A great day

This year’s eighth annual Strawbridge Lake Festival hosted by the Strawbridge Lake Beautification Committee (SLBC) on June 13 raised nearly $20,000.

The funds will be used for continuous lake-edge cleanup to keep it looking pristine, and along with the Rotary Club of Moorestown, the committee will replace the gazebo.

A group of Moorestown residents led by George and Amy Gravenstine and Chet Dawson set out in 2017 to steward Strawbridge Lake by cleaning its shoreline. With guidance from the township, they quickly realized the effort was greater than expected. That’s when George proposed forming an all-volunteer nonprofit to raise funds and hire professionals.

The SLBC was formed a year later, and since then, the group has restored and painted the gazebo; installed new playground equipment, a walking path, two floating docks and a kayak launch; and added a RentFun kayak rental system. Annual lake-edge cleanups are done by local volunteers.

Despite weather challenges, the SLBC had a successful 2026. The Strawbridge Lake Paver Campaign remains an ongoing fundraising effort that offers paver bricks in two sizes, giving people the opportunity to permanently honor, acknowledge or remember someone, or simply show their support with an inscription.

Pavers can still be purchased under the website’s donate tab at www.strawbridgelakebc.org.

“ … If you’re out there and it’s quiet, it’s just beautiful, it really is,” noted SLBC board member Gravenstine of the lake. “It’s wonderful … If you’re down there often, there’s a lot of people fishing, and it gets a lot more use and that helps keep it nice.”

This year’s paddle board and kayak race at the festival had 85 racers; a water slide; live music; a caricature artist; face painters; 36 vendors, and, most importantly, warm, sunny weather. That alone helps bring people to the lake and the festival year after year, Gravenstine shared.

“As far as you could see, there were people up and down the vendor booths and it was done well,” he enthused. “It’s a lot of work and there’s frustrating moments getting it ready, but the day of it’s very satisfying when you see everybody there having fun …

“It’s a great day and we’re very proud of it.”

The cardboard duct tape race, added last year, had seven entries. It’s one of Gravenstine’s favorite parts of the festival because he loves to see what the competition’s boats will look like. The rules state that only cardboard and duct tape can be used, and while decorations can be made of any material, they cannot help keep a boat together or afloat.

“It’s even fun to start to see people show up carrying their boats from their cars and they’re coming through the crowd and people are checking them out,” Gravenstine added. “That’s really become a neat part of the day.”