Katie Rose’s Home Town

My home town of Medford Lakes has a quirky annual tradition of 84 years called Canoe Carnival. Sponsored by the Colony Club, Canoe Carnival takes place in August and it is a contest of floats constructed on top of one or two canoes. The floats are impressive; some of them twenty feet high. And there are rules that the floats have to be able to be hand paddled around Upper Aetna Lake without toppling over (which has happened!) The festivities start on Friday evening, the Festival of Lights, and all of the houses surrounding the lake light up their properties. Parties abound, and last through the weekend. There is also a King and Queen crowned, two of the local high school students who campaign for weeks before the carnival. It is a great time, but when the weekend ends, the floats are torn apart, and teams begin planning for the next year!