Surfing is a year-round activity near Manasquan, as surfers brave both wintery waves and summer crowds to ride the crests. But with Memorial Day approaching, we thought it a good time to celebrate surfing the Manasquan oceanfront. We've compiled this gallery of YouTube videos of surfers throughout the years. If it doesn't inspire you to grab your board, we don't know what will.

The Belmar boardwalk and beachfront will officially open May 22 with much fanfare, to include a visit from the governor. One of the first towns to drive pilings for a new boardwalk, Belmar saw Gov. Chris Christie present to celebrate the beginning of construction, and local officials said the governor will return to celebrate the official reopening of the Belmar boardwalk. The ribbon-cutting on the beach and boardwalk will be held May 22, and Mayor Matt Doherty said this week Christie will be there. Christie and Doherty held a press conference with local officials for the public to kick-off …

The signs along the Belmar beach and boardwalk still say "Closed," but not for much longer. Less than a week remains until the ribbon-cutting on the Belmar beach and boardwalk. This week, the beachfront bustled with final touches on the four beach playgrounds, striping along Ocean Avenue and installation of boardwalk railings.  Temporary trailers will be in place for concessions, and bathrooms. Though a lighting design is approved, if the project is not complete the use of alternative, temporary spotlights will be in place to light up the boardwalk, officials said. Here is a gallery of all …

Belmar has extended its "Buy a Board" campaign to May 15. The original deadline was April 30, but Mayor Matt Doherty announced recently that the borough would be accepting donations through Wednesday, May 15. "Buy a Board" is a fundraiser that will put names on boardwalk entrances and funds in the boardwalk rebuilding coffers. The "Buy a Board" campaign allows donors to give money to the borough, specifically to buy the actual boards that make up the boardwalk, and have their name displayed at beach entrances. The borough set a deadline in order to have enough time to write out all the names …

Belmar continues to plan for a grand re-opening of its beach and boardwalk, May 22. The final boards are lain and railings are now going up. Concession trailers and bathrooms will be installed for the season until permanent facilities go up in 2014, Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty said. The permanent lighting may not be installed in time, leaving the borough to go with temporary spotlights or another fix, said the mayor, but otherwise the boardwalk and beach will function in time for the grand re-opening. The re-opening is being planned with much fanfare, said the mayor.  The elementary students of…

As the weather warms more people will take to Belmar's beach, but they can't walk the boardwalk to get to the sand, officials said. Police have been shooing pedestrians from the boardwalk, residents reported, and Mayor Matt Doherty said it's because there's an insurance issue that the boardwalk has yet to install railings.  Without railings, the boardwalk remains off-limits due to the liability, he said. The entire length of the Belmar boardwalk was rebuilt after Hurricane Sandy, first driving pilings starting Jan. 9 until today's nearly complete boardwalk. The boardwalk itself lines the …

It's time to change direction: parking in Avon will switch from parallel parking to diagonal parking spots starting May 1. The annual switch to diagonal parking spots comes every May 1 on designated streets, and lasts through Nov. 14. Parallel parking is in effect from Nov. 15 to April 30 annually, according to borough ordinance. It's not the only borough law in effect starting May 1. From then through Oct. 1, dogs are not permitted on the beach. They are allowed between Oct. 2 to April 30. However, Avon law does not ever permit dogs on the boardwalk.

Though the evening gave way to lightning, Tuesday and Wednesday saw temperatures break into the 80s in Belmar under sunny skies. The unguarded ocean was a shivery 44 degrees, but the warm day found sunbathers taking to the unopen Belmar sands with beach chair and towel. Here are some pictures of crowds on the beach in Belmar, where 10th Avenue and south remains a construction area.

