VACATIONS FROM HOME: SHAD FEST

Friday, April 24, 2015

SHAD FEST

April 25-26, 2015

Depending on where you live, this weekend in Lambertville, New Jersey will either be a fun time or a nuisance. Having lived in this beautiful river town for 26 years, Shad Fest, held the last weekend in April, has been the source of civic pride, a 48 hour party and a bane.

The population swells as visitors descend on this usually quiet, artsy burg, rendering the downtown nearly immovable as pedestrians ply the streets hovering over crafts for sale from vendors and children’s games, music and food and beer tents. Parking for residents becomes prized commodities. Local business establishments, mostly antique shops, complain they lose out although the town brims with people. Lots of residents either avoid the Festival or flee the town altogether for the weekend, while other residents embrace it and partake in the antics. As my family grew we volunteered our time and participated in some of the events; my daughter danced as part of the ballet school ensemble one year; and invariably faces were painted, snacks were consumed, Shad Fest shirts purchased (no matter how ugly they were) and bottles were filled with colored sands to sit proudly on shelves at home.

my daughter in 1997

But, overall and despite all the pros and cons, Shad Fest is a great excuse to party. Sadly, my favorite stop, the River Horse Brewery beer tent closed down a few years ago when River Horse moved into larger digs in Ewing. It was held in the parking lot down by the canal and it was always crowded. I had to get there early enough to get the commemorative pint glass before they sold out. This weekend there will be several other beer tents set up around town, but none will hold the cache of the River Horse Brewery. Resident block parties can be found; live music blaring into the night; and there are a number of private parties throughout town. I have been known to host a few of those. The end of the night had my house littered with passed out revelers. It is a fun time even without a perfunctory stroll through the Festival itself.

Shad Fest t-shirt

Shad Fest began in the early 80’s as a celebration of the resurgence of the shad population. For years there was an oxygen block inspired by pollution in the Philadelphia area preventing this fish from migrating upstream to spawn. The only commercial fishery along the Delaware River is in Lambertville and they have been doing it since the 1800’s. As pollution levels dropped, the shad came back and the celebration in town began. There once were parades and Shad Kings and Queens, but now there are arts and crafts and food and beer and parties. You can still see how they haul for the shad in the time honored tradition during the Shad Festival on Lewis Island just off Lambert Lane and you can get up close and personal with the scaly critter either there or at many of the food stalls set up serving the fish. Demonstrations by the Lewis Island crew are at 10:30 am and 1 pm on Saturday and 1 pm on Sunday, but if you miss coming to the Shad Fest you can still watch and even help the crew seine for the fish nightly for at least another month. They go out around 6 pm and 10:30 on Saturdays.

John Baker Shad

Lambertville is an artistic community and her talent is on display during Shad Fest with window displays in some of the shops and banners flying from the street lamps. Amateur and professional artists also create posters for the festival. They are put on display at the First Presbyterian Church Recreation room on North Union Street and then auctioned off Sunday. The funds raised benefit an art scholarship for area students pursuing a career in the arts. After the River Horse Brewery beer tent, my second favorite activity was to look over the posters. I once sat in on the auction and found the whole event too rich for my pocketbook! Some of the art is absolutely incredible. Pictured here is a poster from this year submitted by Rita Koch.