Dear Readers:

Exactly when did it change from April showers … to April and May showers? In any case, hopefully we’re getting the rain out of the way early, clearing the way for a sunny, amazing summer. If you’re just getting down here, welcome back to our favorite place and the Summer of 2024!

As the days get warmer, businesses across South Jersey are gearing up to enter the busy season! All summer long, these restaurants offer visitors and locals a place to eat delicious food, drink refreshing cocktails, and spend time with friends and family. Check out these new and returning restaurants that are serving great food from Seven Mile and beyond!

American Legion Post 331 (Stone Harbor/Avalon) and the Borough of Avalon will present a Memorial Day parade and ceremony on Monday, May 27.

It’s hard to fathom the words “heart” or “service” without Patrick Kennedy’s picture.

The litany of superlatives, glowing credentials, and medals that would dwarf the sight of his uniform do describe Avalon’s 2024 Memorial Day speaker.

Career ascension can be measured many ways.

For Tyler Wolf, the barometer is visual, and literal. He’s a flight paramedic, caring for patients being transported to trauma centers and specialty locations throughout the eastern United States via helicopter.

The Helen L. Diller Vacation Home for Blind Children invites you to the annual Community Open House. The event will be a celebration and a thank you to the community for its constant support. Expect a hot dog cookout, tours of the home, and plenty of entertainment for the kids.

Summer is finally here, and we can’t wait to bask in the sun, go to no-shower happy hours, enjoy nice dinners with an ocean breeze, and finish off each night with some ice cream. New seasons bring new needs and, of course, new must haves. Before you hit the beach or head to your favorite hot spot, pick up some of these must have items that are just screaming summer!

Our island is lucky to be home to two of the most spectacular libraries on the East Coast. But the soothing aesthetics at the Avalon Free Public Library and the Stone Harbor Library are only a fraction of their appeal. In fact, these libraries will be booming with activities, music, kids’ events, author appearances, fitness programs, art, history, and (of course) books for every member of the family this summer.

It’s funny how history has a way of repeating itself. A great local example is the Harbor Square Theatre. There were some doubters locally when plans were announced in 2016 to reopen the long-neglected 96th Street theater as a refurbished, high-end theater/restaurant complex.

In 1974, the Boys of Summer on the Seven Mile Beach and throughout the Jersey Shore were a bunch of young Canadians who earned their reputations in the constant winter of hockey arenas.

It was on a hot, muggy Sunday afternoon in May half a century ago that the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the heavily favored big, bad Boston Bruins, 1-0, in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals at the Spectrum to set off a wild, summer-long celebration that spread to the Jersey Shore, and it still echoes today.

“Don’t worry about it,” the State of New Jersey is on the case. That thought was about as comforting in the spring of 1974 as it would be today. Yes, believe it or not, even back in the “good old days” – you know, the times that so many long for, or in this case, a half-century ago, there were growing concerns in the county and in our towns, specifically. The grass apparently wasn’t always greener.

Rev. David Montanye reflects on the many roads that led him to leadership of the First United Methodist Church of Avalon as he prepares to retire in early June.

Little did the minister, better known as Pastor Dave, realize that delivering basic necessities to neighbors in need, which he did for his grandmother as a boy in Stony Point, N.Y., might lead to a higher calling.

“I’ve been an artist pretty much since I can remember,” says Michael McGrady. “Even as a child I was always drawing dinosaurs, race cars, things like that. It’s just something that was in me.”

Growing into adulthood, McGrady expanded his artistic repertoire as a sculptor and a muralist. These days, he creates primal, evocative seascapes with a paint knife — not a brush — in hand.

The summer season is finally here, and we are beyond ready to go to our favorite stores and restaurants once again. Over the winter, several new businesses have made Seven Mile Beach their home. Check out the latest business buzz in our community and stay tuned for additional updates this summer.

A crowd of about 75 people gathered on the beach at 30th Street in Avalon on April 8, to view the much-ballyhooed solar eclipse.

May 1 was May Day, but it also meant a couple of things to drivers in Stone Harbor aside from the fact that summer was quickly approaching.

First, there’s no more turning on red at certain intersections until Oct. 1. Those intersections are clearly marked.

As the warmth of summer envelops us once again, it brings with it the promise of long, lazy afternoons and evenings spent in the company of friends and family. And what better way to complement these moments than with a glass of wine that captures the essence of the season?

The countdown is over. Memorial Day weekend sets the stage for our march into June and the start of Summer ’24. The yard is tidy and the grill is ready, so it’s time to honor the season and the country with a patriotic picnic. This year, let’s elevate our barbecue with a spread that has guests coming back for seconds.

For many islanders, The Wetlands Institute is a place that’s “always been there.” Some will know us as the place that saves the terrapins. Others, for the summer nature programs enjoyed by their children or grandchildren, or for the fall Wings ’n Water Festival of years gone by. Chances are that the full range of the institute’s efforts are not well-known or understood.

The Weintraub sisters of 32nd Street in Avalon were a force during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Thus they will be featured among others in the Avalon History Center’s “Notable Women of Avalon” exhibit at the museum and in mini-displays around town.