Bloomfield Center: Block Party Canceled Due To Weather Forecast

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — UPDATE: The Bloomfield Center Alliance has announced that it is canceling this weekend’s scheduled Block Party due to the forecast of heavy rainfall both Saturday (May 19) and Sunday (May 20). Visit the website at www.bloomfieldcenter.com for news and information on other upcoming events and activities. Our original article follows below.

The Bloomfield Center Block Party is scheduled for Saturday, May 19, and the Bloomfield Center Alliance (BCA) invites everyone to come to downtown Bloomfield and join the fun. The community event is a chance for visitors from near and far to enjoy a day of delicious “eats and treats” from local restaurants, along with great music, and family fun. The party will take place on the one block of Washington Street (between Glenwood Avenue and Farrand Street) and will run from 12 noon to 8 PM. The event is free to attend, but the food and drinks will be sold at participating restaurants.

This year’s event is made possible by the generous and gracious support of the event’s main sponsor The Shops at Bloomfield Station. A total of seventeen different restaurants are registered, setting up under canopies and tables provided by the BCA and serving food and drink. They include: Aki Asian House, Anthony’s, Bloomfield Steak and Seafood, Deacon’s Den @ Bloomfield College, Braun’s Tavern and Dining Room, Buy Rite Liquors, Essex Junction Craft Kitchen and Bar, Heavenly Bites/Flavors, Jack’s Super Foodtown, Mangia Organica, Pure Love Pies, Tilted Kilt Pub and Eatery, Tacos La Gringa, and The Wooden Spoon Southern Kitchen and Saloon. Two new restaurants are joining the party for the first time. Zest is a healthy café now serving juices, smoothies, and baked goods in Jack’s Foodtown. The second is the long awaited arrival of Burgers Grilled Right (BGR) which will be opening in the new mixed-use development The Green located at the corner of Broad and Liberty Streets.

Speaking on the company’s support of the event, Cedar Realty Trust’s Regional Property Manager Monica Lopez states, “The Shops at Bloomfield Station & Cedar Realty Trust are proud to be a part of this very important event again this year. Our company values are rooted in giving back to the community and this event highlights so much of what makes this community so special. We are honored to help celebrate the Bloomfield Center community. COME CHECK IT OUT and have some fun alongside us!” The Shops at Bloomfield Station is home to several restaurants, stores, and services and provides a convenient shopping and dining.

While event attendees will be enjoying all the great food and drink, they will also be entertained with lots of music. This year, live music will be provided by the local Bloomfield-based band The New Watchdog Blues Band who will open up the event at 12 noon and play until 3 PM. Joining the band for their performance that day will be New Jersey Blues Hall of Famer Dock Perry! Afterward a deejay from Eye to Eye Entertainment will keep the party (and dancing) going spinning dance tunes until 8 PM!

Also on hand that day will be the township’s Pedestrian Advisory Committee who, working in conjunction with other partners, will be creating a temporary “parklet” along one end of Washington Street. According to Bloomfield resident and committee chair Lark Lo, the demonstration project is intended to show how these innovative structures can be “. . . used to create beautiful areas within unconventional spaces. A parklet literally and figuratively extends a community’s space by creating a pocket park in an unused parking spot or underutilized section of the sidewalk.” The Block Party parklet will be designed with a literary theme and its construction livestreamed by VELO Bloomfield.

The BCA graciously acknowledges the additional financial support of Lynnes Auto Group as well as cooperation of the Township of Bloomfield, who has arranged for free parking all day in the nearby Farrand Street lot. BCA Executive Director Ollyn Lettman, “As always, we remain very grateful for the support of our corporate sponsors, community partners, and the township. Collectively, they understand the importance of these events in making Bloomfield Center a desired destination for local residents, as well as new visitors who want to experience our growing and evolving downtown district.” For more information on this and other Bloomfield Center-related news and announcements, visit the BCA website at www.bloomfieldcenter.com

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Photos: Bloomfield Center Block Party in 2017 (Bloomfield Center Alliance)

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