Although it is quiet now, the Band Shell at Excursion Park will be rocking with concerts and other entertainment over the summer
By Donald Wittkowski
The shows will go on after all.
Sea Isle City is stepping in to fill a void that would have left Excursion Park without entertainment for most nights of the week this summer.
In previous summers, both the city and the Sea Isle Chamber of Commerce and Revitalization teamed up to sponsor an array of free, family-friendly shows throughout the week at the Band Shell in Excursion Park, including outdoor concerts, dance parties and movies.
However, the Chamber withdrew from the entertainment series for this summer, leaving the city to go solo.
Without the Chamber’s events, Excursion Park would have had entertainment just three nights a week, but the city has found money in the municipal budget to add more shows on two more nights, Mayor Leonard Desiderio said.
“The feedback we’ve gotten convinced us that an additional night for concerts and an additional night of Movies Under the Stars would prove very popular, and we have a great lineup set for the coming season,” Desiderio said.
Although it is quiet now, the Band Shell at Excursion Park will be rocking with concerts and other entertainment over the summer
The idea behind the free nighttime entertainment at Excursion Park is to draw more families and visitors to town during Sea Isle’s all-important summer vacation season. After the shows wrap up, city officials hope that tourists will mingle around downtown for a while, spending their money at the local shops and restaurants.
City officials and the Chamber of Commerce agreed to a new start time for the shows this summer in a compromise that is designed to keep business flowing. This year, the entertainment will get underway at 7:30 p.m., a half hour later than last summer. The old 7 p.m. start time was criticized as being too early.
Meanwhile, Christopher Glancey, the Chamber president, explained that his organization is stepping back from the summer shows this year after the city made scheduling changes that included taking over the Monday night slot.
Last year, the Chamber sponsored “Mondays at the Park” nights, including kid-friendly amusements such as face painting and inflatable bounce houses.
Last summer, the Chamber also held “Family Fun Nights” and teen-oriented acoustic open mic nights on Thursdays. The “Family Fun Nights” were held from 6:30-8:30 p.m., followed by the open mic shows from 9-10:30 p.m.
Glancey said the Chamber decided not to bring back the Thursday night entertainment lineup because the open mic nights ran into conflicts with the city’s outdoor noise ordinance and had to shut down earlier at night than what teenagers wanted.
Although the Chamber will not offer entertainment at night, it will continue to sponsor tourist-friendly daytime attractions throughout the summer, including the popular Farmers Market on Tuesdays, an annual fashion show in July and a “Santa in July” event, Glancey said.
