Abigail Twiford/The Sun Families gather around the walkway at Croft Farm to get photos with costumed entertainers at the Dec. 7 festival.
To ring in the season and celebrate the holidays, the township held its winter festival on Dec. 7 at Croft Farm.
Activities and vendors were spread throughout the grounds, with a section of games and activities for children and families set aside toward the back of the farm. Food trucks lined up in the parking lot at the front of the main park.
Machines creating fake snow from soap were in place to create the illusion of snowy weather. Across the front lawn, small butane fires in metal firepits were available for visitors to warm themselves or make S’mores from kits sold by Boy Scout Troop 70 to finance an upcoming trip to New Mexico.
Scout leader Mike Lausi said the troop’s idea for the firepits came several years ago.
“We’ve done it as a fundraiser ever since,” he added.
Musical acts at the festival included Cherry Hill West’s chamber choir singers, semi-finalists in the high-school division of radio station B101’s Christmas choir competition. The school’s jazz combo also performed.
Entertainers dressed as various characters walked through, including the Grinch, Olaf and Queen Elsa from Disney’s “Frozen,” Mickey and Minnie Mouse and Stitch from “Lilo and Stitch.”
Abigail Twiford/The Sun
Nikki Jay – whose voice studio also performed – got a photo with her family and Olaf.
“He’s adorable,” she noted of the Disney character. “The first year we came here, there was only like one guy here, and now there’s like five. And so it makes a big difference. My kids absolutely loved it. It’s been an awesome experience.
“We come every year, and we love this festival,” Jay added. “It’s a great way for all the community to come together and small businesses to support each other. I love it and support the arts more than anything.”
Several of the farm’s small buildings held indoor activities, with one functioning as a place where guests could learn about winter holidays from various cultures, including Diwali, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah. Henna hand art, Diwali decorations and a selection of library books about multi-cultural winter and autumn holidays were also available.
Another building featured the Robot Foundry, a demonstration of machines and devices and the process of making them. The children’s section of the festival was equipped with a snow globe-shaped bounce house, snow-themed games, balloon animal creators, mini golf and bracelet-making stations.
Photos by Abigail Twiford/The Sun The annual township celebration of July 4 is planned about a year in advance, according to Mayor Dave Fleisher.
Cherry Hill held its 4th of July celebration one day early – with some rain delays – at the Jonas C. Morris Stadium at West High.
Though gates were originally supposed to open at 7 p.m., weather conditions caused a 30-minute delay. Updates were posted on the township Facebook page, with assurances that the show would go on regardless of rain.
Mayor Dave Fleisher was involved with the event’s planning and decision-making.
“We start months in advance, really a full year in advance, pulling together elements that create, hopefully, an unforgettable night for our residents,” he said. “So that involves the fireworks display itself, food trucks, live music, the DJ and coordinating all the resources and volunteers to make it happen.”
Volunteers were stationed throughout the stadium – including at the front gates – to make sure minors were accompanied by adults and to answer any questions. The township police and fire departments were on the stadium field.
A stage was set up across that field from the entrance gate, where a DJ played music. The Cherry Hill Education Foundation had several booths at the stadium for sales of raffle tickets, snacks, candy, water and Gatorade that benefit district schools.
Jon Cohen is the the foundation’s president.
“It’s a great turnout,” he enthused. “People still stayed even though the weather is pretty bad … All the money that we raise goes right back to the classrooms. Most of it is to improve the classrooms for the teachers, money that the budget can’t cover, so we’re an all-volunteer group just trying to raise money to help teachers.”
Families and individuals set up camping chairs and blankets at the stadium or sat directly on the turf to wait for the fireworks. Some residents were adorned for the occasion, wearing everything from suits covered in stars and stripes to hats with American flags on top to Captain America T-shirts. Children could play within netting on either side of the field that kept the public away from the fireworks staging area.
About an hour after the gates opened, the wind started to pick up and the rain returned. Some attendees ran to their cars or to the treeline near the field for cover.
“The rain was a little bit surprising, but I’m just glad that they’re going to be able to put the fireworks on,” said Mullica Hill resident Sarah Shockey.”I love watching fireworks, and for me personally, I’m not going to be able to see any on July 4. So this is going to be really cool to get to experience it as a little pre-game to Independence Day.”
