Why Is It Called Fishawack?

It isn't immediately obvious why the Fishawack Festival, the borough's downtown festival that takes place the second Saturday in June, is called what it is. What does "Fishawack" mean, anyway?

The answer goes way back in time.

Fishawack was the name the Lenni Lenape native Americans gave to what we now call the Passaic River. Chatham was located at the river's narrowest part, which made it the "crossing of the Fishawack in the Valley of the Great Watchung," as John T. Cunningham put it in his book, "Chatham at the Crossing of the Fishawack."

Each year, the tribes forded the river in Chatham en route to their summer getaway at the Jersey shore, where they spent the summer in warmer climates, eating all the fish they could catch.

That is the story behind the event's name.

In 1971, the Chamber of Commerce hosted a sidewalk sale called Fishawack Day. One thing led to another and a governing body of volunteers, called Fishawack Inc., organized itself and turned the event into a large, biennial town-wide festival. 

In 2011, the Chamber of Commerce and Fishawack, Inc. announced the festival would be held annually from thence onward.

Booths line the streets during the festival, manned by local merchants, non-profit organizations, government groups, artists and artisans. There is entertainment, food and children's games and rides.

As many as 10,000 people have come to downtown Chatham Borough for past Fishawack Festivals.

In past years residents competed for posters to represent the festival's theme. Effective in 2011, Fishawack no longer held a contest for theme posters.

The 2013 Fishawack Festival will be held Saturday. The races, which is organized by the Chatham Jaycees, will begin at 9 a.m. The festival generally hits full stride after the races are over.

The theme for the 2013 Fishawack Festival is “Fishawack Festival Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Chatham Police Department.”

The festival is sponsored by Madison YMCA, PipeWorks Services and Klas Electrical. Proceeds from the festival are returned to various community groups in the Chatham’s as well as sponsoring and funding an annual scholarship on Graduation Day at Chatham High School.