GO GREEN!  We All Want

Our Bay Clean. 

  Welcome in the summer season with a celebration of the Barnegat Bay! The 11^th annual Barnegat Bay Festival is sponsored by the Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program with support from our partners, Ocean County College and the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

     Once again the day-long celebration will be held on the beautiful waterfront Wanamaker Complex in Island Heights with the Barnegat Bay providing the perfect backdrop.  Join us for a free and entertaining Sunday of food, fun, and festivities. 

     This year’s theme: Go Green! We All Want Our Bay Clean will be represented throughout the festival.  Festival-goers will learn dozens of easy ways to make a difference each and every day in our commitment to the environment. Go booth-to-booth, exhibit-to-exhibit visiting the many non-profit environmental groups on hand to share valuable information and answer questions about how we can protect our natural resources. Is a cool green job something you’ve been thinking about?  You can even ask about “Green Careers” from those in the know.

Photo of the Glimmergrass Band at the 2007 Festival, by Mary F. Judge                          

     Sit back and relax to the live bluegrass music of the GlimmerGrass Band.  Be adventurous and take a guided canoe ecotour for an up-close view of Dillon’s Creek with an Ocean County Park naturalist (registration required by calling Betsy Hyle @ 732-255-0472).  Not into paddling…then enjoy the free scenic pontoon boat ride along the Toms River every hour on the hour beginning at 11 a.m. (first come, first served. Get your free ticket at the BBNEP Information Booth). 

    What has the Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program (BBNEP) been up to lately?  Come to Town Hall to see poster-presentations of BBNEP-funded projects or watch the short video “Guardians of Barnegat Bay.”   Come join us and make it a great family day!  For more details, click on these links below. 

This information will be updated regularly until June 1st.

Native Plant Sale                                                                                                                                                                                               Low-maintenance native plants in our home landscaping conserve water, filter stormwater, and look great, but sometimes the plants can be hard to find.  Save Barnegat Bay and the Mantoloking Environmental Commission are holding their Native Plant Sale at the Barnegat Bay Festival this year, so it will be easy to get started on your bay-friendly garden!

                                                                                                      Photo of native plant by Linda West

 Hands-on & Recreational Activities

Pontoon Boat Ride along the Toms River                                                                                                         Enjoy a free scenic pontoon boat ride along the Toms River every hour on the hour beginning at 11 a.m. (first come, first served.  Get your free ticket at the BBNEP Information Booth). 

Canoe Eco-Tours                                                                                                                                                         Be adventurous and take a guided canoe eco-tour for an up-close view of Dillon’s Creek with an Ocean County Parks naturalist (registration required by calling Betsy Hyle @ 732-255-0472). 

Fyke Net Demonstrations                                                                              What is a “fyke” net? Find out why this ancient form of catching fish is beneficial for fishermen and researchers today.                          Photo of 2007 Canoe Eco-tour by Mary F. Judge

Seining Demonstrations & Crabbing                                                                                                                                                         Check out the Summit Avenue Beach and learn more about what lives in our Bay and how you catch it!

Ocean County’s Pump-Out Boats help to keep the Barnegat Bay clean by providing a convenient method of emptying wastewater holding tanks and portable toilets on boats.  Stop by the Beach to learn more about this valuable summer service.

