Left: Laurie Danley of Millstone, left to right, her niece Kaitlyn Caponer of Howell and twin daughters Maggie and Grace enjoy the Scrambler. Above: Aniya Harris of Sayreville has fun on the Merry-Go-Round. The Middlesex County Fair, held last week on Cranbury Road, is more than just a time to congregate around carnival rides and indulge in deep fried foods — it’s a time for people to reconnect with the agricultural products they rely on.
Tom Byrne, vice president of the Middlesex County Fair Board of Trustees and a Monroe Township farmer, said the county’s annual brouhaha began 77 years ago as a way to promote education about agriculture and where our food comes from.
“As society gets further away from agriculture, everyone seems to think that food just comes off the shelf at the grocery store,” Byrne said. “There’s a lot of value in education about agriculture. It teaches us about how the whole system works.”
PHOTOS BY SCOTT FRIEDMAN Byrne said the fair, which attracted about 85,000 people between Aug. 3 and 9, is an attempt to highlight and promote local agricultural products, both as a way to support the local economy and obtain fresher, higher quality food.
“Years ago, everything had to be local. We can still see that during natural disasters,” Byrne said, referring to how quickly items sell out ahead of a blizzard or hurricane. “Now, I think people are coming back to the local grow because they want to know where their food is coming from.”
The Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Middlesex County was stationed at an agricultural pavilion at the center of the fair grounds, with master gardeners on hand to answer any questions the public might have about do-it-yourself gardening and plant life in general.
Gopal Tadeparti and his son Supreet enjoy the Ferris Wheel at the Middlesex County Fair in East Brunswick on Aug. 8. In addition, the county Mosquito Commission and Board of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service and Freehold Soil Conservation District were on hand to help educate fairgoers about various aspects of the natural cycle that agriculture depends on.
“A lot of what we do here is help answer people’s questions about everything from gardening — both conventional and organic gardening — to connecting with their local farmers,” Bill Hlubik, agricultural agent for Middlesex County and director of Rutgers Cooperative Extension, said in an interview. “As people learn more about food, it’s also important to reconnect them with local farmers, because there is quite a bit more food coming from overseas today.”
Hlubik added, there is reason to be optimistic about the future of agriculture in New Jersey’s communities.
Fairgoers check out winning produce at the Middlesex County Fair in East Brunswick on Aug. 8. PHOTOS BY SCOTT FRIEDMAN “The only way that farmers do well is if people buy directly,” he said. “I see a lot of people becoming reconnected and also trying to grow their own food organically, and even raising animals.
“[Agriculture] definitely needs to come back locally. You get a better quality product and you get to know your neighbor that you buy your food from.”
And for those parents who are struggling to feed picky eaters, Hlubik has some advice: “If you want your kids to eat more veggies, get them fresh and local.”
The Middlesex County 4-H also hosted its reunion concurrently with the fair, bringing a wide array of 4-H groups together in one place.
Kellie Vonthun, who was taking part in an equestrian competition at the fair, is a member of the county 4-H’s horse program.
Fairgoers make their way through the House of Mirrors. “My mom always had a horse so I’ve been into it since I was a little kid,” Vonthun said. “I bought my first horse when I was 10 years old and that was a big step for me because I only had a pony before that.
“Eventually, I want to go to school for equine management,” the 17-year-old said.
Vonthun said 4-H has helped her develop leadership and public speaking skills, as well as given her the opportunity to polish her knowledge on the road to accomplishing her dream of owning commercial stables in Tennessee.
Members of other 4-H programs sold homemade pet treats and showed off a tent full of small animals they had raised to spectators.
Beyond simply promoting local agriculture at the fairgrounds, the Middlesex County Fair is a private, not-for-profit endeavor that seeks to give back to the community. According to Dan Mulcahey, a volunteer of 10 years at the fair, the mission is three-fold.
“We’re focused on agriculture, education and community,” Mulcahey said. Proceeds from the fair go to support initiatives including two $1,000 high school scholarships and a $3,000 grant to the New Jersey Agricultural Society.
“The fair is run all by volunteers and community members,” Mulcahey said. “It’s all patron-driven. Some vendors have been coming for decades.”
While the county fair is often thought of as simple carnival fun and games, there was always something deeper just under the surface of the party.
Alongside the joke-cracking jugglers, gourmet root beer, funnel cake and games of chance, people were also finding their way back to their roots and supporting their local communities in the process.