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The ShowRoom of Asbury Park, New Jersey

“From The Ashes” is a documentary chronicling the history, loss and rebuilding of a landmark, 125-year-old house known as Tick Hall. In 1997, a huge fire burned Tick Hall to the ground, leaving only the blackened chimney standing. The loss was a blow to the community and Tick Hall’s owners – talk-show host Dick Cavett and his wife, actress Carrie Nye – who lived there for 30 years. Because of its historic and artistic importance, the Cavetts embarked upon an ambitious three-year project – rebuilding Tick Hall exactly as it was. Join the director of this moving documentary at The ShowRoom after the film for a discussion and Q & A session.

About The ShowRoom:

Opened in April 2009, The ShowRoom is Asbury Park’s only independent cinema. Located on Cookman Avenue’s Art Bloc, The ShowRoom is renowned for its roster of critically acclaimed, independent, classic, foreign, family and festival-winning film. In addition, The ShowRoom endeavors to provide the community with a versatile space for business meetings, art openings, live performances, book signings and more. Owners Michael Sodano and Nancy Sabino are film-industry veterans with more than 25 years of experience in creative communications for corporate productions. With The ShowRoom, first-rate cinema has returned to Asbury Park’s growing downtown arts community. For more information, or to learn about film screenings, please visit www.theshowroomap.com or call 732-502-0472.

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Event Details:

Event Name: “From the Ashes: The Life and Times of Tick Hall” at The ShowRoom
Event Venue: The ShowRoom
Event Street Address: 708 Cookman Ave
Event City: Asbury Park, NJ, 07712
Event County: Monmouth
Event Date: Sunday, March 21 at 2 p.m.
Event Admission: $10
Event Phone: 732-502-0472
Event Website: http://www.theshowroomap.com

The 7th Annual Bay Head 5K will be held on Saturday May 22, 2010 at 8:30 AM.

The Bay Head 5K After Party will be at Martell’s Tiki Bar from 12 Noon – 4 PM in Point Pleasant, NJ.

Place
Start and Finish at Bay Head Firehouse
Bridge Avenue – Bay Head, NJ

Bay Head 5K

ONLINE registration is now OPEN. Please be sure to sign up early and make plans to kick off the summer at the beach. There WILL be registration the day of race on May 22nd if any slots are open. Be sure to reserve your slot by signing up online NOW.

http://www.active.com/running/bay-head-nj/bay-head-5k-memory-run-and-after-party-2010

After Party Tickets available for $40

Additional Information

Hundreds of runners will gather at the Bay Head Firehouse where the run will begin. The run will feature a post-race gathering with refreshments for all in the Firehouse parking lot. The Memory Run is currently sponsored by the Township of Bay Head and the Kate Shea Foundation.

Awards Ceremony will immediately follow at the Bay Head Firehouse Parking Lot.

Please Join us to celebrate the success of the 2010 Bay Head 5K Memory Run at Martell’s Tiki Bar (On the Boardwalk at Ocean Avenue) for an after-party celebration to benefit the Kate Shea Foundation.

Price of ticket includes 2 hour open bar plus an all you can eat beach front barbeque. Hope to see you there!

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Event Details:
Event Name: 2010 Bay Head 5K Memory Run
Event Venue: Bay Head Firehouse
Event Street Address: 81 Bridge Avenue
Event City: Bay Head, NJ, 08742
Event County: Ocean
Event Date: Saturday, May 22, 2010, 8:30 AM
Event Admission: 20.00
Event Phone: 2125206643
Event Website: http://www.bayhead5k.com/

Jersey Shore Rose Society is a local affiliate of the American Rose Society.

Our Rose Society meetings provide information on rose growing for everyone in Monmouth, Middlesex and Ocean counties.

Jersey Shore Rose Society

We welcome people whose rose-growing skills range from expert rosarians and judges to the true novice.

