By: Najla Alexander
Each morning you can feel and even smell the season of fall trickling in the air. The cool, crisp mornings are when you may need a light jacket, and you start to see more and more leaves fall off their trees. It’s almost Sweater Weather!
Hi there, RLS Metro Media family and friends! Before we fully dive into the Fall season ahead, there are those last few summer bucket list items you need to check off. From amusement parks and fairs to even that last pool day, get those last summer memories in while the heat is still here!
Right here in Carteret, we have the perfect thing: our annual multicultural festival!
The Carteret Music Festival, Annual Charity Carnival, and Car Show returned Sept. 16 to 20 to Carteret Park. It included live jazz on Sept. 16, DJ-driven electronic dance music on Sept. 17, a Freestyle Night on Sept. 18, the 50th Annual Multicultural Day celebration of the most culturally diverse town in Central Jersey on Sept. 19, the 22nd Annual Charity Car Show on Sept. 20, and lots of rides, games, food, more music, and other family fun throughout!
The Charity Carnival benefits The Children’s Charity Trust, which The Honorable Carteret Mayor Daniel J. Reiman founded in 2003 at the beginning of his first term, according to Carteret officials.
“You could just feel the electric energy the moment you set foot into the festival; it’s quite amazing how one great artist can bring out this many people,” a fan said.
Mayor Reiman said the Borough’s younger residents often lack the finances needed to achieve their goals. The Trust Fund was created with the knowledge that these children are often high achievers with great potential who, with proper financial support, could continue on a path of success.
The nonprofit supports education, health, athletics, veterans, art and culture, and recently distributed $72,500 in community support this year, including scholarships for Carteret-based students from Carteret High School, Middlesex County Magnet Schools, and local parochial schools, officials say.
“The Charity Carnival is a long-standing tradition here in Carteret,” Mayor Reiman said.
“Ethnic Day is an opportunity for us to highlight what makes Carteret unique as a community. Carteret is the melting pot of Central Jersey. We have so many different cultures coming together to form a strong communal bond and contribute to making Carteret a great place to live. Our annual Ethnic Day reflects that diversity, as does our fantastic music lineup.”
This year’s headliner for the 50th anniversary celebration of Ethnic Day is CeeLo Green, a five-time Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, producer, and rapper, and a celebrated pop culture and fashion icon.
CeeLo’s free concert took place at 8 p.m. on Sept. 19, followed by a special light show and fireworks display in celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, Carteret’s 120 years, and the 50th anniversary of Ethnic Day as a multicultural food festival.
It’s amazing for our community to host Grammy winner CeeLo Green, much like past headliners including Shaggy, Spin Doctors, C&C Music Factory, Smash Mouth, Sister Hazel, Taylor Hicks, Gin Blossoms, and Carteret’s own New Jersey Hall of Famers, The Smithereens.
“Another childhood singer (CeeLo) I never thought I would see live, and of course impressed me along with the whole crowd!” an excited fan explained.
Freestyle Night took place from 6 to 11 p.m. on Sept. 18, and included performances by:
• TKA, the popular ’80s & ’90s trio from New York City and Miami who just dropped a new EP, “Give Your Love to Me”
• Soave, the Jersey City native who had a huge hit in 1989 with “Crying Over You”
• Lisette Melendez, the Spanish Harlem singer who had a Top 40 hit with “Together Forever” in 1991 and has a new single, “Recalibrate”
• Joei Mae, lead singer of the Bronx freestyle group CBank, who had the 1997 hit “I Won’t Stop Loving You” and recently released a remix EP
The freestyle performances were presented for free by the Brooklyn freestyle legends Dom G & Dream Girl Cynthia, the folks behind the annual Dream Girl Cynthia Freestyle Cruise.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love CeeLo Green, but the food, especially the Elote Corn Stand, is the reason why I come here!” I exclaimed. “I look forward to having some of their homemade Mexican street corn every year, and each year just keeps getting better!”
All four days of the festival were free to attend, but of course there was a small cost for food, beverages, and tickets to rides and games. This year, Carteret offered unlimited ride wristbands for $37 per rider on Sept. 16 and 17, with festival/carnival hours being from 6-10 p.m. Sept. 16 and 17, 6-11 p.m. Sept. 18, and 3-11:30 p.m. Sept. 19.
The crowd was unbelievable that night. I have never seen a crowd like that when CeeLo Green came on, and the fireworks right after were amazing!
Carteret knows how to put on a final show before summer ends! Now that the holidays are slowly creeping up, the Carteret Community will always find a way to put smiles on residents' faces, and I look forward to seeing that again this year!