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August is classic summer.
To begin, this year’s 76th Annual Baby Parade will be held, Friday,
August 1 at 11 a.m. The parade begins at Congress Hall and continues up
Beach Avenue to Convention Hall. Normally the awards ceremony is in the
AIR CONDITIONED hall, but, because it has a condemned sticker on it, the
awards may have to be presented outside, or, a spokesman for the
Recreation Department, which sponsors the city event, said, workers are
trying to get the “annex” ready. In any event, listen up all you babies,
In other years the Sand Sculpting Contest is held on the same day, but the venue date has been changed this year to Friday, August 8th down at the Cove (2nd and Beach) beginning at 9 a.m. and continuing throughout the afternoon until the winners are selected.
Another interesting activity, especially for you history and/or
lighthouse buffs is the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts’ (MAC)
Celebrate National Lighthouse Day Thursday, August 7 from 10 a.m. to 4
p.m. Cape May is home to one of the Jersey Cape’s favorite landmarks,
one that has served as an aid to navigation along the coastline since
1859. Join in the celebration to honor the Cape May Lighthouse on
National Lighthouse Day, p.m. MAC, proprietors of the Cape May
Lighthouse, will sponsor a day of family activities at the foot of the
Lighthouse, located at Cape May Point State Park on Lighthouse Avenue
off Sunset Boulevard. Included in the day’s festivities w
Elsewhere, Jim Abele’s oil paintings as well as Judy Heyman photos are still on display at The Mad Batter on Jackson Street. Victor Grasso's stunning exploration of the depths, For the Love of the Deep, via his oil paintings is on display at Soma Gallery, 31 Perry Street in the Carpenters Square Mall, through Tuesday, September 2. Over in the Magnolia Room at the Chalfonte Hotel on Howard Street, Carole Clarke’s watercolors are on display through mid-October. Best known for her watercolors of porches, award-winning North Jersey painter Clarke returns to exhibit her work inspired by the Victorian architecture of the hamlet. For information, contact The Chalfonte at 609-884-8409 or visit www.chalfonte.com. If you are looking for a dinner and a show, Cape May has an excellent selection to choose from beginning with the Magic of Robert Aberdeen. This short run (July 30 through August 2) is an East Lynne Theater production. See the oldest illusion in the history of magic: the Illusion of the Cups and Balls. Be truly mystified by the Mystery of the Silver Rings as you watch the large solid rings connect and disconnect right before your very eyes. Laugh at "Chapeaugraphy: Many Hats from One," a popular vaudeville routine. Also, part of the fun includes ventriloquism and audience participation! Performance are Wednesday through Saturday at the theater at First Presbyterian Church on Decatur and Hughes street.
Finally, East Lynne presents a world August 20 premiere of Helpful Hints,
a comedy written and performed by Susan Tischler (below), based on Mae Savell
Croy's
Things are happening over at Cape May Stage as well. Noel Coward’s Private Lives continues through August 16. The last person you expect to meet on your honeymoon is your ex, but for newlyweds Elyot Chase and Amanda (formerly Chase) Prynne there are some surprises in store. Holidaying on the French Riviera with their respective new spouses, a chance reunion leads to a highly comic and unpredictable battle of wills. Can’t live with them/ can’t live without them – Noel Coward, the Master of 1930s’ comedy, treats us to a witty take on love the second time around.
If it’s music you want, you came to the right town. If it’s unplugged that tickles your fancy go to The Mad Batter on Jackson Street on Friday Nights. Tom Werkheiser plays acoustic guitar from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays is Jazz Night at the Batter with the Gino White Trio playing from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Alan Weber and Frenz Frank will be at the Boiler Room in Congress Hall every Friday throughout August. Local favorite Frank Bey will be on hand in the Boiler Room every Saturday in August, except August 8.
And don’t forget the Chalfonte Hotel’s Concerts by Candlelight every Tuesday in the Henry Sawyer Room. Tuesday, August 5, for example will feature the accomplished vocal soprano Damore, who has performed throughout the East coast in cabaret and musical theater. Tickets $10 per adult /$7per child, or free w/ dinner in The Chalfonte’s Magnolia Room. Reservations 609-884-8409. Reserve your tickets for this concert via e-mail www.chalfonte.com. Be sure to attend at least one of the concerts in Rotary Park on Lyle Lane behind the Washington Street Mall. They are held every Wednesday and Saturday but more frequently this year due to the closing of Convention Hall. Visit the city’s website for details at http://www.capemaycity.com. Now if you can’t find something to do from that list, I suggest you go to the beach and sit there and ponder the meaning of the universe. Not that that is a bad thing to do. Meanwhile, I’ll see you in September. |
How can you beat the
West Cape May
Farmer’s Market on Tuesdays (3-7 p.m.), the Baby Parade, the Sand
Sculpting Contest and, if you are a sport fisherman, the Mercedes of
fishing tournaments – the MA-500? And of course there are all the other
activities which always make Cape May attractive. So, without further
ado, let’s take a closer look at what’s happening in August.
wear cool costumes. The Baby Parade is always led by Queen Maysea.
