Margate punk accordion songwriter Malcolm Tent performed Saturday night. (Photo: Jeff Schwachter)

Le Grand Fromage hosted three days of music, featuring about 100 bands, to raise funds for two local groups hard-hit by Hurricane Sandy.

According to the festival’s organizer, Jerry Ryan, the three-day festival (Nov. 16-18) raised about $2,200 from the door. (There was a $10 admission fee.)

Musicians from as far away as Boston and Washington D.C. came together  for the “Re-Do AC” music benefit, which will assist the Brigantine Marine Mammal Stranding Center (Atlantic County) and the Ocean City Repertory Theatre (Cape May County) — each of which was severely impacted by Hurricane Sandy.Atlantic County

“The money is going to help them rebuild,” says Ryan. “They both had a lot of damage. Brigantine is my hometown so I wanted to get involved and help the Stranding Center there.”

Read more about the festival here. And, lastly, kudos to Jerry Ryan for putting this benefit together so quickly, Le Grand Fromage for hosting all three days and to the many artists who performed.

Click here for Atlantic City Weekly’s Local Music Guide.

Mark Soifer of the Ocean City. New Jersey, public relations department has released several announcements in relation to the southern New Jersey shore beach town and its upcoming scheduled events in the wake of last week’s Hurricane Sandy.

1. Ocean City’s Annual QUIET FESTIVAL is set for this week starting Wed., Nov. 7. The festival kicks off with the Annual Yawn Along Ceremony on City Hall Lawn at noon. The program starts with a performance by the Ocean City Sign Club signing to quiet music. The World’s only Wind Chimes Band and the Yawn Along singers will yawn to the tune of Beautiful Dreamer. And there will be Maple Pod, Pine Cone and Pin Dropping.

There will be bubbles, paper airplanes and a Yo Yo demonstration by Doug Jewel l of Air Circus. The program will be dedicated to down town merchants who suffered considerable damage to their stores during the recent storm. They are all working hard to reopen. Please remember to support our merchants and restaurants during the upcoming holidays and year around. They are an important part of the Ocean City Family. (This event will be held if storm does not bring rain to area).

Also on Wednesday there will be a paper airplane making session featuring pilot Ken Thorpe and friends at the Tabernacle Youth Center, 5th and Asbury Ave. at 4pm. This program will be repeated on Fri., Nov. 9th, 4 p.m. at the Ocean City Library, 17th and Simpson Ave., Lecture Room 110. This program and all Quiet Festival events are free.

Also on Friday, there will be an open poetry reading and discussion  7pm at Library, Room 110. Come to read, talk, listen or take a nap. Speaking of nap, the Quiet Festival is one of the few programs presented by NAP, the National Assn. of Tired People. NAP members normally shun physical and mental activities in favor of, you guessed it, napping

(more…)

Shirley Hawthorne's 'Autumn on the Farm.'

The Ocean City Fine Arts League Colors the Canvas with October “Autumn” Winning Artists list is toplined by the best of show awarded to Shirley Hawthorne, a South Jersey native, for her pastel, “Autumn on the Farm.”

Inspired by the changing seasons and colors, Shirley enjoys drawing in the open air. She is a member of South Jersey and Ocean City Fine Arts League Plein Air Painters. Shirley studied art at the University of Delaware, Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia, The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and University of the Arts. She also taught art in the public school system in Pittsburgh, PA and Salem County, NJ for many years.

• 1st place – Shirley Hawthorne -  Pastel – “Autumn On the Farm” – Ocean City
• 2nd Place – Deb Spinella – Pastel – “Field of Mums” – Mays Landing
• Honorable Mention – Chuck Law – Oil – “Turtle Dreams” – Linwood
• Honorable Mention – Mary Ann Kline – Oil – “Golden Rod” – Egg Harbor Township

The Art On Asbury Gallery is located at 608 Asbury Ave. and is open Monday-Saturday from 10am-5pm and Sunday from 10am-1pm. All artwork is hand-made by local artisans and is for sale.

James V. Mallon, the director of community services for the City of Ocean City announced the Tuesday, May 8, Municipal Election Results, which included a referendum that would permit BYOB at the city’s restaurants.

The tabulated results of the May 8 Municipal Elections determined the four Ward seats open on the seven-member City Council as well as the public ballot question on the BYOB ordinance.

Ocean City voters voted against the controversial proposal to permit BYOB at restaurants off the Boardwalk “by a more than two to one margin,” according to city.

“I am thankful to all of the residents who took the time to cast their votes on an issue that was very personal to our community,” stated Mayor Jay Gillian.

