Thanks to Dorothy Foley and Cynthia Hertneck the sunflower garden has transformed into a spectacular morning glory garden! You can check it out the corner of Browning and Chestnut. Volunteers from IE Merchantville and the Garden Club gathered to get their hands dirty helping to plant Merchantville's first Sunflower Garden in May 2019. Morning Glories are one of the last annuals to bloom in most regions, often in August or even early September.

Members of Merchantville's Fishing Club will join the ranks of anglers targeting striped bass and bluefish from the shores of Long Beach Island as the 65th annual Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Classic kicks off October 5th. Registration is still open for the nine-week derby – which began in 1955 as the “Striped Bass Derby” and is one of the nation’s oldest and most storied surfcasting tournaments. This event runs through December 8th, and offers thousands of dollars in prizes. Proceeds from the tournament, organized by the LBI Surf Fishing Classic Committee in partnership with the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce, go toward event prize distribution, with a portion benefiting local high school scholarships. 

Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher today recently announced the Grand Prize Winner of the 2019 #FindJerseyFresh photo contest is Sarah Licata, a food blogger based in Merchantville in Camden County. The grand prize for Licata is a $500 gift card to a business that features Jersey Fresh produce. Her place of choice was the A.T. Buzby Farm in Salem County. Licata sources some of her fruits and vegetables from that farm to feature in recipes she posts on her blog, saltjar.com. The winning photo by Licata featured a table of cherry tomatoes of different colors during the Burlington County Farmers Market at the Burlington County Agricultural Center.

Merchantville School kicked of the 2019-2020 Renaissance school year with a GO VIRAL! assembly reminding students to make positive connections with each other. Our school is proud to remind students about the importance of treating each other with respect. GO VIRAL is a new 40 minute multi-media experience from Camfel Productions designed to challenge students to make real connections. Cell phones and social media have altered how we communicate today in some amazing ways. These fabulous tools are incredibly useful for navigating through life today. However, too many students are abusing these tools as well. Social media is filled misleading information or students posting images seeking affirmation via hearts, likes and smiles. Some even use social media as a way to bully and criticize others to build themselves up. GO VIRAL motivates students to act responsibly within the social media world. They'll be challenged to post more real and encouraging comments. They'll be inspired to seek out face to face encounters and GO VIRAL with kind words and a smile. GO VIRAL will help students gain a new sense of their own innate worth, they'll grow to appreciate the diversity of race, language, and culture that make up the community in which they live.

This Saturday, September 21st from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m, Merchantville's awesome "Play with This" toy store will be hosting its annual Toy and Collectible Street Fair. There will be lots of great toy vendors, special appearances, games, and so much fun. This event is on the same day as the Town Wide Yard Sale, so come by and check us out after your early morning scavenging. And please make sure to stop by my booth at 19 West Park Avenue, where I will have lots of rare and hard to find 80s and 90s toys at great prices. Some of the toys that will be featured at my table are: Transformers, She-Ra action figures, Star Wars action figures, Jem backstager, Nintendo NES, and N64 games. Also featuring Littlest Pet Shop figurines, Polly Pockets, American Girl dolls, Bitty Baby accessories, $5 grab bags and lots of vintage, hard to find plush!

Kick off Merchantville's October 2019 Monsterville at a First Friday Pumpkin Painting Contest. Stop by the Monsterville pumpkin patch and pick a pumpkin out then, grab some paint and let your creative juices flow. The contest will take place on Saturday, October 4th from run from 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12.Judging of the best painted pumpkin will take place at 8:00 p.m. Pumpkins and paint will be provided. Kids can sign up for this event at the 9/21 or 9/28 Farmers Market. First Friday is a monthly night market from June to October with food trucks, vendors, live music, movies and fun for the whole family!

Charles Koory, chef/owner of Charlie's Crepes on the Merchantville Circle is looking for suggestions on how to use their beautiful yard and pergola patio to pump up their customer base and fill their parking lot! A recent facebook post by Charlie posed the question - "Should Charlie’s Crepes become Charlie’s Steaks?" There were more than 99 responses and 9 shares on this post and the answer was a resounding "no". Visitors to his post shared many great ideas - from cooking classes, a wall mural and posting weekly menus to marketing to local sports teams, BYOB bachelorettes and pop-up events. Last Friday Charlie was slow cooking tenderloin of pork for his evening special and suggesting FB visitors "take a minute, forget politics, close your virtual mouth, open your real one and put a delicious crepe in it today". Learn more about Charlies Crepes on their website and continue to add your suggestions his post here or email him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Halloween has always been a special holiday in Merchantville. Our beautiful tree lined streets, carpeted with autumn leaves, and victorian homes, in close proximity to one another, allow our walkable community to capitalize on the Halloween theme and welcome gobs of trick or treaters from our borough and surrounding towns. The Monsterville concept was developed in 2016 and is an extension of the borough’s commitment to Halloween which kicked off with an event in 2015 called the Haunts of Merchantville. The efforts of community members and the response of residents motivated us to further embrace this holiday and expand this annual event. Renaming the town "Monsterville" for the month of October helps to promote this celebration and encourage community spirit! 2019 Monsterville kicks off on Friday, October 4th, with a Pumpkin Painting Contest and a visit to the pumpkin patch.

Saturday, September 14th was The Juice Bar's last day at 20 S. Centre Street. But, before you panic, they'll be moving the store right next door to 22 S. Centre Street - formerly Wirth's Florist. They plan to be closed for about a week in order to move everything over to the new location and are asking their customers to be patient during this transition. The Juice Bar's owner, Seth Amoah, promises it’ll be well worth the wait! This opens up a great downtown opportunity for a new business at 20 S. Centre - a large storefront, with beautiful display window and awning, on a busy street in the heart of downtown Merchantville. The 1,000 square foot space is renting for $1500/month and features a bright showroom with closet, back office with closet, half bath and back foyer with back door. The entire storefront has been freshly painted with sparkling polished floors.  

If you have a personal treasure you have been yearning to know its historical significance and value, we have a venue for you. Join us for the Annual Meeting of the Merchantville Historical Society on Wednesday, October 9th, at 8:00 p.m., at the Community Center. Go to the Merchantville Historical Society Facebook page to indicate you are attending. Those guests wishing to bring an item for evaluation, should select the appropriate box. The first 35 people, registering a submission, will have their pieces placed in a viewing area. Mike Ivankovich, professional appraiser, will expound on each item to the audience. We are pleased to have The Woman’s Club of Merchantville co-hosting the event. Peruse your attic or storage areas; register your participation and come to our antiques style road show.