By Maddy Vitale
With a summer lineup of music, movie nights and other family-friendly entertainment, Sea Isle City is ready to not only draw families to the vacation destination to enjoy the pristine beaches but give them a host of activities to enjoy after the sun goes down.
“We have a lot of great things happening this summer. I don’t think our lineup of events has ever been as big as it is this year,” Sea Isle City Public Information Officer Katherine Custer said during a Tourism Commission meeting Thursday morning.
There will be five nights of city-sponsored events. Monday nights will feature classic movies for old film buffs. Tuesday nights get ready to dance the night away with the dance parties. On Wednesdays, the Chamber of Commerce and Revitalization will host an acoustic open mic night for teens. Thursdays will feature smaller band performances. On Fridays enjoy family movie nights and Saturdays will be an array of concerts. All the entertainment will be at the Excursion Park Band Shell.
“We are hearing a lot of positive feedback from people who are excited about the City’s classic movie night and the other events that our Tourism Office is hosting at the Band Shell this summer,” Custer said. “Everyone seems very happy about what’s being offered in Sea Isle City in 2018.”
Tourism Commission Chairman James Bennett complimented the events planned, designed to keep people of all ages entertained throughout the summer.
He said Sunday is left open for other things to occupy your time, including shopping. All the offerings will pack the itinerary of tourists and residents.
Sea Isle tourism representative Diane Merson said they are expecting an exciting summer. She noted that a lot of work went into creating the entertainment lineup.
She said the chamber-sponsored open mic night will run from July 11 to Aug. 22 from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
During the meeting Mickey Coskey, owner of Seven Mile Publishing, the marketing consultant for the Tourism Commission, presented an update on the tourism commission marketing plan for this summer.
“We started with a New Year’s resolution billboard,” Coskey said.
Since then, the marketing campaign for “The Forecast us Fun!” included a new Sea Isle Visitors Guide, ads in both print and online and use of social media platforms as well as nine short, vacation videos, to highlight the attractions in Sea Isle this summer.
“Video is very important today and throughout the summer,” Coskey said. “It is a great way to capture all the great things in Sea Isle.”
She said she is turning her attention to updating information about the city online.
Although people go to www.visitsicnj.com directly, or to the city’s website and www.sea-isle-city.nj.us, others do Google searches for Sea Isle. Some even search for Sea Isle on www.visitnj.org.
“There are so many places for people to write and talk about Sea Isle. About 71 percent of our traffic is organic,” Coskey explained.
The goal is to market the beaches, but also emphasize the night activities at Excursion Park and the Promenade.
The city-sponsored beachcombing tours begin next month and cornhole tournaments will also be a fun activity for all ages.
“We need to market not just for the four or five hours a day people are on the beach, but also Excursion Park and the Promenade,” Coskey said, adding that they could add new videos on Google.
They also plan to update Sea Isle information on the state’s website.
“This is just something new and interesting we are working on for this summer,” Coskey said.
And early indicators that it should be a busy summer include beach tag sales.
Custer noted that beach tag sales are going very well.
She said there has been a lot of “traffic” for purchases of beach tags, including ones for veterans.
She added, “We have a lot of people coming through the door.”
