Overshadowed by the Garden State’s more iconic crops, cranberries often don’t get their due until Thanksgiving. How many New Jerseyans know that their state ranks third in cranberry production, behind only Wisconsin and Massachusetts?
They know it in Burlington County, the heart of cranberry country, where the annual harvest is about to peak. In fact, the unsung fruit will get a weekend in the spotlight at the 24th annual Cranberry Festival on Oct 20 and 21 in the Chatsworth section of Woodland Township.
Since it began in 1984, the event has grown in popularity, says Lynn Giamalis, who has served as festival chairperson for the past eleven years. The festival attracts visitors from all over the country. About 1,200 residents live on Woodland’s 95 square miles; the festival, which also features crafts and live music, brings in some 75,000 more people if the weather is good.
“People go crazy about it,” says Giamalis. “They’ll put cranberries in anything,” including muffins, fritters, upside-down cake, doughnuts, ice cream, jams, jellies, ketchup, and mustard. You can even buy—gasp—fresh cranberries, tart,crisp, and bouncy.