You can get directions and maps to our meetings from our website:

http://www.jsroses.com/map.html

Meeting times are as follows:
12:30 to 1:30pm: Beginner’s Clinic conducted by Consulting Rosarians
1:30 to 3:30pm: Main Meeting including lecture by speaker

Topic/Speaker: To be announced.

For more meeting information contact:
Leslie Cox, President:
Phone: 732-688-4282, Email: jsroseprez1@yahoo.com

For membership information contact:
Cathy Smock:
Phone: 732-836-9084

More information about the society can be found at our website:
http://www.jsroses.com

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Event Details:
Event Name: Meeting of Jersey Shore Rose Society
Event Venue: Community room, Kensington Court Assisted Living Facility
Event Street Address: 864 Shrewsbury Ave.
Event City: Tinton Falls, NJ 07724
Event County: Monmouth
Event Date: March 27, 2010, 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm
Event Admission: none
Event Phone: 732-688-4282
Event Website: http://www.jsroses.com

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NJ Home Show

The Jersey Shore Home Show will be held January 15th, 16th and 17th in Lincroft, New Jersey at Brookdale Community College. Here’s some information from the 2009 show.

If you are starting the New Year with that backyard project kicking around in your head but dreading the hours of driving around in the cold to visit all of the companies it will take to make it happen, the MAC Events 18th Annual Jersey Shore Home Show may be able to ease your anxiety.

Winter is the time to plan gardens and landscape improvements, decks and outdoor kitchens, swimming pools and the other amenities you hope to enjoy by summer.

“People who come to winter home shows often are looking for ideas for outdoor projects when the weather breaks,” said show director James McLaughlin, president of MAC Events. “They come away with a better sense of how to accomplish them, often at a cost that is less than they expected.”

The Jersey Shore Home Show will feature a variety of exhibitors specializing in the outside of the home during its January 11-through-January 13 run at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft.

For big projects, in-ground swimming pools and landscaping, finding a company now to do the job can be the difference between enjoying your outdoor space this summer and avoiding it.

“There are a lot of reasons to come to a home show, but one of the best is the time saved in finding the companies, craftspeople and the products you need for outdoor projects,” McLaughlin said.

The show features more than 125 exhibits by the region’s most innovative manufacturers and service companies, including a range of outdoor specialists that will install swimming pools with elaborate grottos and waterfalls, create terraced gardens, design outdoor kitchens and pretty much everything else you can do to extend your living space into the natural environment around your home.

“There are companies that specialize in pavers and retaining walls and others that will build you a deck or add a sunroom,” the show director said. “The landscaping companies and nurseries at the show are located and work in central New Jersey,” said McLaughlin. “The pool and spa companies displaying at the show are well established in the area.”

“The trend our design people are seeing is that people are looking for an entertaining environment with planting materials, fire pits and outdoor kitchens,” said Alyssa Shropshire, point of sale administrator at Colonial Nursery, in Lincroft. “This absolutely is a good time of

year to plan outdoor improvements so you have a good idea of what you’re going to do and can get started in the spring.”

Jay Eriv of GROUNDS KEEPER Inc. in Matawan is putting together a garden for the Jersey Shore Home Show to demonstrate some of the options consumers have.

“Ultimately it’s outdoor living space and entertaining space,” Eriv said. “Hopefully, it’s the favorite room of someone’s home. Multi-tiered spaces are in vogue. Multiple levels make a space more inventive.”

Eriv works with natural materials, sometimes using boulders to create retaining areas and nooks in a garden. For the home show he will have sleek upright speakers in the garden and demonstrate other ways of developing outdoor spaces.

“Typically, we use various materials and pillars at entrance way, a small patio space and a real garden, with blooms and lights that accents our picture board,” he said.

The Jersey Shore Home Show features companies that will design a full outdoor kitchen or a pool house with a bar that can double entertaining space.

People looking to extend their indoor space to take advantage of the outdoors might want to stop by the exhibit by Four Seasons Sunrooms, a Green Brook company that can turn a patio into a cathedral-ceiling great room of glass. Sunrooms are less expensive than 2-by-4 framed additions and increasingly are serving as breakfast nooks, family rooms, spa enclosures and recreational rooms.