The crowning of the queen was July 30 and this year’s winner is (imagine
drum roll here please) Haley Lynn Riess.
The
17th Annual Mid-Atlantic $500,000 begins Sunday, August 17 and runs
through Friday, August 22. This is, boat for boat, the richest marlin
and tuna tournament in the world. Last year’s purse totaled $1,934,500.
Please call 609-884-2400 or visit
ill be vendors
offering nautical merchandise; pirate hat-making for kids; storytelling
about the Lighthouse, pirates and shipwrecks, and the ghosts of the
Lighthouse; programs by the Cape May County Municipal Utilities
Authority and the Nature Center of Cape May; a richly illustrated
presentation by the Lighthouse Keeper on lighthouses in general and the
Cape May Lighthouse, in particular; performers singing songs of the sea;
and refreshments. Lighthouse Pete the Pirate, mascot of the Cape May
Lewes Ferry, will also make an appearance. National Lighthouse Day
activities are open to the public and admission is free. Congress
designated National Lighthouse Day on August 7, 1989, marking the 200th
anniversary of the signing of the Lighthouse Act and the commissioning
of the first Federal lighthouse in the United States. The purpose was to
provide recognition for the important role that lighthouses played in
the history of this country, and the values of safety, heroism, and
American ingenuity that they represent, as well as honoring and
encouraging continued restoration efforts for existing lighthouses, many
of which had fallen into disrepair. In today’s high tech world, it’s
easy to forget the wholesomeness and serenity of lighthouses. The
history they provide gives us the opportunity to step back in time and
learn more about our country. The contributions they made to our
society, from protecting our coasts to guiding our sailors, should
continue to be appreciated and remembered.
If you didn’t get the lighthouse thing out of your system, or if you
won’t be here August 17th, MAC is also sponsoring a Delaware Bay
Lighthouse Adventure, Sunday, August 24. Cruise the Delaware Bay aboard
the Cape May Whale Watcher. View nine lighthouses on this seven-hour
trip, including pedestal lighthouses standing offshore in the Bay’s
mid-channel. Hear Bay lore on fishing, spawning grounds and more. The
cruise includes complimentary coffee and Danish in the morning and a
lavish complimentary cold luncheon buffet including shrimp, finger
sandwiches, cheese and fruit trays and dessert. A cash bar is available.
Limited to 175. 10 a.m. Tickets $99. Co-sponsored by MAC and the Cape
May Whale Watcher. For information about these and other MAC’s schedule
of tours, festivals and special events, call 609-884-5404 or
800-275-4278, or visit MAC’s website at
In the art world there will be an
Art in the Park event Saturday, August
23 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Wilbraham Park in West Cape May.
Proceeds will benefit the WCM History Committee and will feature local
artists in all mediums. Juried shows with no crafts, all artists will be
present with their works, and food, poetry reading and music will be
included. Rain date on Sunday. For more information call Diane Flanegan
at 609-884-9325.
Another East Lynne production,
The Guardsman, opens August 6 and runs
through August 30. Written by Franz Molnar, this play established Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne as theatrical stars when it was first produced on
Broadway in 1924. It is a comedy is about a husband who goes to great
lengths to discover whether or not his wife is faithful. Cast includes
Mark Edward Lang, Alison J. Murphy, and Gayle Stahlhuth under the
direction of Karen Case Cook.
Putnam's Household Handbook published in 1916. Join Mrs. Croy as
she explains everything from cleaning the stove and your clothes with
kerosene, to leaving babies outside when they cry because children
should not be spoiled and screaming (outside) is good for the lungs. She
also discusses the sick room, architecture, invitations, and the comfort
of the gymnasium suit! It's an evening that is both witty and wise
performed Wednesday through Sunday at 8:30 p.m. (August 20 through
A
ugust 31) in the Henry Sawyer room at the Chalfonte Hotel, 301 Howard
St. For tickets to this and all other East Lynne productions please call
609-884-5898 or visit
On August 20,
Doubt by John Patrick Shanley opens. A nun in a Bronx
Catholic school in 1964 suspects a popular priest of inappropriate
behavior with a student. Armed with nothing more than a resolute belief
in her suspicion and a few circumstantial details, she instigates a
relentless campaign to remove the priest. Should she speak up about her
concerns if she isn’t completely certain of the truth? Winner of the
Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award for Best Play, Doubt is the decade's
most talked about drama. Curtain at 8:00 p.m. Shows run Wednesdays
through Sundays at the Robert Shackleton Playhouse at Bank and Lafayette
Streets. Please call 609-884-1341 or visit
Off island at