Festival Dates: June 11, 12 &13, 2010
Hours: Friday, 4-7 pm, Saturday & Sunday, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Location: Silver Lake Park, Belmar (Ocean Avenue between 5th and 6th avenues)
Produced by: The Belmar Tourism Commission, 601 W. Main St., Belmar, NJ 07719
Pricing: Admission to the festival is free. Food, beverages, crafts and other items are for sale
Entertainment Schedule at end of Release
Additional Public Information: www.belmar.com 732 681-3700, ext. 214
Belmar, NJ – May 25, 2010: Where can you see lobsters fly and clams roll? The New Jersey Seafood Festival in Belmar, June 11 – 13, 2010 is the place to go. “The amount and variety of seafood that will be dished out at the food extravaganza, now in its 24th year, is truly astonishing,” according to Mary Brabazon, festival coordinator and Belmar Tourism Director. This year the festival expands to Friday evening to attract local area residents, and for 19 memorable hours, chefs from 45 of the area’s finest restaurants and food vendors will serve all manner of seafood from traditional steamed lobster, crab cakes, shrimp and calamari to the more exotic alligator sausage, sushi, conch fritters and fish tacos.
Renowned Jersey Shore caterer Branches Catering, West Long Branch, will host an international wine tent and garden that offers visitors age 21 and over a spot where they can listen to live music, enjoy a glass of wine with the Festival’s tasty offerings, including Branches’ raw bar and delicious lobster rolls, and talk with wine experts about food and wine pairings, vintages and more. New this year, connoisseurs will be able to enjoy specially chosen New Jersey Seafood Festival Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.
The festival, organized by the Belmar Tourism Commission, also features live entertainment by R&B Express on Friday evening, Red Wagon, HOLME and the Shore Blues Band on Saturday and The Pat Roddy Band, Living Proof and The Blackberry Blues Band on Sunday. Dozens of crafters and commercial vendors, community organizations and a children’s tent with a variety of activities for young visitors provide lots of enjoyment for the whole family. It has twice been named one of the top 100 events in the United States by the American Bus Association and received a New Jersey Governor’s Tourism Award for Excellence.
The festival is held in Silver Lake Park, on the west side of Ocean Avenue between 5th and 6th avenues. Admission is free and food prices vary. For the first time the festival expands to Friday evening. Festival hours are Friday 4-7 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., rain or shine. On Saturday and Sunday, a free festival trolley will loop through Belmar with stops at the festival, Belmar’s Train Station and the Belmar Marina parking lot, located west of Route 35. No pets please.
Hosting the giant festival is a huge undertaking, according to Ms. Brabazon, but one that is well worth the effort as it showcases Belmar as a fabulous vacation destination and enables the Belmar Tourism Commission to assist a variety of local non-profit organizations. A pre-festival VIP cocktail party will be held at Brandl, 703 Belmar Plaza, Belmar, from 6 to 9 p.m., on Tuesday, June 8, with proceeds supporting the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties. Cocktail party tickets are $50 and are available through the Food Bank at 732.918.2600 or the Belmar Tourism Commission at 732.681.3700, ext. 214. For additional festival and cocktail party information please visitwww.belmar.com.
Entertainment Schedule Friday, June 11th 4-7 pm R&B Express
Saturday June 12th 11:30 am-1:30 pm Red Wagon 2-4:30 pm HOLME 5-7 pm The Shore Blues Band
Sunday June 13th 11:30 am-1:30 pm The Pat Roddy Band 2-5 pm Living Proof 5:30-7 pm Blackberry Blues Band
