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Appel Farm Prepares for Its 50th Anniversary Celebration

ELMER, NJ (CBS) -- Appel Farm Arts and Music Center is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a gala event next Saturday.

"This is so wonderful because it's a community project..."

Exective director Mark Packer proudly points out features of the new anniversary mosaic mural outside the dining hall of Appel Farm, in Salem County, NJ, which 50 years ago started as a day camp for kids but now has grown into an arts center that attracts thousands of people a year.

"We have people coming from as far away as Wilmington, Delaware -- that's 40 minutes away -- to take arts classes here."

 

appel_al_karin
(Al Appel.)

 

Founder Al Appel (right) says he started the camp because he likes kids:

"We had the farm, we had the animals -- even for a little while pigs -- for camp.  People liked it, and we liked the children.  And now we have children from all over the world."

Hear the full KYW Podcast...

Reported by Karin Phillips, KYW Newsradio.

Photos by Karin Phillips

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