Notes on Harborfest at Cape May
A slightly abbreviated event on Saturday, June 28th, 2025
Harborfest, Saturday, June 28th, summer hot, steamy, foggy morning in Cape May. Setting up for tabling, Surfrider South Jersey, in its rightful place, celebrating the surrounding waters. The Nature Center of Cape May hosts a few environmental groups. Here we are, on the Harbor, as the charter boats arrive for their morning trips, and the food trucks and vendors set up along Pittsburgh Avenue, which runs along the harbor. All are getting set for the few thousand that enjoy this event each year. Our chapter has been tabling here for the past five years, featuring the Ocean Friendly Gardens program by having kids paint sea creatures on rain barrels. On display are two more barrels, painted and built by the husband-and-wife team of Carol Jones and Bill Stuempfig.
Ever exciting or a little slow, the 10:00 am start time drew a few people. A half hour later, Pittsburgh Ave was closed due to a gas leak from a vendor’s propane tank. People still arrived via a circuitous route. A slight wind shift cooled off the damp air with puffs of ocean breeze. Cape May, as the name suggests, is a cape at the southern end of New Jersey. The Atlantic to the East, Delaware Bay to the South, and the West. Maritime to the max. Want a wind shift? Wait for the tide to turn. Want fog? Cool water next to air a bit warmer - you've got it. Want surf, the cape bends around to the west, northeast wind can be offshore bliss; however, many swells miss Cape May. And the locals love it. They know where to catch it firing.
The Cape waters host a diverse and abundant array of aquatic species. April through May hosts the stars of the nature show; bottlenose dolphins and ospreys drive to feast on Menhaden, known locally as bunker.
Back at the festival, the children stole the show! Choose your critter to paint, stay in the chalked boundaries on the barrel,
Pick your colors, from mermaids to sea turtles, from horseshoe crabs to whales - you name it, the kids were on it. And, for the first time, the parents grabbed a brush and did their thing. Meanwhile, Bill, back at the table, is trying to engage people with Surfrider exploits, finding that selling a rainbarrel to a homeowner who is only here for a few weeks a year is futile.
All in all, a great event, truly what our chapter thrives on, meeting people, showing our love for the ocean, welcoming Margo as she appears out of the harbor.
Carol Jones, non-stop core volunteer, and her partner, Bill Stuempfig, SJSF Vice-Chair. Together, they are our OFG & Mono-filament Recycling Dynamic Duo!