On Saturday, March 20, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center (MMSC) will celebrate the International Day of the Seal. Visitors may stop by the MMSC between the hours of 10am and 2pm to tour the facility, enjoy activities for children and visit their museum/gift shop.
The tour includes displays of how seals live in the wild and the equipment used by MMSC stranding technicians for rescue. You will also learn about the many types of seals and other aquatic animals that are cared for at the center. Kids activities include demonstrations of how seals stay warm in cold water, feeling their soft fur and making a seal mask to take home.
For more information, go here or call the MMSC at (609) 266-0538.
The MMSC is located at 3625 Atlantic-Brigantine Blvd. in Brigantine, just across the street from Prudential, Fox and Roach Realtors and just before the Lighthouse Circle on the left (heading north).

The fifth annual Lines on the Pines book-signing event will be held at the Vienna Inn/Christina’s Restaurant at 920 W. White Horse Pike, Galloway on Sunday, March 14, from 1-4pm. This event is free and open to the public, with authors on hand to sign books, which will be available to purchase on site. Other items for sale include pottery, carnivorous plants, hand woven articles, crafts, CDs, DVDs, paintings and photographs. Sorry, there are no credit card sales. The event is sponsored once again by “It’s a Sign of the Pines” and the Medford-based Plexus Publishing, Inc. Call 965-0457.
The event will include several notable authors. Budd Wilson of Green Bank, an archeologist who did most of the early digs at Historic Batsto Village and Martha Furnace, will also be there, as will representatives s of such groups as Historic Whitesbog Village, the N.J. Audubon Society, the N.J. Pinelands Commission, the Pinelands Preservation Alliance and Wharton State Forest.
A family style dinner will be offered starting at 4:30pm for $33 per person — prepayment and reservations are required — and will include presentations on the ABCs of the Pine Barrens and live music. The guest host will be Paul W. Schopp, a local historian and author. — Garrett Burrell

Monopoly, the board game based on Atlantic City’s 1930s neighborhoods, is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. But if the game were constructed today, it would look much different.

According to a feature on dailyfinance.com, Baltic, one of Monopoly’s two cheapest properties, borders the Sheraton Hotel, which charges $170 to $259 a night, making it one of the more costly locations in Atlantic City. Even the Pacific/Rhode Island Avenue region, which includes all three of Monopoly’s bargain-priced light-blue properties, is among the city’s most valuable areas.

Some of Monopoly’s streets don’t even exist in today’s city as Illinois Avenue is now Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and St. Charles Place has been torn down and replaced with the Showboat casino.

Monopoly also imitates a past era of public transportation. By 1987 all of four of its railroads had been surpassed by Atlantic City’s plethora of bus and train choices.

To get a more complete summary of the differences between Monopoly’s 1930s rendition of Atlantic City and today’s actual rendition, click here.

— Kelley Anne Essinger

On Tuesday, Feb.16, the Greater Atlantic City Concierge Association (GACCA) and the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority Foundation (ACCVAF) teamed up to host a charity wine tasting/art show at the Carisbrooke Inn Bed & Breakfast in Ventnor. The inaugural fundraising event was held to help award scholarships to hospitality majors at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey or Atlantic Cape Community College.

The initial goal was to provide enough funding for two scholarships, but due to the overwhelming response to the event four scholarships will now be awarded with the presentation taking place at the Atlantic City Hosts Awards on May 12 at Historic Boardwalk Hall’s Adrian Phillips Ballroom.

Over 80 people attended the fundraiser, enjoying the food, wine and atmosphere as well as a display of six local artists’ works ranging from pottery to serene beach scenes. The participating artists were Chris Ford, Steve Kuzma, William McKensie, Marie Natale, Sue Van Duyne and Michael Waters.

GACCA and ACCVAF would also like to thank the following sponsors for their contributions: Donna Albano, Craig Puchalsky, Donna Vassallo, B.F. Mazzeo Fruit & Produce, Carisbrooke Inn Bed & Breakfast, Ovations Food Service and Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino. — Jon Heacock

The 32nd annual Boardwalk St Patrick’s Day 10-miler and 5K run will be held Saturday, March 13, at the Bloom Community Pavilion in Margate at 9:30am. Participants can register in advance until March 7 by going here, or in person on race day from 7-9am. Long sleeve shirts will be provided to those who pre-register while supplies last. The 10-miler will take runners from the Bloom Community Pavilion located behind the Margate Library to the boardwalk in Ventnor to Maryland Avenue in Atlantic City and back.

Participants can register in advance until March 7 by going here, or in person on race day from 7-9am.

For the second consecutive year, the run will benefit both the Donny Fund and the South Jersey Field of Dreams. For sponsorship opportunities or more information call Joe Brown at (609) 652-0833.

