Moonbounces and food vendors blocked the streets of downtown Scotch Plains and Fanwood on Sunday, part of the towns' Scotch Plains Day and Fanny Wood Day celebrations. The events attracted hundreds of local residents. The attractions included rides, games, musical performances, booths hosted by local volunteer organizations and opportunities to meet local police officers, firefighters and EMTs. Click the photos above for images from the events. To submit your own, simply click the "Add" button below the lower-right-hand corner of each photo, or send an email to AlanN@patch.com.
More than 110 women from Scotch Plains, Fanwood and Westfield completed the Danskin Triathlon at Sandy Hook on Sunday, Sept. 11. The women, members of SPFW Tri-Women, which is based at the Fanwood-Scotch Plains YMCA and the JCC of Central New Jersey, joined 1,600 others from across the region in swimming a half-mile, cycling 10 miles and running five kilometers. Local residents Janice Baker, Amy Carow (who supplied the photos above) and Marie Russo placed in their respective age groups and received free registration to the next year's event. The Danskin represents the culmination of nine …
Just when Scotch Plains and Fanwood residents needed them most, the caped heroes of DC Comics have returned. Superman, Batman, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Catwoman and a host of other heroes are receiving a reboot, their stories starting over in newly-issued first editions. Fifty-two titles are being relaunched throughout September. The Little Shop of Comics, on Park Avenue in Scotch Plains, celebrated the release of the first title, "Justice League No. 1" at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. "We literally got overrun last night," owner Steven Olsen wrote in an email. "Probably four times the people we …
As Scotch Plains and Fanwood residents pumped water from their basements and surveyed damage wreaked by Hurricane Irene, they also submitted photos and videos to the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Patch. Here are the images you submitted. We invite you to share your experience of the storm by sending an email to AlanN@patch.com. For information on mass transit, click here; for information on local roads, updated Sunday evening, click here; for information on the electric utility, also updated Sunday evening, click here. Check Patch frequently for the latest updates, and stay tuned to our Facebook …
Boy Scouts of America, Troop 104 of Scotch Plains, spent a week at Sabattis Adventure Camp in Adirondack Park in upstate New York, according to an email submitted by reader Ed Bumiller. The scouts earned 55 merit badges, and the troop won several camp awards. Do you have photos you'd like to share with the community? Email AlanN@patch.com.
Hundreds of Scotch Plains and Fanwood residents turned out Tuesday for the township and borough police departments' National Night Out celebrations at Alan M. Augustine Park in Scotch Plains and LaGrande Park in Fanwood. The events featured rides, games, food vendors, emergency vehicles on display, and, in Scotch Plains, live music by The Broadcasters. National Night Out, held every Aug. 2 across the United States since 1983, seeks to strengthen relationships between police officers and the communities they serve. For photos from Scotch Plains and Fanwood's celebrations, click the images …
Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School's class of 2011 celebrated its commencement on Wednesday. Beneath cloudy skies that threatened rain – and, at times, sprinkled students and spectators – close to 360 graduates accepted their diplomas. Valedictorian Lauren Jean Bruce, salutatorian Amanda Ho and class president Christopher Michael Gilman delivered remarks, as well as principal David Heisey, superintendent Margaret Hayes and Board of Education president Trip Whitehouse. For photos from the event, click the images above. To submit your own, simply click "Add." To watch a full video replay of the…
Thousands of local residents flocked to downtown Fanwood for the borough's annual street fair. The event featured rides, games, food vendors and a mobile dinosaur exhibit on sauropods from the American Museum of Natural History. To view photos from the event, click the images above. To submit your own, click "Add" or email AlanN@patch.com.
Traffic slowed along North and South Avenue on Friday, as members of the Scotch Plains, Fanwood, Westfield, Garwood and other local police departments ran in the Law Enforcement "Flame of Hope" Torch Run, an annual event that kicks off the state's Special Olympics, held this weekend at The College of New Jersey in Ewing. About 3,000 law enforcement officers from across the state participated in the torch run, helping raise funds and awareness for the event, according to a press release distributed by the Special Olympics. Locally, Fanwood Officer Elliott Bernard, Scotch Plains Police Officers…
Residents from around the region flocked to Gallows Hill Road in Westfield last weekend for gyros, souvalki, baklava and dancing. The annual New Jersey GreekFest, sponsored by Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, offered a variety of cultural delights from food to dancing to the arts. To view photos from the event, click the images above. To submit your own, click "Add" or email AlanN@patch.com.
