By Liz Sheehan |
The tourists are mostly gone, but Two River area residents can still savor summer this weekend at fairs, beach events, moonlit walks, tours, and a swim at a lifeguarded beach.
The annual Monmouth Beach Firemen’s Fair will be held for its 70th year, according to Mayor Sue Howard. The fair, once held behind the firehouse in the town, has relocated to the parking lot of the Monmouth Beach Bathing Pavilion on Ocean Avenue and will run from Thursday, Sept. 7 through Sunday, Sept. 10, with a fireworks display on Saturday at dusk.
The fair will be open from 6 to 11 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 5 to 10 p.m. on Sunday.
There will be rides and games for all, as well as lobster dinners, steamers, sausage and pepper sandwiches, hot dogs and hamburgers, and a wine and beer garden. Live entertainment will feature Pam McCoy & Friends on Thursday, West End Dogs on Friday, the Sundries on Saturday and Pez Head on Sunday.
On Saturday, Sept. 9, Jersey Shore Skim Camp will host the Sea Bright Skim Bash from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the municipal beach behind Borough Hall. The event is held twice a year in the borough, in June and September. Participants include both professionals and amateurs.
There is no fee for spectators, but competitors who register for the event pay $20 for Jersey Shore Skim Camp members, $35 for amateurs, $50 for semi-professionals and $100 for professionals. Sean Stratton, a staff member of the Jersey Shore Skim Camp said the sport is international with participants from countries including the United States, Mexico, Spain and Chile.
A little farther north, Gateway National Recreation Area, will hold multiple activities.
On Friday, Sept. 8, there will be a Harvest Moon Walk from 7 to 8:30 p.m. beginning at the U.S. Life-Saving Parking Lot between lots D and E. Call 732-872-5970 for reservations.
On Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. at the Horseshoe Cove Parking Lot L, there will be guided tours of the Nike Missile Radar Site, a one-time top secret missile site from the Cold War era. Some of the veterans who worked on the Nike system will be there to meet and educate the public. These tours will also be held on Sept. 17, Oct. 7, 15 and 29 and Nov. 4 and 11 at the same time.
Lighthouse Tours will continue from 1 to 4:30 p.m. until Oct. 31, while daily tours at History House, Building 1, in Officers Row, a home furnished in WWII-era style will be held from 1 to 5 p.m.
Free yoga on the beach will take place every Saturday in September from 9 to 10 a.m. at Lot E Beach.
Some beaches will be open with lifeguards this weekend. Monmouth County’s Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park in Long Branch will be fee-free on Sept. 9 and 10. Lifeguards will be at the beach from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sandy Hook will have lifeguards on the beach but not on lifeguard chairs on the weekend, Daphne Yun, acting public affairs officer for the National Parks Service, said Tuesday. Beachgoers are encouraged not to swim, she said, but would not be prevented from doing so.
The Monmouth Beach Bathing Pavilion will be open on Sept. 9 and 10 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., with a $9 daily fee for those 12 and over for the beach. Lifeguards will be on the beach there until 5:30 p.m.
This article was first published in the Sept. 7-14, 2017 print edition of the Two River Times.