The pool and spa companies exhibiting at the show include Blue Haven Pools of Colnar, PA, one of the largest builders of custom in-ground pools in the country. Blue Haven Pools will show photos of its elaborate work in creating water features – waterfalls and grottos – and special effects with lighting and fog coming up around the pool.

Other outdoor specialists exhibiting at the show include landscape designer Robert James Landscape, Brick; NaturalLawn of America, Morganville; Star Dust Pools of East Brunswick; Paradise Projects of Oceanport; E Z Living Spas of Pearl River, NY, and Seaside Materials Inc. of Long Branch.

The 18th Annual MAC Events Jersey Shore Home Show will be open Friday, Jan. 11, from 1:00 pm to 9:00 pm, Saturday, Jan. 12, from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm, and on Sunday, Jan. 13, from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. Admission is $7.00 for adults and $5.00 for children 12 through 17. Children 11 and under are admitted free. Seniors can take advantage of a Friday special admission price of $5.00 and all adults can take advantage of two-for-one date-night admission after 6:00 pm on Friday and Saturday.

The Jersey Shore Home Show is produced by MAC Events, a nationally recognized producer of high-quality business-to-consumer trade shows in a variety of industries and markets since 1968. The Spring Lake, NJ-based family-owned company produces approximately 20 recreational vehicle, home, boat and flower & garden shows a year throughout New Jersey, Rhode Island and Virginia and is a source of market research for the recreational vehicle, boating and home improvement industries. Contact MAC Events at (800) 332-3976 or visit the company’s website, www.macevents.com

Jersey Shore Kids

Jersey Shore Kids Consignment Sale (JSKCS) is a semi-annual infant, children, pre-teen, and maternity consignment sale focused on helping families in the Jersey Shore area. It is a great opportunity for you to sell all those gently used items that your children have outgrown and recoup some of the original costs! JSKCS is also a great place to find amazing deals on all the things you need for your “infant on the way” to your “fast growing pre-teen”! Along with shopping, there are great opportunities to volunteer, make new friends, and help others. JSKCS will donate a portion of the proceeds as well as any items remaining after the sale has closed to local charities.
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Event Details:
Event Name: Jersey Shore Kids Consignment Sale
Event Venue: First Energy Park
Event Street Address: 2 Stadium Way
Event City: Lakewood NJ 08701
Event County: Ocean County
Event Date: Oct 10 -12
Event Admission: Free
Event Phone: 732-901-7000 ext 179
Event Website: http://www.njshorekids.com

New Jersey Life Magazine

Discover the best New Jersey has to offer. Find restaurants and reviews; upcoming events; guides to the state’s best spas, shopping, and beaches; as well as features on health, local luminaries, recipes, and more!
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New Jersey Life
55 Bridge St.
Lambertville, NJ, 08530
Hunterdon
609.397.6340
http://www.newjerseylife.com

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New Jersey Life Recommends:

3 locally owned New Jersey restaurants:

• elements, Princeton, excellent food and service
• Theresa Cafe, Princeton, delicious pasta
• Due Mari, New Brunswick, great food and atmosphere

3 locally owned New Jersey businesses:

• Pawtisserie, Princeton, wonderful place for pets
• CoolVines, PRinceton and Westfield, excellent wine selection for such a small space
• Bent Spoon, Princeton, the best ice cream in the state

3 reasons to love NJ:

• Beautiful scenery
• easy access to large cities
• lovely small towns

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ShowRoom in Asbury Park

The ShowRoom, Asbury Park’s independent cinema and multi-purpose venue, is hosting a Shore Songwriter’s Circle featuring four talented artists from the Jersey Shore. Alex Biese, Eric Ginsberg, Kacie Baker and Xenia will take the stage together to share their music, and the stories behind it, with the audience on Saturday, October 3, 2009 at 8:00 PM.
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Event Details:
Event Name: Songwriters at the Shore
Event Venue: The ShowRoom- Asbury Park’s Independent Cinema
Event Street Address: 708 Cookman Ave
Event City: Asbury Park, NJ, 07712
Event County: Monmouth
Event Date: Saturday, October 3, 8:00 pm
Event Admission: $8.00
Event Phone: 732-502-0472
Event Website: theshowroomap.com
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Wine Tastings

Cape May Food & Wine Festival
SEPTEMBER 19-27, 2009
Our 13th Anniversary Event!

