The public will be able to vote for their favorite scarecrow at Sea Isle's local businesses. (Photo courtesy of Sea Isle City)
The annual Harvest Classic this weekend in Sea Isle City will feature pumpkin decorating, over 20 local businesses and vendors with pop-ups, a scarecrow decorating contest and live music.
The festival will be held by the Sea Isle City Chamber of Commerce and Revitalization on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Excursion Park.
Brian Heritage, president of the Chamber of Commerce, said the festival is an awesome opportunity for families to visit and enjoy Sea Isle in the fall, especially since the forecast calls for a warm and sunny weekend.
“It's a really nice event for the families,” Heritage said. “Local food vendors, artists, retailers and Chamber members will be able to sell their products at the park, and kind of have a farmer’s market kind of feel to it.”
Food trucks, local artist vendors and games like cornhole and tic-tac-toe will also be available at the festival.
Heritage said there have already been 28 entries for the pie baking contest, which is many more than he was expecting. He said he is most excited for the scarecrow decorating contest between local businesses, which usually gets extremely competitive.
“When you start challenging these retailers to one-up each other, some of the things they come up with are really creative, and it's cool to see everybody’s result,” he said.
A pumpkin decorating contest will be one of the festival's highlights. (Photo courtesy of Sea Isle Chamber of Commerce)Heritage created a scarecrow appearing to be performing a skateboarding trick over his fence outside of his business, Heritage Surf and Sport at 37th Street and Landis Avenue.
The scarecrow decorating contest is judged by the public. People are encouraged to drive through town to see the scarecrows at the businesses. There are QR codes that allow people to cast an online vote for their favorite one.
Voting is also available on the Sea Isle City Chamber of Commerce’s website page about the Harvest Classic.
Heritage said the festival’s most popular event is usually the tractor-pulled hayrides along the beach, which is a unique and scenic experience for families to share together. Unfortunately, the hayrides are canceled this year due to extremely high tides.
“The Chamber worked closely with Sea Isle City’s Department of Public Works, Police Department and Department of Community Services to determine if there was an alternative option to make the hayrides possible; however, there is no way to safely offer this activity on the beach or on the street at this time,” the Chamber said in a statement.
Even without the hayrides on the beach, the Harvest Classic is expected to be an exciting event for shoppers, vendors and families looking to have some fall fun.
“It should draw a lot of people into town and attract those who come down on weekends to use their (vacation) homes,” Heritage said. “It'll give them something fun to do on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.”
Hayrides along the beach, usually a popular attraction, have been canceled this weekend because of extremely high tides. (Photo courtesy of Sea Isle City Chamber of Commerce)
