Welcome back to Do the Shore magazine; this week’s issue has a special focus on the museums, cultural institutions, artists, and historians that enrich our Cape.
Last time we spoke we were begging for rain, and this week we’re begging the good Lord to make it stop! Pouring rain couldn’t keep us away from the Sperlak Gallery and Sculpture Garden, a sprawling wetlands property where Stan Sperlak, a local landscaper and artist, has transformed his home into a sprawling sculpture garden open to the public. It’s like stepping through a portal into a different cape.
Every single Thursday the Do the Shore staff heads to the Ramble, a free-wheelin’ jam band night at the Chalfonte Hotel. We talked to the band and learned about what makes the night so special in our feature in the mag.
Jacklyn McQuarrie, a guest writer, takes us all the way up to Upper Township to tell us about a time when education happened in one-room schoolhouses. She brings us to three distinct historic locations you can visit for free in the northern part of the township.
When we started putting together this edition we thought it would be handy to put together a list of every single museum in the county. If we had realized how many they were, we might have changed our mind! Check out our museum directory in the magazine. Pull the page out, throw a dart, and visit wherever it lands.
Pamela Dollak asks the question: how are there two professional theaters in Cape May, a town of just 2500 people? The truth is that both Cape May Stage and East Lynn Theater Company exist side-by-side to bring new twists on classic stories, and bold new tales like last year’s story about garbage truck workers at Cape May Stage, to the Cape. Read about these two professional equity theaters in our feature in the magazine.
But hey- don’t leave yet! There’s so much to do in Cape May County this week. A two-day Castle Dracula event is going down at Fox Park in Wildwood on August 9 and 10. Show up dressed like a vampire and celebrate this famous old attraction, which was burned to the ground by juvenile arsons in 2002.
Check out the weekly Dune Walks in Avalon, every Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. on 48th Street & Dune Drive. The lovely folks at the Wetlands Institute, who research and work to preserve the wetlands ecosystems year round, will take guests on a walk through Avalon’s elaborate dunes.
The annual Tattoo Beach Bash comes to Wildwood during the first weekend of the month. Talented artists from across the region convene here to celebrate body art. Your editor may or may not be getting their first tattoo there…
A free Symphony suite is hitting Avalon on August 10 – don’t miss it! Hands-on-History weekend comes to Cold Spring Village, an open-air living history village that recreates New Jersey life as it went down in colonial America.
One of the strangest events of the year, the Miss Crustacean hermit crab beauty contest, is Wednesday, August 14 at 5:30 p.m. on the 6th Street Beach. The verdict is still out on whether or not the hermit crabs appreciate being involved, but the event is so uniquely Ocean City that we aren’t gonna complain. Check it out!
For more events, check out our events guide online and in-print!