A slew of holiday events scheduled for Pinelands residents to enjoy

The holiday season is here again, and before you know it, the trees of the Pinelands will be dressed up with decorative lights and festive ornaments.

From the traditional Thanksgiving high school football “Turkey Bowls” kicking off tomorrow morning to the always popular Dickens Festival, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

Each year, the holiday season seems to go by faster and faster, so be sure to make this one count by joining in on the holiday fun that the area has planned for folks of all ages.

Dickens Festival

The Medford Sunrise Rotary will once again be hosting the 26th annual Dickens Festival as it transforms the historic Medford Main Street on Saturday, Dec. 5 from 6 to 10 p.m.

“The Dickens Festival set in colonial Medford Village signals the beginning of the Christmas holiday season. The singers, performers and vendors, along with Santa and Mrs. Claus, all come together for this festive occasion,” Medford Sunrise Rotary Vice President Jim Robinson said.

The festivities begin with the parade transporting Santa, Mrs. Claus and Grand Marshall Ron Murphy of Murphy’s Markets, the presenting sponsor of the Dickens Festival, to the gazebo at 18 N. Main St. at 6:15 p.m. Guests will then witness the annual tree lighting ceremony as town officials turn the lights on. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be at the gazebo all evening to greet children.

The streets of downtown Medford’s historic district will be flooded as folks stroll past lights strung across the street and quaint shops decked out with twinkling decorations adorned for the holidays.

“As host of the Medford Dickens Festival, the goal of the Medford Sunrise Rotary, along with our sponsors, is to deliver an ever-improving experience filled with entertainment, food, crafts and dreams that are suitable for all ages. We believe we have accomplished this again this year,” Medford Sunrise Rotary President Norman Mackey said.

The holiday spirit will overflow from carolers along the street and bands on porches playing everyone’s favorite holiday tunes.

Along with the live music, guests will find food vendors, crafters, jugglers, face painters, stilt walkers and, of course, the live nativity scene, a family favorite, at Tomlinson Park across from the Pinelands Library, sponsored by the Medford United Methodist Church.

The food court on Union and Main streets will have an inflatable movie screen showing holiday movies to entertain the children.

There will also be a magician at 2 N. Main St. and an elf painting faces at Audio Video Concepts on 26 S. Main St.

Ice carvers will be sculpting a favorite “chilly” friend, and even a popular float from the Halloween parade is scheduled to make an appearance.

A special treat this year will be a feature stage with several bands captivating you with tunes of the holidays.

Folks are advised to keep an eye out for the Marines truck, as it will be collecting Toys for Tots.

Local radio station B101 More FM will be doing a live remote from the festival.

The Medford Arts Center at 18 N. Main St. will host an art show.

The Medford Community Center will welcome visitors with hot chocolate, cookies, Mrs. Claus and a face painter.

The Medford Friends Meeting will continue more than a quarter-century of cherished holiday tradition with a free concert at 7 p.m. The concert will be held in the Meeting House located at 14 Union St. This year, the concert will feature the acclaimed ChildrenSong of New Jersey, founded and directed by Polly Murray, a music educator with numerous awards to her credit.

ChildrenSong will perform a variety of seasonal works and a holiday sing-along with the audience. Admission for the concert will be free. For more information about Medford Friends, call (609) 953–8914.

This event is suitable for the entire family to celebrate the start of the holiday season. The traditional festival brings more than 10,000 people to Historic Medford Village every year.

“Each visitor feels a special joy and holiday spirit when they visit the Dickens Festival. This year, we have some extra special treats that we hope everyone will enjoy: an ice carving of someone special, a wandering character to delight young and old, and some outstanding holiday music,” Secretary of the Medford Sunrise Rotary and Dickens Festival Chair Linda Mackey said.

For information about the Dickens Festival, visit the Sunrise Rotary’s website at www.medfordsunriserotary.org or Medford Township’s website at www.medfordtownship.com/events.

Main Street will be closed to all vehicular traffic during the course of the event from Route 70 to Chapel Avenue. Parts of Union Street and Bank Street will also be closed. For more information, visit www.MedfordPolice.org. the week prior to the event. A listing of directions and Medford Village parking areas can be found at www.medfordtownship.com/events.

Tabernacle Tree Lighting

Following a successful inaugural event last year, Tabernacle Township will have its second tree lighting ceremony on Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. on the grounds of Town Hall.

“I am so proud to be involved in this project again this year after the success of last year’s event. We’re building it bigger and, hopefully, better each year,” president of the Tabernacle Historical Society Mary Ann Silvers said.

