Springfield Avenue’s Moving and Shakin’ About Town

It’s a merry Monday in Maplewood, thanks to another wonderful helping of weather to top off a majestic ! Yup, the entire town’s dipped in a glorious shade of green just in time for Springfield Avenue’s upcoming which is celebrating its 10^th year as one of our town’s most beloved traditions:

"MayFest has become a signature event for Maplewood. It is a day when thousands - residents and visitors alike - spend time at an old fashion street fair, enjoying the music and food and watching their children have fun on the rides,” says Maplewood Mayor Vic DeLuca. “The and the Avenue merchants deserve a big thank you for sponsoring MayFest for the past ten years. With a little help from the weather people, this year's festival will be the best."

New this year? A chance to WIN $1,000 Springfield Avenue May Fest District Dollars… And that’s not the only sweet treat in store for this year’s festival:

table will be showcasing the edible artistic talents of .  Inside, will also be selling mugs for $6, $1 of which will be going towards knitting program. Capone' s also eager to share the scoop on changes in the Café come May 22^nd, when Julie of will be leaving Kari’s to prepare for the June opening of her :

“The convection oven’s going out and a blast freezer’s coming in,” says Capone. Por que?! Because Kari’s Café will be hosting the production of Lickt Gelato, an artisanal, small batch endeavor that will also be sold at the Café, created by Maplewoodian Margaret Asselin Woods.

“I’m going to be showcasing local, seasonal flavors,” explains Asselin Woods (who, btw, has clocked 23 years of expertise in the sweets business having worked in research, development and marketing for M&M Mars, building brands like Dove.)    Um...?! Yummmmm!

The addition of chilled sweets and new expanded evening hours just in time for summer sure sounds like a recipe for success for Kari’s, in my book…

Lastly, those looking to dance off a few of those confection calories can check out , which has taken over what was the Washington Mutual space at 1747 Springfield Avenue. The Academy, which was successfully situated in Union for the past 8 years, already has deep roots in our community:

"I'm a product of Maplewood and South Orange," says the founder and creative director, LaShonda Chaney, a Columbia High School and Rutgers graduate and professional dancer. "We're really excited to be 'coming home' and hope our new location will be ready to roll by the end of the month!"

LaChaney's will offer jazz, hip hop, tap, ballet, aerobics, pilates and instruction services for children and adults in addition to piano, drum, guitar and vocal lessons as well as summer camp and evening class options. (In a word: AWESOME!!!!)

Yup, there sure is a lot of stuff putting the ‘Spring’ into Springfield Avenue, these days!

Happy Monday!