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Aberdeen Day 2017
Living in Hazlet for 45 years has made me somewhat of an expert when it comes to our local town festivals and celebrations. I have been to many including Keyport, Middletown, Hazlet, Long Branch and others, but one of my favorites has to be Aberdeen Day 2017.
Aberdeen Day 2017 is a special day and was properly promoted with huge banners placed on all major roads and highways in all of the neighboring towns including Hazlet, Keyport, Lawrence Harbor, Matawan and others. The cost of the banners and the lighted signs had to be significant, but Aberdeen’s committee was smart enough to enlist the help of sponsoring companies to offset those costs.
By promoting this day for the past couple of months, the many thousands of people and vehicles simply had to know the day and the schedule of this days festivities was September 23rd.
There is no town’s festivities that offer what Aberdeen offers with the help of both DeMarco’s Italian Bakery and Deli and Livoti’s. Both of these great stores really step up to thank their customers for their patronage.
DeMarco’s Catering and Gourmet Deli – Strathmore Shopping Plaza
It was so hot that day that I decided to skip going over to Matawan Regional where there was so much going on and simply cover and take photos of my favorite Deli and Bakery DeMarco’s Catering and Gourmet Deli and then over to Livoti’s Old World Market.where all the free food and fun was happening.
Our family has been a patron of DeMarco’s for over 45 years now and it is our personal favorite and go to place for their wonderful Artisan breads that Gene’s brother Robert DeMarco and his dad Lou bake. Of course we love their deli offerings and always stop in for their #9 Hero and some of their great breads.
There is simply no other bread bakery in the area that can compare. As I parked and walked over to the DeMarco’s tent, it was filled DeMarco employees and their vendors, feeding the hundreds of hungry guests all sorts of wonderful fresh cooked food and specialty items.
Meet Mayor Fred Tagliarini
Of course I wasn’t surprised to see my friend Aberdeen Mayor Fred Tagliarini with Deputy Mayor Margaret Montone and members of the towns committee there as he has been every year that I have covered this celebration.
Fred and I struck up a friendship a few years ago when he invited me to cover some of their towns events including their 9/11 Dedication.
It is nice to get his support in what we do at the Hazlet News and I am always there to offer mine to him and his town.
Great to have a town that has the same mayor for a four-year term, rather than a committee that rotates their mayor each year as Hazlet does. Fred explained the merits of having a mayor elected for a four-year term and I would have to agree.
He told me that a mayor needs years of experience to really get things done right. Tagliarini has the proper support team to create and start programs and to oversea all the tasks necessary to run a town properly and it also eliminates tension between township committee members on who will have a turn at being mayor.
My wife owns a travel agency (Travel Pavilion) in Aberdeen and tells me how impressed she is with Aberdeen. Aberdeen is constantly reaching out to her and other businesses to help them and keep them informed on what is happening in the town.
Kudo’s to Fred T and his team. One example of how to do things right…have you seen the many signs around our area for Aberdeen Day? Sure you did, now you will see signs all around town for re-election of Fred Tagliarini for another four-year term as mayor…he is a shoo-in for sure.
After having a Boars Head hot dog with the works and a sausage slider, I went over and enjoyed some of the Italian specialties. Then of course desserts and drinks.
This was truly a food fest with dad Lou DeMarco their to help his son Eugene as he stretched the fresh mozzarella cheese for his guests to taste. Oh, did I mention, all the food, drinks and desserts were compliments of DeMarco’s. FREE FOOD got to love it.
Gene tells me It is their way of thanking their customers for their patronage each year. The great thing about DeMarco’s celebration was the way they organized their event. There were no long lines or barricades as was the case at Livoti’s.
Attendees just had to walk up and hold their hands out…got to love these guys they really go out of their way to thank their loyal customers each year. Oh, they also gave away a huge TV to one lucky winner in their DeMarco’s drawing.
In addition to the great food, Demarco’s had their classic car show and music too. Loads of fun and Kudo’s to the DeMarco family now the second generation of DeMarco’s will continue keeping their family business moving forward into the many years to come.
We also walked down toward Stop and Shop to see what they were doing and stopped in to say hello to the nice folks at the Woof Gang Bakery our neighborhood pet store. Loads of goodies for your dogs and they offer all sorts of spa treatments and dog supplies. They had set up a Halloween photo booth and were taking photos of anyone with a dog…loads of fun.
Really cool store the only one of its kind in our area be sure to stop in and mention you heard about them in the Hazlet News.
Livoti’s Old World Market
Of course we also had to stop at Livoti’s who we shop at for some of our baked goods and lots of our produce. Now who did we meet at Livoti’s? Yup, Mayor Fred Tagliarini 🙂 He moves faster than I do…so we were able to take this great photo of him with owner John Livoti Sr.
This year as in the past, they had an insane line of people waiting for some of their specialties. We had enough to eat at DeMarco’s so I only stopped to grab some photos and say hi to the folks at Livoti’s.
From all the election signs in our area, you know that Aberdeen Mayor Fred Taglarini is now up for re-election. As politicians do, he was their with a big smile on his face to congratulate both the teams at DeMarco’s and Livoti’s and shook hands and kissed babies (just kidding) at the event.
Matawan Regional High School
From Livoti’s I would normally go on to Matawan High School to visit all the wonderful exhibits, shows and vendors there. But it was so hot that I decided to simply republish some of the information from previous years below.
I was told they had all the inflatable’s and pony rides for the children. Lots to do and to visit so many booths set up at the event, from many local businesses to animal rescue organizations, EMT and rescue teams, home improvement, religious organizations of all faiths, fitness companies and so much more. So many free samples and prizes too. Attendees ended up with a number of bags full of cool STUFF!
Great Fun Day For The Entire Family
The day was full of fun and food and of course the classic car show that seems to be everywhere in our local towns these days. Aberdeen Day 2017 was another success.
Don’t forget the Carnival Aberdeen is sponsoring on Sunday that will be open 3p to 9p at Guisti Field.
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On A Personal Note: I Will Be Leaving Hazlet Soon
This may be our last time covering Aberdeen Day as my wife and I are selling our house and joining family and friends in Florida.
Our house in Raritan Valley is now listed for sale on Zillow…anyone interested or have a friend or family member looking for a beautiful home in Hazlet, click here to see the listing on Zillow.
