Shad Fest Returns This Weekend

This weekend marks the 31st annual Shad Fest in Lambertville. The festival began in 1981 as a method of highlighting the great local art that Lambertville and New Hope have to offer. It coincided with the first blooms of Spring and the annual shad run. The festival has grown from a local celebration to an award-winning regional event.

OK, so first things first: What is a shad? The American Shad is the largest fish in the herring family. Every spring, shad migrate from salt water to fresh water to reproduce. Fishermen call this the “annual spring shad run.”

Shad Fest offers a fantastic variety of family, fun, art, food, culture, and (yes) shad. (It's OK if you don't like seafood, because there is a great variety of food at the fest!)

When:

April 28th, and 29th, 2012

12:30-5:30 pm both days – no fee for admission – rain or shine!

Where:

Lambertville, NJ

Activities:

According to the official Shadfest website, there will be plenty to do this weekend! We've listed some of the options here.

Get your O'Fish'l Shad Fest T Shirt! Come to the centrally located Chamber table and pick up your O'fish'l Shad Fest T-Shirt designed by a local artist.

Artists and Crafters: 80 of the region's finest artists and crafters featuring everything – jewelry, ceramics, furniture, apparel, accessories, home décor and more!

In The Food Court: everything from taco salads to fried Calamari! There will also be the tried and true favorites: shad chowder, hot dogs, fried oreos, hamburgers, fries and fresh lemonade for the traditionalists! Don't forget to try some of Wild Bill's Olde Fashion Soda featuring wonderful homemade sodas like root beer, cream soda and sasparilla.

Family fun: Face Painting, Cotton Candy, Sand Art, and other children's activities can be found throughout the event and this year kids will go crazy for the rides because they're back! Don't miss the fun and educational shad seining demonstrations down at Lewis Island where the Delaware River Basin Commission will be teaching us about how to test water quality. To the rear of the food court, stop by the Heart to Hearth Cookery booth and learn about colonial methods of cooking shad as well as how the Lenape cooked and preserved shad.

Historical Walking Tour of Lambertville: Visit the historic 1816 boyhood home of James Marshall, discoverer of gold in California, to learn his story and to visit the exhibits of the Lambertville Historical Society. Admission is free and the museum, located at 60 Bridge St. is open 1- 5. At 3 pm on Saturday join an expert guide for a Historical Tour of Lambertville – $5 per person – duration about one hour. No reservation is necessary, start from the Marshal House Museum.

Live Musical performances both days! The best of regional bands – listen to rock, blues, jazz fusion and more!

Poster Display and Auction – Over 100 original art posters, created and donated by local artists, are on display during Shad Festival weekend in the recreation room of the First Presbyterian Church, 31 N. Union St. These posters will be auctioned off on Sunday at 3 pm – the monies going to scholarships for students pursuing a collegiate career in the arts. Stop by the Church to see auction posters. Local schoolchildren's posters will be on display at the Justice Center, 25 S. Union Street.