I’ve often mentioned here how much I love the summer on the Seven Mile Beach. As much as I do, the holiday season ranks a very close second. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve been here to experience it. It’s just a magical time here on the island.

OK, my festive friends. As you gather at the Thanksgiving table with your family and friends, be sure to discuss your plan of attack. Because Avalon and Stone Harbor’s Thanksgiving weekend that existed before COVID has officially returned, with even more events and activities on the schedule. So, eat up, and then start planning!

Festive Friday Events

The offseason on Seven Mile Beach is more magical than ever this year. There is a plethora of festive events planned throughout Thanksgiving weekend and leading up to Christmas and New Year’s. If you are in town, make sure you shop local. Many stores are open and are offering holiday sales.

The clerk working the counter in the Avalon Post Office steps away momentarily to hand a special parcel to Avalon Postmaster Melissa Lomax. After explaining to her who left the package, he adds, “She was very appreciative.”

With the holidays right around the corner, it is time to shop for everyone on your list. When you have a lot of people to get gifts for, it can sometimes be difficult when trying to decide what to get everyone. Don’t worry: We shopped around some of the great Seven Mile stores and found some perfect holiday gift items to make shopping this season a breeze!

The Helen L. Diller Vacation Home for Blind Children celebrates its 50th anniversary with a special family-fun event. Burn those turkey calories with a run through Avalon with friends and family. Awards will be presented to the top runners in each category, and best team costume.

Whenever you are around people who have spent a good portion of their lives on Seven Mile Beach, you almost always hear the comment, “How much this place has changed.” I’m sure there are those who have heard those comments and must think, “Really? How much has it really changed?”

Don’t call me a hero, Steve Harbaugh says. He only did what anyone else would have done in the same situation.

But the fact remains that it was Harbaugh who found the 25-year-old paddleboarder who had been missing for more than four hours. He, his 8-year-old son Zach and his brother-in-law Eric Eisenhart jumped into action.

The Cape May County Park & Zoo is looking forward to an exciting 2023 as it plans for a number of improvements, enhancements, and new animals! With funding provided by the Cape May County Zoological Society, the zoo has successfully completed two major capital campaigns.

Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Stone Harbor is engaged in a project to keep its historic organ playing long into the future.

The church traces its roots back to 1910 when Anna Salvesen invited eight of her son Oscar’s friends to come back to their home on Sunday to play games and learn about Jesus together. The “Sunday School” continued each week, and the group grew to 28.

Avalon lost living history when Rose Wells, 95, died as springtime dawned this year. Mrs. Wells was the town’s longest-living native resident at the time of her death. The nonagenarian lived as a force for her family, for her church, and for the conservation of her community’s history.

Through the decades, South Philadelphia has been the home of the Philadelphia Flyers. But once the Flyers leave the constant winter of an NHL season, chances are pretty good they will make Avalon their forever home.

So, it should come as no surprise that so many Flyers and other NHL players have made Avalon not just a destination for the offseason, but a landing spot for their retirement. It should also come as no surprise that they also make Avalon a treasured tradition during the holiday season.

Summer on Seven Mile Beach will not end quietly when the thousands of vacationers leave the shore just before Labor Day 2023.

Avalon and the neighboring communities in Cape May County will be the center of the pickleball universe when the Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP) Tour hosts its New Jersey Classic in the quiet seaside town, highlighting the end of the always-busy summer season, Sept. 6-10.

Imagine Bryce Harper playing on a local softball team.

That’s the national prominence Stone Harbor enjoys in the sustainability realm with Wally Bishop, the newest Citizen of the Year for the Stone Harbor Property Owners Association.

The longtime resident of 106th Street has more than a passing passion for flood mitigation, beach management, and water conservation.

Ah, holiday TV fare. So many choices. Just like a sumptuous Thanksgiving dinner, there’s something for everyone. Some of us dig into old-fashioned, comfort fare, like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (the classic cranberry sauce of specials!). While others want to sample something new: perhaps the 2022 Dolly Parton TV movie direct from Dollywood (which could be as sticky sweet as my Great-Aunt Abigail’s latest creation — chocolate-covered candied yam casserole. Yikes!)

As a geologist, my perception of time normally takes an incredibly long view, and so I study marsh landscapes through a lens of eons and millennia – and beyond. I often write about the changes to our ecosystems and how those changes affect our coastal communities and the wildlife that visit or make their homes here.

The American Legion Post 331 headquarters in Stone Harbor is now sporting a fresh coat of paint and a series of extensive renovations, thanks to a grant from The Home Depot Foundation.

Greetings, friends. How quickly we have moved from endless summer to season’s greetings. Seems like one day we’re searching for sweaters while sipping on pumpkin lattes, and the next, we’re hustling and bustling our way to peppermint mochas. I’m ready, and it’s about time we plan a little holiday gathering.

Shorebreak Cafe is a bakery that offers your favorite style of coffee, homemade treats, and savory eats to enjoy any time of day! Pastries are baked fresh every morning along with made-to-order breakfast sandwiches and more. Shorebreak Cafe is the local place to grab something quick on your way to the beach or while you’re out for a walk.