Community Day, which is Lawrence Township’s celebration of itself, is set for Oct. 6 – but it will be held at Central Park, not Village Park, Lawrence Township officials said.
More than 100 vendors have signed up for Community Day, which will run from noon to 4 p.m. at Central Park. It is located on Eggerts Crossing Road, across the street from the New Jersey Army National Guard armory.
The decision was made to move Community Day from Village Park to Central Park because it is more centrally located in the township, said Nancy Bergen, the township’s Superintendent of Recreation.
“We hope it will encourage more people to come to Community Day and to explore a different park and a different playground,” Bergen said. There are several parks and playgrounds in Lawrence Township.
While the location will change, much of what makes Community Day what it is – a chance to celebrate the community and all it has to offer – is not going to change, Bergen said.
Nonprofit groups, such as the Lawrence Township Education Foundation, Lawrenceville Main Street, Womanspace and the Lawrence Historical Society, will set up booths to acquaint visitors with their respective missions.
Crafters will set up their booths, too, offering everything from artwork, wreaths, wooden signs, candles, jewelry, quilts and table runners to hand-made doll clothes, Bergen said.
There will be plenty for children to do, too.
There will be an inflatable bounce house, a tractor-drawn hay wagon ride, and the popular Touch-A-Truck, which encourages children to explore a dump truck, a snowplow truck and other equipment that belongs to the Lawrence Township Department of Public Works.
Live bands – the School of Rock and the South Side Wanderers – will provide entertainment.
And if all of that activity makes visitors work up an appetite, there will be lots of food, too – three food trucks and assorted food vendors that will serve everything from hot dogs to tacos, lobster rolls and cupcakes. Pastries for dessert also will be available.