Photo of "Waste Watcher" pump-out boat

Barnegat Bay Festival Exhibitors List  from A-Z                                                          

Photo of 2007 Festival Exhibitors, Parkday, by Mary F. Judge

1. 1. American Littoral Society: is sponsoring a DUNK TANK.  Try your hand at dunking your favorite politician and raise money to care for our Barnegat Bay coastline.
2. 2. Atlantic City Aquarium Touch Tank: Touch a variety of local and tropical inter-tidal creatures (look for sea urchins, horseshoe crabs, hermit crabs and more).
3. 3. Barnegat Bay Student Scholarship Program: Find out more about the scholarship program. Meet scholarship recipients who will be on hand to discuss their projects and experiences.
4. Barnegat Bay Watershed and Estuary Foundation: Works to save where we live and play; find out how you can protect the Barnegat Bay watershed.
5. Barlow Flower Farm:  Get your hands dirty- plant a seedling in a peat pot. Drawing for a FREE hanging basket.
6. Berkeley Township Underwater Search & Rescue Unit: Help the BTUSAR celebrate 30 years as one of the oldest and largest organizations committed to making the Barnegat Bay and other water spots cleaner and healthier for people and wildlife.
7. Bluewater Wind: learn more about wind power and how offshore wind farms work; make a paper turbine.
8. Boy Scout Troop 195: This local troop cares about the Bay…check out their environmental shadow boxes. Learn more about how you can make a difference through Scouting.
9. Cattus Island County Park: Take a free pontoon boat ride on the Toms River & Barnegat Bay (on the hour starting at 11 a.m.; bus will transport), or try your hand at seining at the Summit Avenue beach.
10. Clean Ocean Action: Discover how you can be the solution to ocean pollution at this exhibit.
11. Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey: Find out more about how you can protect wildlife in New Jersey.
12. Defenders of Wildlife:  Find out more about this organization that is dedicated to the protection of all native wild animals and plants in their natural communities.
13. Forked River Mountain Coalition: Mountains in Ocean County? Yes there are! Find out where.
14. Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge: Try your hand at tracking an animal while finding out more about visiting one of our local natural treasures.
15. Forked River Tuna Club: Learn more about this local club and its annual Women’s Fishing Tournament.
16. Friends of Island Beach State Park: How can you be a friend to this magnificent state park? Find out here!
17. (NJ) Forest Resource Education Center:  Discover the animals of the forest here; see a special wood-carving demonstration.
18. Greater Pinelands Dulcimer Society: Go back in time with this traditional and historic instrument and music.
19. Greenpeace: Learn more about this international group that came together “to expose global environmental problems, and to promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.” Fun art projects for the kids too!
20. Island Heights Environmental Committee: Meet members of our host borough’s environmental committee and learn how to make better use of your rainwater. Drawing for a FREE Rain Barrel.
21. Island Heights Senior Advisory Committee: Meet some of the local seniors of Island Heights and find out what they’re up to. Drawing for a FREE eco-friendly shopping bag set.
22. Literacy Volunteers: Want to serve your community through volunteerism? Find out more about this valuable service located at Ocean County College.
23. Jacques Cousteau Coastal Education Center: Paint a Fish? Make a T-Shirt? It’s a blast. Try it here.
24. Jenkinson’s Aquarium:  Learn more about Bay creatures while making a cardboard egg carton craft.
25. Lacey Rail-Trail Environmental Committee: Kids will love a chance to play FROG TOSS on the “wetlands pond” as they learn more about protecting our open spaces for recreational use.
26. League of Women Voters of Ocean County will provide voter information and registration forms; also find out more about the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. See if your township or borough is participating and how you can help.
27. Master Gardeners of Ocean County (Rutgers):  What is a Master Gardener? Would you like to be one? What’s involved? Inquire here and get lots of great information about your garden.
28. Marine Academy of Technology& Environmental Science:  Meet a Live Terrapin and find out all about them from the students at M.A.T.E.S.; all while making a terrapin craft.
29. Marine Mammal Stranding Center: Find out about sea animals which need help returning to the wild. Have fun learning while making a craft.
30. Natural Resource Education Foundation: Experience the Barnegat Bay through education.
31. Nelson Sailing Center: find out more about sailing on the Barnegat Bay.  Knot-tying craft for the kids. Drawing for FREE sailing lesson.
32. NJ Lighthouse Society:  Find out what’s being done to save our historic lighthouses and how you can help.
33. NJ Marine Sciences Consortium:   Venture into the “Sand Lab” and look closer into what those tiny grains are really about.
34. NJ DEP Division of Fish & Wildlife: Learn more about the Clean Vessel Act and how boaters can help keep the Bay clean by managing boat sewage.
35. NJ DEP Watershed Ambassadors: Check out the awesome Enviroscape, which is a model of a watershed; see how we all impact our waterways.
36. Ocean County College Environmental Club:  Learn more about this college club dedicated to environmental education awareness and action through grass-roots networking and participation in state and national organizations.
37. Ocean County College Sailing Club: Interested in Sailing? Find out more about the age-old Bay sport by exploring the anatomy of a sailboat.  Buy the recently published book on the historic A-Cats:  A Century of Tradition written by Roy Wilkins.  All proceeds go to the OCC Sailing Club.
38. Ocean County Juvenile Services (R.A.I.S.E. Program): Learn about solar power from the  handmade solar hot water prototype; stop at Summit Avenue beach and try out the hand-built wooden row boat
39. Ocean County Library: Meet the Island Heights Branch: You can read all about everything you find at the Festival…at the Library
40. Ocean County Master Composters: See firsthand how to build a “compost pile” and find out how you can compost at home. Drawing for a FREE Compost Bin.
41. Ocean County Mosquito Commission:  Watch for the Giant Mosquito hovering nearby; find out the ins and outs of mosquito control
42. Ocean County Natural Lands Trust Fund:  Learn more about this program that dedicates a portion of our county taxes to buy lands in Ocean County for conservation and farmland preservation.
43. Ocean County Solid Waste Management:  Find out more about how Ocean County Recycles…are there more things to recycle than you know?
44. Ocean County Tourism:    Spin the Wheel for Prizes…Take the pledge not to litter with Watershed Willie; Make your own Puffy Fish; Find out about all the things to see and do in Ocean County.
45. Parkday: Find out more about sustainable living and how you can minimize your carbon footprint on earth; check out the Pine Barrens pictures for sale and explore the native bog garden display.
46. Reclam the Bay: Have your picture taken in the Giant Clam!  Find out how clams and oysters are grown from seed and why shellfish are so important to the ecology of our Bay. Find out how you can help make their water safer for them.
47. Save Barnegat Bay: See Native Plant Sale (below).
48. Save Barnegat Bay: You probably have heard the controversies about nitrogen in the Bay.  Stop by and find out more about its impact on the Bay and its watershed.
49. Sedge Island Natural Resource Education Center:  Learn more about the opportunities to explore the natural and cultural history of the unique Sedge Island and its bounty of marine life and birds.
50. Sierra Club: Learn more about this national environmental organization which is our nation’s oldest and largest. Get information about the New Jersey Chapter.
51. Toms River Seaport Society & Museum:    Find out more about this gem of a museum which features education and artifacts from our area’s rich maritime history.       
52. Tuckerton Seaport:    The seaport brings some of its history to Island Heights by way of duck carving and beach apparatus drills. Stop by and visit.
53. US Coast Guard Auxiliary: Bring the kids here for an activity that helps them to understand what should and should not go in the water and why water safety and cleanliness is important.
54. Volunteer Auxiliary for Animal Shelters:  Stop by the shade trees and meet some of the adorable dogs looking for new homes.

