Sea Isle City’s 2013 Sara the Turtle Festival Was Largest to Date

SEA ISLE CITY – The 2013 Sara the Turtle Festival attracted hundreds of children and their families to Sea Isle City’s Excursion Park on June 20. The annual event, which is hosted by Sea Isle’s Division of Tourism, featured live animal and environmental exhibits, a “Diaper Derby” for crawling babies, “Turtle Races” on the sand for older children, a live performance by “The Turtlesingers” and other free entertainment.
As families entered Excursion Park, they were greeted by volunteers from a variety of environmental groups, including the Wetlands Institute, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, the Sea Isle City Environmental Commission and Sea Isle’s Beachcomber Guides. Steve Serwatka of New Jersey Nature was also there with his menagerie of exotic animals, including a Burmese Python, a baby raccoon, a young alligator and other interesting critters that kids of all ages enjoyed holding and petting.
After making the rounds at the event’s environmental booths, kids frolicked inside an inflatable moon bounce, posed for photos with a giant stilt-walker and created souvenirs made of bottled sand. Before long, the crowd was gathering around the contestants of the evening’s Diaper Derby, a crawling competition for babies that is always a crowd-pleaser. The winner of this year’s Diaper Derby was Jude Adams, 8 months, of CMCH, NJ, who charmed the crowd with his cheery disposition.
Next came the festival’s Turtle Races, which had boys and girls running for the finish line on the JFK Boulevard Beach. The first place winners of each age group in the Turtle Races were Grace Bendorf, 2, Barrington, NJ; Zion Dawkins, 3, Green Creek, NJ; Dante Juliani, 4, Vineland, NJ; Brady Strause, 5, New Ringgold, PA; Luke Armstrong, 6, Pottstown, PA; Mark Stango, 7, Boca Raton, FL; Jason King, 8, Belmar, NJ; Ethan Paulukow, 9, Millersville, PA; Landon Shivers, 10, CMCM, NJ; Matt Marino, 11, Green Creek, NJ; Frank Hammill, 12, Haddon Heights, NJ. The festival was held on June 20, in Sea Isle City, NJ.
As the sun was setting on Excursion Park, The Turtlesingers, also known as Musician Karen Buckley and her husband Charlie, captured the crowd’s attention with a turtle race of their own, which featured several live tortoises. After the crowds cheered the hard-shelled competitors across the finish line, The Turtlesingers stepped onto the park’s Band Shell and performed a series of original ballads that both educated and delighted the audience.
According to Tourism Representative Diane Merson, this year’s Sara the Turtle Festival was the largest to date. “We had perfect weather, and everyone enjoyed themselves,” she said. “It was a very successful festival.”
For information about other events taking place in Sea Isle City this summer, visit www.seaislecitynj.us or phone (609) 263-8687.