BRICK – The annual celebration of environmental awareness and sustainable living, the Green Fair, returned to the township at the Bob Anstett Cultural Arts Center on Herbertsville Road.
It was an opportunity for environmental awareness initiatives to reach out to the public. In addition, several booths had vendors with items for sale that fit the theme, such as homemade clothing or all-natural food products.
New to the fair this year was the clothing drive, where attendees brought slightly used, clean clothes to either exchange for other slightly used, clean clothes or just leave them at the event. All of the clothes that were left were later donated to those in need. All different types of clothes were accepted, so long as they were clean, in good shape, and season appropriate.
The event had several guest speakers who were given the floor to talk about their specific issues. One of the speakers was from an organization called Save Barnegat Bay, an organization to protect Barnegat Bay through targeted education, advocacy, and outreach programs that empower individuals and communities.
A few of the organizations that had tables at the event included the Brick Township Historic Preservation Commission, New Jersey Fish and Wildlife, the Brick Garden Club, Buy in Brick, the National Organization for Women, and the Shade Tree Commission. Members of the Shade Tree Commission were there to encourage more people to plant trees on their private lawns to help keep Brick as green as possible.
The Brick Township Historic Preservation Commission was in attendance to raise awareness about the town’s many historical sites while also working to help preserve said sites.
One initiative that a few of the Brick-based organizations were trying to promote is Pick Up Brick, which is the name for a series of park cleanups that will be taking place in the town on different days throughout the summer. The next one is set to take place on June 27 at Lake Riviera Park.
However, it wasn’t just township organizations at the event. The event also featured booths for several state wide organizations and programs. For example, New Jersey Fish and Wildlife had a truck exhibit that event goers could walk through. They were in attendance raising awareness for their conservation efforts, which range from fighting against invasive species to protecting what natural land the state has left.
In addition to New Jersey Fish and Wildlife, the New Jersey Clean Energy program had a booth at the event to explain to those interested the benefits of going solar.
To keep things entertaining while being educational, the event also had several traditional fair qualities. For example, a few private vendors sold things like homemade honey and sauce. One such vendor was Momma Homemade, which sold stuff like apple garlic hot wing sauce in addition to various syrups as well. Another vendor, Bonnie Leigh Photography, sold pictures of various plants and other nature scenes.
On top of that, in between the speakers, music played for those walking around the fair to enjoy. For refreshment, the JerseyJuiceCo was there selling their unique brand of fruit juice concoctions.
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