SCCC Fall Festival brings smiles to faces

Sussex County - Molly Latincsics will turn three this week, and it’s always been her dream to ride a pony. Her family hardly expected to be able to fulfill that dream at Sussex County Community College’s Fall Festival. They’d been there in previous years and had never seen a pony, but this year was different. “It was amazing to see them there like magic so Molly’s birthday dream could come true,” her mother, Dawn, said. Molly’s older brother, Tyler, went first, then a special, smaller pony was led up to Molly. She climbed aboard wearing an over-sized helmet and was in horsie heaven. The festival’s aim is to epitomize the meaning of community and offers a day of fun to families at no charge. Despite intermittent spurts of light rain, spirits were high as a crowd of several hundred enjoyed theme-oriented blow-up bounce-a-ramas, soccer kicking contests, a live band, lots of food and a huge craft fair and rummage sale. Four-year-old Tara Stevenson of Branchville had been at the festival for a few hours. It was time to take shelter from a rain spritz, but she left with a smile on her face holding a big bag of popcorn. “I loved the slide,” she said between bites, “And the horsies.” Featuring games, relay races, prizes, face painting, crafts, story telling, and rides, the Fall Festival included the addition of an “old fashion flea market” this year which had everything from chandeliers to good old-fashioned rocking horses you can’t find anymore. As for the crafters, Dara Perlmutter and Lillina Houch of Inspiration Enterprises had a display of designer jewelry, purses and accessories the likes of which one usually finds only in some of the more “chi-chi” shops in New York City. The women, who are based in Sparta, offer their novelties at a fraction of big-city prices and can be found at similar events the area. “This festival is a fun event for us,” Perimutter said, “There’s a great mix of people.” Houch added, “And a lot of people who have visited our tent have never seen things before like what we have. It’s great to see the looks on their faces.” Across the vendor section, Michelle Pawson had her hand-made jewelry on display for sale. Though she hails from Carlstadt, N.J., her father, Ray Palko, lives in Stockholm, so Pawson has come to the fair for the past three years. Dad was on hand to help her with the sales. Pawson’s business, The Craft Shell, features unique jewelry she puts together herself, piece by piece. “We like the country environment, ” Pawson said, “And it’s also a great deal for us vendors.” She does hundreds of shows each year and she says the rental fee of $15 for a bring-your-own 10-by-10 table is a bargain. “I get two tables I bring myself for just $30.” Vendor prices are kept at bay because it’s the college’s goal to make it a community and college event, not a money maker. To this end, students are on hand to volunteer. One section of the festival was dedicated to education. It included booths like the one created by the student nurses at SCCC. Entitled “Stop Supersizing It,” the display educated people about portion control. Those working the booth said a number of students from the SCCC freshman seminar had been by with pad and pen in hand to take notes as they were being quizzed in class on what they learned at the festival. Back at the pony rides, 59-year-old Mare Galeos was taking photos. Why? Because she happens to be a SCCC student, and she was volunteering. “I didn’t want to go through life without having the college experience,” she said. So on top of her full-time volunteer job running a not-for-profit foundation that enables Sussex County women to receive free baseline mammograms, she’s earning her English degree and is a proud member of PTK, the National Honor Society for two-year colleges. “As part of PTK, we volunteer at this and other college events,” Galeos said as she photographed kids who part-took in the pony rides. She added that when she graduates, she “can’t wait to become a teacher.” Scrumptious smells permeated the air as a barbeque pit kept burgers and dogs coming out in a steady flow to the musical accompaniment of Doug Vano of Newton, Johnsburg’s Debbie Coffman and Andover’s Steve Iannocone and their band The Sound Bytes. The music included that of the 60s, 70s and 80s, so one minute there was a great rendition of “Under the Boardwalk” only to be followed by a snazzy version of “Tequila Sunrise.” A trackless train named the SCCC Express shuttled folks around to see all of the sites, and adults and kids alike enjoyed the range of activities. “My favorite is the Jungle Bounce,” beamed seven-year-old Austin Reza. He and his brother, two-year-old Andrew, who hail from Branchville, didn’t want to get off when their turn was up. Only one thing to do … get right back in line.