HOWELL – The township held its first ever spring fling, as people from across the town gathered to honor the 250th anniversary of America at Soldier Memorial Park.
The event itself was put on by the town, with the Antique Motoring Club of Monmouth providing a lot of the entertainment as they assembled an American flag out of classic cars and had one of their members speak on stage about the sacrifices made by those who fought in the revolution before reading off the Declaration of Independence while wearing an Uncle Sam costume.
No matter which way you faced during the event, your eyes came into contact with something red, white, and blue, as the many different booths and activities set up for the event had some sort of American flag paraphernalia on them to help celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary.
Since the event was hosted at Soldier Memorial Park, vendors, food trucks, and other local organizations set up their tents along the dirt path in the open field, while the various speakers, performers, and a band called the Benjamins, who played rock music from the 80s to the mid-2000s, performed on the stage.
Different local emergency service organizations used the event as a local outreach opportunity and set up displays with fliers of information on various issues. These organizations include the Freewood Acres fire department, the Southard fire department, the Howell PAL, and the local 228 which is a union for police officers, who showed up with their beer and wine truck to serve eventgoers who are over 21. Several of the fire departments had their trucks stationed throughout the event hoisting huge American flags.
Several local food trucks who have catered town events before, and even some new ones like Twisted Steaks made an appearance while local organizations such as Boy Scout Troop 258, the Optimist Club of Howell, and more made an appearance.
Local small businesses from around the area also had tents at the event. The Sourdough Streets, a very popular in-home cottage bakery based in Howell had a tent set up and sold out of product within the first hour of the event. Other local businesses that attended the event included Action gymnastics, a local gymnastics gym based out of Freehold, and Art Beins Karate, a local karate dojo who put on a display of their skills for event goers.
The event also had plenty of attractions for the younger crowd, as they had several inflatable bounce-houses, a miniature teacup ride, a petting zoo, and cable cars that drove around the display of classic cars.
Howell Mayor John Leggio attended the event and shared what it means to be able to host an event like this. In a statement to the Howell Times, He talked about how it feels as the mayor to not only honor America but to be able to have an event like this and give the taxpayers something back for their taxes while building a sense of community.
Director of Community Relations Steven Fecher echoed much of the same sentiment. According to Fecher, he wants to make the spring fling a yearly event and used the 250th anniversary of America as a way to test the waters and see if people were interested in attending such an event this time of year. With the town showing up en masse, Fecher hopes to bring the event back on an annual basis.
The town will also be hosting an Independence Day celebration at Soldier Memorial Park on July 2 to celebrate 250 years of America closer to the actual anniversary date.
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