It’s that time of year—pumpkins, jack-o’-lanterns, scarecrows, costumes, trick-or-great, cider. When fall
is in the air, it gets to be Halloween time and in downtown Vineland that means more than just
decorations. We just wrapped up our 8 th annual Pumpkin Patch Party, filled with pumpkin painting,
costume and candy giveaways, DJ Ant Gambino with lots of fun music and games with the kids and a
trunk-or-treat with Team Los Mas Queridos car club.
We had over 100 kids come decorate and paint the pumpkins that were generously donated by Tents for
Rent & Party Supply in Vineland (856-498-3762), and wish to also thank our downtown sponsors who
donated all of the decorations at the mini-parks and downtown area (hay bales, mums, pumpkins, corn
stalks)—Huffman Farms & Greenhouses (609-805-1115) as well as The Flower Shoppe (856-691-9292)
who donated all of the bows for the cornstalks. Thanks also to the South Vineland Methodist Church for
donating several bags of costumes that we were able to give out to children and families.
In addition to all the fun the kids and their parents had at our Pumpkin Patch Party, we also took this time
to announce the winners of our Scarecrow Contest. A very special thank you goes out to the Vineland
Board of Education, and especially to Ross Stanger and Rossini Salerno to help organize this. Thank you
also to all of the teachers, aides and students who made these wonderful scarecrows come to life. The
participating schools/classes are: Barse, Durand, Mennies (2 classes), Sabater, Veterans Memorial (3
classes), and Winslow (2 classes).
With 1,119 votes cast, the following were the winners of this year’s scarecrow contest:
1 st place – Sabater School
2 nd place – Barse School
3 rd place – Veterans Memorial School – Lady Liberty
The winning schools will each receive and Ave Bucks gift certificate that may be used in any of our Main
Street Vineland businesses.
Earlier that week we held our 13 th annual A Taste of Vineland & Volunteer Recognition Event on
Wednesday, October 23 at the Greenview Inn at Eastlyn Golf Course where we had over 250 guests
and 20 restaurants in attendance as we honored Marvin Askins and the Cruise Down Memory Lane
committee as Volunteer of the Year, and Sir Speedy as our Business Partner of the Year.
This is all the more reason to make The Ave your destination for shopping, dining, and entertainment
needs, as well as for fun all year round. Save money on gasoline, avoid the long lines at the big-box
stores, malls, and shopping centers, and take in the rich variety of fun things to do—right in your own
backyard.
For more information on Main Street Vineland’s initiatives, programs, and activities, call our office at
856-794-8653, visit our exciting website—www.theave.biz—or check us out on Facebook. You can also
e-mail me at rswanson@vinelandcity.org.
