ALL DAY LONG VENDOR INFORMATION DIRECTIONS THE STORY OF THE JAMBOREE FOR MORE INFORMATION BACK TO PINEYPOWER

• Live Country, Blue Grass and Folk Music on the Stage
• Vendors and Exhibits
• Regional Food Specialties - Taste the "Piney Vittles" we're famous for!
• Appearances by SMOKEY BEAR and...THE JERSEY DEVIL!!
• Pony Rides
• Canoe Rentals on the scenic Wells Mills Lake
• Children's Games
• Face Painting

DIRECTIONS TO WELLS MILLS COUNTY PARK:

From the Garden State Parkway Southbound:
Exit 67 (Barnegat/Chatsworth); Turn Right onto West Bay Ave., (Rte. 554) and proceed approximately 4 miles; turn right on Brookville Road; proceed 2 miles, turn right onto Route 532; 1.5 miles to Wells Mills Park on right, or continue on for additional parking and use of the free shuttle bus.

From the Garden State Parkway Northbound:
Exit 69 (Waretown), turn LEFT onto Route 532 about 2.5 miles to Wells Mills Park on left, or turn RIGHT for additional parking and free shuttle bus.

  VENDOR INFORMATION:

If you have a craft, skill or other specialty that represents the Pine Barrens culture and would like to display and/or sell it at the Jamboree, you can contact Wells Mills County Park at 609-971-3085 for an application. 

THE STORY OF THE PINE BARRENS JAMBOREE

When the doors to Wells Mills County Parkwere opened in 1991, those assembled couldn't help but notice the fragrance of newly bloomed flowers, the scent of pine needles and the melodies of birds gathering material for nesting all surrounding the new Nature Center.  While speeches were being made on the shaded deck and grassy lawns, many minds wandered to another time - when, very close to this special location in the Piney woods, there had been music in the air.  That was years ago when the Albert Brothers, Joe and George, had held their Saturday night "Old Home Place" jams in their backsoods cabin.  The fun and excitement of those nostalgic days were gone but not forgotten.

Another of the true Pine Barrens native sons to frequent the Old Home Place was Merce Ridgway.  Born in the tiny hamlet of Bamber, his family was musically talented; thus he grew up appreciating the stories and songs of the Pine Barrens.  He also devloped a talent for setting his own stories and life experiences to music and played with a group called the Pine Hawkers.

When George Albert passed away, the gathering became too much for Joe.  The group of pickin' Pineys moved to a new location and Merce became the founding president of the Pinelands Cultural Society.

The Pine Barrens is an exquisite ecological system  The vast unbroken forest of pine, oak and cedar is the largest tract of open space on the mid-Atlantic coast.  You can search shady cedar swamps for the rare curly grass fern or hike through a forest of pygmy pine trees no taller than a man.  The pure, slow moving streams are fed by a huge underground aquifer of seventeen trillion gallons which supplies the marshes and bays of South Jersey with some of the cleanest water in the world.  The population of this vast area once depended on natural resources for its survival.  The pines were used for charcoal making, the cedars for lumber, the naturally formed bog iron was melted down for pots, pans, kettles, stove pipes and later, cannons and cannonballs.  The sand was used to make glass, the clay for brick and tile making.  The land produced an abundance of blueberries, cranberries, pine cones and sphagnum moss.  Families depended on deer, rabbit and waterfowl for meat on the table.  Clamming, oystering and fishing also proved profitable.  For their cultural entertainment and recreation, the people of the pines would get together to have country "hoedowns".  Whoever was good at whatever instrument would have a turn at pickin' and singin'.

Now, about that idea - the one to have "Piney" music ringing through the air once again - the idea to have the original Piney crafters and artisans gathered together; to have food, fun and friends, all with one common love; the love of their own Pine Barrens.  That idea became reality once again in 1995 when 5,000 people flocked to Wells Mills to celebrate the Pines and its culture.  The Department of Parks and Recreation sponsored the first "PINE BARRENS JAMBOREE: DOWN HOME MELODIES AND MEMORIES" and we are doing it again, every October!
 

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

THE PINE BARRENS JAMBOREE IS SPONSORED BY THE OCEAN COUNTY BOARD OF CHOSEN FREEHOLDERS THROUGH ITS DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION.

For more information about the Jamboree, call Wells Mills County Park at 609-971-3085.