RiverFest Back for Good, Organizers Pledge

When you ask them why it went away in the first place, why it went away after attracting estimated crowds of as many as 100,000 people, those closely involved in Red Bank RiverFest give odd looks, crooked smiles, and either decline to talk about it, or mention something about politics.

After a 10-year hiatus, RiverFest, a once and future annual event bringing together local restaurateurs and top regional musical acts, returned to Marine Park this past weekend. While a fair assessment of the total crowd would put it somewhere in the range of 10,000 and 100,000, closer to the former – estimates have yet to be released – businesses and organizers had nothing but glowing reviews for an event they said should never have left in the first place.

Premature as it may be, coming just a day following RiverFest’s return to Red Bank for the first time since the beginning of the century, organizers said they plan on bringing the event back next year and in perpetuity, however long that happens to be this time around.

“The name disappeared and Red Bank RiverFest as it was known and loved went away,” Lynda Rose, President of the Eastern Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce, said. “The restaurants needed us, the town needed us, and boy, isn’t everybody talking about Red Bank now.”

RiverFest first appeared in Red Bank in 1981, building a following by presenting dishes from local restaurants and varied musical acts. In 2001, the decision was made to replace the annual festival with another one, the Red Bank Jazz and Blues Festival, which occupied the same place on the same weekend each year, until last year.

With improvements being made to the bulkhead at Marine Park last year, the jazz and blues festival took its act to Monmouth Park. As for whose decision it was to jettison the music-specific festival, now called Jersey Shore Jazz and Blues Festival and appearing on separate days this summer in Middletown, Long Branch, and Asbury Park, isn’t exactly known. Red Bank went one way, and organizers of the music festival went another.

What some do know, they say, is that it wasn’t working.

Danny Murphy, owner of Danny’s, the landmark west side steakhouse, said the number of spectators that attended the jazz and blues festival had been in decline for several years. It was also Murphy who brought the request to bring RiverFest back to the Eastern Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce, which jumped at the possibility.

Also, for the thousands of people the jazz and blues festival did attract one weekend each spring, the borough’s businesses failed to see much, if any, benefit following the short couple of days, he said.

“I basically requested that RiverFest be brought back to Red Bank and given to its restaurants,” he said. “We went right back to work and put together everything you see here today.”

It’s critical, Murphy said, that Red Bank does what it can to promote its businesses, especially its restaurants. With the jazz and blues festival, visitors were treated to the sort of nebulous and greasy concoctions that come out of draw-carts at state fairs. This past weekend, more than 25 restaurants, nearly all of the, save for a few exceptions, located directly in Red Bank, offered their varied take on street food, providing the event with eclectic and higher end fare.

For visitors coming to Red Bank from out of town, RiverFest represented a chance to sample the borough’s finest and hopefully identify a couple of spots worthy making a trip back to town for.

“This event puts us on the map,” he said. “There are people coming here, half of whom have never seen any of these restaurants before.”

Deanna Hunt, owner and event director with This Is It! Productions, a Hoboken-based outfit that has produced several RiverFest, said planning started nearly a year ago, following Murphy’s request. With Murphy tackling local restaurant owners by talking to them one-on-one and with area musician, business owner, restaurateur, and philanthropist Tim McLoone securing the musical acts, Hunt found herself with an entire team dedicated to, as she said, putting the band back together.

Rose said she has no doubt the event will come back next year and stay.

“Look at the people, they’re all smiling and having fun. This is the epitome of community spirit and camaraderie,” Rose said. “Next year? Definitely, as long as there’s no natural disaster, it will be back.”