By ANDREW GOUDSWARD
News Editor
Long Branch held its 23rd annual Oceanfest festival yesterday to commemorate America’s Independence Day.
The celebration featured jewelry and clothing vendors in tents, boardwalk food and live music and concluded with a fireworks display over the ocean.
Every year, the event draws 200,000 people to a stretch of real estate spanning from Seven Presidents Beach to the Ocean Place Spa and Resort, making it the largest Fourth of July celebration in the state of New Jersey, according to the event’s website.
After attending the event for the first time, here are my takeaways from this year’s edition:
Jersey Shore Represent: It’s an Independence Day celebration that’s unabashedly and unmistakably Jersey Shore. Just like celebrations in New York and Chicago, it featured crowds of people packing together to watch fireworks and celebrate America. However, this festival also featured a boardwalk packed with greasy fried food, ice cream and t-shirt stands. It was all that we’ve come to love about our shore, even though some might find it annoying or gimmicky. For most of us, it was about summer fun.
Stronger Than the Storm: After a painstaking recovery from Superstorm Sandy, the Jersey Shore is back. While it’s true that some beach-front homes and restaurants still sit idle and unoccupied even though the summer has begun, games of catch along the beach, full opulent beach-front cabanas and, of course, the iconic planes dragging ads over the ocean, gave the impression that, even if just for a moment, the shore was the same one tourists and residents had come to love.
And Finally, Fireworks: What would the Fourth of July be without fireworks? Fireworks over the ocean are always fantastic. After a day filled with loud music and the hustle and bustle of the masses overtaking the promenade, when the sun went down and the crowds hushed, all that could be heard were the rhythmic waves of the ocean and the pop of fireworks over the clear night sky creating a truly mesmerizing and magical scene.
So, next year if you’re looking for a fun way to go out and really celebrate our nation’s birthday and you’re not afraid of crowds and traffic, head to Long Branch for Oceanfest 2014.