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Cooling Off

by Albert on October 7, 2009

The summer season is behind everyone and the end of the lets-extend-the-season a little longer parties are beginning to wind down too. There are still a few events that are upcoming at the Jersey shore but even those will be trickling down to nothing fairly soon.

Columbus Day is the last fling for Seaside, as they will be having their Parade and the weekend long Italian Festival. As usual they will be feature what is called a folkloric group as part of the entertainment. The group, Arlecchino, does hail from Italy  and they will be making their first appearance ever in the United States. The group does dance and singing numbers and will perform Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There will also be other entertainment all weekend long, including the big Parade at 1 PM on Sunday.

Shore Seafood Festival

by Albert on September 22, 2009 A scene from Arnold Avenue at the Point Pleasant Beach Seafood Festival

The 32nd annual Point Pleasant Seafood Festival took place on September 19. Arnold Ave was blocked off, west of route 35, as was a portion of River Avenue and Bay Avenue. The weather was absolutely great. It was about 70 degrees and sunny. Parking was tough during the time I was there, in mid afternoon, but it was something that just required a bit of walking. All around the train station and on the streets just east of the highway were packed with cars. We simply had to move further away from that area to find parking along the street.

The food booths were all along the south side of the street and stretched up to Bay Avenue. The only break in food stands were the music stage, which was set up just opposite River Avenue. Further along Arnold Avenue and along Bay Avenue were arts and crafts booths and some things for the kids to do. You can find antiques, health information, pony rides and children’s games.

We arrived at around 3:30 PM and the crowd was huge at that time. There were so many people that it was difficult to walk at times. If too many people stopped or there were too many people trying to buy something from any single booth it could cause a traffic jam of people.

The food was great this year, at least at the booths that I sampled from. I had lobster, shrimp, scallops and some fresh lemonade. We had visited the Shrimp Box in Point Pleasant Beach the night before. They always have good seafood meals and we did enjoy our dinner. Yet the seafood festival food we had was much better.

This was the first year I was able to attend the seafood festival and I hope I can attend again next year…and that the weather is as nice as it was today!

Governor’s Surf Fishing Tournament!

by Albert on September 1, 2009

The annual Island Beach State Park fishing tournament is planned for Sunday October 4. Registration forms can be found here.  In addition to being a great fishing event, the tournament raises money for charity through the collection of registration fees. The funds collected will go towards: marine education, marine restoration work, surf fishing access, access ramps for disabled saltwater anglers, surf fishing instruction programs and equipment and the purchase of beach wheelchairs.

Pre registration (before September 14, by mail) $10
Tournament day sign up – $15

These fees are for those 18 and older. Children under 13 fish for free, those from 13-17 will need to pay $5 (early registration or the day of the event).

Fishing begins at 6:30 AM and ends at 1 PM.

The event is held rain or shine so lets hope the weather is good.

The sponsors for this year include: the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Fish and Wildlife and Division of Parks and Forestry, the New Jersey Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, Jersey Coast Anglers Association, and the New Jersey Beach Buggy Association.


