The Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority put on perhaps its largest Environmental Fair ever on Saturday, featuring a special VIP tent for seniors and newly diverse food offerings.
Saturday's fair was the first since former Plainfield Corporation Counsel Dan Williamson left City Hall to become executive director of the PMUA. Williamson wore a 2012 Environmental Fair commemorative T-shirt as he made the rounds at Library Park, where several tents, rides and food stands were set up under the towering oak trees.
The Friends of the Plainfield Public Library gave away children's books.
Besides the customary hot dogs and hamburgers, the free food included empanadas and cheese cassava. PMUA sales manager Darius V. Griffin said the latter items went fast. (I like empanadas but had to look up cheese cassava online when I got home. There was an array of recipes, so I don't know which one was offered, but all sounded interesting.)
Face painting was very popular. Children could also get designs on their arms, as you can see.
The balloon animal guy was busy making all sorts of things, including ...
... balloon assault rifles or somesuch. How times change. That sight sent me online and I found out this balloon gun fad dates back several years now.
The fair nearly got rained out, with a downpour around 10 a.m. But the environmental deities had everything cleared up and sunny by the 11 a.m. start. By the look of things, a good time was had by all.
(The PMUA meets monthly, if you want to see Dan Williamson and the commissioners in action. The September meeting was rescheduled to 6 p.m. Wednesday at PMUA headquarters, 127 Roosevelt Ave. Click here for additional information.)
--Bernice
Someone footed the bill. They're called the ratepayers. This sort of 'free' spending is why monopolies are economically suspect and why we went to war over taxation without representation. Glad to see part of the tab was picked up by one of our reliable pay-to-play professional service contractors. Two years after WBLS and Crime Emergency 2010 the kids are walking away with assault gun balloons.
ReplyDeleteBread and circuses for the masses, while those in power rip the people off.
ReplyDeletethe food part really is annoying.. What is it about Plainfield that suggests "if we feed them, then they will come" ..
ReplyDeleteEnvironmental Fair : GREAT
Save a tree play Bingo: Perplexing at best
Stop treating it as lets find a reason to get anyone and everyone out to it..
It's an Environmental Fair.. that's what it is, and treat it as such.
As always, I still ask: what do bouncy attractions and face painting have to do with the outrageous rates we pay for trash collection, but I did stop in and commend Dan Williamson for mingling instead of sitting in a special tent across the street gobbling shrimp and filet mignon, as in previous years.
ReplyDeleteCan someone explain to me what part of this event is an "environmental" fair? Why don't they just call it what it is.....a freebie for the families' of those who support the PMUA and then the few others who happen to attend get to enjoy as well.
ReplyDeleteAnother bogus Plainfield event on the backs of rate payers and the minority of tax payers who pay the majority of the taxes and ultimately have kept Plainfield from becoming another East Orange, Irvington or Paterson.
Yuck!
This isn't an environmental fair. An environmental fair would highlight keeping the environment clean. Has anyone ever taken a look at the library park the day after the fair??? It's a free party for some paid by the ratepayers. The VIP tent is exclusively for a select few. Maybe if they didn't have "environmental fairs" the rates would be consistent with other union county cities!
ReplyDelete