FRANKFORD – The carnival area at the New Jersey State Fair is usually lit up with bright lights and fired up with live music. For two hours on Thursday, it was surprisingly subdued.
The rides still rocked. But throughout the morning, another noise became more frequent: the joyous shouts of riders, enjoying an environment that would ordinarily be unpleasant to some, unbearable to others.
The silent breakfast was the highlight of the fair’s first “sensory friendly” event, organized to accommodate people with autism and other conditions that make them sensitive to light or sound.
State Fair/Sussex County Farm and Horse Show officials coordinated with Reithoffer Shows, the organization that oversees the carnival, to conduct 18 rides without lights and music from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday. During that special session – the carnival opens at noon every other day of the fair – there were also no announcements over the fair’s loudspeakers, to further ease any anxiety for visitors.
The fair looked as exciting as ever for the kids who bounced around the rides that morning. They came out of the rides happy, having stayed for multiple runs due to the smaller crowds. Some thumbed back at their parents, one boy grinned from ear to ear. “It was wonderful!” he shouted.
Fair President Joan Smith, a retired special education teacher, said she got the idea from the monthly magazine of the International Association of Fairs and Expositions. She recalled how her students were often disturbed by fire drills and other noisy events, so she wanted to create an atmosphere where they could avoid those stressful situations.
“We want them all to have a good time, and we don’t like the idea that people were excluded from rides at the fair just because it upset them,” Smith said. “That’s what we’re all here for: making people happy.”
The state fair had a willing partner in Florida-based Reithoffer Shows, which has hosted similar sensory-friendly days at other festivals around the country and so knows to take extra care when helping riders.
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“You have to have your operators pay more attention to the clientele and make sure they handle the ride they’re on,” said owner Rick Reithoffer. “We also go around and take a look at all the rides and try to figure out what we think might be overkill for the clientele we’ve got coming in, and we just don’t open those rides while the event is going on.”
Many people with sensory processing issues are disturbed by anything unfamiliar touching their skin, Reithoffer noted, so employees have learned to be creative when handing out the wristbands required for check-in.
I’ve put it on my belt, I’ve put it on my shoes, I’ve done all kinds of things,” he said. “In our world, you learn to adapt and overcome.”
The morning was hit with riders like 3-year-old Athena Nembrotti of Budd Lake, who was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder at a recent checkup. Athena can be overstimulated by crowds and noises, her mother, Robyn Nembrotti, said, but she likes to “run and run into things, jump off things.”
Happy Athena strolled through the carnival grounds in a pair of pink shorts on Thursday. She wore purple headphones and large sunglasses to help minimize sensory overload. Accompanied by her father, Michael, she drove around the tracks on the NASCAR Speedway mini ride three times before heading to the Magic Bus for more fun.
The lack of lights and music made the trips more enjoyable, her mother said.
“It’s hard to compare because she hasn’t been on the ride where everything is going, but I can’t imagine she’d be that excited to be here if she had all the bells and whistles going off all the time,” Nembrotti said. “She might be a little more stressed. Her range would probably be shorter.”
Debbie Coltenback felt the same way as she watched 11-year-old Seth Gogole, a family friend she accompanied to the fair. Seth ran around the Super Himalaya track. Like Athena, he enjoys a fast ride, but wore headphones to block out any disturbing noises.
“I think it’s fantastic,” said Coltenback, who also serves as Seth’s assistant in the Hardyston Township School District, of the sensory-friendly environment. “I like that it’s not as crowded, so they don’t have to wait in line because they have trouble waiting.”
Fans on Facebook praised the event for its inclusion, and Smith said she will do some research and wait for feedback to see what should be added or modified next time. She hopes to spread the word early next year through local schools and Sussex County organizations like SCARC, which serves people with developmental disabilities and their families.
If Athene Nembrotti and her mother were any indication, the sensory-friendly event will likely become a State Fair tradition.
“She’s having a blast and I’m happy,” Robyn Nembrotti said. “It’s good that they did it and I think they should do it every year.”
The final day of the 2022 New Jersey State Fair/Sussex County Farm and Horse Show is scheduled for Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. For more information, visit www.sussexcountyfairgrounds.org.
Kyle Morel is a local reporter covering Morris and Sussex counties.
Email: [email protected]; Twitter: @KMorelNJH