“I believe family tradition is strongly supported in our town, and BYOB did not follow that tradition. I respect the BYOB proponents for their campaign, and thank all of our residents and guests for maintaining the Ocean City tradition of courteousness during the days leading up to the election. I am hopeful that as a City we can now move on to an outstanding summer season.”

In Ocean City’s First Ward Michael DeVlieger defeated Frederick J. Hoffman

In Ocean City’s Second Ward Antwan L. McClellan defeated John W. Quinn

In Ocean City’s Third Ward Anthony P. Wilson defeated Steven Fenichel

In Ocean City’s Fourth Ward Peter J. Guinosso defeated Edward W. Price and Bartholomew J. Russell

Election results are  available online at ocnj.us/election.

Results are unofficial until certified.

READ: Different viewpoints on BYOB issue in Ocean City.

OCEAN CITY, N.J. — Members of Ocean City’s Shop, Dine and Play Committee will be hosting three public meetings designed to answer voters’ questions on “the positive effects that BYOB will have on the Ocean City Community.”

All three meetings are free and open to the public, and start at 7pm at different Ocean City locations.

The first is Wednesday, April 18, at the Chatterbox Restaurant, 500 Ninth Street. The second is Wednesday, April 26, at Cousins Restaurant, 104 Asbury Avenue. The final meeting is Wednesday, May 2, at the residence of Jane Custer, 3843 Central Avenue.

One of the Ocean City homes a lucky family will win a week's vacation to stay in this summer.

OCEAN CITY, N.J. — The Ocean City Tourism Commission and the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce have again joined forces to promote “America’s Greatest Family Resort” in the “Ocean City Free Family Vacation Contest.”

This year, the contest has been expanded to offer 11 free vacations (previously eight) in which 11 different families will each be awarded a fun-filled, week-long family vacation, $500 in spending money, and a gift basket filled with more than $500 worth of Ocean City items.

Members of the Ocean City business community are donating prizes to fill a wonderful gift basket for each of the winners. Included so far are beach tags, gift certificates for restaurants, amusements, downtown and boardwalk shopping, and local attractions.

“Ocean City is ‘America’s Greatest Family Resort’ because we offer safe, clean, family fun for kids of all ages,” says Michele Gillian, executive director of the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce. “Once people visit Ocean City they return year after year to build wonderful family memories.”

Another one of the homes that's part of the Ocean City contest this summer.

Each of the 11 winners will receive a seven-night stay in a three-bedroom condo that sleeps up to eight people. Pictures, addresses and descriptions of each unit are available by going here.

“The Tourism Commission has worked closely with the Ocean City Board of Realtors and the individual local Real Estate agencies to provide the luxurious condo units for the contest,” says Nick Marotta, chairperson of the Ocean City Tourism Commission, “Winners will be treated to an outstanding Ocean City vacation.”

Entrants may enter one time for each of the eleven weeks per email address. Winners will be randomly selected and notified three weeks before their vacation.  Go here for more information.

While much of the Gallup polls we’ve been hearing about over the past several months have had to do with the public approval (or disapproval) rate of the U.S. Congress, President Barack Obama and the GOP hopefuls in Iowa (see latest polls and more here), a new study done by the organization that has been studying human behavior and nature for more than 75 years shows that Cape May County’s Ocean City is a pretty happy place to be!

(But not the happiest. That goes to Casper, Wyoming, according to the poll.)

Reported today, a three-year telephone survey conducted by Gallup shows that Ocean City residents are the least depressed and angry out of more than 350 “areas” polled.

You gotta be pretty happy to jump into the freezing Atlantic Ocean on New Year’s Day, an event Ocean City hosts every year.

See acweekly.com/multimedia for photos.

With Friday’s royal wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton across the pond on a lot of people’s minds today around the world, we look back at another royal wedding with a Jersey shore link.

It was about 55 years ago when Prince Rainier married Ocean City beach and boardwalk lover, and future  film star, Grace Kelly.

Read all about their fairytale marriage here.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) today announced that the Route 52 Causeway will be closed to traffic between Somers Point and Ocean City for four consecutive nights in each of the next two weeks. The entire causeway will be closed from 8pm until around 6am the following day starting Monday, April 18 through Thursday, April 21, and from Monday, April 25 through Thursday, April 28.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) today announced that the Route 52 Causeway will be closed to traffic between Somers Point and Ocean City tomorrow, Feb. 24, from 8pm until around 6am Friday, Feb. 25. The overnight closure is needed to safely accommodate construction crews as they work on a section of reinforced concrete.  The work has been scheduled for nighttime hours for one night only to minimize any inconvenience to motorists. Traffic will be detoured to the Ocean City-Longport Bridge or to the 34th Street Bridge.