Photos by Suzette J. Lucas. To purchase photos from this slideshow, visit http://tinyurl.com/Pennington-Day.

Pennington Day isn’t just one of the biggest events in Hopewell Valley every year, it’s also one of the largest fundraisers.

That’s why board of trustees vice president Andy Beloff was a bit nervous last year when the decision was made to move the center of the street fair from its traditional location at Delaware Avenue and Main Street to in front of Toll Gate Grammar School.

“I myself was skeptical going into it,” Beloff said.

The old location had worked out for 28 years, so why fix something that isn’t broken?

He needn’t have worried — the new location worked out just fine, and remained the same when the 30th Pennington Day began May 15 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in downtown Pennington. Just like in years past, vendors from all over Hopewell Valley lined the streets with booths, and residents enjoyed entertainment from all over the tri-state area.

Entertainment this year included a new children’s pavilion with pony rides, a bouncy obstacle course and other activities.

Performers at the crossroads at South Main Street and East Curlis Avenue included local bands, the Pennington Dance Company and the Princeton School of Rock. There was also a dog show, a quilt show, a tennis tournament and a food court at the Toll Gate traffic circle.

New this year was a Spring Fling dance the night before the event, starting at 7:30 p.m. at the Senior Center.

The money raised by the festival — so far, about $10,000 — will go to various local causes. Beloff said about half will be distributed in small amounts to as many groups as possible, but the other half would go in one chunk to a particularly worthy endeavor.

Beloff said this year’s recipient of the $5,000 grant has not been decided yet. The last two years, it went to the campaign to build a new YMCA and to get the Pennington Farmer’s Market off the ground.

“In fact, that was really the only donation they got,” Beloff said. “They were able to start it up because of our assistance.”

The first Pennington Day was in 1980, following an massive electrical fire that gutted the Pennington School’s O’Hanlon Hall. The funds raised by the fair helped the school recover from the disaster.

It hasn’t been easy going since then. There was no Pennington Day in 2004. Beloff was among those who brought it back in 2005. Beloff said all in all, between the board of trustees and the various committees, there are about 100 people involved in making Pennington Day happen.

Beloff’s favorite part of the entire process is the day itself.

“Everyone has a good time and we are able to get a decent amount of money to give back to the community,” he said. “We’re keeping our fingers crossed this year and hoping it’s sunny.”

Beloff expected about 8,000 people to turn out for the event.

“It’s definitely one of the top events in Hopewell Valley,” he said.

For more information about Pennington Day, go online to http://www.penningtonday.com.