What a fall season we are having! For the most part, the days have been warm and sunny, the sunsets have been amazingly colorful and our events have been very well attended by people who are eager to extend the summer season. Two weeks ago, the City’s Tourism Office hosted Fall Family Festival, which brought thousands of folks to the Promenade and Excursion Park for two days of family-friendly entertainment and activities, including free amusement rides, a huge vendors market, live music, free trolley rides, an antique auto show and much more. And, as if that weren’t enough, the weather could not have been more ideal – which greatly added to everyone’s enjoyment!
On Sunday of Fall Family Festival, the Environmental Commission distributed their 2017 Beautification Awards to eight local property owners, who keep their homes and businesses looking great! My congratulations and thanks go to all of this year’s winners for beautifying our community!
On September 15, it was an honor to welcome the Cape May County American Legion to Veterans Park, where they held their annual POW-MIA Recognition Day Ceremony. I am pleased to announce that we will be inviting our friends from the American Legion back again in 2018, as we plan to make the Recognition Day Ceremony an annual event in Sea Isle City.
And speaking of annual events, the New Jersey Run For The Fallen once again passed through Sea Isle City on September 21. Each year, it is greatly inspiring to witness members of our nation’s armed forces honor their fallen comrades from the Garden State by running more than 190 miles from the City of Cape May to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Holmdel, Monmouth County – and they do it in just four days! Along the way, the runners stop every mile at individual “Hero Markers” that are each dedicated to a New Jersey resident who has died in the line of duty. Needless to say, it is a wonderfully patriotic and moving event. To learn more about the NJ Run For The Fallen, please go to www.njrunforthefallen.org – and plan to be with us next year as this amazing event passes through Sea Isle in September 2018!
I recently invited the members of the Sea Isle City Jitney Association to City Hall to thank them for their outstanding service to our community. As a resident and a business owner, it makes me very happy to know that the people of Sea Isle City can easily get where they are going when they ride the jitneys, which provide an invaluable service to our community by reducing traffic congestion and being a convenient alternative to driving your own vehicle – plus they’re fun to ride! So, if you haven’t experienced Sea Isle’s jitney service for yourself, be sure to do so next summer or during one of the local events that jitneys service during the off season.
During this year’s Autumn Beach Clean-Up on September 23, families, groups of friends, members of civic groups and other concerned individuals took time out of their busy schedules to remove hundreds of pounds of debris from Sea Isle’s beaches and dunes. My thanks go to all of the people who volunteered during the Beach Clean-Up – especially those who worked diligently behind the scenes to make the event a success, including the members of the Sea Isle City Environmental Commission, who organize and host our annual Beach Clean-Ups, Approach Clothing Company, located at 6300 Landis Avenue, for donating free tee-shirts for all of the Clean-Up’s volunteers, and Mike’s Seafood Restaurant in Fish Alley for donating a wonderful buffet luncheon for everyone after the beaches were cleaned! . Thank you all!
September may be coming to a close, but there is still plenty of fun to be had here in Sea Isle City. As you no doubt are aware, the autumn has become “Festival Season” here in Sea Isle, and there will be events taking place on most weekends right up to the Thanksgiving holiday. Just this past weekend, countless green-clad revelers attended Sea Isle’s Irish Festival Weekend at LaCosta, where people enjoyed live Irish music, an Irish Vendors Market, great food and other fun. Looking ahead, you won’t want to miss the Chamber of Commerce and Revitalization’s annual Harborfest celebration on September 30, Sea Isle City’s 2017 Italian Festival and Columbus Day Parade on October 7, our annual Halloween Parade and Family Dance Party on October 20, and the Chamber’s 2017 Octoberfest celebration on October 21. With so much going on in Sea Isle – why be anywhere else!?!
This week’s “Shout Out” goes to all of Sea Isle’s Police, Fire and Ambulance workers! Thank you for keeping us safe throughout the entire year!
Smile…You’re in Sea Isle!
Mayor Leonard C. Desiderio