The tree lighting is jointly sponsored by the Tabernacle Historical Society, The Tabernacle Woman’s Association and the Tabernacle PTA. It is free and open to everyone.

Along with the ceremonial lighting of the tree, the evening’s program will also include musical performances by third-grade singers of the elementary school, an instrumental ensemble from Seneca High School, the Olson Middle School Chorus and the OMS Hand Chimes group. Santa Claus will also make a special appearance and will be available later in the Gazebo for visits and photos.

All portions of the program this year will take place outdoors. Tents will be in place for the musicians as well as complimentary refreshments. In addition, Girl Scouts will be on hand to help children with a holiday craft.

The festivities will go on, rain or shine, so guests are advised to dress for the weather. Guests are also advised to bring cameras for photos with Santa.

For safety’s sake, parking will be available at the Holy Eucharist Church lot, which is adjacent to Town Hall. Members of the township CERT Team, Tabernacle Fire Company №1, Tabernacle Rescue Squad and representatives of the Office of Emergency Management will be on hand to ensure an enjoyable and safe evening for everyone.

The community tree will be illuminated every night until early January as a symbol of the good will in Tabernacle. The goal of the ceremonial lighting, according to the groups involved, is to one day have it become a well-loved holiday tradition in the township.

“(Last year) there were a lot of happy families enjoying the holiday festivities and appreciating the wonderful community in which we live. This event warms the heart, enlightens the spirit and enriches the soul of the community,” Silvers said.

For more information, please contact chairperson Richard Franzen at rfranzen@townshipoftabernacle-nj.gov or (609) 859–3469, Silvers of the Historical Society at (609) 268–1255, Carolyn Cuviello of the Woman’s Association at (609) 268–5933 or Jenn Quartarone of the PTA (609) 953–8846.

Turkey Bowl

There will be Thanksgiving morning football in Mt. Laurel this year as the Lenape Indians host rival Shawnee High School at 10 a.m. The game will be between two highly ranked teams as Shawnee entered the South Jersey Group IV playoffs as the №2 seed and Lenape was the №1 seed in the South Jersey Group V bracket.

This Thanksgiving will also marks the 12th season the Golden Eagles of Seneca High School will take on the Chiefs of Cherokee High School in the traditional Thanksgiving Day Turkey Bowl. The Chiefs have gotten the better of the rivalry, compiling a 9–2 record against the Golden Eagles on Thanksgiving including last year’s 35–19 victory at Cherokee. This year’s matchup will be a home game for Seneca, as it looks to pick up its first win against the Chiefs since winning 14–7 in 2009. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m.

Shawnee winter craft show

The Shawnee Band Parents Association is hosting its annual indoor Holiday Craft and Gift Fair on Dec. 12, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Shawnee High School. Proceeds from the event will benefit Shawnee’s band programs.

Featured at this free event are more than 120 vendors offering unique crafts, gourmet treats, gifts, holiday items and direct sales products.

“The Shawnee Holiday Craft Fair offers shoppers a great opportunity to purchase uniquely made items,” President of the Shawnee Band Parents Association Leslie Cromie said. “Talented regional artisans, crafters and direct sales representatives will feature jewelry, woodcrafts, clothing, accessories, decorations, pet gifts, food and more. We offer quite an impressive variety of items at our craft fair, all in support of Shawnee’s excellent band programs.”

Refreshments will also be on sale in the school cafeteria for holiday shoppers along with a gift basket raffle and bake sale to support the scholarship fund.

For additional information, call (609) 975–9469 or e-mail shscraftshow@fastmail.com.

Thanks-Giving Breakfast

The 11th Annual Medford-Vincentown Thanks-Giving Community Spiritual Breakfast will be held on Wed, Nov. 25 from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at the Medford Lakes Country Club on Oak Drive in Medford Lakes.

Rotarians Dave Stow, Trish LaBouff and Don Muller, chairs for the event, reported last year’s event was such a success with more than 175 people attending that they expect a sell out this year.

“Our community has much to be thankful for, and this event allows us to hold a community-wide event involving churches and clergy from around the area to come together and express that thanks,” Muller said.

This year’s keynote speaker will be the Rev. Daniel F. Swift, pastor from St. Mary of the Lakes Church.

The cost for the event is $16 and includes a breakfast buffet. Any funds raised by this year’s event will go toward the Gift of Life Program.

Reservations can be made by calling Stow at (609) 953–7600.

