25th ANNUAL WHITESBOG BLUEBERRY FESTIVAL
SATURDAY, JUNE 28, 2008
10 AM to 4 PM
HISTORIC WHITESBOG VILLAGE, BROWNS MILLS, NJ
The countdown has begun, and the 25th
ANNUAL WHITESBOG BLUEBERRY FESTIVAL returns to Historic
Whitesbog Village on Saturday, June 28, 2008. This annual
celebration of all things blueberry – the official state fruit of New
Jersey – is considered to be one of the top “old-fashioned” festivals in
the region. Pinelands-centric music, arts and crafts, food,
tours, and children’s activities will be featured at the fest. But the
real star of the show is, of course, the blueberries.
Each year, approximately 5,000 visitors travel to Whitesbog’s Blueberry
Festival to glimpse at the former working town as it was at the turn of
the 20th century, and its ongoing restoration. Located in the
heart of the Pinelands, Historic Whitesbog is the birthplace of the
cultivated blueberry. Whitesbog contributed to New Jersey’s – and the
country’s – agricultural and food heritage through creating the
domesticated huckleberry that we now love and enjoy.
Top attractions at the day-long festival include a Pinelands crafters
and artists “alley” featuring art, handicrafts, and photography. The
Pinelands Antique Engine Association’s displays, as well as walking and
wagon tours, are interactive experiences festival goers can enjoy
throughout the day. For the children, activities such as the
outrageously messy blueberry pie-eating contest will keep the young
ones entertained. Live bluegrass music lends the perfect soundtrack to
the festival, which the Burlington County Times has described as “a
reminder that good old country life is alive and well” in the region.
One of the claims to fame
only at Whitesbog is Elizabeth Coleman White; daughter of
J. J. White, former owner of Whitesbog Village. The feisty Miss
White cultivated the first commercially viable blueberry at Whitesbog in
1916. Suningive, Elizabeth White’s home, will be open to the public
during this day.
The 25th Annual Blueberry Festival is scheduled on Saturday, June
28 from 10AM to 4PM. Parking is $7.00 per car.
$3 per person arriving via bus/tour. All proceeds benefit the Whitesbog
Preservation Trust in their tireless efforts to restore and protect
Historic Whitesbog Village and its surrounding lands. Parking is
set on the airstrip – a 2 minute drive from the festival grounds.
Shuttle buses bring visitors from remote parking to the village.
For the fourth year in a row, “funding is made possible in part by the
New Jersey State Council on the Arts/ Department of State, a Partner
Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts through a grant to the
Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders”. This important grant
pays musicians’ fees and promotional expenses. The Whitesbog
Preservation Trust is proud to receive this special project grant from
the Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
Whitesbog is located at mile marker 13 on County Route 530 in Browns
Mills, (Pemberton Township) NJ. Four ways to find out information
and directions: telephone (609) 893-4646, Email
WhitesbogPreservationTrust@comcast.net , Website
www.whitesbog.org or visit Historic Whitesbog.
Whitesbog is administered by the State of New Jersey, Department
of Environmental Protection, Division of Parks and Forestry as part of
Brendan T. Byrne State Forest, (formerly known as Lebanon State Forest).
Whitesbog Preservation Trust 120-34 Whitesbog Road Browns Mills, NJ
08015
Telephone: (609) 893-4646 Fax: (609) 893-8297
WhitesbogPreservationTrust@comcast.net
www.whitesbog.org