewelry to decorations.
Jeff Braddock, resident of Moorestown and timber crafted manager for the Snyder Group LLC, sold custom cutting boards, charcuterie boards and custom tables of all various sizes and shapes. It was the first year that Braddock was a vendor at the festival.
“I thought it was great,” he noted. “I think we had a lot of support from the community. There were a lot of people there, which was really nice, and we talked to local people from the community.”
According to Craig Dennin, vice president of the business association and the festival’s chair, artists also sold paintings and drawings. Resident of West Bradford Township and photographer James Evangelista has participated in the festival for 10 years after learning about it from his cousin, and he creates fine-art photography of the American landscape.
“I really liked the fact that people were out on Main Street; you could tell it’s kind of like South Philly, where everybody knows each other,” he said. “They’re all saying hello to maybe friends or maybe friends from school or maybe neighbors, but I really liked seeing that.”
Paul and Sharon Knapp of Cream Ridge were also vendors at the festival for the first time. They were eager to sell custom creations of wine racks made from recycled wood and recycled wine barrels.
“We were really happy with how receptive the crowd was to our product, and we met a lot of really wonderful people that day,” said Knapp. “It was a very pleasant day.”
Dennin was pleased to hear vendor feedback.
“They were very happy with the turnout,” he said. “One of them even mentioned that their sales were the highest they have ever had, so that was great.”
The crowds enjoyed a performance from The Fruitcakes on the community house lawn as well as a march down Main Street from the Uptown String Band. Jacky Bam Bam from WMMR made a special appearance and took photos with festival-goers.
The event also featured two craft-beer vendors and a wine display. According to Mayor Nicole Gillespie’s official Facebook page, she presented the first mayor’s award at the event’s classic car show to Jerry Perlia, for his 1939 Ford Street Rod.
“All of the cars were absolutely beautiful,” Dennin noted. “Top end, I mean, it couldn’t have been better. The chairman of that car show said the car people loved it and it was outstanding.”
This year’s festival went off without a hitch and Dennin was thrilled.
“We have been getting emails, texts and Facebook blowups of everybody just ecstatic about it,” he said. “It was just a fantastic day. A lot of residents were just standing in the street in groupings just talking and laughing with each other.
“It was just a neat atmosphere.”