The rain slowed as a live band began to play and the national anthem was sung. But it picked up again shortly after, and an announcement came for attendees to return to their cars to watch the fireworks.
“Mother Nature gave us a run for the money this year, but it ended up being a huge success,” Fleisher observed. “The residents’ feedback has been very positive. Residents have really, really enjoyed the show this year.
“They didn’t let a little bit of rain get in the way of that.”
Rain returned in time for the start of fireworks at 9 p.m., so they were delayed to about an hour later, when it left. People watched from their cars or got out to sit in parking lots, but the show went on.
Cherry Hill High School West celebrated graduation for the class of 2025 on June 20 at Temple University’s Liacouras Center in Philadelphia.
The late-afternoon ceremony began with the processional, as students in their purple graduation robes made their way up the sides of the stadium, shaking hands and exchanging final words with their teachers and school administrators as they headed to their seats.
Photos by Abigail Twiford. Graduates from Cherry Hill High School West enter the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia greeting teachers and administrators.
Nate Goldwasser gave the opening remarks, a task he would never have taken on as an underclassman because of insecurities about his voice. But he noted how he began to see things differently when he came upon an old Instagram post from his mom, who died when he was 8. Goldwasser was surprised to realize her voice was very similar in intonation and inflection to his.
“The voice was me, or maybe I was her,” he recounted. “At that moment, my voice became something different. It wasn’t a flaw, it was a connection, a living memory. Her voice still lives within mine, and she’s not the only one I’ve heard,” added Goldwasser, reflecting on other loved ones whose voices he can sometimes hear when using his own.
Nate Goldwasser gives the ceremony’s opening address on the importance of being one’s authentic self.
He then asked fellow graduates and audience members to be true to themselves and use their real voices as they go on in life.
“Your voice is not a flaw,” Goldwasser advised. “Your voice is your gift. Speak not just to be heard, but to lift, to laugh, to share, to love, to think, to change and to remember.”
After the pledge of allegiance, the combined bands, orchestra and choir performed the national anthem, and West’s Junior ROTC presented the flag. Dr. John Burns, the school’s principal, then offered his remarks to the class.
“This is a moment that we have all worked towards for four years,” he said. “It is through the commitment of family, students and staff members that gets us to this day.”
Burns also took a moment to honor faculty and staff, especially those who are retiring this year.
Cherry Hill High School West Principal Dr. John Burns gives his address to the graduating class.
Ava Ergood then had the honor of delivering the class of 2025 address. She took the opportunity to reflect on how she spent a lot of her time in high school trying to be as involved as possible, so she didn’t always appreciate living in the moment.
“We’re always anticipating the next big thing, rather than appreciating what is right in front of us …” Ergood explained, “but if we spend too much time anticipating what’s to come or harping over the past, we will never experience the joy that comes from living in the moment.”
Meana Mousa, president of National Honor Society’s Robert E. Hansen chapter, gave the society speech for the class. He focused on how the organization is built on the four pillars of scholarship, service, leadership and character, and which he thinks is most important: character.
“The spotlight may celebrate your success,” Mousa remarked, “but your character is revealed in your solitude … Real character doesn’t begin with awards or speeches like this. It begins in private, in daily decisions, in the quiet battles we fight when no one is watching, and those are the moments that will shape who we become, not just what we achieve.”
Rebekah Bruesehoff‘s address was on behalf of multiple valedictorians and centered on how the class of 2025’s high-school experience wasn’t perfect, but was still meaningful for graduates.
“If there’s one thing our class has mastered, it’s doing things wrong and finding something real in the process …” she offered. “Our experience was messy. It was contradictory. It was loud and quiet and complicated and beautiful, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Speaker Ioannis Kyriakou represented the Student Government Organization. He asked his peers to remember who they were in their high-school years, no matter what the future may hold.
“We grew stronger and closer as a community,” he noted. “It was about finding ourselves, deciding who we are. In my experience, I would say the main purpose of high school is whatever you choose to make of it.”
Burns then took the commencement stage once more.
“You’ve learned academics, but more importantly, you’ve learned resilience, creativity and how to keep going when things get tough,” he pointed out. Burns then took a moment to honor graduates who have chosen to join the military.
