Tuesday, May 28, 2013
St. Cecelia Fair
The annual St. Cecelia Church Fair, more commonly remembered & promoted as the Iselin Fair, was held in July on a large lot in Woodbridge NJ. It was very popular. An incredible number of attractions were packed into the space. In addition to the carnival rides there was a midway with games of chance, two crowded beer tents (one favored by Harley bikers), a simplified roulette wheel where you could gamble & win real money. Food was the centerpiece, a line of open tents arranged down the middle of the fairground with the usual burgers & hot dogs, ribs, deep-fried pizza, seafood, & other stuff I don't remember. Live entertainment. In the 90's I stopped by on my way home from working at the Pearl Arts Supply store on Saturday night, bought some 50/50 chances (the pot was huge), & stayed until the grand drawing closing the fair.
Enrollment at St. Cecelia's School declined, probably along with the number of parishioners available & willing to organize & staff the fair. The demographics of the area became so heavily Indian that it's now famous for Indian restaurants, bakeries, sari shops, & an India Day Parade. The school was finally closed, ending a local tradition that had existed for seven decades.
There are still good fairs in Jersey - some large county fairs, numerous smaller fairs sponsored by churches & volunteer fire depts., a big state fair up in Sussex County with livestock displays, pig races, pie contests & massive traffic jams on two lane roads leading to it. St. Cecelia was the best one in my part of the state.
Video from Gary Perry.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
Enrollment at St. Cecelia's School declined, probably along with the number of parishioners available & willing to organize & staff the fair. The demographics of the area became so heavily Indian that it's now famous for Indian restaurants, bakeries, sari shops, & an India Day Parade. The school was finally closed, ending a local tradition that had existed for seven decades.
There are still good fairs in Jersey - some large county fairs, numerous smaller fairs sponsored by churches & volunteer fire depts., a big state fair up in Sussex County with livestock displays, pig races, pie contests & massive traffic jams on two lane roads leading to it. St. Cecelia was the best one in my part of the state.
Video from Gary Perry.
Labels: boardwalks, culture, New Jersey, video
