Sara’s Fest Attracts Family Crowd

SEA ISLE CITY – On June 22, Sea Isle City’s Division of Tourism hosted the 2016 Sara the Turtle Festival at Excursion Park. Hundreds of families saw live animal exhibits, environmental displays, a “Diaper Derby” crawling contest for babies, sprinting races for older children, live music, and other entertainment. 
As families entered Excursion Park, they were greeted by a stilt walker, a large bounce-house, face painters, a sand art booth, and a series of eco-stations manned by members of local environmental organizations, including Sea Isle’s Terrapin Rescue, Beachcomber Guides, and Environmental Commission. Representatives from the Wetlands Institute, Marine Mammal Stranding Center, and Sea Turtle Recovery also offered information and hands-on displays.
Additionally, families also closely examined a variety of wild critters, such as hissing cockroaches, tarantulas, crocodiles, a screech owl and other animals that were brought to the festival by New Jersey Nature Wildlife Sanctuary.
During the Diaper Derby, which featured eight babies, contestants were lured to the finish line by cheering family members.
First place winner was Kylie Sebastian, 11 months, of Fairless Hills, Pa.  Sebastian was followed by her twin sister Kayla Sebastian, second place; and Ella Jane Hobaugh, 12 months, of Indianapolis, Ind., third place.
Each winner received a trophy from the Tourism Office and a “Save the Turtles” T-shirt from the Sea Isle City Environmental Commission.
Later, during the sprinting races on the JFK Boulevard Beach, children competed by age on a sandy race course that was lined with cheering parents.
The first place winners in each age group were Zach Taylor, 12, of Spring City, Pa.; Nick Ellis, 11, of Bethlehem, Pa; Caitlin Boland, 10, of West Chester, Pa.; Luke Armstrong, 9, of Pottstown, Pa.; Jimmy Boland, 8, of West Chester, Pa.; Lincoln Huss, 7, of Harleysville, Pa.; and Talan Lesher, 6, of Schuylkill Haven, Pa.; Donovan Huss, 5, of Harleysville, Pa.; Mackenzie Vandever, 4, of Dennisville; Paul Carin, 3, of Chicago, Ill.
Also during the festival, Karen and Dick Buckley, of The Turtlesingers, entertained the crowd by staging a “turtle sprinting contest” and singing a variety of songs that taught kids about the many varieties of turtles in the world and their eco-systems.