Lacey
Day: Giving back to the community, for
free
Now, celebration one day only
BY TRISTAN J. SCHWEIGER
MANAHAWKIN BUREAU
LACEY — As they boxed under the hot
sun, Rob Smith and Shawn Darling were
drawing a crowd.
Sure, there was plenty of other stuff
going on. Nearby, local politicians were
glad-handing with supporters. There were
burgers and hot dogs on the grill, and
there was even the promise of fire engine
rides for children later in the afternoon.
But this was probably the only stand at
Lacey Day where you could watch boxers
training.
"Give everybody a demonstration,
show everybody what we do," said
Darling, 36, when asked what brought him
to the event. Smith, 14, of Lacey is a
student at Darling's Gladiator Boxing gym,
and was throwing punches at Darling's
hands.
Saturday's event was the second year
Lacey Day has been held in its new,
scaled-back format. Previously spanning
three days and drawing as many as 10,000
visitors, town officials decided in 2005
to give the event more of a family
picnic-style atmosphere and reduce it to
just one day.
Lacey Day is also completely free now,
as opposed to previous years where
visitors had to pay for food and beverages
and carnival rides.
"It's giving back to the people of
Lacey Township," said Mayor Mark
Dykoff. "We wanted to get back to the
roots of it."
Dykoff said the new format seemed to
work well last year, and this year
officials were expecting 4,000 to 5,000
people to come to Gille Park for Lacey
Day.
It may be smaller now, but most people
who turned out Saturday seemed to be
enjoying themselves. Randy Williams, 32,
and his wife Rebecca, 27, were eating with
their children, 2-year-old Meghan and
3-year-old Colin.
As they ate, they were discussing what
to do next.
"Maybe get a firetruck ride, if
possible, for the kids," Randy
Williams suggested.
Nearby, members of the Rotary Club of
Forked River were staffing the grills,
cooking hotdogs and hamburgers for the
crowd.
"It's a lot of smoke," said
Stephen Burton, 49, as the wind blew
clouds of it from the grill and around the
rotary members.
Burton said the club was working in
shifts so members didn't have to spend the
whole day over the charcoal.
Those who weren't eating milled around
the booths of various nonprofits,
businesses and politicians. Some shook
hands with Rich Sexton, the Democrat
running against U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton, R-N.J.
But Smith was using the day to continue
his boxing training. He said he started
with Darling about a year-and-a-half ago,
and has enjoyed it.
"It keeps you in shape,"
Smith said, slightly out of breath.
"You get to meet a lot of
people."
