Princeton Communiversity 2011

This past weekend I went to the annual Communiversity in Princeton, which has to be one of the best collaborative town & gown street festivals in the country. The official name of the event is Communiversity Festival of the Arts, and it’s presented by the Arts Council of Princeton, and the students of Princeton University. It’s so popular that it attracts over 35,000 people to meander along parts of Nassau and Witherspoon Streets, Palmer Square on the green, and throughout the university campus.

I loved the mix of participating vendors and non-profit organizations. Restaurants, religious institutions, fitness studios, realtors, the volunteer fire department, owners of new products, summer camps and more, joined the students and the Art Council. Since it was a festival of the arts, music and voices were heard in every corner, and there was also a section of Palmer Square where artwork was drawn in chalk on the ground.

There were lots of food and drink booths, which is great because what’s a festival without goodies to eat? Besides the typical truck of funnel cakes and fried oreos, there was barbecue, Thai, pizza, and more that perfumed the air making mouths water. Drinks ranged from beer to loose leaf iced tea. This was one of the best events of the year!

I stopped by at the end, and only had one and a half hours to walk through. You really need three hours at Princeton’s Communiversity to see everything, filter out all of the things that interests you, have time to enjoy the fun, read the literature, sign up for information, etc. There’s something for all ages. Kids has a moon bounce, dunk tank, life-sized cutouts like Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber and Zack Efron to pose next to, pie throwing, and a big choice of goodies to eat including cotton candy. Teens were walking around in packs, stopping at the dunk tank, throwing pies in faces, eating, and shopping. Some adults were dancing a bit to the music, well at least swaying or tapping their feet, signing up for various things, shopping, eating, well, you get the picture. Let me tell you, the music makes everything you do there more festive.

Plan on attending next year. Carpool with friends since parking is tricky, arrive early, or park half a mile away and walk to the festivities. And don’t forget to give yourself plenty of time to enjoy Communiversity in all its glory!