Signs of the autumn season are everywhere you turn in Sea Isle City. In addition to corn stalks, mums and pumpkins displayed on front yards and at the entrances of local businesses, there are also plenty of autumn events taking place that you won’t want to miss.
To begin with, the Recreation Office’s annual Halloween Parade and Family Dance Party is happening on Friday night.
Then on Saturday, the Chamber of Commerce will host their first annual “Harvest Classic,” which will include a variety of seasonal activities, such as pumpkin decorating, a scarecrow contest, hayrides on the beach, a pie-baking contest, dancing to live music, a surfing competition and more.
Also on Saturday, the Chamber will be collecting non-perishable food items at Excursion Park and at the Surfing Contest, and those items will be distributed to a local food pantry. So, please plan on attending the Harvest Classic and help feed families in need by making a food donation if you can.
As if this weekend’s Halloween Parade and Harvest Classic weren’t enough, there will also be a pickleball tournament happening at the 42nd Place courts, where our local pickleball community is invited to display their skills and compete for prizes.
Then, later in the month, door-to-door Trick-or-Treating will take place in Sea Isle City on Halloween night from 5 to 8 p.m., plus our Recreation Office will host a “Trunk-or-Treat” event in the Welcome Center’s parking lot from 4 to 6:30 p.m. on October 31.
While Halloween is always an enjoyable holiday, I respectfully remind all parents to think “safety first” and ensure that their children travel cautiously through town while trick-or-treating. We all know how excited kids can get when Halloween night arrives, so please remind them to look both ways when crossing the street, to carry flashlights, walk with friends – and certainly never get in a stranger’s vehicle.
Please mark your calendars now for our annual Veterans Day Ceremony at 11 a.m. on Friday, November 11, at Veterans Park, where we will thank and honor the countless men and women who served in our nation’s military.
Knowing that “freedom isn’t’ free,” we should all be very grateful for what our veterans have done for this great country, so please join us at this year’s ceremony if you can. As I have said many times before, here in Sea Isle City we don’t just honor our veterans on Veterans Day – we honor them every day of the year. That being said, Veterans Day is a very important holiday, so I hope as many people as possible will be at Veterans Park on November 11.
As I recently mentioned, Sea Isle City did experience some beach erosion when the remnants of Hurricane Ian rolled through town earlier this month. However, even though some of our dunes were affected by the storm, our beaches are open and ready for use – even though, of course, there are no lifeguards on duty during this time of year, so please do not enter the ocean until Memorial Day Weekend when our Beach Patrol returns to the sand and is on hand to keep everyone safe.
When you go to the beach, however, you may notice that several of our dune paths are closed, which was something we had to do for the safety of the general public. Because of the instability of some of our dunes, I ask everyone who sees caution tape or temporary fencing blocking any beach entrance to acknowledge that the path in front of them is “closed” and to please turn around and find a beach entrance that is open.
This is the time of year when we resume our municipal improvement efforts, which often include road work and paving projects. I want to thank everyone in advance for your cooperation and patience in the event that you experience a minor vehicle detour during the off-season – and I ask everyone to please drive through town cautiously and slowly, especially if you are in a construction zone.
This week’s “Shout Out” goes to Chris Oney, who works in Sea Isle City’s Tourism Office. Earlier this week, Chris was honored as the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce’s “Young Professional of the Year” – and we couldn’t be more proud of him! Congratulations Chris, and please keep up the good work you do for the people of Sea Isle City!
Smile … You’re in Sea Isle,
Mayor Leonard C. Desiderio