Toys for Tots

The Pinelands area plans to continue to be a hot spot for Burlington County’s Toys for Tots drive this holiday season. Collection boxes will be available at the following locations in the township.

(Medford)

4 Union St, Suite 206 (Corner of Union and Main across from the Pop Shop)

Just Children — 130 Medford-Mt Holly Road

Amoriello Hair Design — 560 Stokes Road, Suite 23

Lenape High School National Honor Society — 235 Hartford Road

P J Whelihan’s Pub — 61 Stokes Road

My Investor Bank — 415 Stokes Road

Columbia Bank — 133 Route 70

ERA Statewide Realty — 709 Stokes Road, Suite 200 and 201

Johnson’s Corner Farm — 113 Church Road

Milton H. Allen Elementary School — 24 Allen Ave.

Hayes Run Apartments — 407B Hayes Run

Breakthur Fitness & Physical Therapy — 200 Tuckerton Road

Fond Memories — 200 Tuckerton Road, Suite 7

The Village of Barton Run 322 A Barton Run Blvd.

Elite Insurance Co. (Allstate) — 142 Route 70

Care Chiropractic & Wellness — 639 Stokes Road

Cornerstone Bank — 170 Himmelein Road

Medford Foot Specialist — 128 Route 70

NovaCare — 128 Route 70, Suite 2C

Rustic Grill — 519 Stokes Road

AVM Salon — 13 Tomlinson Mill Road

Medford Lakes Colony — 79 Tecumseh Trail

Image Beauty — 630 Stokes Road

Mathnasium — 560 Stokes Road Suite 24

(Shamong)

A Childs Place — 491 Oakshade Road

Education Station — 107 Indian Mills Road

Pic A Lilli Inn — 866 Route 206

Santa at Kirby’s Mill

Santa is coming to Kirby’s Mill again this year on Dec. 5 from 1 to 4 p.m.

Families are encouraged to bring their cameras to take pictures of their children with him.

There will not be any charge to anyone coming to visit as Santa will be donating his time on behalf of the children.

He will be coming to visit the Sawyer House in the Kirby’s Mill Complex located on 275 Church Road, at Fostertown Road in Medford.

This is another free event brought to the township by the Medford Historical Society. Email Theresa at theresafreedman@gmail.com with any questions.

Indian Mills Home and School Association

The association will be holding its annual Holiday Shop from Dec. 8–10 at the Indian Mills Elementary School in Shamong. It will also be having a dining day/night at the Pop Shop in Medford on Dec. 1 from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., where 15 percent of the dining bill will be donated to the IMHSA.

Helping Hands Tree

The Helping Hands Tree of the Tabernacle Woman’s Association will again make its appearance on Nov. 25 at the Beneficial Bank corner of Routes 206 and 532 as it has for many years.

Residents are encouraged to stop in and pick a tag to help make a child’s holidays brighter.

Participants are asked to return the tag with a gift by Dec. 18 so Santa’s elves can get them under the tree in time for Christmas.

Bag Bingo

Residents may be able to win a few items on their holiday wish list, as Seneca High School will host a designer bag bingo fundraiser on Thursday, Dec. 10 in the school cafeteria at 6:30 p.m.

All proceeds from the event will help fund the “110 Carranza Prom House,” an alcohol- and drug-free post prom party to be held at Seneca High School.

In an effort to encourage Seneca High School students to make good after-prom decisions, the school hosts an after-prom party. The event is open to all seniors and their dates whether they attended prom or not. During the event, there are plenty of games and prizes for the students to win.

Ten games of bingo will be played, and a bag or wallet will be given as a prize for each game.

It will cost $20 per player if their registration is received by Nov. 24, and $25 after Nov. 24 and at the door.

Guests must be 18 or older to play. Additional cards may be purchased at the door.

School concerts

Shawnee will be hosting its annual choral concert on Dec. 10 from 6 to 8 p.m. along with its annual instrumental music concert on Dec. 15 from 7 to p.m.

Medford Memorial Middle School will be holding its yearly holiday shop on Dec. 11 at 3 p.m. and Dec. 12 at 10 a.m. The school will also be hosting its annual winter choral concert on Jan. 14 at 7 p.m.

Olson Middle School will be hosting both its band and choral concerts together on Dec. 9 at 9:30 a.m. and again on Dec. 10 a 7 p.m.

Medford United Methodist Church

The church will be hosting its vocal choir candlelight service entitled “Carols, Old & New” on Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. and its handbell and handchime concert entitled “Through a Shepherd’s Eyes” on the following Sunday, Dec. 20 at 4 p.m.