CAPE MAY— Discover culinary masters, award-winning wines and fabulous local flavors at the 13th annual Cape May Food & Wine Festival, sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts (MAC). Indulge in what the New York Times has dubbed “the restaurant capital of New Jersey” with nine days of events for those who love good food and fine wine from Saturday, Sept. 19 through Sunday, Sept. 27.

Enjoy the following festival offerings: Cape May Harvest Food & Wine Tasting, Chefs Cook-Off, Gourmet Marketplace, People’s Choice Chowder Contest, five Chefs’ Dine-Arounds, five Gourmet Luncheons, Winery Cellar Tours & Tastings, Beer-Tasting Dinner, Cape May Wine Weekend, Cape Wine Trail, Cape May Wine School plus classes and demonstrations. It is easy to see why the annual Cape May Food & Wine Festival is an American Bus Association “Top 100 Event in North America.”

Sip and swirl your way into the 13th annual Cape May Food & wine Festival with Winery Cellar Tours & Tastings at the Cape May Winery at 711 Town Bank Rd. in North Cape May. Spend the afternoon touring the vineyard to see how the grapes are grown. Get an introduction to the winemaker’s art in the winery and enjoy a barrel-tasting accompanied by cheese and fruit, and a sampling of five to six kinds of wine. Tours are offered daily from Saturday, Sept. 19 through Sunday, Sept. 27 at 3 p.m. Tours are limited to 40 people per tour. Admission is $20 per person and includes a complimentary souvenir tasting glass.

Reap the bounty of the season at the Cape May Harvest Food & Wine Tasting at the Carriage House Tearoom & Café located on the grounds of the Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St.

On Saturday, Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. indulge in a sampling dinner inspired by local products, co-sponsored by the Seaside Cheese Company and the Cape May Winery. Representatives from both sponsors will be on hand to discuss their products and appropriate pairings. The evening begins with butlered hors d’oeuvres and a cheese sampling. Afterwards, you will be served a salad course and sample three dinner entrees and two desserts. Each course is paired with wine from the Cape May Winery. Limited event; reserve early. Admission is $85 per person. Accessible event.

Sample the crème de la crème at the festival’s signature event, the Gourmet Marketplace on Sunday, Sept. 20 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Experience a complete wine and culinary celebration featuring samplings from the finest restaurants in the area, the Chefs Cook-Off, the People’s Choice Chowder Contest, wine tastings and mini-vineyard tours at this outdoor event held on the beautiful grounds of the Cape May Winery at 711 Town Bank Rd. in North Cape May. Tickle your taste buds as you sample some of the signature dishes from Cape May’s premier restaurants and other sponsors under the food tent. Local chefs will be feeling the competitive heat when they face off in a test of talent, skill and speed during the Chefs Cook-Off.

America’s beer authority, former Sirius Radio contributor and author, Gary Monterosso will emcee this year’s Chefs Cook-off and a panel of judges will determine the winner. You’re the judge at the People’s Choice Chowder Contest as you vote for your favorite chowder provided by a selection of participating restaurants (proceeds benefit Cape May Kiwanis Club). A free trolley shuttle will be provided from Cape May’s Washington Street Mall Information Booth to the winery. Admission is $25 per person. Limited event. Sorry, we can’t accommodate children at this event.

