Things to do / Travel Guide
The Jersey Shore comes alive with a calendar chock-full of events the entire family will enjoy.
January
Cool off, or just watch others, with a nice ice swim on January 1st at Ocean City's First Day at the Beach festival at Music Pier. Parties with live bands and games celebrate the new calendar year.
February
If you revel in revvin' engines, join 50,000 people who feel the same at the International Power Boat Show held at the Atlantic City Convention Center. You'll see a wide range of boats and, if you're lucky, Twiggy, a bonafide water-skiing squirrel.
March
Don't miss the magnifique Atlantique City Spring Festival, the largest indoor art, antique, and collectible show in the world. Over 1,500 international exhibitors convene for two days at the 10½-acre Atlantic City Convention Center each March. A similar event is also held in October.
May
Combine a leisurely afternoon with creative inspiration at Art in the Park. West End Park in Long Branch holds an annual juried Art in the Park event exhibiting the work of professional artists from throughout the Jersey Shore region. Spectators are free to stroll amidst the submissions; the event is held over the Memorial Day weekend.
The air is always right at Wildwoods International Kite Festival. Hundreds of participants claim their colorful piece of the sky in Wildwoods, where weekend festivities include kite stunt competitions and exhibitions. Contestants pay to enter the competition, but spectators enter free.
“Symphonies by the Sea,” the Cape May Music Festival, features six weeks of internationally-acclaimed classical music ensemble performances at a variety of Cape May venues. Past performances have included soloists and group musical performances from around the world including Latin, Irish Jazz, Brass, Klezmer, and Tango styles.
June
More than 150,000 visitors pour into Red Bank for the annual Red Bank Jazz and Blues Festival. Held over three days on three different stages at Marine Park, on the Navesink River, performers playing Chicago Blues, Texas Blues, New Orleans Dixieland Jazz, Brass Jazz, as well as soul, funk, and gospel are guaranteed to move your soul.
Savory seafood is in your stars if plan your trip around the Jersey Shore's two palatable festivals. Baymen's Seafood and Music Festival in Tuckerton features crab cakes, oysters, clams, Caribbean music, and a host of local folk music and chefs. Also in this month is the New Jersey Fresh Seafood Festival, in Atlantic City, where visitors can enjoy more than 30 vendors selling sea delights, as well as take in aquarium and marine ecology exhibits.
Vintage cars and motorcycles mob the streets of downtown Freehold in what has been rated the best and largest antique car show on the East Coast. Kruise Night also features a Corvettes-only parking lot and live-music performances. Admission is free to this event, so rev your engines and head on down to the show!
A passionate history is re-ignited as uniformed soldiers fire their wooden muskets, and as women cook, mend, and wash at the always-entertaining weekend-long Battle of Monmouth Reenactment at Monmouth Battlefield each June.
July
One of the largest decorated-boat parades in the world, Night in Venice is a not-to-be-missed watercraft carnival. Spectators watch from the bay as boats tour the bay from Ocean City's Longport Bridge to Tennessee Avenue. The third-floor observation area of Bayside Center on Bay Avenue provides the best views of the parade. Festivities usually start at in the evening, and spectators will see everything from yachts-turned-pirate ships, schooners (and skippers) in Hawaiian regalia, to boats with tropical and Little Mermaid themes.
Make your fourth full of fiery fun: Independence Day celebrations, live musical entertainment, and pyrotechnic shows are easy to find all along the Jersey Shore. Red Bank and Atlantic City's fireworks are spectacular; just head to the boardwalk along the beach of any Jersey Shore community after nightfall to catch the show. Additionally, nearly every Jersey Shore town has a morning or midday Fourth of July Parade. Ocean City offers a kite flying competition, one of the biggest in the country, around 5 p.m. at Carey Stadium on Sixth Street. Long Branch's Oceanfest takes place on the Fourth of July along its Promenade and it features exhibits, food and craft vendors, concerts, and evening fireworks.
See sand sculpted into castles, creatures, and creations of every shape and size at the annual New Jersey Sandcastle Contest in Belmar. Held for a day in early July, this premier event (the largest of its kind in New Jersey) features the exquisite work of some of the area's best novice and expert sculptors. The event takes place at 18th Avenue and Ocean Avenue in Belmar.
Put a spark in your summer: every Thursday night during the months of July and August Point Pleasant Beach offers a fireworks show on the shore at Jenkinson's Beach.
You can find free beach concerts (running the spectrum of rock to Broadway musical hits to classical music ensembles) in Sandy Hook every Wednesday evening from June-August.