School Superintendent Dr. Kwame Morton then certified the class and board of education President Gina Winters accepted the graduates.
Graduates walk across the stage and shake hands with district administrators as they accept their diplomas.
After receiving diplomas, the class of 2025 led a West graduation tradition: Faculty and all students stood and gave thumbs up with their right hands.
West teachers, administrators and graduates performed the graduation tradition of a thumbs up.
Drew Pullano’s farewell speech focused on the community efforts that go into developing a young person. He then asked the audience to picture a garden.
“A garden doesn’t grow overnight,” he emphasized. “It begins with seeds and fertile soil. It is a hope, a dream, an intention. Planting those seeds comes with a degree of uncertainty. We don’t actually know how things will turn out, but the fact is, when you do something with all of your heart and all of your effort, you are destined to receive some success.”
May marks Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, a time to recognize and honor the diverse cultures and important contributions of those from Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities and backgrounds.
Cherry Hill acknowledged the month with its fifth annual AAPI Festival on May 18 in the West High cafeteria and auditorium. The event kicked off at noon with tables representing area businesses and organizations and various forms of martial arts were on display.
Some attendees and demonstrators were engaging in Kendo, a form of modern Japanese martial arts in which opponents don protective gear and duel with bamboo swords. Participants at the festival used blunt wooden sticks. Teachers from area martial arts and karate studios also demonstrated how to break specially made boards and allowed attendees to try for themselves.
Abigail Twiford/The Sun Participants engage in Kendo, a form of Japanese martial arts that features dueling with bamboo swords or sticks, at the Cherry Hill festival.
One hour into the festival, speeches and introductions were beginning in the West auditorium. Nina Gao is the president of the Asian American Alliance of South Jersey, one of the main organizations behind the annual event.
“Today, we are celebrating culture, resilience and unity,” Gao noted, “but we must also recognize the challenges that remain.”
She went on to discuss the strain immigrant communities have dealt with since January because of a rise in harmful or offensive media portrayals and fear of threats, violence or deportation.
“We must show up, speak out and support each other,” Gao insisted. “One of the most powerful ways to do that is by voting. If you are eligible, make sure you are registered to vote and request a mail-in ballot.”
Both Mayor Dave Fleisher and his wife, newly elected Camden County Commissioner Jennifer Cooley Fleisher, were at the festival, as were distinguished guests Moorestown Mayor Quinton Law and Evesham Township Mayor Jaclyn Veasy.
“We have mayors from different towns from across South Jersey who believe that treating people with dignity and respect, and with open inclusion and celebrating our diversity, is not something that just happens in a given month,” Fleisher remarked.
“It is part of who we are as a community, and we embrace it and celebrate it each and every day of the year.”
Though he was running late, U.S. Sen. Andy Kim and his son, August, were on hand, and during a break between performances, the first Korean American to serve in the Senate addressed the festival audience.
“When I first started the run for Senate last year, I had people tell me that I was the wrong kind of minority to win statewide,” Kim recalled. “They said that there’s no way that an Asian American could win a statewide seat in New Jersey. And I just found that to be so frustrating. And I said to them, ‘Don’t think that I can only appeal to people who look like me.’”
The festival also featured 17 performances that represented Asian and Pacific Islander cultures, including traditional and modern dance, musical performances and martial arts demonstrations. Performers of all ages took to the stage in colorful and culturally significant attire.
Students from the Cherry Hill Huaxia Chinese School used fans and props in six performances that ranged from traditional dances like “Melody of the Snow Dragon,” “Green Hills in the Distance” and “The Aroma of Tea,” and performed taichi movements in “16 Forms Taichi Boxing.” Their final, non-musical performance, “48 Forms Mulan Single Sword,” combined martial arts with prop swords and dancing.
Students of the Cherry Hill Huaxia Chinese School perform “Melody of the Snow Dragon.” / Abigail TwifordStudents of the Cherry Hill Huaxia Chinese School perform “Green Hills in the Distance.” / Abigail TwifordStudents of the Cherry Hill Huaxia Chinese School perform “The Aroma of Tea.” / Abigail TwifordStudents of the Cherry Hill Huaxia Chinese School perform “48 Forms Mulan Single Sword.” / Abigail Twiford
Cherry Hill East students gave two separate performances. The Vietnamese Culture Club featured them in large dragon costumes as they mixed modern and traditional forms of dance and music. And the Filipino Culture Club also featured a mix of styles, as well as tinkling, a Filipino folk dance in which two people hold bamboo poles and tap them rhythmically against the ground as dancers jump or step over and between the moving poles.
