A Picture-Perfect Weekend: Cranberry Festival Delights Thousands in Bordentown City

BORDENTOWN CITY, NJ — It was a picture-perfect weekend as the Cranberry Festival ushered in the Fall season to Bordentown this past weekend.

With sunshine and temperatures in the 70s, thousands upon thousands of residents and visitors alike took advantage of the weather and descended upon downtown Bordentown City for the 34th annual affair, which took place on on October 5 and October 6.

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The Downtown Bordentown Association’s (DBA) signature annual event is known for its offerings of handmade, vintage, one-of-a-kind and up-cycled items from clothing to candles to antiques to art. The 2024 event, sponsored by Laura's Salon, Fulton Bank, The Bank of Princeton, Century 21 Action Plus, Smires & Associates Real Estate, Verizon and Lucas Chevrolet, featured 135 vendor booths of artists, makers, local retailers, non-profits and specialty food providers.

This year's Cranberry Festival featured the return of the popular Food Court and HOB Beer Garden on Walnut Street, which included food tents from Bordentown City's local eateries, as well as a live music stage with performances from 12 local musicians and bands throughout the weekend.

Other highlights included local artist Erik Weedeman painting a “live” painting of the Cranberry Festival, skits from the PCM Theatre Company and Trenton Makes Improv, the famous Lion Dance performance and martial arts skill exhibition by Green Dragon Kuo Shu Kwan and large displays of historical figures brought to life for photos and selfies by the Bordentown Historical Society in front of the Friends Meeting House.

The Downtown Bordentown Association noted that the weekend would not have been such a huge success without the event's sponsors as well as the City of Bordentown, the Public Works Department and the Bordentown City Police Department, as well as event Coordinator Val Sassaman, with assistance from Mick Chorba.

Started in 1989 by lifelong Bordentown City resident and co-founder of the Downtown Bordentown Association, Jackie Reed, the first Cranberry Festival started modestly with 12 vendors set up on Walnut Street. The Festival quickly grew to include all of the Farnsworth Avenue business district and became one of New Jersey’s largest juried arts and crafts shows. Cranberry Festival weekend has been known to attract crowds of up to 40,000 people to Bordentown City over the two-day period. For more information about the Cranberry Festival — stay tuned for the 2025 dates! — visit https://btowncranfest.com/ . For more information about the Downtown Bordentown Association visit https://visitbordentowncity.com/ .

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