Day Trip: LBI Kicks Off Summer This Weekend With Official Opening Celebration

When does beach season officially start? This Saturday, according to LBI's Soar into Summer event.

The day-long celebration, organized by the LBI Region Destination Marketing Organization, kicks off the season with family events at businesses and organizations up on the island and on the other side of the bay.

A kite-flying contest begins at 10:30 a.m. at the 17th Street beach entrance in Ship Bottom, offering prizes like beach badge sets and theater and film tickets to the top three kite designs.

Oceanside Bait and Tackle will offer a surf fishing demonstration at the same place and time, and Island Surf and Sail will show off various water sports.

At 11 a.m., Congressman John Runyan and others will gather on the 17th Street beach to snip a ribbon and officially open the island's beaches for the season.

Afterward, attendees can explore a traditional sneak box, a flat-topped duck-hunting boat designed on Barnegat Bay 175 years ago, which will be brought in for display by the Tuckerton Seaport.

There are more fun activities and chances to snap up savings:

• Sidewalk sale outside Ship Bottom shops.
• A 1962 Corvette Convertible – "the classic summer ride" – will be on display from 10:30 a.m. to noon on the island, and more vintage cars will be at the Causeway Family of Dealerships in Manahawkin until 3 p.m.
• Echoes of LBI magazine will host a beach bucket contest at 2 p.m. at Things A Drift, 406 Long Beach Blvd. in Ship Bottom. Antique buckets will be judged at 2 p.m. and children's decorated buckets at 3 p.m. Grand prize winner gets a $50 gift certificate and a photo in the magazine. Call 609-361-1688 for more information.

To learn more details about the event, head to visitLBIregion.com or call the Southern Ocean Chamber of Commerce at 609-494-7211.