Whether or not residents and visitors are fearful of or fascinated by sharks, Sharkfest at Veterans Memorial Park in Beach Haven on Saturday, June 18, will be an event everyone can enjoy. The festival, hosted by Beach Haven Future from 3 to 10 p.m., will have plenty of activities for the entire family from contests, tournaments, book signings and lectures to games, a photo booth, local vendors and organizations, shark paraphernalia and much more.
 |
| Photo via Facebook The summer kick-off event will be held at Veteran's Memorial Park. |
“We like to open each season with a kick-off event to get the residents, visitors and businesses together, and what better reason than to commemorate the 100th anniversary of our nation’s first recorded shark attack, which happened right here on Engleside Avenue?” said Lisa Mack, a BHF board member.
The infamous attack, which is thought to have inspired the blockbuster movie “Jaws,” took the life of Charles VanSant, a 24-year-old stockbroker from Philadelphia, who was enjoying his first dip in the ocean after just arriving in town with his family.
“Beach Haven Future is looking forward to this event because we will be celebrating a significant piece of our town’s history,” said Mack. “It also gives us a chance to raise awareness on the important role sharks play in our oceans.”
The festival is the brainchild of James Yuhas of Barnegat, who hopes the event will alert people about the issues surrounding shark finning, which involves the removal of shark fins while the rest of the shark is discarded in the ocean.
Live entertainment will be performed throughout the event. Dan Brown and The Empaths will play from 3 to 7 p.m., and Garage Kept will go on from 7 to 10 p.m.
Barbecued pulled pork, burgers, hot dogs, sausage and peppers, peel-and-eat shrimp, steamers, shark bites, baked beans, various sides, snacks and desserts as well as beer and wine will be available for purchase. Admission is free.
Buckalew’s Restaurant and Tavern, located at 101 North Bay Ave. in Beach Haven, is also hosting a Shark Fest Dinner in partnership with BHF’s Sharkfest Weekend, on Friday, June 17, from 6 to 9 p.m. The event will include a Dog Fish Head beer tasting as well as shark discussions by guest speakers.
The menu includes family-style appetizers such as Sriracha lime baked oysters, sweet chili grilled shrimp and tuna tartare wonton chips. The entree includes a choice of wasabi pea crusted yellowfin tuna with sticky rice, Japanese long beans and ginger sauce, or grilled filet with whipped potatoes, Parmesan garlic green beans, frizzled buttermilk onions and bacon herb butter. The meal also includes a salad with Burrata cheese over balsamic greens with Jersey tomatoes, as well as elephant ear and shark fin ice cream for dessert.
Tickets cost $75 per person and include tax and gratuity. To purchase tickets, call 609-492-1065.
A number of other shark-inspired events will take place in Beach Haven throughout the summer season, including a private dinner at Buckalew’s, hosted by the New Jersey Maritime Museum, on Wednesday, July 6, from 5 to 9 p.m. The event will include presentations by the Shark Research Institute as well as Dr. Richard Fernicola, author of 12 Days of Terror, which investigates the Jersey Shore shark attacks that occurred between July 1 and July 12 in 1916. The author will also be speaking at the museum's annual fundraiser, dubbed “The 1916 NJ Shark Attacks – 100 Years Later,” on Sept. 10, which will offer guests a chance to ride on a mechanical shark.
— Kelley Anne Essinger
This article was published in The Beachcomber.
No comments:
Post a Comment