Barnegat Light, all summer long

If you're looking to attend a variety of fun and exciting events during your stay on Long Beach Island this summer, Barnegat Light has you covered. For auctions, craft shows, seafood festivals, musical concerts and more, the north end of the island is the place to be.

The Barnegat Light Fire Company will host their annual auction at 10th St. and Central Ave. on Saturday, May 26. For just a $5 entrance fee, attendees will be treated to free appetizers, a cash bar and a slew of items and prices to bid from. An auction viewing will take place at 5:30 p.m, and the auction will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Photo via New Jersey Monthly
The crowds peruse the fine merchandise
available at Viking Village.

Join local artists on Sundays this summer at the Viking Village Art and Craft Show, located at 19th St. and Bayview Ave. Artists of all medias will be showing off and selling their work between 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Refreshments will be available. Dates are set for May 27, July 29 and Sept. 2.

If you're looking for parades, you'll find two of them in Barnegat Light this summer. A Memorial Day parade will be begin on Sunday, May 27 at 7 p.m., behind the old borough hall on West 10th St. The night will conclude at the Barnegat Lighthouse State Park with a ceremony, featuring the Ocean County Emerald Society Bagpipe Band.

A “Hometown Heroes” Independence Day parade will take place on Sunday, July 1 at 7 p.m. Awards and music led by The Liberty Band will take place afterward at the bay-dock area between 9th and 10th St. In case of bad weather, concerts will be held in the firehouse social hall.

If a night full of intricate, lively rhythms and fresh, local seafood sounds like fun, head to the Jazzy Scallop and Seafood Festival at Viking Village from 3 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 23. Tickets cost $30, or $35 in advance. Tickets can be purchased at any of the Viking Village shops or at the Southern Ocean County Chamber ofCommerce, located at 265 West 9th St. in Ship Bottom.

If getting down and dirty and creative in the sand speaks to you, then enter yourself in one or all of the sand sculpting contests held Thursdays at the 25th St. ocean beach. The amateur competition will begin at 2 p.m. Scheduled dates include July 5, July 19, Aug. 2 and Aug. 16. Rain dates are set for the following Fridays.

After brushing off the sand on Thursday, bring your blankets and chairs down to the bay front gazebo on 7th St. and Bayview Ave. for a nightly concert. The current lineup includes The Following (July 5), Face Down (July 19), No Discipline (Aug. 2) and The Kootz (Aug. 16). The concerts will be moved to the Firehouse Social Hall if bad weather occurs.

The Children's Beach Olympics, set for Thursday, July 12, will be a great day filled with fun and games for kids from kindergarten to sixth grade. The festivities will take place at 10 a.m. at the 24th St. ocean beach. Registration opens bright and early at 9:30 a.m.

The Barnegat Light Fire Company will hold its annual Fresh Fish Feast on Saturday, July 14 between 4 and 8 p.m. Stop by for dinner and enjoy some of the area's best seafood caught by the local fishing fleet. Takeout will also be available.

A Blessing of the Fleet will be held Sunday, July 15 at the Barnegat Light Yacht Basin, 1701 Bayview Ave. A local tradition, the interdenominational service will be held at 5:30 p.m. to wish the community's commercial fisherman a safe journey.

Friends ofthe Barnegat Lighthouse State Park will host their fourth annual Fine Arts Show on Saturday, July 28 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Exhibits will encompass painting, photography, sculpture and more. A rain date is set for the next day.

A one-mile ocean swim to benefit the Barnegat Light Beach Patrol will take place on Saturday, July 28 at 6:30 p.m. Interested participants can preregister online at lmsports.com. Registration costs $25 or $20 in advance and includes a t-shirt, food and beverage.

Photo by Steve Essinger
My brother and I at the top of Old Barney!

Enter your pooch in the dog show at Wildflowers, located at Fifth and Broadway St., on Wednesday, Aug. 15. Your dog could take first place in one of many categories, including Best Trick, Best Costume, or even Best Kisser. The show will run from 4 to 6 p.m. Proceeds will benefit the Friends of the Southern Ocean County Animal Shelter.

Get to know the New Jersey Coast Guard at 6th St. and Bayview Ave. on Wednesday, Aug. 22. Rescue and safe boating demonstrations will take place between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Educational information from MATES, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center and the Jacques Cousteau Coastal Center will also be available.

TheBarnegat Light Historical Society will host it's Historical Home Tour and Wine and Cheese Party on Thursday, Aug. 23. Food and beverages will be served at the Barnegat Light Museum, located at 5th St. and Central Ave., from 2 to 6 p.m.

The Viking Village Antique and Collectible Show will bring many quality dealers into town on Sunday, Aug. 5 and Sunday, Sept. 16 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dealers will be selling everything from Victorian collectibles to country memorabilia.

“Small town USA does exist at the Jersey Shore,” said Barnegat Light's recreation department coordinator, Nancy Manookian. “We just want people to know that Barnegat Light is a wonderful family place to be.”

For a complete list of upcoming events in Barnegat Light, visit barnegatlight.org or call 609-494-9196.


This article was published in The Beachcomber.