Enjoy Two Days of Delicious Seafood at the Down Beach Seafood Festival

Going Places with Dina Guzzardo

The hugely popular Downbeach Seafood Festival is returning to Ski Beach (Dorset Avenue and Burke Avenue, Ventnor, 08406) on September 18th and 19th for two days of amazing local seafood, vendors, and beer. The event will run from 11 am to 7 pm each day and is jam-packed with activities to keep you busy all weekend.

Most restaurants will be participating this year in their brick-and-mortar locations, with incredible selections of seafood including clams, calamari, oysters, ahi tuna, and even alligator! The featured restaurants comprise some of the area’s most-loved seafood restaurants. Although Chef Sheed’s BBQ Shack specializes in predominantly BBQ dishes, they also serve amazing seafood dishes, including their fried fish whiting hoagie, deep-fried whiting sandwich, crispy deep-fried shrimp, and their famous seafood salad. Cousins Maine Lobster will be bringing their extraordinary lobster dishes, sourced straight out of Maine, including the Maine roll, lobster bisque, and lobster tail and tots.  Soul Empanadas make mouthwatering, fresh empanadas that contain both meat and seafood. However, the highlight of their menu over the weekend will without doubt be the crabcake empanada, which encompasses the rich flavors of Mexican cuisine with locally caught crab. 

I have featured several local breweries before, and I can honestly say that New Jersey has some incredible micro-breweries. Little Egg Harbor-based Pinelands Brewing Company prides itself on using locally sourced ingredients and some of the purest water in the USA. They produce a wide range of beer from porters to IPAs and APAs and will certainly be able to quench your thirst over the weekend. Prepare to be enchanted by Spellbound Brewing and their range of seasonal beers, including the pumpkin ale – the perfect choice for all you pumpkin spice latte lovers. Perhaps one of the most interesting brewing companies that will be attending is The Seed: A Living Beer Project, which hand-selects locally foraged ingredients to create their unique flavors, with meticulous planning for each beer to create something different in each brew. I highly recommend this company for those who consider themselves Cicerones (experts in beer, for those wondering).

Several vendors will be providing a range of goods, including ones locally made and ones sourced from abroad. The latter category includes Pacific Soul, who take yearly trips to Bali, Indonesia to curate their selection of artisan goods, including jewelry, ornaments, and beautifully designed woodwork. Every item they sell is directly from the producers themselves in Bali and is totally unique. Also, be sure to stop by De’Vora to treat your pets to a selection of high-quality products designed with both the owner and pet in mind. These include treats, beds, training aids, and apparel.

Not only will all these great experiences be going on over the weekend, but there will also be various forms of entertainment. One of the highlights of the weekend is undoubtedly the Chowder Cook-off, where attendees will be able to sample each restaurant’s take on seafood chowder and help to determine who does it best! With September being National Hunger Action Month, all proceeds from this event will be donated to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey. The Great Brews of NJ beer tent has all the qualities of a major beer festival but on a smaller scale. So really, you are getting two festivals for the price of one! This is a family-focused event, and to accommodate the younger members of the family, the “Playing in the Street” Kids Zone will feature bounce amusements, sidewalk chalk, Giant Jenga, and more!

It would not be a festival without some live music, and the Sounds of Seafood Fest is there to provide just that. Saturday will be opened by The Way Outs from 11:30 am to 1 pm, who describe themselves as “4 dudes in Hawaiian shirts playing your favorite tunes”. They will be followed by Funk Daddy from 1:30 pm to 3 pm, a Ventnor City-based group of seasoned musicians who play an eclectic mix of the 70s, 80s, 90s, and current dance/funk music. Saturday will be headlined by Robert’s Basement, a four-piece experimental rock band from Atlantic City. On Sunday, Duck & Cover Band will kick things off from 11:30 am to 12:45 pm, playing hits from the 60s to today. Goodman Fiske, one of the top cover bands on the east coast, will follow from 1:15 pm to 3 pm and be playing anything from Top 40, Dance, Rock, Hip-Hip, R&B, Country, and Oldies. Requests are encouraged! The weekend will be closed out from 4:15 to 5:45 pm by Cheezy and the Crackers, one of my personal favorite local bands who play original reggae/fusion/alternative melodies.

Tickets are only $10 to enter, and kids under age 12 go free. Each vendor and restaurant sets its own prices. Tickets can be purchased at this website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-downbeach-seafood-festival-tickets-110018610626. Parking will be available at a remote parking lot (4800 Wellington Avenue, Ventnor, 08406), and free transportation to and from the lot will be available for attendees. For more information, including how to enter the Chowder Cook-Off, head over to their website: https://www.downbeachseafoodfest.com/.

Dina Guzzardo is the President  and Executive  Promoter of Dina Media Group LLC. Dina Media Group is an innovative cutting edge event production and marketing company that produces and promotes large events as well as a talent agency that manages some incredible talent.www.dinamediagroup.com

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
RECENT POSTS