It’s that time of year again, when the weather continues to warm-up and people return to town in increasingly larger numbers. Of course, this weekend should be no exception, because folks love to spend Easter in Sea Isle City – and who can blame them!?

To help families enjoy the approaching holiday weekend, Sea Isle City’s Department of Community Services will host our town’s annual Spring Fling Family Fun Day on Saturday, April 19, from 1:00 to 3:00 PM at Excursion Park, where kids can meet the Easter Bunny and other popular characters, enjoy games and crafts, and participate in other activities that have made this free event very popular in recent years. If you have any questions about our Spring Fling, please call the city’s Division of Tourism at 609-263-8687 or the Division of Recreation at 609-263-0050 – and get ready to “Bunny Hop” your way to Easter weekend!

Another popular event that people look forward to each year is the Sea Isle City Environmental Commission’s Spring Beach Clean-up – which was scheduled to take place on April 12, but was postponed until Saturday, April 26, thanks to last weekend’s rainy weather forecast. The new date for the Beach Clean-up coincides with the Chamber of Commerce’s annual Spring Girls Weekend, which takes place from Friday to Sunday, April 25 to 27 – and I hope as many people as possible will donate an hour or two to rid our beaches and dunes of windblown trash and other debris during the Beach Clean-up, and then reward themselves with a hearty meal or a shopping spree, provided by one of our local merchants during Girls Weekend.

Another event that is custom-made for the springtime is Sea Isle’s annual Arbor Day Celebration, which takes place at 12 noon on Friday, April 25, at our library on Central Avenue. During this free community event, three newly planted trees will be dedicated to the people of our community, and afterwards there will be complimentary refreshments served inside the Historical Museum on the library’s first floor. I want to thank (in advance) the members of the local civic organizations who are hosting this year’s Arbor Day Celebration, including the good folks at Sea Isle’s Beautification Committee, Environmental Commission, Garden Club, Green Team and Historical Society – and I hope they know how much I appreciate their efforts to keep our town green and beautiful! Thank you all!

Looking ahead to the month of May, please mark your calendars now and plan to attend our annual Community Day activities on Saturday, May 3, which will include a City Council meeting at 9:00 AM, as well as free document shredding, a municipal bicycle auction, a “meet & greet” with city officials and local civic organizations, free giveaways, and our annual awards ceremony. Community Day is the perfect opportunity to “celebrate all things Sea Isle City,” and I hope you will join us on May 3 for one (or more) of the events that are planned.

To learn more about Community Day or any of the events I just mentioned, please see the special sections dedicated to each one in this week’s newsletter, or go to www.VisitSICNJ.com – and plan on spending as much time as possible in Sea Isle City this spring!

This week’s “Shout Out” goes to each of the workers who are helping build Sea Isle City’s future Community Center at 4500 Central Avenue. As you can imagine, there are many moving parts to a construction effort of this size, and a great deal of coordination is required to bring a project like this to fruition; however, it will be the dedication and professionalism of the architect, project managers, and the many individuals who are literally doing the “heavy lifting” during the construction process that will matter in the end. I am very grateful for everyone at Bock Construction and all the workers involved with the creation of this important facility – thank you all, and please keep up the good work!

Have a Happy Easter and Happy Passover!

Smile…You’re in Sea Isle!

Mayor Leonard C. Desiderio