Skimmer Festival Returns to Sea Isle City, NJ this Weekend

The 2023 Fathers' Day Weekend marks the return of one of the biggest festivals in Sea Isle City: Skimmer Weekend Festival returns with many family-friendly activities for visitors and locals to enjoy!

Since the 1960's, Skimmer Weekend has been a major attraction for families to go out and enjoy different activities, whether it is a day trip or a Weekend stay in Sea Isle City.  I remember when I was a kid living in Sea Isle City on 42nd street, that my dad and I participated in the Sand Sculpting Competition at Skimmer Weekend.  Even though we didn't win it all, it was a fun afternoon out for a 10-year-old kid with his family and I walked away with a trophy (even though my dad did most of the work!).

The history of the Skimmer Weekend Festival has deep roots for Sea Isle City; The devastating aftermath of the 1962 Ash Wednesday Storm crushed the Jersey Shore towns and in a world before Social Media, the towns needed to come up with new ways to declare to the world "We Are Open for Business". So the first Skimmer Weekend Festival was created by Sea Isle City to draw people back to the Island to recalibrate the town's economy after the major storm. In the following years, Sea Isle City's Skimmer Weekend has shifted dates and weekends but it still features great activities for locals and vacationers to enjoy on a non-holiday weekend.

This year's Festival starts on Saturday, June 17 with a great Seaside Vendors Market that will be on the JFK Boulevard Promenade from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM featuring a variety of crafts, fashion apparel, artwork, and other items being sold in an old-style small town market.

Before or after you go shopping at the market, you have to check out the Skimmer Food Court on JFK Boulevard right off the boardwalk where you fill find a great selection of food served by local businesses. There are also free Amusement Rides at Excursion Park from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Saturday along with Face Painters, a Family Photo Booth, an Art Bar, Balloon Artists, and live music by Steve Moore & The MIA Band all at Excursion Park on Saturday afternoon.

On Father's Day, you can catch the Skimmer Antique Auto Show with classic cars displayed on the Promenade from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM on Sunday. After Mayor Desiderio presents trophies to the winners of the Antique Auto Show, the vehicles participating in the Auto Show will join the Skimmer Antique Auto Parade that will start on 44th Street and the Boardwalk and then travel south on Pleasure Avenue all the way to the end of the island and 93rd Street, then continue back north on Landis Avenue from 93rd Street to JFK Boulevard.

The name "Skimmer" refers to the famous straw hats that date back to the 1820s that for years were also referred to as "Boater's Hat" and became a popular fashion item for Victorian Era Gentlemen in Britain. These hats were worn frequently in the 1920s and 30's at Summer Parties here in the United States, a fashion statement that was familiar to vacationers at the Jersey Shore.

For more information about the 2023 Skimmer Festival Weekend, you can check out the Sea Isle City Tourism Website.