On Aug. 12, the New Jersey State Fair wrapped up its 9-day run in the town of Augusta, New Jersey. While organizers projected a turnout of at least 100,000 visitors over the course of the much-anticipated event, the fair drew even more people than expected, and was considered a smashing success.
Featuring the “Sussex County Farm and Horse Show,” the fair boasted nearly 400 stalls offering a diverse array of entertainment, food, and gaming facilities — most of which had a focus on agriculture and farming. The event not only captivated locals from New Jersey, but also drew in tourists from as far as Washington D.C., with some traveling several hours to attend.
Kathy Cafasso, a spokesperson for the fair, shared with The Epoch Times, “We’ve hosted this event for over 80 years — witnessing its growth in both scale and quality. We’ve curated activities for everyone, from the young to the elderly. It stands as New Jersey’s premier agricultural showcase.”
Family-friendly fun
The fair, with its highlights in agriculture and education, offered a comprehensive display of poultry and livestock to engage kids and adults with a penchant for farming and gardening. Kid-friendly events, such as the “Piggy Sprint,” and “Honey Bee Demonstrations,” resonated particularly with the younger attendees.
“Our schedule is bustling from morning to evening. There’s never a dull moment,” Cafasso added. The fair ran from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays, and from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends.
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In addition, the fair featured many vendors selling different products. “This is a great year here at the New Jersey State Fair in Sussex,” Oliver, a sales agent for “Cool Bamboo Luxury Sheets,” told Vision Times.
“We’ve been doing so well, and it’s been really crowded everyday,” said Oliver, adding, “We had a lot of people that came from many different cities like New York and elsewhere. Some people even came all the way from Washington D.C. to visit the show, and have fun here.” Oliver said that compared to other events he’s worked at, the New Jersey fair drew a much larger crowd.
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Other organizations in attendance included Falun Gong practitioners who distributed informational materials and introduced the teachings of the practice to the public.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that combines meditation exercises with moral teachings centered around the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. In the early 1990s, the practice blossomed within the boundaries of China, reaching a scale that saw an estimated one in every thirteen Chinese citizens taking up the practice.
But after witnessing its rapid rise in popularity, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) perceived it as a potential threat to its authoritarian regime. This sparked an aggressive eradication and propaganda campaign to suppress and wipe out the practice on July 20, 1999. To this day, the persecution continues unabated, with thousands of Falun Gong being persecuted to death at the hands of Chinese police.
Zhu Weiyong, one of the coordinators for the booth, said, “Being the state’s largest fair, it offers us a great opportunity to discuss the essence of Falun Dafa, and address the prolonged persecution of the practice in China.”
“After seeing the words ‘truthfulness, compassion, tolerance,’ on display in our booth, it felt like some people could tell that this is exactly what they’ve been searching for. That’s what they told me,” another Falun Gong organizer at the event shared with Vision Times.
A clean, safe world
Incorporating a tech flair to the event, New York-based tech company Gan Jing World also made an appearance — emphasizing its mission to foster and develop a family-friendly social media platform anchored in traditional values.
Teresa Shen, an executive with the company told The Epoch Times, “Our goal here is to expand our reach and rally more individuals towards a cleaner, more optimistic future.”
With a focus on education and wholesome values, Gan Jing World aims to harness the power of technology to foster a caring, respectful, and trusting community in the hopes of revitalizing traditional relationships between individuals, families — and ultimately — society as a whole.
Other vendors in attendance included the Creative Arts for Home and Lobby Committee, a nonprofit group that attended the event under the umbrella for the Sussex Farm and Horse Show.
“We run contests for people,” said Cheryl, one of the representatives for the Creative Arts for Home and Hobby. “We offer classes on ceramics, jewelry-making, arts and crafts, etc, and we have levels from zero to professional,” she added.
Cheryl’s colleague added that the committee “accepts entries from anyone in any state,” and interested candidates can apply and submit directly via their website. “Here it’s just a matter of [most people being] from New York and Pennsylvania that send their work, but we have judges who come in and judge the work for them.”
For more information regarding the New Jersey State Fair and upcoming events, please visit the official website here.