Students from Cherry Hill High School East’s Vietnamese Culture Club dress as dragons and dance to a mix of different musical genres. / Abigail TwifordStudents from Cherry Hill High School East’s Vietnamese Culture Club dress in a variety of styles, both modern and traditional, to showcase the range of Vietnamese culture. / Abigail TwifordStudents from the Filipino Culture Club at Cherry Hill High School East perform the dance known as tinkling. / Abigail Twiford
The Reaksmey Sareypheap Khmer Dance Group performed a Khmer classical dance called, “The Robam Neary Chea Chour,” or “ladies in a line,” a dance that displays the beauty and elegance of young women in Cambodian culture.
Performers from the Reaksmey Sareypheap Khmer Dance Group perform a traditional Cambodian dance. / Abigail Twiford
Guests were welcome to stay after the performances to purchase food and learn more about the cultures, businesses and organizations showcased throughout the festival.
The classic and beloved child’s tale, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” will be brought to the stage later this month in Cherry Hill High School West’s spring musical.
Originally published in 1964 by children’s book author Roald Dahl, it has been adapted as a 1971 movie musical – renamed “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” – and into the 2005 film, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”
The latter follows an underprivileged boy named Charlie Bucket who finds a golden ticket inside the wrapper of a chocolate bar that enables him to tour the world-renowned and impossibly whimsical Wonka Chocolate Factory. He is joined by four other children who find golden tickets, too.
Carolyn Messias, who teaches theater and public speaking at West, is directing the project.
“I always tried to do a family musical,” she said. “We had done ‘Rocky’ in the fall, and we always tried to do a musical that’s family oriented and that we can include middle- and some elementary-school children in … We have a large cast, and it’s a classic story, and everybody loves ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.’”
Of the story’s adaptations, West’s production will mostly reflect the original book, but with several songs added from the 1971 film, including “(I’ve Got A) Golden Ticket,” “The Candy Man” and “Pure Imagination.”
“It’s very similar to the book, very much,” Messias explained. “So it’s kind of dark in some ways.”
The production will feature a cast of more than 60 students and a crew of about 40 for some of the most extensive tech work West’s theater department has ever done for a musical. Auditions were open to any student, regardless of whether they had been part of a previous show.
The role of Willy Wonka, the mischievous chocolate maker, went to senior Julian Dappolone.
“I am most excited to get to perform with a lot of my friends,” he enthused. “This is going to be my last show, so I’m really excited to perform with the people that I’ve gotten to perform with for four years, and just really make a great production and a great experience out of that.”
Senior Tanayjiah Jackson plays Violet Beauregarde, a competitive gum chewer who receives a golden ticket shortly before Charlie.
“I think something that I’m looking forward to is the tech behind this show,” Jackson noted. “Since this is also my last show here, I feel like the talk about the tech being the biggest that we’ve done is really interesting to me, and I’m just looking forward to seeing how it’s all gonna play out.”
Others involved in the production expressed excitement about its sets and costumes, with Messias describing them as magical, colorful and fun. Junior Sydney Dunn- Kravs will don one of those outfits to play Augustus Gloop, a chocolate- and candy-loving German child who is the first to find a golden ticket.
“My character is a little bit different looking, so I’m gonna be padded, and I’m gonna be wearing a fun, fun outfit,” she said. “So I’m just really excited. And I think the character I play, I guess is really funny, so I’m just really excited to be able to play into the more comedic side of myself.”
The production will run from Friday through Sunday, March 28 and 30, and Friday through Sunday, April 4 to 6, in West’s auditorium.
“The kids are very committed,” Messias pointed out. “I have a lot of talented kids, and I think what’s rewarding for me is to see them succeed. I’ve had kids go on to become professional actors and actresses, and knowing they got their start here, their dedication, all those things really give me a lot of joy.”
