Sea Isle City Mayor Leonard Desiderio
There has been a lot of “chatter” around town in recent days regarding this year’s holiday events in Sea Isle City – and some confusion about what’s happening over Thanksgiving Weekend.
As I indicated in my report to City Council on Tuesday, there will most certainly be a variety of enjoyable holiday activities taking place this year on Black Friday and Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, however there will be some slight changes to what was offered last year.
As you may recall, several years ago the owners of the Ludlam Hotel began hosting a “Winter Village” on their property at JFK Boulevard and Landis Avenue. Then, in 2024, after the Ludlam was torn down to make way for future construction, the Winter Village was moved to Excursion Park, officially becoming a Chamber of Commerce event.
Wanting to make their event larger and more entertaining for the public, earlier this year the Chamber members asked the city if the Winter Village could utilize more of Excursion Park on Black Friday, without interfering with our annual Mayor’s Tree Lighting Ceremony that night – which we happily agreed to.
Now, to address the confusion.
As you may recall, approximately 13 years ago the Chamber began hosting a “Holiday Extravaganza” parade and festival over Thanksgiving Weekend that coincided with our annual Tree Lighting Ceremony on Black Friday. Then, in 2020, the Chamber announced that they were cancelling their Holiday Extravaganza – so, the city took-over the parade, and along the way we made some tweaks to the parade route in an effort to accommodate requests from the public.
However, we subsequently received some complaints from people who were unhappy that the parade didn’t go through their neighborhood, or it was too long of a wait for the parade to arrive downtown, where folks were eager to attend our yearly tree lighting ceremony.
So, instead of a parade during Thanksgiving weekend, this year our friends in the Sea Isle City Fire Department will be hosting a “First Responders Parade” on Friday evening, December 12, which will feature a variety of decorated vehicles from fire and ambulance companies in our region – effectively increasing the holiday enjoyment in Sea Isle City by adding one more “evening of fun” that families can look forward to in December.
The First Responder Parade on December 12 will begin at Sea Isle’s Dog Park, cruise south on Landis Avenue to 83rd Street, then return north on Central Avenue and end at the firehouse on JFK Boulevard – covering more ground than ever!
I am very grateful to our local firefighters for adding one more reason for everyone to spend the Christmas Season here in Sea Isle City – and I am greatly looking forward to their wonderful parade on December 12.
In other news, I hope everyone has been reading our “Project Updates” and keeping up with the construction of our future Community Center, because things are getting very exciting.
In case you are not aware, construction is indeed going well, and the Community Center’s interior is taking shape beautifully. However, there is still some substantial work that needs to be completed, and we are not yet certain when we can host a Grand Opening for that facility (but we will continue to share updates on the construction process in our newsletter and on our website).
I can, however, tell you that each time I visit that new building, I am greatly impressed by the latest work that’s been completed.
Also, last week I had the pleasure of touring the building with local real estate agent Moira Kelly Smith, who graciously interviewed me afterwards for her video blog. Those who view Moira’s blog will see just how excited she was after touring the interior of our Community Center – and rightly so, because it is turning out to be an amazing building that we can all be proud of.
My thanks and best wishes go to Moira for her interest in our new Community Center – and for her energetic enthusiasm about this important community project. Thank you, Moira.
Don’t forget that Sea Isle’s annual Veterans Day Ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, November 11, at Veterans Park, where we will honor the men and women who proudly served our nation in uniform – and I hope everyone can join us.
This week’s “Shout Out” goes to our local trash and recycling collectors, our street sweepers and everyone else at the Department of Public Works who helps keep Sea Isle City clean and beautiful. Thank you all!
Smile … You’re in Sea Isle!
Mayor Leonard C. Desiderio
