June 2, 2023—The wheels started turning when Toms River Mayor Maurice “Mo” Hill began reminiscing about the 2021 High School South prom, and how its downtown carnival atmosphere made for such a beautiful event.

Toms River Regional Schools Superintendent Michael Citta—who in 2021 was principal at High School South and helped make that senior prom happen—was still nagged by the prom missed by the Class of 2020, while at the same time intrigued by the notion of all Toms River alumni being given a chance to re-live that special day.

At around the same time, Garden State Distillery’s Rick Norman had approached the Toms River Police Foundation and the township’s Business Improvement District (BID) about a community-wide barbeque, with a possible back-to-school theme.

In such instances, when good ideas are flying around the heads of people who can, in fact, make them happen, communication is key. And so it was that Mayor Hill, Norman, Superintendent Citta, TRPD Chief Mitch Little, Toms River Education Foundation’s Dana Tormollan, BID Executive Director Mairin Bellack, and local business owners like Jimmy Capone put their heads together and hatched an idea.

Yesterday, they met downtown and made that idea official: a community-wide, downtown Toms River party to be held this September. Yes, those wheels that were turning inside the mind of Mayor Hill eventually became, among many things, a Ferris wheel.

The event will be a back-to-school barbeque bash. It will be a prom to remember, an invitation to all Toms River residents from the classes of the 1930s to the Class of '23 to recapture that magic, with a special nod to the Class of 2020. It will be family-friendly, supported by and featuring businesses throughout downtown and greater TR. It will maintain the carnival-like spirit of 2021, featuring a Ferris wheel, games, music, and more, and will raise money for the school district and TRPD to offset the costs of school resources officers, as well as help maintain extra-curricular activities for students in light of the district’s budget challenges caused by S2.

It will be a party. Or, more accurately, it will be PARTY.

Right now, the exact date has yet to be determined, but in the coming weeks and months, more information will be revealed and communicated.

“Together,” said Citta, “we’re going to make this an amazing event for our kids and this community as we head into the 23-24 school year!"

Come one, come all. Stay tuned.