ATLANTIC CITY — Looking for the boat of your dreams and everything to go with it, including an incredible assortment of marine gear and accessories? Then check out the Atlantic City Boat Show, which returns Wednesday through Sunday, Feb. 6-10, to the Atlantic City Convention Center.
From luxury motor and sailing yachts to sport fishers, high-performance boats, inflatables and personal watercraft, there are boats for every lifestyle, activity and budget. The show also features the Marine Marketplace — a 93,000-square-foot “show within the show,” offering 440 booths showcasing all the latest in marine technology, engines, electronics, nautical gifts and more.
The five-day event offers the chance to compare makes and models, secure insurance and financing, and gear up with the latest accessories all at one time and under one roof. The show’s Discover Boating Center offers a one-stop resource for the latest in boating information and expert, unbiased advice.
Show hours are Wed.-Fri. 11am-8pm; Sat. 10am-8pm; and Sun. 10am-5pm. Admission is $15 for adults, free for children 15 and younger free when accompanied by a paid adult. Group rates include the purchase of 10-30 tickets at $12 apiece ($3 discount); or purchase 31 or more at $10 each ($5 discount). Contact Elba Rosales-Rice to order tickets at 718-707-0711 or e-mail erosales-rice@nmma.org.
The 18th season of the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour will be making a stop in Atlantic City on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 12-13, 2013, at the Atlantic City Convention Center. Registration for the event — called Magic: Gathering Grand Prix Atlantic City — is $40 per player and takes place Friday, Jan. 11, from noon-8pm, and Saturday, Jan. 12, from 7-9:30am.
Magic: The Gathering is the world’s premier trading card game. Created in 1993, Magic is played approximately 12 million players per year. It can be played by two or more players, each using a deck of printed cards or a deck of virtual cards, through the Internet-based Magic: The Gathering Online or third-party programs.
In the Magic game, you play the role of a “planeswalker” — a powerful wizard who fights other planeswalkers for glory, knowledge, and conquest. Your deck of cards represents all the weapons in your arsenal. It contains the spells you know and the creatures you can summon to fight for you.
An organized tournament system and a community of professional Magic players has developed, as has a secondary market for Magic cards. The Grand Prix Atlantic City event will debut a “play mat” featuring art by the legendary Randy “rk” Post, an noted illustrator of fantasy publications who will be on-site all weekend signing the mats. The first 600 players to register on Friday at Grand Prix Atlantic City and all “Sleep-In Special” registrants who pay before the Friday of the Grand Prix will receive a mat.
The Atlantic City Convention Center’s Hall A ballroom will again be transformed into a winter wonderland for Atlantic City children on Saturday, Dec. 15, from 1-3:30pm.
The second annual Atlantic City Winter Wonderland is co-sponsored by the City of Atlantic City and Atlantic City Free Public Library. Admission is free but tickets are required to gain admission into the event. Beginning Monday, Dec. 3, tickets will be distributed 10am-3pm Monday through Friday until the day of the event in the lobby at City Hall, located at 1301 Bacharach Blvd.
Tickets will be distributed only to adults, who must show a proof of Atlantic City residency. Tickets are limited and will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis.
The event is open only to Atlantic City children ages three to 12. All children attending the event must be accompanied by an adult. There will be plenty for children and their families to do and see at the Winter Wonderland, including magic shows, rides, games, moon bounces, face painting, arts and crafts, cookie decorating and more.
The event is funded in part by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority. For more information, call the Atlantic City Recreation/Community Affairs Department at (609) 347-5643.
ATLANTIC CITY — The Atlantic City Beer and Music Festival — or “Celebration of the Suds” — returns to the Atlantic City Convention Center for the eighth year Friday and Saturday, April 5-6.
Over 90 different breweries from around the corner and across the country will showcase their unique libations. The focus of A.C. Beer Festival is the promotion of craft beers and the brewers that create them, offering the perfect opportunity for beer aficionados, beer lovers and even the casual beer drinker to speak to company representatives and brewers responsible for some of their favorite brews. And it’s an opportunity to discover and taste new brews and special “limited release” beers and ales.
