5th Annual Green Fest Moves Indoors, Attracts 3,000+ Visitors
June 06, 2018Despite threatening storm predictions, the weather on Saturday, June 2 cooperated fully to make North Bergen’s fifth annual Green & Health Family Festival the biggest and best yet. Relocated this year from the 64th Street Field to the Recreation Center and adjacent parking lot and ball field, the event drew an audience of more than 3,000 people – about 1,000 more than last year.
The popular free festival featured about 70 vendors providing information, giveaways, and a wide variety of medical screenings to foster a healthy body and a healthy environment. Kids enjoyed the many fun activities including a petting zoo, rock climbing, two bounce houses, a mechanical bull, dunk tank, obstacle courses, face painting, jewelry-making with recycled materials, and much more.
Music was provided live on stage by performing artists Los Ciegos Del Barrio, Trova Fusion Band, the elementary school choruses from Lincoln, Kennedy, Robert Fulton, and Horace Mann Schools, with soloists from North Bergen High School. A DJ kept up the energy between sets, and a Zumba instructor got the audience moving to the beat. For those who tired of dancing, delicious food was available from some great local restaurants.
Mayor Nicholas Sacco introduced many of the live acts and mingled with residents throughout the afternoon, joined by Freeholders Anthony Vainieri and Anthony Romano, Assemblywoman Angelica Jimenez, several township commissioners, and many other officials and administrators.
The event was organized by Health Department Director Janet Castro and Recycling Aide Tom Stampe with the Health Department and Municipal Utilities Authority. Students from the high school volunteered to assist in various ways to make the event a tremendous success, along with the North Bergen Police Department, EMS, Parking Authority, DPW, and North Hudson Regional Fire & Rescue.
Main sponsors for the event were Hackensack Meridian Health Palisade Medical Center, Hudson Hills Senior Living, and Suez Water. Other sponsors included AFC Urgent Care, Hudson Regional Hospital, Oritani Bank, PSE&G, Brown & Brown Insurance, CarePoint Health, Alamo Insurance Group, The Home Depot, Wellcare Health Plans, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of NJ, and Sanitas Medical Center/Horizon.