BERKELEY – During Berkeley Community Pride Day, there’s a stage for performances. At one point, Caroline Slade Harden of Manchester, Miss Senior America 2017, sang the Peggy Lee song “I Love Being Here With You,” changing the lyrics to spots on the Jersey shore and her fellow performers in the Cameo Club.
There was plenty to sing about at the event: rides, inflatables, music, new friends and old. The overcast weather had taken a turn for the better, and graced Veterans Park with sunlight. Families hung out in the shade of a ring of trees.
Civic groups like the Boy Scouts and the Knights of Columbus were serving up food. People were taking it with them or settling at a picnic area. The town’s recreation staff had a booth for activities like sand art and glitter tattoos.
Local businesses, and civic organizations like the Historical Society or the Daughters of the American Revolution, had booths along the outskirts of the park. These booths serve as important contact points for these groups to educate the public on their missions.
The Barnegat Bay Estuary Program was teaching people about stormwater management for your home, said Janette Koplitz, the group’s secretary.
[adrotate banner="278"]“We had pamphlets but they’re all gone at this point,” she said in the early afternoon.
They were also giving out magnets with important environmental information, she said. It’s a way of bringing the lessons home, and incorporating them into your daily life. You might only have a few minutes of time with someone at an event like this, so having them bring home something useful makes a lasting impression.
The Bayville First Aid Squad had an ambulance on display that people could check out. Kids especially liked climbing inside and looking at all the equipment.
Squad member Pat Sperber said the kids got a kick out of the car seat that’s in the back that kids can go in if they are too scared of the stretcher.
Members are wanted for the Bayville First Aid Squad. Full members have to be 18 or older. Cadets can be 16 or older. For more information, call David Johnston at 732-269-1313.