Each year the festival organizers review the event and look to further enhance the beer lover’s experience and make each year better than the last. The festival has grown to be one of the country’s largest celebrations of beer. For 2013, festival producers will bring in musical headliners Reverend Horton Heat and Rusted Root and a “top secret” act to be announced Monday, Nov. 19. Already one of Atlantic City’s most anticipated events of the year, the forthcoming festival will have the perfect soundtrack to enjoy great brews, great tunes and thousands of great people.
The festival will also feature culinary demonstrations from area chefs; beer seminars hosted by beer personalities and brewers and some “off the wall” activities. Additional festival vendors will offer great food and some unique beer-related apparel and goods. This year’s festival will appeal to absolutely everyone.
“In an effort to do our part and give back to the Jersey shore communities, the Atlantic City Beer and Music Festival is dedicated to help rebuilding the shore and get its residents back on their feet,” says event organizer Jon Henderson. “One dollar from every ticket sold will be donated towards Hurricane Sandy relief and rebuilding efforts.”
Tickets go on sale Wednesday, Nov. 21, and are $50 in advance (fees apply). Buy them online by clicking here, through Ticketmaster, or get them at Joe Canal’s Discount Liquor Outlets on Fire Road in Northfield. They will be $55 at the door, if available.
ATLANTIC CITY — The H.H. Backer Pet Industry Spring Trade Show and Educational Conference returns to the Atlantic City Convention Center for a three-day event, April 18-20, that significantly larger than last year’s.
With more than 5,000 buyers attending, the Backer Show will feature 320 exhibitors showcasing products in 575 booths. As stated in a recent media release, some of the products include various organic and holistic pet products and food, upscale pet furniture and clothing, unique pet collars, harnesses and leashes, creative cat toys, designer carriers, pet spa kits and deluxe housing units. The show is only open to those who work in the pet industry, and the media.
The show takes place in Hall D at the Atlantic City Convention Center. Dates and times are Wednesday, April 18, from 10am-6pm; Thursday, April 19, from 10am-6pm; and Friday, April 20, from 10am-3pm. For more information contact David Harvey at dharvey@hhbacker.com or call (609) 449-3919. — Julie Pipitone
Atlantic City native Ruth Wyand will perform April 15 at Dante Hall.
ATLANTIC CITY — Singer/songwriter/guitarist and roots-music specialist Ruth Wyand will be performing a show called “Journey Down An American Music Highway” on Sunday, April 15, starting 2pm at Stockton College’s Dante Hall, 14 N. Mississippi Avenue in Atlantic City. The concert benefits the Cape-Atlantic Marine Corps League.
Wyand is originally from the Venice Park section of Atlantic City. She draws on American roots music to frame her lyrics and demonstrate her strengths as a guitarist, songwriter and vocalist.
Tickets are $20. A meet-and-greet will follow at the Tun Tavern — about two blocks over and adjacent to the Atlantic City Convention Center — with free parking, reduced priced drinks ($1 glasses of wine, $2 pint drafts and $1 off mixed drinks) and half-priced appetizers.
Tickets can be purchased by going here or by calling (609) 347-2167.
ATLANTIC CITY — The New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) has completed the parking garage project located on Fairmount Avenue between Christopher Columbus Boulevard and Mississippi Avenue in A.C. A ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the garage is scheduled for Thursday, March 15, at 1:30pm, at which time a new name for the building will also be unveiled.
At a cost of $30 million, the five-story building has six levels of parking with 1,180 parking spaces, and covers 411,690 square feet including 16,170 square feet of retail space. The garage is conveniently located in the city’s Midtown District. It is visible and easily accessed from the Atlantic City Expressway and is convenient to a variety of the city’s main attractions including Boardwalk Hall, Tanger Outlets – The Walk, the Atlantic City Convention Center and the Ducktown neighborhood.
The garage will serve as the centerpiece to the development of the future Arts & Entertainment District. The building was designed to be the first and last impression that visitors experience as they travel to and from Atlantic City through this center corridor.
The project was started in late 2010 by general contractor L. Feriozzi of Ventnor. It has created 170 new jobs and includes energy efficient lighting throughout, six electric vehicle charging stations, and a 54,000 square-foot rooftop solar array consisting of 1,677 solar panels.
“This state-of-the-art garage and retail space will provide efficient parking resources to the surrounding businesses in the Tourism District,” says CRDA executive director John Palmieri in a media release. “The inclusion of art and retail space at street level creates a pedestrian friendly and safe environment for visitors and residents alike.”
