The 7th annual Hereford Inlet Lighthouse Maritime Festival will take place on June 18 and 19, 2016 in North Wildwood. The Festival is a celebration of South Jersey’s rich maritime history and features artists, crafters, food, music, authors, historians, museums and tours of the historic Hereford Inlet Lighthouse.
This year’s Festival has been divided up into several parts, each with its own unique identity. The Anglesea Marketplace, featuring arts, crafts, food, music and some commercial vendors will run along Central Avenue from Spruce to Walnut Street. On Central Avenue, running from Chestnut to 1st Avenue is the Anglesea Fine Arts and Crafts Show which features a number of juried artists, crafters, photographers and jewelers. Adjacent to the Art show is a new Food Court , hosting a number of quality food purveyors serving up delicious Seafood, Mediterranean Fair, BBQ, and of course hot dogs and hamburgers along with all the standard sweet treats one expects at a summer Festival.
The Lighthouse courtyard and parking lot will be turned into a Living History area. The reenactment group, Bloody Historical will present a pirate encampment all weekend with live stage shows of “Piratical Nonsense” daily at 11 a.m. Joining the Pirates in the Living History section will be the Hebrew Hammer Blacksmith, Daniel Lapidow, who will not only demonstrate, but teach his trade to those attending. Inside the Lighthouse Courtyard, two dozen local museums, lighthouses and historical groups will be on hand, including: The Cape May Maritime Museum, The Delaware Bay Lightkeepers & Friends, The Ocean City Life Saving Station, The Cape May County Historical Society, The Tatham’s (Stone Harbor) Life Saving Station, The Mid Atlantic Center for the Arts and The New Jersey Maritime Museum, and the Wetlands Institute – among other special guests.
Authors on hand for book signings include: Lee Ireland (“America’s Pirates and their Hidden Treasures”), Hal Taylor (“The Illustrated Delaware River”), Deborah Whitcraft and Gretchen Coyle (“Inferno at Sea” and “Tucker’s Island”), Steve Murray and Donna Elias (“To the Lighthouse”), David Veasey (“New Jerseys Colonial Architecture”) and Traci Dunham (“The Oyster’s Secret”).
Live music will be provided Saturday and Sunday by the bands Twelve Strings, Hofenakus, Danny Eyer, Brian London and Peter McCarthy.
The 2016 Hereford Inlet Lighthouse Maritime Festival is being presented by the nonprofit Friends of Hereford Inlet Lighthouse. Festival times are Saturday, June 18 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, June 19 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine. Admission to the festival is free. There is a $6 adult and $3 child admission to tour the lighthouse. Location is 111 N. Central Avenue, North Wildwood. For more information, call (609) 522-4520 or visit www.herefordlighthousefestivals.org.