Always a huge draw, the sprawling festival will also have rides, a magic show, Zumba dancing, eating contests, a dunk tank and dozens of vendors from around the county.

Soulfinger and Ashley Hollister of “American Idol” will perform.

The free event runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

PHOTO: Courtesy of  Alana Quartuccio

“In this post 9/11 era, it is important for the public to be reminded that there are officers who are sacrificing themselves each day, too many officers lose their lives each year,” said Cliffside Park Police Chief Donald Keane, the county chief’s association president.

“[I]t is our job to remember each of them and their sacrifice,” Keane said.

Following the Blue Mass is an 11 a.m. memorial service at the Bergen County Law and Public Safety Institute in Mahwah.

The services are sponsored by the Bergen County Police Chiefs Association, the Bergen County PBA Conference and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office.

Gavin, whose father, Tony, is a River Vale police officer, has won countless hearts as he battles a rare kidney disease that requires a costly transplant before his 5th birthday.

Gavin Scimeca

Various fundraisers such as Saturday’s Renegade Pigs event have been held the past two years to help Tony and his wife, Tara, raise money for medical expenses, in addition to the $150,000 they need to provide toward the estimated $500,000 cost of the transplant alone.

Meanwhile, the family of 12-year-old Jayden Singer also has incurred extensive and ongoing medical bills due to meningitis, which he contracted when he was three.

Jayden’s father has taken early retirement from the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department in order to care for him.

READ MORE: http://jaydensjourney.com

A $25 donation for this Saturday’s event — which runs from noon to 5 p.m. — includes food and beverages and live music.

There will also be vendors, prize drawings and a cash raffle.

The Dog House Saloon is at 270 Pascack Rd., Washington Township

MORE INFO: Contact Brian “Boo-Boo” Newman (551) 265-5558 or Joe “St. Nick” Sarnoski (201) 697-0554

Or email: info@rpmcnorthjersey.com

Dedicated to public safety, the Renegade Pigs Motorcycle Club is a non-profit national organization comprised of active and retired public safety officers who who share the common love of riding their American-made motorcycles and who believe in loyalty and camaraderie as core values.

The more than 40 chapters in 16 states and Washington, D.C. (three in NJ) are extremely active in charitable causes and fundraising efforts, especially when it involves children.

The North Jersey Chapter was chartered in June 1993 and remains one of the largest, with members either active or retired from all levels of law enforcement.

Of those added, 120 were officers killed in the line of duty during 2012, while 201 were officers previously undiscovered.

Several were New Jersey State Police troopers or NJ state correction officers (SEE BELOW).

Craig Floyd, chairman and CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, welcomed an estimated 20,000 law enforcement officers, survivors and supporters before introducing Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, who delivered opening remarks, as part of National Police Week 2013.

“Although no words, and no ceremony, can erase the pain we feel at each tragic and untimely loss, my hope is that the families, friends, and colleagues of these fallen heroes can find peace in the certain knowledge that they died doing what they loved.  They helped to make this world a far better, and safer, place,”  U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. told the gathering.

“And despite the fact that these brave officers were taken from us far too suddenly – and far too soon – their legacies, and contributions, will always endure,” he said.

Special recognition went to representatives of some of the Boston-area agencies that “demonstrated an exceptionally high level of work” in capturing the marathon bombers while protecting their communities.

NYPD Sgt. Michael Devine and Port Authority Police Officer Steve Butterbrodt who provided musical tributes during the ceremony.

The national monument now contains the names of 19,981 fallen law enforcement officers.

They come from all 50 states; the District of Columbia and U.S. territories and also include federal law enforcement, corrections, railroad and military police agencies.

All have died in the performance of duty throughout U.S. history, dating back to the first known officer death in 1791.

(VIGIL PHOTOS ABOVE / BELOW): Fair Lawn Police Officer Michael O’Brien)

READ MORE: National Police Week: Honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice

As soon as Veri-Rodriguez’s cousin, Lodi Police Officer Dominic Miller, offered to shave his head, brother officers took up the cause, as well.

Handling the clippers was Alicia’s best friend, Kristen Pinto, from Hair’s Anthony Salon in Garfield.