More than 200 runners took part in the Centennial Village "Velocity 5k" in Cranford on Sunday. The event, which started at the Lincoln School, raised funds for improvements to the Centennial Village Downtown District. To view photos from the event, click the images above. To submit your own, click "Add" or email AlanN@patch.com.
Residents of Scotch Plains and Fanwood came together Monday to honor local military service members. The day's tributes started with an 8 a.m. ceremony outside American Legion Post 209 in Scotch Plains, followed by wreath-laying ceremonies at the Fanwood Memorial Library and veterans monument in Scotch Plains, and the annual parade, which proceeding along Park Avenue from the veterans monument to LaGrande Park in Fanwood. This year's observances specifically commemorated the starts of the Civil War and World War II, plus the Gulf War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Veterans of the four …
The Summit Playhouse debuted "The Importance of Being Earnest," May 20. The show will run until June 5. Showings will be at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. on Sunday. For more information or to purchase tickets, click here.
Four days before residents of Scotch Plains and Fanwood gathered Saturday, April 30, to remember the three township residents lost in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, and six days before President Barack Obama announced that U.S. Navy SEALs had killed the man behind those attacks, members of the Scotch Plains Police Department, Fire Department and Rescue Squad traveled to JFK International Airport in Queens to retrieve a 10-foot steel beam that had been part of the World Trade Center. The beam will be incorporated into a new monument memorializing residents Matthew Horning, 26, Mark …
Close to 1,000 people spent Friday night and Saturday morning at the track behind Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School. There, they took part in the Relay for Life, a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. The participants, spread across nearly 100 teams, raised more than $150,000, according to the event's website, surpassing this year's goal by more $25,000. To view photos from the event, simply click the images above. To submit your own, click "Add" or send an email to AlanN@patch.com. For more information about the relay or to donate, click here. Victoria Ingato contributed reporting.
Scotch Plains and Fanwood's furry four-legged friends took to the streets Sunday for the Fanwood-Scotch Plains Rotary Club's inaugural "Woof Walk." Close to 100 residents braved cloudy skies and occasional rain to participate in the event, a 1.5-mile stroll to raise money for Rotary charities, the Scotch Plains Police Department's K-9 unit and the Fanwood Police Department's bicycle patrol. The route started and ended at Alan M. Augustine Park, which was filled with local vendors and organizations promoting their wares and causes. Click the photos above for images from the event. To submit …
The Newmark School hosted its annual art show Friday night. The event featured students' paintings, drawings, sculptures and other work, and attracted more than a hundred viewers. Click the photos above for images of the students' work. The Newmark School, which operates campuses in Plainfield and Carteret, serves special-needs students throughout the area, including Scotch Plains and Fanwood. For more information, click here.
As President Barack Obama announced the killing of Osama bin Laden late Sunday night and early Monday morning, thousands flocked to Ground Zero. There, native New Yorkers, tourists, laborers pulling the night shift and emergency workers cheered the demise of the world's most wanted terrorist, and reflected on the attacks that he orchestrated, including the bombing of U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998, the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000 and, most notably, the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.On Monday morning, Patch contributor Chris Federici headed to the World Trade Center to talk with …
Members of two Scotch Plains-Fanwood Girl Scout troops delivered more than 50 boxes of cookies to the Air Force Recruiting Office in Union on Thursday, according to Scotch Plains resident and Patch reader Randi Edelman. The cookies, donated by family and friends during the organization's cookie sale in April, will be sent overseas to officers stationed abroad, Air Force Sgt. Edwin Lopez said. Jessica Edelman, of Junior Troop 40602, and her sister, Lindsay, of Daisy Troop 291, pictured above, brought the the cookies to the station. Junior Troop Leaders Patrice Barth and Joan Ferguson, "Cookie …
Fanwood residents donned work gloves and carried trash bags Saturday morning to help clean litter from borough parks and public areas. The event, organized by public works director Clint Dicksen, Bob McCarthy, Greg Cummings, Donna Dolce, and Linda and Dean Talcott, was held as part of Fanwood's Earth Day celebration. Participants, who gathered at the Fanwood Train Station for the start of the event, received free t-shirts and snacks. The event also attracted local volunteer organizations, including the Fanwood Lions and Scotch-Fanwood Plains Girl Scout Troop 40052. To submit photos from the …
