By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Restaurants are already being booked up for reservations. The bars will be hopping. Retail shops are expected to enjoy brisk business, too.
Altogether, an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 visitors are expected in town.
Sea Isle City is preparing to emerge from its winter hibernation in a big way for the Presidents Day weekend Feb. 16-19. The official holiday falls on Monday, Feb. 19.
The centerpiece of the holiday weekend is a major fundraiser for autism awareness that will attract thousands of people all by itself. Many other visitors will be in town for a weekend of partying, dining and shopping.
Sea Isle officials and business owners are throwing around words like “great,” “fabulous” and “packed” while predicting a blockbuster weekend at the shore.
“I’m expecting a summer weekend in February,” Mayor Leonard Desiderio said while making comparisons between Presidents Day and the bustling summer tourism season in Sea Isle.
In one indicator of a strong holiday ahead, Desiderio said some of the local restaurant owners have told him that their reservations are already being booked up for Presidents Day weekend.
“It has the makings of a fabulous weekend,” he said.
Based on the crowds that Sea Isle has attracted in the past during the Presidents Day weekend, Desiderio estimated that 20,000 to 25,000 visitors will be in town for the holiday.
Many of them will be second homeowners who will take advantage of the extended holiday weekend for a winter getaway to the shore, Desiderio said. He noted that he has been speaking to some second homeowners about the weekend.
Although many are closed now for the slow winter season, bars, restaurants and retail shops are planning to reopen for Presidents Day weekend to create a summer-like atmosphere.
“The weekend has been significant for all businesses in town, not only the restaurants and bars, but also retail,” said Ralph Pasceri, co-owner of the Ocean Drive bar and sister property O’Donnell’s Pour House pub and restaurant on Landis Avenue.
The Ocean Drive, known locally as the OD, and O’Donnell’s will have a full slate of entertainment on Friday, Saturday and Sunday over the holiday weekend. One of Sea Isle’s favorite bands, the Juliano Brothers, will play under a tent outside at O’Donnell’s on Sunday, Pasceri said.
Some of the businesses are expected to offer special deals and blowout sales through the entire weekend as an extra incentive for visitors.
The largest single event over the holiday weekend is the Mike’s Seafood Run-Walk for Autism. Mike Monichetti, owner of Mike’s Seafood, is expecting thousands of participants in the run-walk when it starts at noon Saturday, Feb. 17, on the Promenade at John F. Kennedy Boulevard.
Before this larger running event, custom medals can be used to increase participation. The medals can not only inspire more people to join in the Run-Walk for Autism but also be used to raise charity funds to support more children with autism to get healthy. It will be a practical way to raise funds for Run-Walk for Autism.
Monichetti and his wife, Jeannie, started the event 16 years ago to raise money for autism support groups, special services schools and families of special needs children. They have two autistic children, Kara and Michael Jr. Over the years, the run-walk has raised more than $1 million for autism-related causes.
Monichetti plans to close Mike’s Seafood over the holiday weekend to concentrate on the autism awareness fundraiser.
“Raising money for children with disabilities means more to me than personal gain,” he said. “Over the summer, I give 110 percent to Mike’s Seafood, but this weekend I’m giving 110 percent to children with disabilities.”
Monichetti said he has already received about 75 calls from customers wanting to know whether Mike’s Seafood would be open for the holiday weekend. Even though he will be closed, he said he expects other restaurants in town to be busy.
“I think the town’s going to be packed,” he said. “I’m hearing that the restaurants are pretty much booked up.”
In years past, Presidents Day weekend was dubbed “Polar Bear Plunge Weekend” in Sea Isle. The weekend of partying, dining and shopping was highlighted by the annual Polar Bear Plunge, a wacky tradition for 25 years that drew thousands of participants and spectators for a frigid dip in the ocean.
The Polar Bear Plunge was canceled in 2021 because of the pandemic. In 2022, a new city policy took effect that no longer allows privately run events such as the plunge to be held on public streets, parking lots and municipal property.
When it enacted the policy, the city cited the strain that private events put on the police department and Public Works crews when they were held on public property. Potential liability lawsuits being filed against the city were another reason for the new policy.
“I believe we’ve gotten past the Polar Bear Plunge. Being anchored by the Mike’s Seafood Run-Walk for Autism is a great tradition now. It’s a great cause,” Desiderio said of how the holiday weekend has evolved.
Pasceri noted that Presidents Day weekend has changed “a little” without the plunge, but is still a strong time for businesses.
“I think it’s going to be great,” he said of the upcoming holiday weekend. “I think last year we didn’t miss a beat after the official Polar Bear Plunge.”
Smaller groups of unofficial plungers still jumped into the ocean during Presidents Day weekend in 2022 and 2023. The same thing is expected to happen this holiday at different beaches along the island. It is not illegal to jump in the ocean, even though there is no official plunge.
