The fun doesn’t stop in New Jersey when the summer ends. Rather than constant travel and long, sweaty days, the fall prompts New Jersey residents to enjoy their hometown without the interruptions for which summer is known and loved.
Coasting off the energy that a New Jersey summer breeds, residents gather for fall time events bearing bright smiles and comfortable clothing for community building events, great food, and lip-smacking refreshments.
In Freehold, fall calendars are blocked off for two big campaigns and the many events that characterize them. The Half Mile of Horses Art Walk, and the Halloween Spooktacular are two free events that unify the local community with help from volunteers, business owners, government officials, and borough employees alike.
The Neighborhood Preservation Program
Specifically for the Half Mile of Horses Art Walk, the proceedings would not be possible without the Neighborhood Preservation Program (NPP). The Borough of Freehold is one of 40 communities to receive the $125,000 NPP grant which was awarded in late September 2021. The grant allows community leaders in places like Freehold to host free events, improve town infrastructure, and more.
Dominica Napolitano is on the Freehold Borough’s Planning Board. She is the Technical Assistant Land Use Management and the NPP Coordinator.
“The grant is supposed to bring back social and economic placemaking, and is for doing good things within the community. So, the Half Mile is just one thing we’ve done that gives people something to talk about,” shared Napolitano, adding with the grant funds they have also planted trees and updated lights and benches throughout the borough.
“… Stuff you don’t see or notice as much. The grant also covers the facade grant program for commercial and mixed-use businesses.”
Napolitano was one of the main components that brought Half Mile of Horses Art Walk and its many facets together last year.
This year she was one of 18 artists who participated in the art walk, which came to a culmination with the crowning of the most voted favorite horse – “Greetings from the Jersey Shore” by Artist Mary K. Nesnay – during a ceremony on Oct. 5.
“Greetings from the Jersey Shore” is inspired by the beautiful beaches of New Jersey, according to its description. Sand is used as the background. Beach badges from different shore towns are then painted on top in different colors and styles, creating a layered effect.
“In the Spring, we sent out an RFP (request for proposal) looking for artists, sent email blasts, and received 40 submissions,” Napolitano explained. “Some artists sent in one sketch, and some sent three. Leaving myself out, the NPP team did a blind vote, and this year came up with 18 artists. Every artist picked up the horses from a local company called Stone Dog Studios that fabricated the horse sculptures. They came out super light and you could carry one on your arm.”
In 2022, there were 12 artists selected who had eight weeks to complete the project. This year, artists had to pick up their horses, and in four weeks’ time paint them before being put on display around Main Street and South Street during early July. Stone Dog Studio is involved from start to finish–their team makes podiums for the horses and adds a varnish to each horse to get every piece ready for the outdoors.”
Last year, the winner was Paige Reed–who is (go-figure) an art teacher for children in pre-K to the fifth grade at West Freehold Elementary. She painted a horse called “Let it Grow” which is still displayed at the Freehold Art Gallery–the sponsor of Reed’s painted horse sculpture last year.
This year, Reed participated once again with her painted horse sculpture “Stitch in Time.”
“The horse took close to 100 hours to complete,” Reed said. “I decided to get involved because I thought it was cool to use art to bring the community together. Artists see beauty where other people don’t, and everyone finds beauty in different things. And Freehold is my favorite place in the world.”
Reed said the six-week time frame to work on the horse sculptures was just right.
“… You have to plan out what you’re gonna paint first,” she said. “The embroidered pieces were drawn out before, then I molded plaster, used the Dremel to sand it down, and then painting began–with acrylic paints and paint pens on all the patches.
“I tried to create a piece that looked like it was sewn and embroidered to give that warm feeling like when my grandmother taught me how to crochet.
“I wanted it to feel personalized like a quilt–a collection of my favorite places in Freehold. Each patch represents favorite people from here like Bruce Springsteen and Molly Pitcher, and places like the courthouse, the old schoolhouse, Jersey Freeze ice cream… Lots of neat things here because it’s one of the oldest cities in New Jersey. The house where I live in is over 100 years old and used to be a potato farm. I love it because you can walk into town. The downtown area is really fun, and the energy is good there.”
Reed’s “Stitch in Time” came in second this year.
“I loved the community response last year,” Reed said. “It’s incredible how many people reached out with congratulations. I am so happy to bring the community together through art. Our downtown has that artsy feel, and seeing people flock to see it was truly inspiring and humbling.”
From Art to Spooktacular
As the Half Mile of Horses Art Walk winded down in early October, the Freehold Halloween Spooktacular came roaring to life.
FREEHOLD SPOOKTACULAR – PHOTOS COURTESY OF CARL BEAMS
The Freehold Halloween Spooktacular Committee is made up of volunteers and puts in a month’s worth of free events for the community, according to Toni Field, the event chair for Spooktacular, who also happened to be one of the horse-painting artists from last year’s Art Walk.
“Spooktacular started in 1994 as a parade and evolved since then,” she said. “I joined three years ago with Roger Kane as event chair. Now this is my second year as chair.”
Field moved with her family from Last Vegas to Freehold in 2016.
The chain of spooky shindigs had something for everyone with offerings like Heavy Halloween and the Annual Placing of Cornstalks, to Window Painting and Costume contests, among other events.
Movie Night was a double feature with a family movie and second geared more for adults right outside at the Hall of Records.
During last year’s movie night, “we all ran into the Court Jester to get people out of the bar, and out of their comfort zones to hang out with us,” laughed Field.
Freehold Spooktacular gathers the entire community together.
High School students and teachers came together to paint local business windows “spooktacular” along Main and South streets and in the Borough Plaza.
“The students come out to paint, businesses donate food and water, and kids have opportunities to win awards,” explained Field.
The Haunted Hayride
In 2002, Freehold’s Haunted Hayride took a backseat for years. Two decades later, it is back.
“… My neighbor told us [at one point] how they had the haunted hayride,” Field said.
Since then, she has contemplated on “how do we bring this back?”
“In 2021, we got people involved and it started at the Wells Fargo.”
Along the haunted hayride route, volunteers are in costumes and perform live spooktacular scenes.
Not only is the hayride fun, it is a great opportunity for kids to earn community service hours. They also get to come up and dress in costumes and get to perform for those on the hayride.
The Haunted Hayride revival brought with it a house decorating contest, and overall a feeling of connectivity throughout the community.
“Jim Hurley is one of the tractor drivers, and he’s my neighbor, the one who told me about the hayride. He loves it,” Field said. “He is the epitome of Freehold Borough, has lived here his whole life, and loves this town so much. He’s so happy to get his tractor out and pull people around.”
Field was the main integral element which brought Freehold’s Haunted Hayride back from the dead. Her very own “Frankenstein” creation of sorts has added yet another community building event for Freehold residents as well as visiting families.
From the Haunted Hayride comes the Monster Mash and a pumpkin carving Jack-o-Lantern contest filled with dancing, family fun, games, awards and fall goodies – donuts, cider and popcorn. Yum!
The Spooktacular series crescendos with the Freehold Costume Parade.
“We get high school bands and bring antique fire trucks to the Costume Contest in the Freehold Raceway lot,” Field said. “People come from all over for the parade.”
It’s a whole community affair with Downtown Freehold, Freehold Department of Public Works, the Freehold Borough police and fire departments, and the administrators who work for the borough.
“You get that warm and fuzzy feeling from the committee, volunteers, and people who come,” Field said.
“It’s all free and it builds our diverse community. It shows people’s heart and what they’re willing to do for the community.”
