OH, SAY CAN YOU SEE Celebrate! Celebrate! Celebrate!
E
VERYONE LOVES A PARTY especially in the summer – hot dogs, potato salad, corn on the cob,
cold beer and fireworks after a leisurely day of sun and fun on the beach or the boards . And there’s no better holiday to cele-
brate than Independence Day, Southern New Jersey style, with friends, family and plenty of everything that makes this holi- day so special. This year, July 4th is a Mon- day so that means a long weekend – and maybe an extra long weekend for anyone who can finagle that Friday off! Every town – oceanside, bayside and in-
between – celebrates the 4th with fire- works, street fairs, 5K runs, pancake break- fasts, bike parades and more, so check out what’s happening wherever you happen to be vacationing. Oh, your vacation is in June? Or August?
Or your preference is spring or maybe the fall? Don’t worry, Southern New Jersey has endless festivals that celebrate our diverse ethnic heritage, our natural surroundings and our history, pretty much from March to December in Cumberland, Cape May and Atlantic counties. For a complete listing of festivals, events and more check out our special events section right here in the Southern New Jersey Vacationer. Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day –
we all know that! – so enjoy the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Atlantic City in March. But here’s a
surprise...not all our Irish celebrations take place in March. Historic Cold Spring Village celebrates the traditions of the Celtic Highlands with
pipes and drums, Scottish and Irish dances and a fiddle championship in June. The largest Irish Festival on the East Coast hap- pens every September in North Wildwood with a four-day event filled with dancing, music, food, vendors, crafts and even Irish dance lessons... plus a parade. Wow! Sea Isle City also celebrates in Septem-
ber with the Irish Festival Weekend – music, bands, dancers and crafters; the Historic Towne of Smithville and Village Greene has an Irish weekend in Septem- ber with an Irish market, music in three locations and a friendly dance feis. Our Italian friends are ready to cele-
brate – and invite everyone to join them. In September Wildwood hosts in an Old World Italian Family Festival; in October the fun moves to Sea Isle and North Wildwood. Haggis is on the menu – if you know what
this is, fine; if you don’t, don’t ask! – but it’s still a fun night in Cape May at the “Rabbie” Burns dinner that celebrates the poet laure- ate of Scotland with bagpipes, kilts, a recita- tion of a poem or two and perhaps just a nip – to take the chill off, of course. Town Bank, on the Delaware Bay in
Lower Township, was settled in 1635 by whaler yeomen from New England and Long Island who followed the whales to local waters. The original settlements are now far out into the bay but the area still remembers its earliest inhabitants with a Whale of Day festival every July, a huge street festival that’s a rain or shine event. Once the oyster capital of the world, Delaware Bay Day in June marks the rich
maritime history, vibrant culture and nat- ural resources of the bayside in Cumber- land County with fresh seafood, soul food, river tours, guided wetland walks and a visit to NJ’s Official Tall Ship, the historic schooner A.J. Meerwald. Atlantic City celebrates its Hispanic cul-
ture with a Puerto Rican Day Parade that includes bands, floats and more on the Boardwalk, followed by the Latin Music Festival with top artists from Puerto Rico and this country in August. The city also hosts International Nights in July and August at Kennedy Plaza and the Atlantic City Boardwalk with live performances representing many cultures. Cape May pays tribute to Cornelius
Jacobsen Mey, a Dutch sea captain who gave his name to the resort. In April the resort is ablaze with literally thousands and thousands of tulips to celebrate Cape May’s Dutch heritage during the Spring Festival. Jazz festivals acknowledge the contribu-
tion of Black performers to our musical heritage, especially the Chicken Bone Beach Jazz Series throughout the summer in Atlantic City with headline jazz enter- tainment. Jazz at the Point in March takes place at venues around Somers Point every March, and Cape May Jazz hosts two festi- vals every year – one in April and another in November, all with great artists, work- shops and more. This is the Garden State, after all, so we
also have festivals featuring peaches, blue- berries, strawberries and even lima beans... that’s right, lima beans. Who knew? ■
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