By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
In Sea Isle City, a fireworks display will light up the sky at 8 p.m. on New Year’s Eve to usher in 2020.
Shouldn’t the fireworks be at midnight?
Actually, the city will get an early jump on the New Year’s Eve celebration with a family-friendly party from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the former public school at 4501 Park Road. Fireworks will follow at 8.
Sea Isle will also have the more traditional adults-style parties at the local bars and restaurants, culminating with the official arrival of 2020 at midnight.
The party at the former school, hosted by the city’s Division of Recreation and Municipal Alliance Committee, features an alcohol-free atmosphere allowing children to celebrate the New Year without having to stay up until midnight.
“Every year, hundreds of children and their families attend this festive celebration that allows kids to ring in the New Year and still get to bed at a reasonable hour,” the city says on its tourism website at visitsicnj.com.
Reservations are required for the party (call 609-263-0050). Children must be accompanied by an adult. Dinner and dessert will be provided, although families are asked to bring their own non-alcoholic beverages.
The evening will end with a bang at the JFK Boulevard beach at 8 p.m. with the fireworks show.
“We’ve been doing the fireworks for over 20 years. We do it for the children,” Mayor Leonard Desiderio said. “More and more families are celebrating New Year’s Eve in Sea Isle. It’s turned into a must-see event.”
Desiderio also noted Sea Isle has become increasingly popular for people who own vacation homes at the shore to visit over the holidays for a fall or winter getaway. New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are no different, he said.
“Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s – more and more second homeowners are using their homes for the holidays,” he said.
While Sea Isle is known for its robust nightclub scene during the summer, New Year’s Eve is also a popular time for local bars, clubs and restaurants.
“There are so many house parties, parties at the local restaurants and, of course, parties at the local bars,” Desiderio said. “We cover it all.”
Kathy Larkin, manager of the iconic Ocean Drive bar and sister property O’Donnell’s Pour House, said both places on Landis Avenue are expecting brisk business during the holiday celebration.
“We are filling up pretty quickly,” Larkin said of ticket sales for the party at Ocean Drive and dinner reservations at O’Donnell’s Pour House.
The mild weather expected on New Year’s Eve should be an added bonus for drawing revelers to town, Larkin said.
O’Donnell’s is celebrating the holiday with a special dinner menu. Dinner will be served until 9:30 p.m., but the restaurant will remain open for a night of partying capped off by a free champagne toast at midnight.
Providing the entertainment at the Ocean Drive on New Year’s Eve is Secret Service, the popular party band that has been a staple at the “OD” for years. The OD will have a free champagne toast at midnight.
Kix-McNutley’s, the Sea Isle bar and entertainment complex owned by Desiderio, will kick off the holiday celebration with a pre-New Year’s Eve party on Monday from 7 p.m. to midnight.
Kix-McNutley’s will close at around 9 p.m. on New Year’s Eve as part of Desiderio’s tradition of giving his employees the night off so they can celebrate the holiday with friends and family.
Sea Isle’s jitney service will be available New Year’s Eve from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m., allowing revelers to party without having to worry about driving. Jitneys will operate on Landis Avenue between 29th and 94th streets.
