Sweet Avenue Bake Shop's Cupcakefest!!!

Remember that fabulous little cupcake boutique I wrote about a while back? Remember how I said that they are so great and have the yummiest cupcakes and the cutest little shop in an awesome location and I told you how much I just love them? Well, things over in Rutherford, NJ, just keep getting better and better and it’s all thanks to Jake and Danielle Vance, owners of this sweet-treat haven, because this past weekend they organized a public event, sponsored by their shop, to promote good times, good cupcakes, and above all else, good-doing!
The first ever Cupcakefest took place on Saturday, June 21, in Lincoln Park in Rutherford, NJ. The park, located directly across the street from the Sweet Avenue Bake Shop, was home to the town residents and visitors from afar that Saturday afternoon from 12:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. as they all gathered to enjoy a day out in the sun and support a good cause. Jake and Danielle were buzzing around, making trips back and forth between the shop and the park, each time carrying massive trays of mini cupcakes. Their efforts, supported by such organizations such as Leafy Green (leafygreen.info), among others, were 100 percent selfless Jake and Danielle’s main goal in throwing this event was to raise funds for a local charity called Rock N Renew, a program which was developed by musician Johnny Dubowski that spreads the word about living a more healthy, long-lasting and environmentally protective lifestyle. If you visit their homepage at rocknrenew.com you’ll see in their “About” section that the goal of the organization is to “generate excitement about green solutions as we custom-design eco-blueprints for concert tours, schools, businesses, and events.” With a huge musical and artistic influence behind the Rock N Renew team, the idea for Cupcakefest couldn’t have been more fitting for the cause!
The day started of great. The weather was beautiful and the town’s people were out and about. The Hutzel Memorial Bandshell, erected in a corner of the park, was home to five musical acts throughout the duration of the festival, each different and talented in their own right, and each making for some great entertainment for show-goers. First on stage was Brian Keith, a local musician that brought us a beautiful acoustic set of covers. Though he was onstage alone, he still managed to captivate the crowd and keep all eyes and ears where they should be-on him (myspace.com/brianlapierre). Next up was female-fronted punk/rock band, And Then There Were Machines, who just recently finished playing big festival shows such as the Warped Tour and Bamboozle. They rocked it with a set full of upbeat original songs and, though I hate to do it just because I’m sure they’re hearing it from everyone, their lead singer has some pipes on her and I couldn’t help but think of that cute little redhead that’s blasting through everyone’s speakers right now. I’m sure you all know who I’m talking about; I will, though, say that they do have their own unique sound and are definitive in their own style and presence and that the comparison is meant to be a compliment based purely on vocal ability, that’s all (myspace.com/andthenthereweremachines).
When And Then There Were Machines vacated the stage, another solo acoustic one-man band took over-Keiran Hobler (myspace.com/keiranhobler). It was actually a real treat seeing him sing, as he graced us with covers of songs by well known artists like Gnarls Barkley and many others. He conveyed the songs of popular music icons and brought them to us by sharing his point of view which came across beautifully.
Lincoln Park was the place to be this Saturday afternoon. In addition to the musical talent, Jake and Danielle commissioned a few vendors to set up shop underneath the trees as well, making for a nicely executed event. In addition to Sweet Avenue’s table, where they sold raffle tickets to support Rock N Renew as well as their delicious free mini cupcakes, there was Leafy Green, who we mentioned before, a crafty little stationary company run by Kate Baldwin called I (heart) Papers, selling beautifully designed “Thank You” cards as well as some other cutely designed note pads and some chocolates (iheartpapers.com). Community Energy was there to give out info on going “green” (njwind.com), as well as the NJ-Veg Social organization, which is a group of vegan enthusiasts that gather for local events, such as the Vegan Social Prom that they’re hosting on Saturday, July 12, at the American Legion Post 458 in Trenton, NJ. Unfortunately for readers, the event is sold out, but you can find out additional information about the NJ-Veg Social group at myspace.com/njveg. Finally, since I was going to be there to review the event, I decided to set up shop with my clothing company, Archive Clothing, as well (archiveclothing.bigcartel.com).
Around 4:00 p.m. or so, while native Rutherford residents were enjoying their sweet treats and browsing through the available goodies as the vendor tables, the next band, Montclair-based Thing One, took the stage. The ensemble’s quirky mixture of electronica, jazz, funk and rock really livened things up and took the show to a whole new level. Singer Joey Palestina owned the stage with his diverse vocal range and jumping around antics, and members Spencer Miles, Tim Alworth and Adam Arcano supported their frontman with great musicianship as well. The band, who seems to have a pretty loyal following (I met some friends of theirs that traveled from PA just to see them play) have an upcoming residency at Piano’s in NYC on July 2, 9 and 16, so be sure to check them out if you’re in the area (myspace.com/thingone).
To wrap things up at the end of the day, another local cover band from Denville, NJ, Junkpunch (myspace.com/junkpunch), took the stage bringing us awesome covers and an amped up performance. Kicking things off with a cover of a Metallica song, Junkpunch played one great classic after another, making for a great set and a great way to close out what turned out to be a wildly successful event.
As if all this fun and entertainment weren’t going to be enough, Sweet Avenue Bake Shop owners Jake and Danielle Vance also worked with sponsors to be able to include some great giveaways at Cupcakefest, including a digital camera, a pair of Simple shoes, a gift certificate to their cupcake boutique and more, so needless to say there were some very lucky attendees who walked away with a lot of awesome prizes! Not too bad of a deal for just hanging around your local park on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
As I said earlier, this was the first ever Cupcakefest, and being that things went so well, let’s hope that this turns into an annual event. In addition, however, you can look out for the Sweet Avenue Bake Shop to be throwing other similar events, specifically this August, as they will be celebrating their one year anniversary! For more info and to check out their unbelievably delicious, 100 percent vegan cupcakes, log onto sweetavenuebakehsop.com or check them out in person at 153 Park Ave. in Rutherford, NJ.