Community Corner
Autumn Festival Draws Local Families
Free rides, refreshments at James A. McFaul Environmental Center
Vibrantly painted pumpkins carried by proud kids-turned-artists were a common sight Sunday at the Cabbage Night Festival.
Families from Wyckoff and neighboring towns populated the grounds of the James A. McFaul Environmental Center; admission was free and so were the pumpkins and paint, hot dogs, apple cider and hay rides. There also was free cotton candy and kettle corn, and face painting too—kids walked under a tent, and butterflies, dogs, tigers and dinosaurs emerged on the other side. Kids also bounced on a moonwalk shaped like a fairytale castle.
A lot of families came out to take advantage of the sunny, temperate weather. “It’s a beautiful day in the fall,” said Eric Elliott, father of a 1-year-old and a 5-year-old.
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Other families were serial Cabbage-Nighters, like the Kayes, who have gone for four seasons and counting. “We come here every year,” Ann Kaye said. But although she and her kids have done mostly everything, they never got to the event early enough to snag free pumpkins. Her kids were "very excited" as “they've never done the pumpkin painting before.”
The festival was first conceived as an evening affair meant to “distract older children” from traditional activities of Mischief Night, or Cabbage Night, said Peter Both, manager of the environmental center. But festival-organizers quickly realized there was a popular event for older kids called Zoo Boo, featuring a haunted train ride, at the Bergen County Zoological Center. So they decided to tailor it to younger children instead, hosting it in the early evening. It takes the center about a month to prepare, Both said.
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While the festival was meant to simply entertain, the Bergen County Department of Parks sneaked in some cultural education too—the lessons weren't dull, however.
One came in the form of a re-enactor troupe called the Doughty’s Artillery Company. They pitched an 18-century soldier tent, built a fire, donned soldier uniforms and hoop skirts, and re-enacted life in a soldier camp during the Revolutionary War. The troupe also baked old-fashioned apple pie and tarts in the fire pit and shot a real cannon.
“This is how the soldiers lived when they weren’t on the battlefield,” said Rich Cuneo, a Doughty's troupe member.
The department also hired a country kletzmer band, Margot Leverett and the Country Mountain Boys. Kletzmer is traditional Yiddish music.
“It’s just fun, and the music just always adds a wonderful touch to outdoor activities,” said Carol Messer, director of the cultural and historical affairs arm of the Parks Department. She added that “this is just one of the few things we do...to bring some culture to the general population.”