Visit five of Cape May’s best restaurants all in one night for a five-course gourmet feast with the popular Chefs’ Dine-Arounds. Hop on board one of MAC’s trolleys for a unique and delicious way to get a taste of Cape May. The trolley will shuttle you to five premier Cape May restaurants which will each serve a different course in your five-course gourmet feast. Each course will be paired with an appropriate wine. A representative from the sponsoring winery will be on hand to explain the pairings. The wines on your dine-around will be available for purchase. This year’s Chefs’ Dine-Arounds are offered Sunday, Sept. 20 through Thursday, Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. Each night features a different combination of restaurants. Reserve early; limited to 34 people per night. The Dine-Around on Sunday, Sept. 20 has already sold-out. Admission is $125 per person (gratuity included). A list of restaurants and menus will be available in August.

A far cry from the brown bag lunch—the Gourmet Lunches from Monday, Sept. 21 through Friday, Sept. 25 at 12:30 p.m. feature a selection of Cape May restaurants offering three-course gourmet lunches. Lunches are served in a different restaurant each day. Lunch at restaurants including the Washington Inn, 801 Washington St., Aleathea’s at the Inn of Cape May, 7 Ocean St., and others. A complete list of restaurants and menus will be available in August. Limited to 40 people per restaurant. Admission is $25 per person.
Master the art of cooking with herbs, learn from a culinary master during a class with Washington Inn’s Executive Chef Mimi Wood, discuss wines from Washington State with Mark Metzger from American BD wine distributors, and much more during the Food & Wine Classes. Learn a new epicurean skill Monday, Sept. 21 through Thursday, Sept. 24 at 9:45 a.m., 11a.m. and 2 p.m. Admission is $25 per person per session. Call for schedule and registration. Classes and sponsors are subject to change.

If you prefer a pint over a pinot, then don’t miss the Beer Tasting Dinner on Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. Learn how to pair beer with food with America’s beer authority and former Sirius Radio contributor Gary Monterosso during a four-course dinner at Aleathea’s Restaurant at the Inn of Cape May, 7 Ocean St. Monterosso has matched each course to a different style beer and he will be on hand to discuss the pairings. Reserve early; limited to 50 people. Admission $65 per person (gratuity included).

Get an up-close look at Cape May’s history and architecture followed by a gourmet brunch on the Gourmet Brunch Walk on Wednesday, Sept. 23 and Friday, Sept. 25 at 10 a.m. Knowledgeable guides will build your appetite as they take you on a walking tour through Cape May’s Historic District. The tour ends at the famous Mad Batter restaurant, 19 Jackson St., where you’ll enjoy a gourmet brunch in what New Jersey Monthly deems one of the “best brunch and lunch” spots. Admission is $20 for adults and $15 for children (ages 3-12). Reserve early; each tour is limited to 40 people.

Learn how your seafood gets from the sea to your table and discover how Cape May has become our country’s fourth largest commercial fishing port with a Fisherman’s Wharf Tour, a guided tour of the Fisherman’s Wharf at the Lobster House. Admission is $10 for adults and $7 for children (ages 3-12). Tours are offered Saturdays, Sept. 19 and 26 at 11 a.m. and Tuesday, Sept. 22 and Thursday, Sept. 24 at 10 a.m.
Triple your food and wine experience during the Cape May Wine Weekend, which combines a Wine Tasting Dinner, Winery Cellar Tour and Wine Tasting Class for a weekend of total indulgence. The weekend begins at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 25 with a four-course dinner at the Washington Inn, 801 Washington St., featuring wines themed to the Sunday Wine School Class (“Great wines that stretch your dollar”).

Guests will be treated to individual attention from the wine steward. On Saturday, Sept. 26 at 3 p.m., visit the award-winning Cape May Winery, 711 Town Bank Rd., for a tour of the vineyard, an introduction to the winemaker’s art, and a barrel tasting with cheese and fruit. On Sunday, Sept. 27 at 1 p.m. learn the finer points of fine wines at a The Cape May Wine School class “More in the bottle for your buck—Great wines that stretch your dollar,” at the Washington Inn. The complete package is $135 per person. The Cape May Wine School class can be purchased separately for $30 per person.

