ShadFest 2025 Recap
by LambPage
Did you attend ShadFest? If not, here’s what you missed.
ShadFest: Friday, April 25, 2025
Friday night was local’s night. North Union Street was closed off, which left plenty of room for pedestrians, dogs, and families. Kids rode bikes in circles, and adults found a comfortable spot to relax and listen to live music.
- poster auction preview
- Brian Dale Allen Strouse performing
- The Shackers performing
- poster by an anonymous artist
The municipal parking lot was temporarily transformed into a rock venue, with performances by musical acts (organized by Lambertville’s Soupçon Salon).
Across the street was the ShadFest Poster Auction preview party. Hors d'oeuvre were served, and food from McCaffrey’s Food Market was layed out on long tables in the middle of the room, flanked by round tables lined with art.
Previewers walked up and down the aisles, carefully studying the various artistic submissions. The ShadFest Poster Auction receives everything from elementary school drawings to professional art works in two and three dimensions.
Later that evening, residents danced and swayed in the dry evening weather as The Shackers played classic rock music covers in Mary E. Sheridan park.
It was the perfect ending to Local’s Night, and a great start to a fun weekend.
ShadFest: Saturday, April 26, 2025
Rain scared everyone earlier in the day. Thankfully it didn’t last, nor did it keep people away. Sun broke through the overcast sky several times, creating an almost balmy backdrop to the day’s many festivities.
- people dancing to Clover & Sundream
- Bear Bone Vintage on Local’s Lane
- grilling up a storm at Soulva King Gyro
- Arachno-Showbia and friend
Musical act Clover & Sundream had people dancing in the street as they performed their funky, soul-infused folk music outside of Union Coffee.
On Local’s Lane you could find crafts, ceramics, and racks of vintage clothes by Bear Bone Vintage as well as art clothing by local artist Eleanor Voorhees.
One of the most notable vendors was Arachno-Showbia, whose display table was covered with spiders, scorpions, and creepy-crawlies of all kinds (each in its own container). You could touch or hold the various creatures, but most people opted to just watch from a safe distance—or run away screaming.
Back at the gymnasium, the ShadFest Poster Silent Auction was well under way. Prices were penciled onto bid sheets in front of each poster, and some works of art quickly reached multiple hundreds of dollars.
Awards were also handed out, given to various artists from various businesses.
By 5 o’clock the sun was shining, the sky was clear, and the air was cool. Vendors packed up for the day, traffic returned to North Union Street, and visitors continued to explore Lambertville or walk cross the bridge into New Hope.
ShadFest: Sunday, April 27, 2025
The day started off sunny, and chilly. Temperatures were at 55 degrees, but the wind made it feel as cold as 40 degrees outside. Thankfully, the weather warmed up, and it became a perfectly sunny, spring festival kind of day.
- Steve on Lewis Island
- George and Nils on Bridge Street
- Rye and Karin getting your attention
- Jack directing traffic at Bridge and Union
Many people gathered on Lewis Island to see Steve Meserve and his crew fish for Shad. Their boat dragged a net across the river and then looped back. Upon returning to shore, they had caught approximately eight to ten fish. The New York Times recently wrote ‘One Family’s Relentless Pursuit of the Bony, Oily, Elusive Shad,’ which covers this Lambertville family’s fishing heritage.
Over on Bridge Street, George and Nils represented the Eastern Services Workers Association (based in Trenton). They were there to find volunteers willing to help make a positive difference for New Jersey workers. If you’re a professional interested in donating your time, call them at (609) 695-9562.
Meanwhile, Jack (who you may know from handing out parking violations) confidently directed traffic at the intersection of Bridge and Union Streets.
If you saw Rye and Karin dressed as beer, it’s because they were promoting Invertase, which is the new tasting room that’s coming soon to Lambertville.
- a man tries the dead hang challenge
- dancers spin on Union Street
- bidders react at the live poster auction
- Peanut horsing around
Lambertville’s Crossfit Jolt was on North Union Street where they were inviting folks to try the dead hang challenge. The longest hang to beat was set by a person named Andy, who hung on for a total of 2 minutes and 25 seconds.
Fred Astaire Dance Studio had a temporary wooden dance floor on the street in front of their Union Street location. They were playing good music and literally getting people up on the floor all weekend long. Depending when you walked by, you might have seen festival goers doing choreographed line dances, kids wiggling to funky songs, or couples expertly twisting, turning, and twirling.
Go a little further down the way and you’d have had a hard time not noticing Peanut, a large brown horse who was at ShadFest with Frenchtown Riding Club.
Back in the gym, the silent auction came to a close. A team of volunteers moved all of the posters off the floor and replaced the tables with chairs. At 3pm the live auction began. Works sold with prices ranging from $150 to $1,500.
Vendors started packing up at 5 o’clock, and people began to search for dinner.
If you didn’t attend Lambertville ShadFest 2025, you missed art, auctions, clothing, crafts, spiders, a horse, fish, dancing, music, food, friends, and fun!
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