Families gather around the walkway at Croft Farm to get photos with costumed entertainers at the Dec. 7 festival.
To ring in the season and celebrate the holidays, the township held its winter festival on Dec. 7 at Croft Farm.
Activities and vendors were spread throughout the grounds, with a section of games and activities for children and families set aside toward the back of the farm. Food trucks lined up in the parking lot at the front of the main park.
Machines creating fake snow from soap were in place to create the illusion of snowy weather. Across the front lawn, small butane fires in metal firepits were available for visitors to warm themselves or make S’mores from kits sold by Boy Scout Troop 70 to finance an upcoming trip to New Mexico.
Scout leader Mike Lausi said the troop’s idea for the firepits came several years ago.
“We’ve done it as a fundraiser ever since,” he added.
Musical acts at the festival included Cherry Hill West’s chamber choir singers, semi-finalists in the high-school division of radio station B101’s Christmas choir competition. The school’s jazz combo also performed.
Entertainers dressed as various characters walked through, including the Grinch, Olaf and Queen Elsa from Disney’s “Frozen,” Mickey and Minnie Mouse and Stitch from “Lilo and Stitch.”
Nikki Jay – whose voice studio also performed – got a photo with her family and Olaf.
“He’s adorable,” she noted of the Disney character. “The first year we came here, there was only like one guy here, and now there’s like five. And so it makes a big difference. My kids absolutely loved it. It’s been an awesome experience.
“We come every year, and we love this festival,” Jay added. “It’s a great way for all the community to come together and small businesses to support each other. I love it and support the arts more than anything.”
Several of the farm’s small buildings held indoor activities, with one functioning as a place where guests could learn about winter holidays from various cultures, including Diwali, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah. Henna hand art, Diwali decorations and a selection of library books about multi-cultural winter and autumn holidays were also available.
Another building featured the Robot Foundry, a demonstration of machines and devices and the process of making them. The children’s section of the festival was equipped with a snow globe-shaped bounce house, snow-themed games, balloon animal creators, mini golf and bracelet-making stations.