Pictured, from left: Lodi Police Officer Christopher Irizarry, Capt. Joseph Quatrone, Officer Eric Castillo, Veri-Rodriguez, Miller, Officer Ricardo Rodrigues and Chief Vincent Caruso.

PHOTO: Courtesy LODI PD

The unity tour participants — who’ve come from various points around the globe — arrived in the nation’s capital yesterday afternoon after making the trek to the memorial on bicycles, leaving from six “spokes” along the East Coast.

As always, loved ones of those who died in the line duty and others cheered on the cyclists as they made their way into the memorial, some accompanied by motorcycle escorts — always a highlight of National Police Week.

Once inside, officers sought the names of fallen colleagues — among them, Fair Lawn Police Officer Mary Ann Collura, who was killed 10 years ago by a crazed gunman as she rushed to the aid of another officer.

Along the wall, many left photos, notes and other tributes sheathed in plastic to protect them from the elements.

“We need to make sure that the sacrifices that were made by our departed brothers and sisters in law enforcement are never forgotten and to make sure the loved ones of those brothers and sisters left behind know that they are not fogotten,” Bogota Police Chief John C. Burke Sr. told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.

Tonight’s candlelight vigil will honor 321 officers whose names were etched into the memorial’s stone wall this year.

These include 120 killed in the line of duty in 2012 — a decrease from 169 a year earlier.

“It’s certainly is a tragedy for those departments, those families that have lost a loved one and our national grieves for them as well,” Craig Floyd, the fund’s chairman and chief executive, told Officer.com. “However, the good news — the silver lining, if you will — is that number is the lowest fatality figure we’re had since 1959.”

Floyd said he believes that’s because “more officers are better trained, better equipped and more are wearing their bullet resistant vests.”

He cited a recent Police Executive Research Forum study that showed more than 90 percent of U.S. law enforcement agencies requiring their officers to wear body armor while on patrol or in potentially dangerous circumstances.

“We know that over the last 25 years or so, more than 3,000 law enforcement professionals’ lives have been saved because they were wearing their body armor,” he said, adding that it has helped in car crashes and other high-impact circumstances that don’t involve gunfire.

The ride so far has raised an estimated $1.7 million for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, which raises awareness of the sacrifices police make to keep citizens safe and secure.

It will be the largest amount ever raised through the event, co-founded in 1997 by Florham Park Police Chief Patrick Montuore, Fair Lawn Police Sgt. Richard Schultz and 17 fellow officers from North Jersey — who at the time carried an initial gift of $18,000.

Among those who made the 330-mile trek from North Jersey this year were dozens from area departments. Their motto: “We Ride For Those Who Died.”

(Fair Lawn Officer Michael O’Brien is in Washington, D.C. this weekend and took the accompanying photos.)

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will be tonight’s keynote speaker. Also expected to speak are Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napoliono and Madeline Neumann, president of Concerns of Police Survivors.

Other highlights this week include the 32nd Annual National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service in front of the Capitol Building on Wednesday.

Northeast Council of Carpenters senior representatives Peter Gowing and George Schreck arranged for the carpenters to gut the interior of the building.

Then, in the coming weeks, the Carpenters Apprentice Training Center from Kenilworth will install new framing, drywall, ceilings and flooring — at no cost to the borough.

Cumiskey was diagnosed with ALS shortly after retiring from the sheriff’s office in 2009 following a distinguished 25-year career.

PBA Local #134 and the Fort Lee Fire Department are holding the beefsteak dinner fundraiser on June 8 at the Church of the Ascencion in New Milford.

“Please join us for a night of food and drink as we support our brother officer and firefighter through this difficult time,” they ask.

WHEN: Saturday, June 8 (7 p.m.)
WHERE: Church of the Ascension, 256 Azalea Drive, New Milford
DONATION: $50/person
INCLUDES: beer, soda, appetizers, beefsteak, dessert

INFO:

William Cumiskey (PHOTO: Courtesy Bergen County Sheriff’s Office)

Jaden Sabathia was diagnosed years ago with expressive/receptive language delay. But after a year in a special program at the JCC on the Palisades Therapeutic Nursery in Tenafly, she was successfully mainstreamed at Alpine Public School.

