South Brunswick Independence Day Festival Returns July 6

South Brunswick Township will celebrate Independence Day with a festival slightly scaled back from last year. Due to the down economy, fundraising difficulties have limited some of the entertainment options from last year's event.

Because the Independence Day Festival is paid for through private donations and not through the municipal budget, the fundraising difficulties led to the elimination of some of last year's entertainment, such as the reptile show and magician.

"We're still going to have the fireworks display, some food vendors, games and music," said Township Councilman Joseph Camarota, one of the festival organizers. "We had to scale back a little bit on the entertainment because we had some trouble raising money this year. For example, the pony rides we had last year won't be returning."

The festival, which typically draws 5,000 to 7,000 people each year, will still offer a DJ providing music in addition to the fireworks. The free event will provide numerous food options, including several ice cream vendors, funnel cake, hot dogs, pizza, cheesecake and other dessert items.

"It's a great event for people to set up a picnic dinner and the music will still be great," Camarota said. "The fireworks are a family event every year for everyone in every demographic."

After South Brunswick eliminated the fireworks from the municipal budget four years ago, the township decided to pursue private fundraising to bring it back because of the benefits to the community.

"We felt it was very important to have this type of event fall outside of the township budget," Camarota said. "It unites South Brunswick and brings a very diverse group of people together for one night. It's like National Night Out, where everyone can celebrate this despite their different cultural backgrounds. It's a wonderful time that we didn't want to give up, so we went to personal donations to get it done."

The annual will be held on July 6 on the grounds between both , beginning at 6:30 p.m. The fireworks will begin around 9 p.m.  Rain date is July 7 for fireworks only.