LAMBERTVILLE: City ready to celebrate shad at annual festival

The festival will be held rain or shine Saturday and Sunday from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m.

By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
   LAMBERTVILLE — New attractions will mingle with old favorites this weekend when the Shad Festival returns to the city for its 28th year.
   The event is named in honor of the fish whose return migration to local waters marks the health of the Delaware River.
   There was a time when pollution made the shad scarce. When the environmental movement decades ago resulted in a cleaner river, the shad returned in more numbers.
   The award-winning festival will feature lots of shad dishes to sample as well as several traditional shad-related events to attend.
   Jim Hamilton and Executive Chef Mark Miller, of Hamilton’s Grill Room, will put on a shad roe cooking demonstration. Free samples will be available noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in the Porkyard off Coryell Street.
   Hamilton’s Grill Room will be open for lunch for the first time ever Saturday, coinciding with the Shad Festival’s events. This weekend, and following weekends, lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Diners may choose to enjoy their meals at an outdoor table beneath one of the blue umbrellas beside the courtyard fountain or indoors in one of five dining rooms.
   Chef Paul Eschallier, of Bell’s Tavern, North Union Street, will make shad and shrimp fritters in addition to his signature crab cakes.
   Ennis Market, North Union Street, will have shad wrap sandwiches for sale.
   Triumph Brewery will present shad chowder.
   ”You can’t talk about shad without talking about the shad planking demonstration,” said Shad Festival Coordinator Ellen Pineno, of the Lambertville Area Chamber of Commerce.
   Food historian Susan McClellan Plaisted will demonstrate the authentic Colonial method of preserving shad at the rear of the food court, on Ferry Street. She replicates the method employed by the local tribe of Lenape Indians and will demonstrate how they used the fish in their diets.
   Another highlight that always delights visitors is the Lewis family’s seining demonstration. The shad-hauling technique, taught to early colonists by local Indians, is performed by Steve Meserve and his helpers with nets. The Lewis family, who has run a fishery since 1888, will demonstrate the technique from Lewis Island, at the end of Lambert Lane.
   Another attraction this year is the return of children’s rides to the Lambertville Station’s parking lot. This feature was absent last year.
   In addition to the rides, there will be plenty of family oriented activities with lots of things to entertain the children, Ms. Pineno said. Among them will be face painting and sand art as well as “sandy candy” children can make themselves.
   ”There’s so much to do,” Ms. Pineno said. “It’s all about having some really fun stuff for families, especially given how tough this year has been. The Shad Fest won’t cost you an arm and a leg.”
   The chamber has been getting “nonstop phone calls” inquiring about the festival, Ms. Pineno said, and she expects a good turnout.
   Lambertville photographer Alex Pietersen will present some of his work for sale. Ms. Pineno said they are “incredible, panoramic blended shots. I’m excited for him to join us this year.”
   Mr. Pietersen, a native of Holland, was invited by the Smithsonian Institution in 1997 to participate in “The Colors of Invention.” Also, his work was used in two films, “Robocop” and “Robocop 2.”
   Lambertville merchant Jason Kraft will be showing and selling his e-bike kit, a fun product that turns an ordinary bicycle into a battery-powered vehicle that can travel up to 20 mph.
   The Lambertville Area Education Foundation, the Lambertville Public Schools’ sixth-grade class, the South Hunterdon Parent Teacher Student Association and their parents are holding a rubber ducky race on April 26 at 5 p.m.
   The sixth-grade class is raising money to fund its educational trip to Washington, D.C. in June. The PTSO is raising money to fund educational and recreational activities for the students.
   The ducks will be launched in the canal behind Finkel’s Hardware and will race toward the finish line at the walking bridge outside of Lambertville Station. The winning duck will take home $1,000. There are prizes for runners up and the ticket sales are limited.
   Purchase ducks at The Missing Peace store at 15 Klines Court, Lambertville (397-3999) or Homestead Farm Market, 262 N. Main St., Lambertville (397-8285). Tickets are $5. Participants need to be present to win.
   Persons under 18 may not participate in this game of chance (N.J.S.A. 5:8-59).
   Ms. Pineno emphasized the importance of the festival’s sponsors.
   ”This event just would not be possible without our sponsors,” she said. “We’re beholden to each and every one. The costs of the event go up every year, and we haven’t raised vendor fees in at least 10 years.”
   For the second year in a row, Comcast is the presenting sponsor. Other sponsors include Geico, N.T. Callaway Real Estate, United Water, PNC Bank, Green Star Home Comfort Systems, Jersey Central Power & Light, Van Cleef Engineering Associates, David Lerner Associates, the Lambertville House and the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission.
   The poster auction will be held with the support of the Lambertville Station and Riverwalk. Because of rising expenses, this is the first year proceeds from the annual poster auction will not go entirely to a scholarship fund for local graduating seniors who plan to pursue an arts or arts-related education. Five thousand dollars will be set aside for the auction’s expenses.
   To help offset expenses and encourage the scholarship fund to continue, the Lambertville Democratic Club donated $1,000, and several citizens pledged lesser amounts, according to Ms. Pineno.
   The festival will be held rain or shine Saturday and Sunday from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m.
   For more information or to see a schedule of events, visit the chamber’s Web site, www.lambertville.org/.
    [email protected].