SHOP ‘TIL YOU DROP with our Arts & Crafts Vendors

1. Ann-Made Art features "bracelets with a conscience" made from recycled soda tabs with various stone and glass bead embellishments.

2. Seashore Ceramics offers items with emphasis on marine life and seashore themes.

3. Brownie’s Woodcrafts offers scroll-saw wood puzzles (animals, sea life, dogs, etc.), as well as angels, fish, welcome signs and more.

4. JD Enterprises-Art offers acrylics on canvas, found objects and photography; all shore themed or tropical.

5. DiPaola Designs features handcrafted beaded jewelry.

6. Earth Groomers, Inc. is Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA)-accredited and specializes in Organic Lawn Care.

7. F & M Novelties offers Sand Art for the Kids.

8. Frank Finale will be selling his books about the Jersey Shore. Find many stories, paintings, and poems as you leaf through these books which celebrate the natural beauty of the Jersey Shore.

9. Shaklee will demonstrate go green products for cleaning your home.

10. Abbie Galie designs T-shirts, jewelry, buttons, mirrors, and magnets with earth-friendly messages.

11. Joyce Gagen brings her watercolors of nature, landscapes and seascapes to the festival.

12. Steve Fortunak recycles aluminum cans into fanciful bi-planes and clipper ships spinning in the wind

13. Seahorse Designs brings fun, funky, wearable designs to the festival along with jewelry, lanyards, bookmarks, fobs, and more.

14. Ken Hollins uses his own Barnegat Bay photography to craft greeting cards and magnets.

15. Gems by Les features one-of-a-kind wire-sculpted jewelry.

16. Linda King has earthenware, ornaments, jewelry, wall hangings, and pottery, all with a natural/sea life theme.

17. Treasures of the Jersey Shore offers shells and beach items collected from New Jersey shores and presented in wreaths, baskets, sculptures and jewelry.

