Manasquan Prepares For Beach Opening

The ceremony will be held rain or shine on Thursday at the Manasquan inlet. It is scheduled to start at 4:45 p.m. followed by a kickoff party at Leggett's Sand Bar at 5 p.m.

Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno is expected to attend.

Other festivities are planned for Saturday, May 25 (with a rain date of May 26), including a band on Manasquan's main beach at 7:30 p.m. and fireworks along the North end of the beach around 9 p.m.

This final restoration update before the ceremony takes place was presented to city council members at Monday's meeting.

The list of amenities that are either complete or will be completed this week are as followed:

Bathrooms:

• Ocean Avenue  -  Substantially complete.
• Inlet -  To be completed by May 22
• Brielle Avenue  -  Receiving eight portable bathrooms by May 23, two of which will be handicap accessible.

Parking:

• Second, Third and Fourth Avenue parking lots are to be stripped this week, weather permitting.
• The front of the Pompano parking lot is ready for use. However, the debris removal from the back of the parking lot is still ongoing.

It was also reported that all beach fencing is complete as well as walkways leading onto the beach.

Other beach amenities such as benches, showers, lockers, bike racks, sheds and lifeguard stands are also set to be ready for Memorial Day weekend, council members say. 

Beachgoers at Sea Watch beach in Manasquan will also have new food amenities to indulge in this summer.

Surf and Turf, a self contained mobile concession stand, is set to operate along the beach from Memorial Day to one week after Labor Day.

Their menu items include summer staples such as hamburgers and hotdogs as well as classic novelty foods such as lobster rolls.

Sea Watch Beach will also be home to a new playground thanks to the joint efforts of the non-profit organization SquanStrong and NJFMBA's Sandy Ground, "Where Angels Play" playground project.

The Sandy Ground project is in the process of building 26 playgrounds along the East Coast in honor of the 26 children killed in the Newtown tragedy.

Each playground is dedicated to one specific child who lost their life in the tragedy and is solely designed around the personality of that child as described by their family, council members say.

The playground set to be built in Manasquan will be nautically themed in honor of Olivia Engle.

NJFMBA president Bill Lavin presented a plan for the playground to the council members at last nigh'ts meeting and hopes to have the dedication ceremony held on Olivia's birthday, July 17.

He said he would like to involve the local community and would also like to have fireboats along the ocean during the dedication ceremony.

Without hesitation, Mayor George Dempsey offered Lavin access to Manasquan's fire boats for the ceremony.

Manasquan resident Mary Ryan was visibly touched by the project during Mr. Lavin's presentation.

“I am just so grateful that the children are going to have the opportunity to have a playground again on the beach and I think it is really wonderful that we are doing it in the context of remembering children who lost their lives at very tender age," said Ryan.