Nathan Colmer | The Van Dyk Group
C: 609.290.4293 | O: 609.492.1511
Long Beach Island is fortunate to host a wide array of events and activities throughout the year. These events are designed to engage the public in the wonderful culture of Long Beach Island and enjoy the LBI lifestyle. New events are being added all the time so be sure to check back often for updates!
Several groups put on events throughout the year on Long Beach Island; however, two of the largest are the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce and Beach Haven Future. You can visit their websites here for news and updates in the area.
The most well-known and popular event on Long Beach Island is the annual Chowderfest in Beach Haven. This event is generally held the first weekend of October and is a rain or shine event. Chowderfest draws crowds in excess of 20,000 people! The weekend-long event highlights the chowder cook-off where local area restaurants challenge one another for the best red (Manhattan) or white (New England) clam chowder! Recently, the selection of soups has been expanded to include things besides chowder!
Hop Sauce Festival is quickly becoming a favorite event on Long Beach Island despite being somewhat new to the LBI scene (the first Hop Sauce was held in 2011). The event draws a vast crowd and is held in the late Spring season on Long Beach Island! The day-long event features local restaurants and craft beer selections in a fun outdoor setting.
There are several surf fishing tournaments throughout the year on Long Beach Island. These tournaments will vary depending on the time of the year and what fish are running. There are cash prizes and a friendly spirit of competition for everyone involved!
New to LBI in 2015 was the International Kite Flying Exhibition. This fun day involved professional kite flyers from all over the world featuring everything from stunt kites to massive kites hundreds of feet in length! It was an exciting day all over LBI and certainly was worth the trip to see all the action.
Celebrate the Season is a Beach Haven wide event featuring a small town Christmas feel at the beach! Local stores and restaurants have special sales and events to promote the area and there are lots of fun community events like "Dine Around the Town" and the annual Christmas tree lighting in Bicentennial Park!
2015 saw the first Fall Festival located in Bicentennial Park complete with local food, pony rides, town wide sales, a petting zoo, and much more!
Festival of the Sea is a carnival-style event that lasts roughly a week in August. The Festival of the Sea features a number of rides and carnival games that can rival even Fantasy Island in Beach Haven!