The borough will take over running the lockers and parking lot at the Sea Watch after the previous vendor opted out this season. Manasquan Council will vote on the fees at its meeting tonight.  The parking permit would be $400, and each purchaser would get a parking tag that corresponds to a numbered space; that's the spot the tagged vehicle is allowed to park in. Here's more of what the council will decide tonight at its meeting, 8 p.m. in Borough Hall. Lockers vary in size and price to use for the season: 21X31 size is a $170 permit; 21x64 are 22X78 sizes are $325; 35X87 is $410. The prices…

The window to buy your Manasquan season beach badge and parking permit is now through April 6. The prices are set, and customers have until April 6 to head over to the Manasquan Recreation Annex on 67 Atlantic Avenue in this round of sales. Purchases can be made between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. now through April 6. They went on sale April 2. The prices are: Adults (17 and over) $70.00 Juniors (12 to 16) Documentation of Age Required $35.00 Seniors (65 and over) Documentation of Age Required $25.00 Season Parking (Limited) * Car Registration Required $75.00 You must come in person, no mail-in …

The big day should be May 22, when a snip of a ribbon will mark the reopening of Belmar's boardwalk and beach. Hurricane Sandy destroyed so much of the oceanfront that Belmar's main tourist attraction has been closed since evacuation orders were issued before the storm. The long-awaited first day of access should be May 22, officials said Wednesday. Councilwoman Jennifer Nicolay announced the borough is planning a May 22 reopening date, with a special celebration to begin in the morning. "It's tentative, but by the end of the week we should have confirmed it," Nicolay said of the date. …

Belmar is surpassing last year's pre-season beach badge sales by wide margins, in what local officials said is a show of support beachgoers have in the borough's comeback after Hurricane Sandy. Belmar beach badge sales have seen a significant increase with 3,037 badges sold so far for the 2013 season, a 47 percent increase over the sales of the same period last year. And those sales came in although the tourism landmark of the boardwalk itself still needs to be rebuilt. "This is without a boardwalk," Mayor Matt Doherty said. Doherty said these figures show the confidence and interest …

The foundation for rebuilding Belmar's boardwalk — its pilings — is complete today. With the "groundbreaking" on the boardwalk held Jan. 9 with a visit from Gov. Chris Christie, officials celebrated Epic Construction's initial piling sent into the ground, and today officials celebrate the last piling's installation. Borough officials declared the last piling a "major milestone" to the project, which tops $7 million and is hoped to be complete for Memorial Day. Mayor Matt Doherty said the project is on schedule. The contractor, Epic Construction, receives a bonus if complete before April 30 …

With March 1's switch to paid parking in Asbury Park, the city is one of the earliest to put its metered parking into effect. Free parking still exists in many places through April, but you've got to shell out some quarters starting Friday in Asbury Park. The Asbury Park waterfront, the Cookman Avenue corridor and metered parking spots elsewhere in Asbury Park will be in effect starting March 1. The rate for all numbered spaces on Ocean Avenue is $2.00 per hour with a maximum limit of 3 hours. The rate for all other numbered spaces is $1.00 per hour without any time limits. Though the meters …

The first boards of "Spiced Rum" are down, with hundreds more to go. The liquor name is actually the color code of Belmar's boardwalk decking. With many colors of boards to choose from, the borough went with the brownish "Spiced Rum" color as it rebuilds its boardwalk after Hurricane Sandy. Late last week, the first boards were pounded onto the framework, and a real picture of what the finished Belmar boardwalk would look like began to take shape. It's only been about a month and two weeks since the groundbreaking of the Belmar boardwalk occurred, with a visit from Gov. Chris Christie Jan. 9 …

The boardwalk construction well underway, Belmar will take the next step toward outfitting its tourist destination with businesses to shop at: temporary trailers. The trailers were a solution after officials early realized replacing pavillions and oceanfront buildings would not be possible in time for the 2013 season, Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty said. The borough praised the possiblities of the trailers, in use in such places as Asbury Park's boardwalk, but said the hope is still to figure out plans for rebuilding the previous architecture for 2014. At Feb. 20's borough council meeting, Belmar …

Images from today's event around the Fourth Avenue beach in Belmar, where Gov. Chris Christie joined Mayor Matt Doherty and others as the first boardwalk pilings were driven into the ground. Photos courtesy Governor's Office/Tim Larsen.

It's about to get noisier on Ocean Avenue in Belmar. That's the sound of Epic Construction driving 400 pilings a week into the ground, as Belmar pushes forward to have its boardwalk rebuilt in time for Memorial Day. Gov. Chris Christie and Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty will kick off the next milestone in Belmar's rebuilding at 11 a.m. Jan. 9. at the Fourth Avenue beach. Doherty announced the next step of the massive project to replace more than a mile of boardwalk destroyed by Hurricane Sandy as part of his 2013 reorganization meeting speech. And Gov. Christie, at his town hall meeting in Belmar…