UPDATE: Thursday, May 23, 9:05PM: The location for the debut show in this series has been switched to Ocean City. The FOX 29 show will not be broadcasting live from Ocean City instead of Atlantic City on Friday morning, May 24, with segments between the hours of  7-10am.

Atlantic City was born in the minds of Philadelphia dreamers, including Jonathan Pitney, in the late 1800s. And while the resort has had its share of ups and downs over the past 160 years or so — like any city has — 2012 was a rough one to say the least.

Sandy was one of the biggest blows to the Atlantic City and entire Jersey Shore region ever, but there was also the economy dragging its feet at a snail’s pace to recover from the last five years of economic gloom, new outside gaming competition, Revel filing for bankruptcy, blah, blah blah.

Well, Philadelphia’s 19th century pet project — as well as other Jersey Shore towns — is getting a helping hand from the City of Brotherly Love in an effort to get the word out that the Jersey Shore and Atlantic City are open for business this long Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of the summer season down here.

And it’s not only Philly.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie made his way down from Trenton to Atlantic City’s newest attraction — Margaritaville, at Resorts (pictured) — on Thursday afternoon to discuss, among other things, the “Jersey Comeback” that he keeps referring to.

(Watch out for video from the Guv’s A.C. appearance at acweekly.com soon.)

Meanwhile, New Jersey Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno will host a ribbon cutting ceremony in Sea Isle City on Friday (7-9am), part of a coordinated effort by Jersey shore towns up and down the coast — dubbed Stronger Than The Storm —  to usher in the upcoming season, the first since Sandy struck.

Christie will take part in a ceremony in Seaside Heights.

Other local towns joining the Stronger Than the Storm Party are: Brigantine (on the beach), Avalon (30th St. beach), Stone Harbor (95th St. beach), Ocean City (Boardwalk at 8th St.) and Wildwood (behind Convention Center at noon).

Also, starting on Friday and continuing every Friday through Labor Day, FOX-29’s Good Day Philadelphia show will be presenting a series called “The Comeback Down the Shore.” The series will highlight areas along the Jersey Shore that have rebuilt after the tragic Sandy hurricane struck last fall and are ready for the summer.

This Friday, May 24, FOX 29 will be in Atlantic City to feature the White House Sub Shop, Teplitzky’s at The Chelsea, Girasole, The Knife & Fork and Tony Boloney’s.

The show airs from 7-10am.

This summer, if you want to DO AC, do it a few times — there is a lot to do in the historic seaside resort. Come down and you’ll find out. Trust us.

RELATED: WHERE TO PARTY IN ATLANTIC CITY OVER THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND, SOUTH JERSEY NIGHTLIFE AT ITS BEST!

(Photo: Craig Billow)

Marina Makaron

Tickets are still available for the 2012 (inaugural) Atlantic City Fashion Week fashion show event, which will be held Friday, Sept. 7, at 7pm at One Atlantic at the Pier Shops at Caesars.

The event space, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, will feature an assortment of high-end designers, stylists, retailers, photographers, as well as models.

Atlantic City Fashion Week will feature the following designers:  J Pratt Shoe (New Jersey),  Dez Nolan (Philadelphia),  Marcos Hall (New Jersey), Marina Makaron (Philadelphia), Designerberg Brose (Virginia), Trendsnstyles (New Jersey), Nyree Guthridge (New Jersey), NSD (Philadelphia), Lisa Astor-Obradoiro de Moda (Puerto Rico) and Samina Mughal from Birmingham, England.

According to the Atlantic City Fashion Week Web site, the “goal” of the event is to bring “an annual fashion event that is visually stimulating and a bridge that unites industry buyers and an array of fashion designers” to the Atlantic City region.

According to the site, Fashion Week will host “high-powered shows, parties, and both industry [and] public buying [and] shopping events, all within the framework of America’s Playground.”

Atlantic City fashion Week will open with Fashion’s Night Out.

Tickets to the Sept. 7 event also includes entrance into the fashionSTYLE magazine networking after event. Visit the site to purchase tickets.

Live shows including legendary rock band Guns N’ Roses have become somewhat of a crap-shoot in recent years, but fans hoping for a miracle after the much-anticipated let down that was Chinese Democracy, should see a grand show in Atlantic City on Friday, Feb. 24.

Although GNR now includes eight members, — it’s been a non-stop dramatic soap opera between the original members over the years —  with the band’s mini tour debut in New York in the rearview, GNR fans’ prayers may have been answered.

Although Axl Rose, now 50, is the only original member of the band in its current incarnation, his powerful, undeniably distinct voice made the New York show a thrilling event, according to Rolling Stone’s Andy Greene, who added that Rose “sounded absolutely amazing.”

“Even after all these years, it’s still a little weird to see a bunch of other guys playing ['Welcome to the Jungle'], but once Axl opens his mouth and screams ‘Welcome to the jungle, we got fun and games!’ all that is forgotten.”

