SharkFest set for Saturday

Matawan will host the second annual SharkFest from 4-9 p.m. July 21 at the Matawan Community Center and Ter-hune Park, Broad and South streets. The day will begin with a 3 p.m. memorial service at Rose Hill Cemetery at the graves of Lester Stillwell and Watson Stanley Fisher, who both lost their lives on July 13, 1916, in a shark attack in Matawan Creek.

Dr. Richard G. Fernicola, author of the book "Twelve Days of Terror," which was the basis for a documentary of the same name, will be at the event. Fernicola will be signing copies of his book, presenting the documentary and guiding tours that will point out the sequence of events from 1916.

Fernicola's presence at the event adds a recognizable name and notoriety to the event, said Sharen Laporta, a trustee with the Matawan Alliance and the event chair for SharkFest.

"Twelve Days of Terror" will be airing at various times throughout the day, along with documentaries produced by a dive team called Dive the Voyager, along with the Shark Research Institute, of Princeton. The goal of this event is to educate those in attendance about diving with sharks in the Northeast.

Jenkinson's Aquarium will provide activities for children ages 4-8. The band C.O.D. will perform from 7-9 p.m. There will also be rides and vendors.

Rain date is July 22. For more information, call the Matawan Alliance at (732) 765-9739.