By Laura D.C. Kolnoski
OCEANPORT – Organizers pre-sold 1,100 tickets, but ultimately close to 4,500 people showed up for the inaugural BouJee FoodieCon food and music festival held last Saturday and Sunday on the lawn behind Russel Hall on Fort Monmouth.
The event went off without incident under dark, chilly skies, with attendees enjoying a variety of food trucks, vendors, carnival games, culinary events, workshops, a kiddie scavenger hunt, and a decidedly adult Ketel One Vodka tent with sofas and servers. A steady lineup of musical acts and dancers kept the stage area lively.
“Wow” and “awesome” were the reactions of organizers and CW Events founders Renee Lam-Whiteman and Melanie Carpenter of Monmouth Beach during a recap Monday. Following their first event of this magnitude, the pair drove to Oceanport First Aid to deliver another gift, adding $2,000 to the event’s initial $3,500 donation for a total of $5,500.
“It was beyond what we expected,” Carpenter said. “We feel it was a tremendous success. It was the first time some of our vendors participated in a food festival and they were thrilled for the exposure.” Meg, a digital content creator who runs the social media account Beach Babe Bites, judged a variety of entrants and pronounced Hearthly Burger of Shrewsbury “Best Overall” for the weekend.
Some of the longest lines at the food trucks queued up in front of The Butcher’s Block of Long Branch, the popular beef emporium. As he oversaw spitting hot grills, the restaurant’s Pat Gaughran said he wanted to participate because “we love anything with the community and especially the fort.” Waiting for their pizza to emerge from an actual pizza oven aboard the Bella Ciao truck, Tara Mattiello of Fair Haven was helping her daughter Olivia, 4, fill out her scavenger hunt form.
“We’re here to try new food, see live music, and do the scavenger hunt,” Mattiello said. “It’s great to see what’s happening on the fort. There’s so much space and things are moving in. There’s a lot of opportunity.”
The cuisine, with a side of nostalgia, motivated the attendance of Claire King of Eatontown, who donned her best Disney Ratatouille gear for the occasion. “I’m a foodie, but I also worked at Fort Monmouth as a logistician with the Department of Defense. I love what they are doing with the fort’s redevelopment.”
Officials from the Oceanport Police Department, First Aid, and Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) all reported to Carpenter and Lam-Whiteman they were “pleased and thankful” with the two-day festival, which could become an annual event. The 1,126-acre former U.S. Army base has been undergoing a massive commercial and residential redevelopment following its closure by the federal government in 2011.
“This event brought life back to the fort, that was the whole point,” Lam-Whiteman said. “Next year we’d like to include more businesses, make it bigger and better, and be better prepared for ticket sales.”
“The festival was well organized and coordinated with local and county authorities; the organizers went above and beyond,” said Michael Abboud, owner of Russel Hall, who hosted the event and donated 100 percent of the vendor rental proceeds to Oceanport First Aid, along with 100 festival tickets for local first responders. “The inaugural BouJee FoodieCon delivered on the promise to bring people together to eat, drink and vibe. I look forward to inviting them back to raise money for the Oceanport First Aid Squad and support owner-operated businesses.”
The article originally appeared in the June 8 – 14, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