18. Little Critters Illustrations highlights paintings and photographs of native plants and animals of New Jersey.

19. Blackberry Apiary brings all things Bees with honey, candles, wax blocks and cosmetics.

20. Wild Birds Unlimited provides for your backyard bird feeding needs; also features recycled bird feeders.

21. Inky Doodles features hand-made tie-dye clothing from infant to adult; dyes are made from plants and insects.

22. Jake Millar of Beaver Dam Creek Boat Company builds classic rowing skiffs and custom canoes and kayaks. The perfect non-polluting way to see Barnegat Bay!

23. Otto Design features all natural handcrafted wooden jewelry made from recycled wood and finished in natural preservatives like beeswax.

24. Darrel Ochs brings back for another year his shipyard nautical gifts, shells, wooden boats, and picture frames.

25.  Why Do Birds Chirp? Are You Listening To Your Back Yard Habitat? Meet Tina Overman the author of this new book for children.

26.  B-B-J Craft offers everything seashell and nautical.

27. Amy Perkins will share information about organic hair dyes for a more natural salon experience.

28.  Designs by Doris features nautically inspired wreaths, mirrors, crosses, ornaments and lighthouses.

29. Sarah Montie Handknits is the work of an Island Heights crafter who uses natural fibers for the knitwear and shells and sea glass for her jewelry.

30. Wired2Save:  Discover another way to save energy in your home; find out more about this energy conservation company.

31. Creative Accessories offers a variety of shore-themed t-shirts, beach cover-ups, beach bags and towels; check out the children’s books and cookbooks.

32.  Island Heights crafter Susan Scott offers handcrafted bead jewelry with sea life and floral motifs.

33. Earthwise Organic Lawn Maintenance offers organic landscaping and an organic mosquito repellent treatment for the yard.

34. Crafter Grace Station hand-makes floral centerpieces, swags and wreaths along with hemp and beaded jewelry.

35. Michael Taylor Art features sculptures made from recycled metal.

36. Ted’s Art Glass is jewelry made from fused glass. Items are based on sea creatures: jellyfish, starfish, seahorses, etc.

37. Two Creative Hearts features homemade jams, butters, pickles, and mini-cream cheese pound cakes.

38. Intergalactic Rose uses hemp & recycled materials to make clothing and accessories inspired by nature.

39. Whimseys:  fabrics and embroideries that had been discarded, but are now recycled in tote bags and fabric collage art journals; also check out the fabric collage pins made the same way.

Special Thanks to R.E.I. (Recreational Equipment, Inc.) in Marlton, New Jersey, for a donation of a Backpack and gift certificate.  Stop by the BBNEP booth for the FREE DRAWING.

Festival Food Vendors- YUM!

Sweet Jersey Kettle Korn

Mystic Flavors Hawaiian Shaved Ice & Popcorn

Arthur’s Hot Dogs & Italian Ice

Bayou Café adds some Cajun Flavors with a variety of Soups, Sandwiches, and Sides

Sierra Club offers meatball, sausage, and steak sandwiches

Pied Piper Ice Cream

Gina Foods Gyros & Shish-ka-Bobs

The Dock Box will keep you cool with all types of cold salads

Directions to the 11th Annual Barnegat Bay Festival

FOR VENDORS AND EXHIBITORS:  Take the Garden State Parkway to Exit 82.  Take Route 37 east to Vaughn/West End Avenues.  Take a right on West End Avenue, go up the hill (keeping “Triangle Park” where the “Welcome to Island Heights” sign is located on your right), and take a left on Summit Avenue, then a right on East End Avenue (almost to the water).  Cross over Van Sant Avenue and take your first left into the police station/municipal complex driveway (just after a small playground).  You will be able to park your car in this parking lot, which is also used for the Post Office.

FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC:  The parking lot at the Wanamaker Complex is reserved for vendors, exhibitors, and handicapped parking.  We have arranged for a free shuttle bus to take you from the Island Heights Firehouse to the festival grounds.  The bus will be circulating all day and we would recommend parking at the firehouse, although you are free to try to find on-street parking in the surrounding neighborhood following the directions above.

If you would like to park at the firehouse, take the Garden State Parkway to Exit 82.  Take Route 37 east to Vaughn/West End Avenues.  Take a right on West End Avenue (keeping “Triangle Park” where the “Welcome to Island Heights” sign is located on your right), and a left on Lake Avenue.  The firehouse will be one block up on your left on the corner of Lake and Maple.

Barnegat Bay Festival Co-Sponsors: