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MANASQUAN — Despite a soggy start and anti-climatic end, the Manasquan Engine Co. 2 held their annual Fireman’s Fair at Mallard Park from Wednesday to Saturday last week.
Ordinarily, the event would have run from Tuesday to Saturday, however, due to a massive rainstorm and flooding in the area, the event unfortunately had to be pushed back one day.
The event sees dozens of rides, food vendors, a beer garden, raffles, games and amusement throughout the evenings.
With help from volunteers from both Manasquan’s Fire Departments, the Police Department, the Ladies Auxiliary and local community, the Manasquan Fireman’s Fair has “become as successful as ever,” according to their website.
The event draws approximately 30,000 visitors over the five-day event.
Despite the weather delays and scorching temperatures throughout the week, this did not stop organizers from putting on one of the largest fundraisers Manasquan sees throughout the year.
John Colvin, Exalted Ruler of the Manasquan Elks, highlighted how the Elks has a strip of carnival games the lodge runs as the largest fundraiser for the lodge over the year.
Despite losing Tuesday to the rain, Mr. Colvin said that Wednesday, Thursday and Friday all saw a decent crowd come out to try their luck in the many games of chance the Elks were offering.
“The heat is keeping a lot of people away. It’s so oppressive, even tonight,” said Mr. Colvin on Saturday, saying how the crowds have not been as extreme in previous years due to the over close to 100 degree temperatures.
Ken Wondrack, of the Manasquan VFW, was out every night with other members of the VFW to offer information and 50/50s to all attendees. He said fair-goers were “very generous” and, despite the rain, the event was “uneventful” in the best way possible.
Joe Edwards, one of the ride attendants of Blue Sky Amusement, echoed these points with everyone being safe and respectful, excluding a few rebels throughout the evening. Mr. Edwards said the event gets no “real trouble, just a few little know-it-alls. Kids this age think they can get away with whatever they want to.”
Especially on the ride side, Mr. Edwards said the event has been “jam-packed” with both kids and adults. In his experience working the fair, he estimated about ¾ kids and ¼ adults for the rides.
Joe Achuff, of Skelly’s Amusement, said “It has been a relatively busy and nice week aside from the extreme heat and rain on Tuesday.” He noticed that while the event does start off slow, as the sun goes down and Mansquan begins to cool, more and more people come out to the fair.
While the event began with a sunny day, the fair ultimately came to an anti-climatic with another thunderstorm drenching the fair, leading to an early closure at roughly 8 p.m.
For more on this story, read the next edition of The Coast Star—on newsstands Thursday or online in our e-Edition.
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