The new garage will be managed and operated by Standard Parking, a leading national provider of parking facility management. A partnership with South Jersey Transportation Authority allows for the acceptance of the E-Z Pass Plus in the new garage.
The annual event — presented by 100.7 WZXL radio station — has grown in size, scope and popularity since it started, and this year includes a vastly expanded musical lineup featuring punk rock legend Marky Ramone. The 15-year drummer of New York City’s famous Ramones now tours with his band Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg.
“We signed Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg to close out Friday, Session 1 of the festival [from 10-11pm],” says event producer Jon Henderson. “As an old school punk rock kid this huge for me! We are going to have 15 amazing bands, over 80 brewers (including about a dozen in-state craft brewers), 10 food slingers, 120 vendors and 24,000 thirsty beer lovers — Atlantic City doesn’t get any more exciting than that.”
Not only will this year’s “Celebration of the Suds” include a variety of beer and great music performances, there will be several vendors available, offering food and brewery souvenirs. In addition, there will be culinary demonstrations from local chefs, and beer seminars featuring local beer expert Gary Monterosso and others.
The festival will also offer discounted “designated driver” tickets discourage drinking and driving. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door.
Attendees must be 21 years of age or older. Beer Fest tickets cost $50 in advance and can be purchased on the festival’s Web site or at Ticketmaster.com. If still available, tickets can be purchased at the door for $55, or $50 at Joe Canals in Northfield or in Egg Harbor Township. For group tickets, contact (609) 348-7023. For more information, e-mail jon@celebrationofthesuds.com or call (609) 412-9056.— Julie Pipitone
Along with the latest models from major boat manufacturers like Boston Whaler, the AC Boat Show boasts over 440 booths showcasing all the latest in marine technology.
ATLANTIC CITY — The indoor Atlantic City Boat Show returns to the Atlantic City Convention Center Wednesday through Sunday, Feb. 1-5. This year will be the first time the show is under major corporate sponsorship — the Progressive Insurance Company — and will be 30 percent larger than previous years, featuring hundreds of different boats and thousands of boating accessories.
Additionally, the show will feature many entertaining activities for the whole family to enjoy, including the new “Boating Simulator” sponsored by the Annapolis School of Seamanship, the Power Boat Docking Challenge, the Paddlepalooza (educational paddle sport information), scuba diving in a heated pool, and listening to teenage sailing adventurer Abby Sunderland’s story.
Guests will also be able to view the neon green powerboat Miss GEICO, which has set world speed records on water. Children will be able to take pictures with SpongeBob Squarepants, take a ride on a mini lake driving own paddleboat, and have the chance to “Build A Boat!” presented by Sea Quest Kids.
The Progressive Insurance Atlantic City Boat Show will be at the Atlantic City Convention Center Feb. 1-5. Show times will be Wednesday through Friday 11am-8pm, Saturday 10am-8pm, and Sunday 10am-5pm.
Tickets are $14 for adults (ages 16 and older), and FREE for children ages 15 and under. Tickets can be purchased online in advance by clicking here. For group rates, call 718-707-0711. — Julie Pipitone
According to a news releases, Revel CEO Kevin DeSanctis spoke on Tuesday, May 24, at the East Coast Gaming Congress held at the Atlantic City Convention Center, stating that the 1,100-room, $2.4 billion project is looking at a mid-May 2012 opening date.
DeSanctis said in his 45-minute speech that an estimated 5,000 people will be employed by the site when it opens, and that roughly half of a $260 million state-tax rebate that Revel will receive over a 20-year period will be applied toward sprucing up Atlantic City’s inlet area, near where the future hotel-casino is being erected.
Revel is expected to rival the Borgata in terms of magnitude of economic impact on the area. The Borgata, which opened in 2004, helped spur the growth of new dining, nightlife and headline entertainment options throughout Atlantic City, especially among a younger demographic.
From luxury motor and sailing yachts to sport fishers, high-performance boats, inflatables and personal watercraft, there are boats for every lifestyle, activity and budget. The show also features the Marine Marketplace — a 93,000-square-foot “show within the show,” offering 440 booths showcasing all the latest in marine technology, engines, electronics, nautical gifts and more.
ATLANTIC CITY — The H.H. Backer 
