Page 10 - 2023 Southern NJ Vacationer

CAPE MAY – ONE of AMERICA’S BEST TOWNS for the HOLIDAYS: The holidays always start the third week in November in Cape May, and it’s no surprise to anyone who loves this seaside town that Travel + Leisure magazine recently named Cape May one of 25 Best Christmas Towns in the USA. The Washington Street Mall hosts Hospitality Nights, Congress Hall is a winter wonderland and street after street boasts beautiful Victorian buildings decked out in lights, greenery, bows and more. Sip wassail, hop aboard the Holly Trolley, have tea with Mrs. Claus or stop by the Physick Estate, lavishly decorated in true Victorian style. Learn more about the holiday traditions of the Victorian era of the 1890s, experience a Dickens Christmas extravaganza, enjoy a Lamplighter Christmas tour or the annual Christmas Candlelight House Tour. In between there are concerts, performances at Cape May Stage and the East Lynne Theater Company, food and wine events, craft fairs and so much more for the merriest of holiday seasons. 609-884-5404. 800-275-4278. www.capemaymac.org
BLUEBERRIES, THE STATE FRUIT OF NJ:
The Red, White and Blueberry Festival in Hammonton encourages everyone to eat anything made of blueberries
on the Sunday before the Fourth of July holiday. The festival pays homage to the state fruit of New Jersey as thousands of berry lovers flock to Hammonton to enjoy the unmatched taste of blueberry delights. An antique car show, arts and crafts, blueberry pie-eating contests, a live stage show, and more add to the red, white and blueberry fun. www.hammontonnj.us
LAND ON THE ORANGE LOOP! Just steps off the world-famous Atlantic City Boardwalk you’ll find the Orange Loop – three beach blocks of one-of- a-kind restaurants, bars, live music, coffee, yoga and more. The Orange Loop borrows its name from everyone’s favorite board game, Monopoly. Starting with the beach block of Tennessee Avenue and expanding into St. James Place and New York Avenues, you’ll find the best of the new Atlantic City. www.visitorangeloop.com
THE NATIONAL MARBLES TOURNAMENT CELEBRATES OVER 100 YEARS:
The National Marbles Tournament was first held in 1922. The “mibsters”(marble shooters) compete for national honors, college scholarships and numerous prizes and awards. Every year during Father’s Day week,
the mibsters play more than 1,200 games over the four-day tournament on 10 permanent marbles rings planted on the beach at Ringer Stadium, Wildwood Ave. and the Beach in Wildwood. Champions selected from local tournaments held in cities and counties around the United States represent thousands of competitors and will converge on Wildwood for a week of serious marble competition and fun on amusement rides and boardwalk attractions. The national committee operates the tournament which is composed of a group of volunteer men & women from around the country that have a common interest in the game of marbles. www.nationalmarblestournament.org
BAYSHORE CENTER/AJ MEERWALD:
The Bayshore Center at Bivalve is New Jersey’s only environmental history museum and the home port of the AJ Meerwald. Located on a working waterfront, the Bayshore Center at Bivalve operates the Delaware Bay Museum in the oyster shipping sheds dating back to 1904. Watch oystermen navigate the river as osprey and bald eagles soar overhead. Learn about the state’s oyster industry past and present and sail aboard a historic oyster schooner. the A.J. Meerwald. 856-785-2060; www.bayshorecenter.org
National Marbles Tournament
A.J. Meerwald
African American Heritage Museum
8 SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY VACATIONER