Cape May fetes its Coast Guard ties with Community Festival this weekend

Cape May County is celebrating its unique role as the home base for the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center with a weekend-long festival.
 
The base is the only recruit training center for the U.S. Coast Guard in the nation.
 
The Cape May Community Festival kicks off on Friday, May 8 at 5:30 p.m., with a military parade and flyover at the training center.  Cape May will be declared a Coast Guard Community by Commandant Admiral Paul Zukunft during a proclamation ceremony.
 
On Saturday, the training center will offer tours of Coast Guard cutter ships, trolley tours of the base and boat tours of the harbor.  There will be plenty of exhibits and displays, plus search and rescue demonstrations.  
 
Barbecue and other festival food vendors will be on hand, together with live music entertainment and kid-friendly activities.
 
Later Saturday night, head over to Cape May’s Convention Hall for a concert and movie (The Guardian) on the beach at 8 p.m.
 
The festival wraps up on Mother’s Day over at the Cape May-Lewes Ferry Terminal in Lower Twp.  besides floral and other interactive exhibits, there will be a special Keg ’n Eggs Breakfast to honor all Moms and Coast Guard families.
 
The event is free and open to the public.  Photo IDs are required for adults for entrance into the training center.  For ship tours, baby strollers are not permitted, neither are open-toe shoes or high heels.
 
Friday, May 8, 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, May 9, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday, May 10, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. – 1 Munro Ave., 714 Beach Ave., Cape May, N.J. and 1200 Lincoln Blvd., North Cape May., N.J.
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This post is part of our South Jersey Events Listing