Keith Bader from Lauber Imports shares his knowledge of the world of wine at the Cape May Wine School class “More in the bottle for your buck—Great wines that stretch your dollar,” on Sunday, Sept. 27 at 1 p.m. at the Washington Inn, 801 Washington St. Learn to discern and appreciate affordable wines while increasing your knowledge of pairings. Each class is limited to 80 people and admission is $30 per person.

New in 2009! Spend the afternoon visiting Cape May County’s wineries and sampling the fruits of winemakers’ labor on the Cape May Wine Trail. First, enjoy lunch at the Carriage House Tearoom and Café, located on the beautiful grounds of the Emlen Physick Estate at 1048 Washington St. Following lunch, board a trolley shuttle and visit three wineries, Natali Vineyards, Turdo Vineyards and Cape May Winery where you will learn about viniculture and visit the tasting rooms. Admission is $75 per person and includes lunch, wine tastings at each vineyard and a wine tasting glass. Limited event, reserve early!

Participating restaurants for this year’s Food & Wine Festival include some of the finest in the area: 410 Bank Street, A Ca Mia, Aleathea’s, Axelsson’s Blue Claw, Bella Mangiata, Black Duck, Blue Pig Tavern, Café Promenade, The Carriage House Tearoom & Café, Copper Fish, The Ebbitt Room, Godmothers, Harbor View, Lucky Bones, The Mad Batter, Martini Beach, The Moonfish Grille, Merion Inn, Tisha’s, Union Park and The Washington Inn, just to name a few. Participating restaurants are subject to change.

Vote for your favorite restaurant by logging onto Capemay.com for its “The Best of Cape May” survey in August. Winners in the food and restaurant categories will be posted on the website in September and announced at the Gourmet Marketplace.

The 13th annual Cape May Food & Wine Festival is presented by the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts (MAC), in conjunction with Cape May’s restaurant community. Sponsors include Icon Estates, Gallo Wine Sales of NJ, American B.D. Company, Cape May Winery, Robert Hall, Regal Wine Imports, Turdo Vineyards, Natali Vineyards, Washington Selections, Mercer Estates, Fedway, Rental City, igourmet.com, Seaside Cheese Co., Triple Oaks Nursery, and Capemay.com. The Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of Cape May’s heritage. MAC also fosters the performing arts. MAC membership is open to all. For information about MAC’s year-round schedule of tours, festivals, and special events, call 609-884-5404 or 800-275-4278, or visit MAC’s Web site at www.capemaymac.org. For information about restaurants, accommodations and shopping, call the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Cape May at 609-884-5508.

For a complete Calendar at a Glance, click HERE.

•Gourmet Marketplace
•Cape May Harvest Food & Wine Tasting
•Beer Tasting Dinner
•Gourmet Lunches
•Chefs’ Dine-Arounds
•Classes, Seminars & Tastings

Boat Show

Manasquan, NJ – The inaugural Jersey Shore Boat Sale & Expo cruises into FirstEnergy Park, home of the Lakewood BlueClaws, in Lakewood, NJ September 18- 20, 2009. The three day boating sales event will feature new and pre-owned boats and accessories for sale by local marine retailers.

The event was organized by the Marine Trades Association of New Jersey (MTA/NJ) to offer a low cost, one stop alternative to marine dealers and consumers at an easily accessible and popular venue.

The Jersey Shore Boat Sale & Expo will feature over 35 new boat lines with more boat lines being added every day. Consumers can also shop the pre-owned boat marketplace and then stroll down the concourse of the stadium for all of their boating accessory needs. The Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) and The Fisherman Magazine are partnering up to present a great lineup of professional seminar speakers on Saturday, September 19th at the event. In addition, representatives from the National Marine Fisheries Service, RFA, MTA/NJ and the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife will host a Fisheries Town Hall meeting featuring an open forum discussion on the new saltwater registry and its impact on New Jersey’s saltwater fishermen.

