Belmar Seafood Festival
I’ve been planning a summer getaway to the Northeast here on the pages of
Delicious Catch. My journey includes a stop in the Southamptons and some time in Ocean City, New Jersey, but while I was searching for possible stops on my trip, I came along The Belmar Seafood Festival. Unfortunately, I’ve already missed the festival this year(June 13-15), but I wanted to tell you about it so you (and I) won’t miss it next year.
First, a little about Belmar. Belmar is a town in Monmouth County, the northernmost county in New Jersey, and is within the New York metropolitan area. It sits adjacent to my destination of Ocean City, and despite the beaches and boardwalks, it remains a community of under 6,000 residents. Belmar was struck by Sandy and a rebuild of the beach had to be undertaken by the community. It was finished before this year’s festival, and most reviews said it was a wonderful rebuild.
The three day seafood festival in Belmar is ideal for a family getaway. Hosted annually in June (for 28 years and counting), the festival is always a three day weekend affair, starting on Friday and ending on Sunday night. For me, a festival being hosted in a small community presents a certain sense of safety that more, shall I say, “urban” festivals can’t offer. That said, it should be noted that this small community plays host to over 200,000 visitors on festival weekend. While that concerned me, I was happy to see that all alcohol consumption must be done under the “beer tent” thus keeping the streets from being overcrowded with drunken revelers done and their misplaced beer cups that tend to line the walkways at other festivals.
A craft section and live entertainment caught my eye, but the seafood is the real attraction of the weekend. The festival boasts over 40 vendors supplying affordable seafood to the masses. The way I see it, my crew and I can stop at vendors four times a day for three days and still not try half of the food offerings. One report said that a whole cooked lobster sold for $15.00 each. A steal! Other local goodies the local vendors offer include oysters, snow crab legs, and shrimp kabobs. Next year’s vacation will have a stop in Belmar for sure!
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