Parades and Plays Down the Shore

The city of North Wildwood will open its 2002 season with a record number of events--more than 100 special events, starting with a St. Patrick's Day ceremony and parade on Saturday, March 16, 2002 at noon.

The Grand Marshal of the parade, which follows a ceremony at the City Hall (Ninth and Atlantic Avenues), will be Msgr. Thomas Fitzsimmons, pastor of St. Ann's R.C. Church who is being honored for his promotion to monsignor.

The pre-parade ceremony will feature an address by Mayor Aldo Palombo, the singing of the Irish national anthem by Paul Forrest, a native of Ireland, and the singing of the Star Spangled Banner by Mary Pat Hastings.

Included in the parade will be the Margaret Mace Elementary School band, the Cape May County String Band, the Cape May County Pipe and Drum Band, Hope Cathryn Rhoades, the current Miss North Wildwood, and various Irish organizations. The parade route will be north on Atlantic Avenue, west on First Avenue to Central, Spruce and Olde New Jersey Avenues. Co-chairmen are James Kenney and Mike Hagan.

The festivities, a prelude to the huge Irish Festival in the autumn, will mark the beginning of a series of events and shows, most of them free, that will extend into early next winter.

If you want to DO some walking, try the "Phenomenal Family Hike" at the Nature Center of Cape May on Saturday. This hike takes you to a different beach each month. What's the big deal, you might ask. Try it. One time out, and you'll be noticing things that you never saw before. See what the sea has left behind. Enjoy the peacefulness as winter draws to a close. Relax and have fun! The hike is from 1-2:30pm at the Nature Center of Cape May, 1600 Delaware Ave. Members: adults; $5.00, kids:$2.Non-members: adults: $7 kids: $3.00. Children under 3 are free. Call (609) 898-8848 for more information.

At the Cape May County Historical Museum, the whole family can enjoy the "Fin Facts" Play a play about the ocean and its creatures. This play is part of the Museum Kids Club. The play is on Saturday at 1pm, 504 Route 9 North in Cape May Court House, NJ. $2.00/members; $3.00/non-members. Call (609) 465-3535 for more information.

If you’re interested in learning about the Galapagos Islands, join Pat and Clay Sutton on Saturday at the CMBO Center for Research & Education in Goshen for an afternoon of slides and stories based on their July 2001 trip with Victor Emanuel Nature Tours and 16 N.J. Audubon members. They snorkeled with sea Lions and green sea turtles, walked amidst nesting colonies of Blue-footed Boobies and Waved Albatross, enjoyed Galapagos Penguins and Flamingos in the same day, saw giant tortoises in the wild, and traveled from island to island aboard the M.S. Polaris, one of the Lindblad boats. 3:00-4:30pm, Cost: $3 members, $6 nonmembers (pay at the door). Please call the Cape May Bird Observatory 861-0700 for more information.

For a more complete listing of events in South Jersey, check out our Events Calendar here.

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Author: R. Cohen