JACKSON, NJ – The annual Jackson Day celebration that was to take place this coming Sunday at Johnson Park has been cancelled. Event organizers said that with Tropical Storm Ian’s impending approach, weather forecasts are calling for high winds and rain on Sunday.
Township Recreation Department Director Joeylynn Anderson said the decision was made by the Jackson Day Committee.
“Due to the projected weather forecast for this weekend, the Jackson Day Committee has decided that it would be in the public’s best interest to cancel this year’s Jackson Day event. As much as we had hoped to proceed, the public’s safety, as well as our employees, was our main concern and first priority in making this tough decision,” Zapata said today in the Jackson, NJ community Facebook group. With set up scheduled to take place on Saturday, the excessive rain and winds expected to impact our area will make the set up process difficult and potentially dangerous. With the high winds expected, objects can become airborne posing a safety hazard. These weather conditions are not conducive to outdoor events. Furthermore, there are contractual obligations that require us to cancel within a certain time frame to avoid penalty. This was a difficult decision to come to but strongly feel this is the best for everyone’s safety.”
Jackson Day has been held each year at Johnson Park for decades and has become the one day where all Jackson residents come together to support each other, local businesses, and local civic groups. Typically held in September or October, it is also an annual political opportunity for election candidates to campaign one on one with the residents of Jackson.
The event usually includes amusement rides, live entertainment, food, music, and recognition of local civic organizations.
The day was cancelled due to COVID-19 and several years ago was cut short by a passing thunderstorm that blew over large blowup rides and sent vendors scrambling to take down their canopies as they shook in the wind.
“The decision was made by the Jackson Day Committee,” Jackson Mayor Michael Reina said. “There’s too much of a risk to vendors and a lot of things need to be set up a day ahead of time. They’re calling for high winds and rain.”
Reina noted that the field at Johnson Park gets extremely wet and muddy during heavy rains.
“I fully agree with the decision made by the Jackson Day Committee,” he added.