August
Do you value transparency? Then don't miss the Annual Clearwater Festival in Red Bank. The largest and oldest eco-festival in New Jersey, storytelling, environmental exhibits, and live music are among the attractions this event has to offer.
Chubby-cheeked irresistible infants and toddlers zoom by at the nearly 100-year-old Ocean City Baby Parade. Pulled and wheeled by their parents, beautified babies in colorful costumes, cars, and floats are a sight to behold. The afternoon event takes place in mid-August along Ocean City's Boardwalk. A Pamper Scamper baby crawling race is usually held around the same time.
The Egg Harbor City Italian Festival and Craft Show is hosted by Renault Winery and usually takes place for one day at the beginning of August. At the festival you'll hear some great music, see displays of over 50 craftspeople, and get treated (but not for free) to some great Italian food.
The Highlands Clamfest held in Huddy Park each year brings thousands of seafood lovers together in early-August for four days to shuck clams and savor Jersey Shore's freshest seafood.
The Atlantic City Thunder Over the Boardwalk Airshow is fascinating for airforce aficionados and those who just like to marvel as military pilots deftly demonstrate daring feats of flight. The air show is usually held over the Atlantic City boardwalk for several hours at the end of August. Pilots often stick around after the show to answer questions and give autographs.
September
Running for more than two decades, the Festival of the Sea is one of Point Pleasant Beach's premier events. Crab cakes, shrimp skewers, bisques, lobster, paella … every seafood delight you can imagine lines Arnold Avenue and Bay Avenue. Musicians serenade you while you munch, and to walk off some of that chowder you can browse the literally hundreds of craft vendors. The event is held over a weekend each September.
More than 700 boats and over 200 vendors take part in week-long Atlantic City In-Water Powerboat Show held at Farley State Marina near the Trump Marina Hotel Casino. In the marine marketplace you can peruse the latest boat designs and visit the wide array of vendors selling everything from nautical jewelry to marine electronics, high-end fishing gear and sailing sunglasses, and boating and fishing magazine subscriptions.
Named one of the Top 100 Events in North America and Best Event in New Jersey, the two-day Wings 'n Water Festival, sponsored by the Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor is a “Celebration of the Coast.” At the two-day event you can purchase the maritime and wildlife artwork of internationally-acclaimed painters, carvers, sculptors, and photographers, who exhibit their creations in person. There's also some great local food and folk music to enjoy. Other things to do at the festival include helping to return baby turtles from captivity into their natural environment, and taking guided nature walk or pontoon boat ride to learn about Jersey Shore wetlands.
October
Celebrate Pine Barrens' cranberry bog legacy at the Chatsworth Cranberry Festival in Chatsworth. At the event, many artists and craftsmen demonstrate and show off their wares, also offering them for sale. The third-largest of its kind in the U.S., live, local music bands and delectable cranberry ice cream and baked goods are among the highlights of this two-day festival.
And you won't want to miss the “fantastique” Atlantique City Fall Festival. Similar to springtime event that takes place in March, this fall event showcases the largest display of indoor art, antiques, and collectibles in the world. The late-October event features over 1,500 international exhibitors at the 10½-acre Atlantic City Convention Center.
November
The best and brightest New Jersey filmmakers are honored at the four-day Cape May New Jersey State Film Festival. Documentaries, shorts, and other films are shown at various venues along Beach Avenue in Cape May. Film passes cost between $75 (includes all films on Saturday, a Saturday night screening, and Sunday brunch) and $125 (includes admission to all public events including the Opening Night Gala and Awards Ceremony). Tickets to Saturday evening features cost $10.
December
Bruce Springsteen stays true to Asbury Park: in an attempt to help revitalize Asbury Park, Springsteen plays an annual holiday concert fundraiser to benefit local businesses and causes. The concert is usually held at Harry's Roadhouse on Cookman Avenue, a diner-style dive locale feature “home cookin'” and local bands.
There is nothing quite like Christmas on the cape. A heated trolley will give you a cozy vantage point from which to see Victorian homes, the Emlen Physick Estate, churches, and gingerbread-style historic inns decked out in their holiday best on the Cape May Christmas Candlelight House Tour. Christmas caroling and strolling musicians, sparkling trees, and holiday regalia add to the seasonal spirit as you walk (or trolley) between festively-decorated historic buildings and warm hospitality centers (serving hot drinks and home-baked cookies) on Saturday evenings throughout December.
|
|
|