Page 6 - 2023 Southern NJ Vacationer

WELCOME LETTER
Ideas to itinerary
Vacationer
THE PUBLISHING PARTNERSHIP’S REPRESENTATIVES:
Atlantic County
Linda Gilmore 1333 Atlantic Avenue, Atlantic City, NJ 08401 609-343-2313 www.aclink.org
Cape May County Tourism
Diane Wieland/Deborah Bass Cape May Court House, NJ 08210 609-463-6415 or 1-800-227-2297 www.thejerseycape.com
Cumberland County Tourism
Matt Pisarski
164 W. Broad Street, Bridgeton, NJ 08302 856-453-2184 or 855-4visitor www.co.cumberland.nj.us www.explorecumberlandnj.com
Southern Shore Regional Destination Marketing Organization
A regional tourism council serving Cape May & Cumberland Counties. www.njsouthernshore.com
Sassafras Design, LLC
Michael L.B. Lacy
Over 37 years of award-winning publishing & tourism related design. mlblacy@mac.com
Write ImPRessions, LLC
Public Relations, Communications & Media Writing and editing feature stories, news releases & blogs for 26 years
Vacationer Advertising Sales
Heather Hoffman • 609-675-6632
hhoffman967@gmail.com
Ocean View Welcome Center
The Official Welcome Center at NJ’s Southern Shore. Need more information? Pick up a guide book, a map, or brochures. Located at Mile Marker 18.3 N/S on the Garden State Parkway. 609-624-0918.
Other Welcome Centers
New Jersey Tourist & Travel Service at the Farley Service Plaza is located at milepost 21.3 on the Atlantic City Expressway
WELCOME TO A PLACE THAT IS REAL. It’s a place where you can easily find experiences that connect you directly to the essence of the American experience. A place that can transport you back to your childhood, providing the perfect opportunity to pursue your passion or simply help you escape the everyday.
An itinerary here offers endless possibilities to play in the surf or on the Boardwalks, build sandcastles on miles of white, sandy, pristine beaches, dine on fresh food straight from the sea and soil, visit rural farmlands turned into world class wineries or hit a thriving arts and culture scene found in every neighborhood in the region.
A trolley tour of the nation’s oldest seaside resort, Cape May, is simply enchanting. Come to view the country’s largest stock of Victorian structures and stay for the modern cuisine, and arts and cultural scene. Nearby in Atlantic City, enjoy the modern, glitzy excitement of the casinos. In Millville, the town comes alive in the Glasstown Arts District where Third Friday celebrations merge the art, music and foodie scenes into one cool event.
Reconnect with the outdoors on a birding adventure; the destination is considered one of the top three birding hot spots in North America and number 10 in the world. Just go outside anywhere in the region and look and listen for our feathered friends, or schedule a guided hike or one of the many programs hosted by NJ Audubon’s Cape May Bird Observatory.
If your plans bring you to the area in June, don’t miss the National Marbles Tournament hosted in Wildwood. That’s right, the game we played as kids is celebrating 100 years, of tournaments that take place every year in June when “mibsters,” players, ages 8-14 years old, come from all over the country to vie for National honors in the sport. In September, Pickleball, the popular game we are learning as adults, comes to Avalon for the Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP) as the only NJ venue on the Pro Tour. You can also head to Atlantic City for the largest indoor sanctioned Pickleball Tournament in the mid-Atlantic area. For the novices, there are courts in just about every municipality for this fast-growing sport.
From world premiere stage productions, music festivals on the beach, local concerts under the stars and headliners at Atlantic City casinos, the entertainment scene in Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland counties is bursting with talent and surprises. Beach concerts complete with sun, sand, waves, and good vibes are in the Wildwoods this summer with 40 country music stars on five stages at the Barefoot Country Music Fest in June. In Atlantic City, over 30 country stars will take two stages in August for the Tidal Wave Music Festival. Throughout the region whether under the stars or in one of your favorite hot spots, musical concerts will have you singing a tune.
Our events span every season, and even on those chilly days of winter around a fire pit at a local winery or at a holiday parade, you can escape the everyday and pursue your passions.
With the 20th edition of the Southern New Jersey Vacationer comes sad news. Over the years, hundreds of stories were researched and written to fill the pages of the official visitor guide. The intention of every word, sentence and punctuation mark put on the pages by Writer Barbara St. Clair helped guide countless visitors through local neighborhoods, finding the beauty of the destination with each adventure. She was the voice of the Vacationer and the love she had for her adopted home came through in every word. Barbara, though you are no longer with us, you will never be forgotten. Mayyourmemorybeforeverheldinthepagesofthisbook. G
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