The Roseland Ballroom show in New York, which kicked off the current tour, started around 10:20 with opening act Manitoba and GNR hit the stage just over an hour later, playing through to 2:15am.

On Tuesday, Feb. 21, it was announced that Guns N’ Roses will be adding two more dates to its tour —The Electric Factory in Philadelphia, Pa., on Feb. 27, and the House of Blues in Orlando, Fla. on March 3.

Look for a Guns N’ Roses interview in this week’s issue of Atlantic City Weekly!

Remaining Tour Dates:
2/21 The Fillmore (MI)
2/23 The Fillmore (MD)
*2/24 House of Blues (NJ)
2/27 The Electric Factory (PA)
3/3 House of Blues (FL)

(Illustration by Andrew Miller. See his Drew Toonz comics here and inside every issue of AC Weekly)

ATLANTIC CITY — A recent Fairleigh Dickinson University poll of 800 registered voters statewide, taken Oct. 17-23, revealed that New Jersey residents feel safer in Atlantic City than in any of the four major New Jersey municipalities that were included the poll.

A.C. ranked second overall in the poll behind Manhattan, followed by Philadelphia in third, Trenton in fourth, Newark in fifth and Camden in sixth. The poll posed the question, “How safe do you feel?” with responses limited to “very or somewhat” or “not too or not at all.”

Of those polled, 64 percent said they feel “very or somewhat” safe in Atlantic City, while 78 percent gave Manhattan the positive nod. Philly got 59 percent, Trenton 43, Newark 35 and Camden just 13.

Other information measured by the poll indicated that those who have been to Atlantic City within the past year say they feel safer there than those who haven’t been there recently. Three-quarters of those who have been to the resort in the past year (75 percent) said they feel somewhat or very safe, but only about half of those who haven’t been to A.C. in the past year (53 percent) said they feel safe there.

“If New Jersey is going to be healthy, its cities will have to be viable,” says Peter Woolley, a political scientist and director of the poll, in a statement. “One measure of viability is how safe people feel going to those cities.”

ATLANTIC CITY — The Philadelphia Chapter of the Recording Academy is holding an event in Atlantic City on Tuesday, Oct. 25.

Atlantic City Weekly received a detailed invite earlier this week, and because we think this event — to be held at the Prohibition nightclub at Resorts from 7-10pm — will be a very unique opportunity for local musicians to network, learn about the GRAMMY process and — exclusive for this event — get expert tips on promoting your music via social media, here is some additional info. (See actual invite below)

The Atlantic City region is rich with music talent and the Philadelphia Chapter of the Recording Academy is currently interested in reaching out to the music business professionals in the southern New Jersey region (in addition to Delaware, and other parts of Pennsylvania).

The In the Mix event scheduled for Resorts is the first GRAMMY event in Atlantic City in at least six years and shows that the Philly chapter is again curious as to just who’s out there in the A.C. region — whose writing, performing and recording original music; who is making waves; who is successfully marketing themselves via social media such as Twitter, Bandcamp and Facebook, etc. .

Atlantic City may be the entertainment capitol of the world (OK, maybe just the country), with all of the top-notch concerts coming through town year round and the many respected industry pros working in our market (not to mention those from our area who have moved away in recent years to Nashville, Los Angeles or New York and hit the big-time; Taylor Swift, who used to summer in Stone Harbor, Cape May County, comes to mind, not to mention mega-star producer and multiple GRAMMY winner Rodney Jerkins — click here for an old AC Weekly interview with Mr. Jerkins), but what the area lacks is enough support for local musicians to perform original music (and get paid for it.)

There are some great recording studios tucked away in little alcoves around the region — some in people’s homes) and opportunities for original musicians are out there if there is enough steam behind the performer.

That’s where the Oct. 25 In the Mix event comes in.

It will include a discussion on using social media to promote local artists (led by Alexandra Golaszewska from Eastern Star Communications) and will likely attract a who’s-who of music industry insiders from the Atlantic City/Cape May areas, in addition to (obviously) Philadelphia, as the executive director of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Recording Academy, Mark Schulz, is spearheading this effort and will be there to talk about the GRAMMY process and provide information on becoming a member of the Philly chapter.

So, if you want to mingle with Grammy winners, producers, musicians and other music industry professionals, mark Oct. 25 on your calendar.

Click here to visit Atlantic City’s Local Music Guide, where you can find more than 100 local artist pages, including bios, audio, photos and more. The guide is a great tool for local artists to promote themselves in one place and for managers and booking agents to find out more about the local talent that’s out there — from all genres.  — Jeff Schwachter, editor (and musician), Atlantic City Weekly

Philly’s Joe Conklin and Big Daddy Graham will be at Borgata tonight in Atlantic City.

Here are some funny Conklin clips: