Sham Jam in Fairfield gets glowing reviews following SantaCon backlash

This time, residents woke up Sunday to a clean beach and shore. Private cleanup crews cleaned the area. A volunteer team from Fairfield University also helped with Sunday's cleanup.

Angelica Toruno and Rose Shannon

Mar 17, 2024, 4:55 PM

Updated 60 days ago

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Fairfield officials and residents say they are pleased that the new guidelines created for Saturday's Sham Jam worked.
Town officials worked with Lantern Point and Fairfield University to ensure the event was not a repeat of last December's SantaCon. Many residents were upset because the event attracted big crowds and left a mess on Penfield beach.
This time, residents woke up Sunday to a clean beach and shore. Private cleanup crews cleaned the area. A volunteer team from Fairfield University also helped with Sunday's cleanup.
"It's a wonderful change, the beach is clean, it's calm here. Yesterday seemed to be much better than other big parties," says Carolyn Kamlet, president of the Fairfield Beach Residents Association.
Fairfield fire officials tells News 12 preparation was key.
"We dedicated a lot more resources to this event, we did a tremendous amount of planning in advance of this event. The emergency management team met continually to make sure that we had all the right pieces of the puzzle put together," says assistant chief Schuyler Sherwood.


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