“The Jersey Shore Boat Sale & Expo is a great new dealer driven sales event. This event provides exhibitors an affordable means of selling boats as well as a perfect venue for the public to take advantage of the best buyers market in 20 years,” according to Rick Traber, MTA/NJ President and owner of Pier 47 Marina.

Event details including directions, a list of exhibitors and highlights can be found online at jerseyboatexpo.com. Admission is $2.00 per person, 12 and younger are free. The event will run from 11am – 7pm on Friday and Saturday and 11am- 6pm on Sunday.

All proceeds from the event will go back to the Association to support its efforts to promote and protect the recreational boating industry in New Jersey.

Businesses interested in exhibiting should contact the MTA/NJ office at 732-292-1051; email at info@mtanj.org or visit jerseyboatexpo.com for an application.

About the MTA/NJ
The Marine Trades Association of New Jersey (MTA/NJ), established in 1972 and comprised of over 300 marine related businesses, is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and protecting the recreational marine industry and waterways in the State of New Jersey. The MTA/NJ is dedicated to the interests of the industry as a whole for the benefit of its individual members and the consumers whom they serve.

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Long Beach Island New Jersey . Barnegate Lighthouse . Photo by Thisisbossi

The Jersey Shore’s 21st Annual Chowderfest is set for Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October, 4, 2009. Saturday features an “End-of-Season Blowout Bargains in a Fall Fair under the Big Top” and Sunday features the Chowderfest Cook-off.

Restaurants in the area are busy working up their best chowders in preparation to for the big contest to see who will be crowned “King of the Clams” on October the 4th this year in Beach Haven, New Jersey. This friendly fight puts the best chefs in the area into direct competition to prove that they are the Champion Chowdermeister.

In 2008 a total of 17 restaurants registered for the contest. New to the competition last year were the Mud City Crab House from Manahawkin, Merri-Makers Caterers from Ship Bottom and The 308 Deli from Beach Haven. Any newcomers this year will put their chowders up against returning 2008 Grand Prize Winners, California Grill & Pizza, of Beach Haven Terrace, and Stefano’s Restaurant of Beach Haven. Other restaurants entering the competition this year will be added to this notice when more information is available. Any restaurants interested in entering the contest this year can call the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce office at (609) 494-7211 x 100 for an entry form or go to the website and download an entry form Here Or go to: Chowderfest.com

The Chowderfest Cook-off Competition starts at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday and runs until 4:00 p.m. Visitors can enjoy unlimited chowder tasting for $20.00 per person and $10.00 for children up to 12 years. Special early admission is available with a free commemorative Chowderfest T Shirt for $50.00. The winners of the contest are decided by popular vote.
For more information on tickets see the Chamber Chowderfest Website. www.chowderfest.com.
Great video of Chowderfest 2008: http://web.me.com/myvideoeditor/Site/Chowderfest_2008.html

The festival is produced by the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce. The festival’s primary sponsors in 2008 were Bud Light, the Sandpaper and Beachcomber newspapers, US Foodservice and WJRZ Radio.

About the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce:
The Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce (SOCCC) is the region’s primary business and destination marketing organization, representing 14 municipalities, including Long Beach Island (LBI) in the Southern Ocean County region for more than 90 years.

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*Notes: The photo at the top is from Flickr and was created by Thisisbossi, you can see his fine work here. The image was published with a Creative Commons license which means:

“you can download the images (at full resolution!), reinterpret the images and display them under the condition that you give credit to the original artist AND allow any other artist to manipulate and distribute your version under the same agreement.”

I have made adjustments to the photo to work on this page for my purposes and in my format. I hereby publish the photo here under the same license that the owner published the original. You are free to take my version of the photograph and adapt it to your purposes as long as you give me credit for my adaptation. I would also love it if you would give the photographer credit also, as they deserve the credit.