Goodbye Summer … Welcome Fall and Winter Holidays!

The Summer 2009 calendar was posted on the WeLoveVentnor homepage as an easy-reference guide for town residents during Ventnor’s traditionally  busiest and most populated season.   Kicking off with the second annual Memorial Day BBQ for town residents at St. James Hall and parking lot, the summer months offered the “second annual” of  a number of events first launched in 2008 under the new administration.   And, there were  the tried and true events of many years’ tradition as well.    The Memorial Day 2009 event appeared to have about 50% greater attendance than the inaugural BBQ of 2008, as word of mouth got around and younger families were made aware that it was kid-friendly.  Click here to view photos taken by a resident “contributor” who brought his camera to the event.

Townwide beautification and cleanup efforts marked spring through summer weeks, as the PICKUP POSSE and the Ventnor Environmental and Beautification worked to make Ventnor sparkle and shine.  A newly formed neighborhood group from the blocks comprising Ventnor’s Northeast District 1 was named the North Beach Residents and made contributions toward hanging flower baskets along the major Avenues running from Atlantic City into Ventnor.   Regular concerts and free movies on the beach were a staple of June through August weekends, with some adjustments for a rainier than usual summer season this year.   The Ventnor Mile FUN RUN was successfully staged during Fourth of July weekend, and  an Arts and Crafts Show on the grounds of the Library and Cultural Arts Center was well-attended the weekend afterward.  Late in July, a Family Night Out featured kite-flying and sand-sculpting on the beach.

August brought the first of the pier-related events using the “Hooked on Ventnor” theme  as there was a fishing tournament for Physically Challenged on August 1st while, just a few days later, the second annual presentation of National Night Out was staged on the grounds behind the Library and Community Center with entertainment and activities for families and children.  Click here to view photos contributed by several shutterbugs in attendance at Ventnor’s NNO event.  Various lifeguard races, the popular “Chuck’s 3-on-3” basketball tournament, Junior Lifeguard training, dance programs at the Cultural Arts Center, and the mid-August citywide yard sale were all events adding to August calendar. 

Saturday, August 22, brought the second annual staging of the increasingly popular “Nights in Ventnor” regatta of themed kayaks and costumed kayakers along the back bay.   Photos of the 2009 event are featured at

the organizers’ website http://www.nightsinventnor.info/ and HERE from our Forums as well as HERE from a contributor. 

Plans for an August 29th staging of the Children’s “Hooked on Ventnor” fishing tournament at the pier were weather-delayed, as a series of storms hit the NJ coastline a little earlier than normal as summer was winding down.     

The same weather issues forced the original date for the “Tour de Downbeach” bicycle tour to be moved back to its rain-delay date.  The bicycle tour was initially launched in May 2008 by the Ventnor Merchants Association as the “Tour de Ventnor” but it was substantially expanded, as the Margate Business Association (“Marvelous Margate” website) and Longport businesses both expressed interest in joining with Ventnor’s business group to co-sponsor the event and expand the route it follows from Ventnor into the southerly tip of the downbeach towns, with riders biking through Margate and Longport and then concluding at a BBQ at Tomatoes.   In a fashion reminiscent of how the Miss America Pageant extended summer beyond Labor Day weekend in Atlantic City, the downbeach towns’ summer was extended to Sunday, September 13th for the bike tour.   Both events are featured in music video segments shot by WeLoveVentnor to expand on the Fun in Ventnor offerings clickable from our homepage, for visitors to view.   Some of the highlights in photographs can also be found by clicking:

HERE (for the Tour de Downbeach) And HERE (for the “Hooked on Ventnor” day of fishing for kids).

Ongoing information about city business is available from the town’s Newsletter, posted as a link to PDF up at the top of the homepage.   Meanwhile, Commission meetings and political debate, town calendar, cultural, church and school events are regularly updated on the www.VentnoreVoice.com Forums.   The Fall 2009 calendar is posted at this link.