In times of hardship, a community such as Cherry Hill needs a welcoming and creative place that brings all different types of people together. Croft Farm Arts Center is a public park located in Cherry Hill that hosts a variety of festivals and events for different people in the community to come together and bond.
The original Croft Farm house was built in the mid 1700’s by Issac Kay, but 100 years later a new landowner, Thomas Evans, expanded the size of the home and changed the front door from facing the river to facing a new road. The Evans’ volunteered their home, that they named “Edgewater” to be a station on the Underground Railroad prior to the Civil War. Runaway slaves were brought to Edgewater, and the Evans would hide them in the attic of the house, so they wouldn’t be found. In 1925, the land was sold to John Croft, and then 60 years later, they sold 80 acres of land to Cherry Hill Township.
Nowadays, Croft Farm hosts a handful of events, the most popular being their annual Harvest Festival, which features live music, a pumpkin patch, a petting zoo, pony rides, different tents filled with items for sale, such as shirts, bags, food, and a variety of food trucks for people to get a lunch of their choice.
Beth Becker, who is on the board of the Cherry Hill Historical Mission and has been a vendor for the Harvest Fest for two years now, believes that this event brings a variety of people together.
She says “Because it’s people from all parts of the community, so it’s not just one religion, or one race.”
Becker explains that Croft Farm makes the process of selling her items and setting up her tent extremely easy and simple. She wasn’t sure what to expect her first year at the festival, but her experience has been a very positive one overall. She appreciates the large number of people that come to this event, as well as the live music and chance to see people she knows from town.
Along with their Harvest Festival, they also have other festival oriented events, like their Illuminate Light Display Event that has been going on for two years. It includes different speeches and songs related to Christmas and Hanukkah, people selling different items, and a food truck. The “illumniate” aspect comes in when the trees at the festival turn into different beautiful, bright trees with all different types of colorful lights.
Aside from festivals, Croft Farm hosts other types of events, such as their art open gallery, a food truck series, and a Martin Luther King day of Service for Nature.
The development of Croft Farm has come a very long way from being a small farmhouse to transforming into a place where people can create special memories with people in Cherry Hill and enjoy the fall festival atmosphere.