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

Ireland and Old Lace in Smithville will be hosting its free annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration on Saturday, March 6, from noon-3pm, and will include a CD signing with international recording artist Gaelic Storm. There will be live acoustic music, bagpipers and the Mist of Ireland step dancers will perform. Bring or purchase any Gaelic storm CD and have it signed by the band from noon-1pm.
For more information please call 404-4777 or go here.

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

Absecon Lighthouse, New Jersey’s tallest and the country’s third tallest, is naming March, “Climb for Our Cause!”  month. For just a $7 admission to climb ($5 for seniors, $4 for children), you can help keep Absecon Lighthouse shining through a challenging financial crisis.  Absecon Lighthouse invites all residents of South Jersey to participate and make this campaign a roaring success. It is possible, through small increments, to raise funds —  one climb at a time. So, join us for a climb in March and have a blast as you get exercise, see the best views of Atlantic City, and support a worthy cause. For more information call  (609)449-1360 or go here. The lighthouse is located at  31 So. Rhode Island Ave. in Atlantic City, and is open to visitors Thursdays through Mondays, 11am-4pm.

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.

Next Thursday, Feb. 11, the Interact Club of the ChARTer Tech High School for the Performing Arts will host the fourth annual “Share the Love Community Talent Show” to benefit the Jan-ai Scholarship Foundation and the Alcove Center for Grieving Children in Northfield.
The show is open to the public and starts at 7pm at the high school, 413 New Road (Rt. 9) in Somers Point. Tickets are $7. The show will feature student performers from Longport, Margate, Ventnor, Pleasantville, Egg Harbor Township, Somers Point and Northfield. Talent genres will include acting, singing, acoustic instrumentals and Irish dancing. For more information please call 609-926-7694 ext. 177, or go here.

According to Sea Isle City public information assistant Katie Dalrymple, the city’s annual Polar Bear Plunge weekend will take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 12-14, with all profits going to the Sea Isle Revitalization Committee. Events will be headquartered at LaCosta Lounge.
The excitement begins Friday night with the Vendor and Food Market from 5-10pm alongside JFK Blvd., which will also be open on Saturday from 9am-8pm and Sunday from 10am-3pm. Throughout market hours, Irene Jameson will be selling her book Memoirs of the Polar Bear Queen, which features numerous pictures and clippings of the Sea Isle City Polar Bear Plunges from 1995-2009. She will be dressed in costume and ready to autograph copies of her new book. (more…)

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

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.