You can help an adult in Atlantic County with basic reading and writing or English as a second language skills by becoming a volunteer tutor for Literacy Volunteers Association Cape-Atlantic. Register now for the free Tutor Training Workshop to be held at Mount Pleasant United Methodist Church, located at 743 North Main Street in Pleasantville. The workshop will run for five consecutive Wednesday evenings, from 6:15-9:15pm, starting March 10 and ending April 5 (a total of 15 hours). To register please contact Literacy Volunteers Cape-Atlantic at (609) 383-3377 or download the registration forms by going here.
Many adults in Atlantic and Cape May Counties have difficulty reading and writing, or speaking and understanding English. Help your community by helping others improve their literacy skills so that they can participate more fully in our society. There are many reasons why adults can’t read or speak English. Be the reason they can!

The Tropicana is worried about your poker game and wants you to get better. They figure all it will take is a little poker boot camp. So to help, the casino will hold a World Poker Tour Boot Camp April 9-10 taught by poker pros Kathy Liebert, Nick Brancato, Rick Fuller and Nick Binger.

In a press release, the Tropicana says the about $1,895 camp “will teach players of all skill ranges how to become a consistently winning player. The pros will share their secrets of tournament play and help players learn to build a big stack, adjust play based on the rounds, learn to play based on their and their opponents stack size, use your table image to your advantage and not be fooled by your opponent and know how to get correct pot odds and keep your opponents from getting them.”

Kathy Liebert

The camp includes breakfast and lunch each day, an eight-and-a-half-hour lecture with the four tour professionals, two and a half hours of lab instructions, a private tournament on Friday night where the winner will receive entrance into the Alumni World Poker Tour Boot Camp, and two hours of sit-n-go tournaments on Saturday.

To register for the World Poker Tour Boot Camp at the Tropicana Casino & Resort go here or call 1-866-WPT-BOOT.

Tropicana Turf Club members can also win a spot in the boot camp by playing in the Poker Room. For info visit www.tropicana.net

Come join the Tony Day Ensemble (left) at the Noyes Museum of Art in Oceanville on Saturday, Feb. 6, from 2:30-4:30pm for an afternoon of jazz, blues and poetry in celebration of African American History Month.  The group’s creative approach will entertain, encourage dancing and provide an overall fun time.
This year’s ensemble features eight locally and nationally recognized musicians including guitarist Teddy Royal, organist Kyle Kohler, tenor saxophonist Larry Unthank, vocalists Angela Burton, Harvey Drew Dawson and Tim Norman, and poet Joann Peoples. The bandleader, Day, will show his skill on drums and percussion. He has toured extensively throughout the world as a working professional musician, and his performances range in genre from jazz, country, rock, blues, Top 40, R&B and Latin. He has performed headliner acts in Las Vegas and Atlantic City showrooms, at the Cape May and Somers Point Jazz festivals and the NCL Cruise Ship lines. He enjoys great musical diversity by playing with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra, the Platters, and the South Jersey Area Wind Ensemble. He is also the bandleader for the Across the Globe Jazz Group, and is the drummer for the Denise Black Big Band. The cost for Noyes Museum members is $7 and $10 for non-members, which includes refreshments and desserts by caterer Harvey Dawson. Reservations are strongly suggested.
—    Kelley Anne Essinger

Solar panels on the roof of the Atlantic City Convention Center. photo courtesy atlanticcitynj.com

Curious about the benefits of solar energy? On Wednesday, Jan. 20, the Atlantic County government, Atlantic County Utilities Authority and Atlantic City Electric invites all Atlantic County residents and small business owners to attend a “solar workshop.”
Located at the Townsend Residential Life Center of the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, experts from all hosting agencies will be on hand from 9am-3pm to guide and answer questions, and to provide the insight and knowledge needed to move forward with the procurement of solar power.
“We are really pleased to be one of the hosts of this workshop,” says ACUA president Rick Dovey in a media release. “It’s a great way to provide important data to residents and small businesses that are seriously considering solar projects, and also a great opportunity for students as well.”
For more information on the workshop please contact Matt von der Hayden at 272-6978 or at mhayden@acua.com. To register contact Melissa Smith at Melissa.smith@csgrp.com. — Garrett Burrell

Photo courtesy allamericanpatriots.com

The Atlantic City branch of the NAACP will present the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Day march and church program on Monday, Jan. 18. Numerous community leaders, organizations, youth groups and churches will join forces with the NAACP in the historical 11am march down MLK Boulevard, from the Dr. Martin Luther King School Complex to the Civil Rights Garden located on Pacific Avenue.

Following the ceremony at the Civil Rights Garden, the marchers will proceed to the St. James AME Church, located at the corners of New York and Arctic avenues. A moving service celebrating and honoring the life and legacy of Dr. King is planned. Atlantic City First Ward Councilman G. Bruce Ward will deliver the special address.

Organizations and individuals wishing to participate in the march must assemble at the Martin Luther King School Complex by 10am Monday. The church service starts at noon. NAACP membership applications will also be available.

For more information call 345-6039 or 344-4482.