Schools chose their top entries for each grade level, after which online voting was conducted at the BCPO.net website.

“Interest in the contest was intense,” said Molinelli (above, center), noting that one of the winning entries receiving more than 6,000 cybervotes.

“We have seen a dramatic increase in the quality of the students’ entries,” the prosecutor added.

The winning students were honored at the Prosecutor’s Office’s recent SNAP conference for educators and law enforcement officers and officials.

The winning entries eventually will be featured on the Youth Outreach page of www.BCPO.net

The winners:

POSTERS:
Kindergarten: Emma Spence, Roberge School, River Vale
1st Grade:  Jaden Sabathia, Alpine Public School (photo not provided)
2nd Grade : Ashlee Connelly, Jessie F. George School, Washington Twp.
3rd Grade:  Simon Gak & Nicholas Chung, School #4, Fort Lee
4th Grade:  Sarah Tamagny, Woodside School, River Vale
5th Grade: Angelina Giustra & Christa Dimitry, Woodside School, River Vale
6th Grade: Akari Uchida, Eleanor Van Gelder School, Edgewater

POWERPOINT:
5th Grade: Nina Osso, Harrington Park School
6th Grade: Michael Bocchiaro, Ho-Ho-Kus Public School
7th Grade: Rania Gobji, Yasmin Russo & Steven Marquez, Thomas Jefferson MS, Teaneck
8th Grade: Alexis Saraydarian, Englewood Cliffs Upper School

VIDEOS:
9th Grade: Cheyenne Mullen,  Chelsea Carnevale &  Christopher Monopoli, Riverdell HS
10th Grade: Marisa Ganley & Olivia Marelic, Mahwah HS
11th Grade: Jake Fischer, Pascack Hills HS, Montvale
12th Grade: Mark Gross, Pascack Valley HS, Hillsdale

PHOTO GUIDE:

She launched the grass-roots non-profit Brendon Project, named for the late Brendon Michael Campos, to raise awareness of how disabling addiction can be and to seek better answers for dealing with it than simply by locking up users — or by publishing their photos in newspapers.

“Its purpose is to create a graphical presentation of the constant lives being lost to addiction,” she said.

The May 25 bench dedication to her son “honors Brendon and all those who have lost family and friends to addiction,” Campos told CLIFFVIEW PILOT today. “All who have lost loved ones to addiction are invited to attend.”

WHAT: Bench dedication to Brendon Michael Campos
WHEN: 1 p.m., May 25 (1-year anniversary of Brendon’s death)
WHERE: Waldwick Borough Park, 98 Pine Street

Besides Christine, Brendon’s sister Brianna Campos will speak at the dedication. Pastor Ray Muniz of Christ Community Church in Waldwick will handle the blessing.

Overlooking a pond, the bench will bear a plaque:

“In Loving Celebration of Brendon Michael Campos 3/7/89 – 5/25/12 & For All Those Lost to Addiction / The Brendon Project … A Project to Love”

“It is my belief that addiction had touched us in some way or another,” said Campos, who created The Brendon Foundation after asking herself a simple question: “If addiction is a disease, where’s the walk for our cure?”

She, in turn, created an online wall for those who want to remember a loved one lost to addiction: Click on a face and you’ll find an intensely personal story.

Besides raising awareness, Campos hopes to raise money for medical research “that works on finding more solutions for treating addiction.”

“Sadly, the number of deaths caused by addiction is frightening and tragic,” she said. “The saddest part of the story is that statistics show that current recovery programs have an extremely low rate of success.”

“I am thankful that my son knew how much I loved him,” Campos added, “but no amount of love could have saved him.

“Perhaps, by creating a visual picture of the loss and tragedy, it will help shift the misbeliefs about addiction — but more importantly about those who suffer from this affliction,” she said.

Campos thanked Waldwick Mayor Thomas Giordano for making the bench dedication possible by “coordinating with The Brendon Project and the town.

“It is my hope that we can reach out to others who have lost loved ones to this disease and honor those people as well,” she said, adding: “Your donations help us help others.”

MORE INFO: TheBrendonProject.com

OR: Email Christine Campos directly: christine@thebrendonproject.com