The summer season of the Borough of Wildwood Crest’s Centennial Year is set to come to a spectacular close as the borough hosts Centennial Celebration Weekend on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 27-28.
The event will take place at Centennial Park, Fern Road and Ocean Avenue and is FREE and open to all ages.
The festivities begin Friday evening, Aug. 27, with a special free outdoor concert featuring the Joe Baione Group at 7:30 p.m. Also a music educator, clinician and producer, Baione is a professional jazz vibraphonist backed by a talented group of jazz musicians who is sure to deliver a highly energetic and creative jazz performance. Over the years, Baione and his band have played at various jazz festivals throughout the region and beyond and have performed at such venerable concert halls as the Lincoln Center in New York City and the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia.
The rest of the Centennial Celebration Weekend activities will be held Saturday, Aug. 28, featuring live music from two bands, a performance by a popular string band from the Philadelphia area, children’s activities, a bike parade and more.
Saturday’s schedule begins at 5 p.m. with a bike parade around the perimeter of Centennial Park. The parade is open and free to the public. All participants must decorate their bikes for the Centennial. Categories include: tikes on trikes (or training wheels): up to age 5; two-wheelers – up to age 12; tricksters – ages 13-29; the over 30 crowd – ages 30 and over; grandsters on trikes – ages 50 and over. Registration for the bike parade begins at 4:30 p.m. at the park. Ribbons will be awarded to the winners.
Following the bike parade, local rock band Twelve:01 will take the stage on the park’s new entertainment pavilion at 5:30 p.m. Twelve:01 is a classic and contemporary cover/original rock and pop band that enjoys a strong following in Cape May County.
At approximately 6:45 p.m., the Hegeman String Band, straight from Broad Street in Philadelphia, will march into the park and play everyone’s New Year’s Day favorites. A group of approximately 40 members that was first established in 1920, the Hegeman String Band regularly performs at various festivals, community parades, charity functions and more in addition to its annual appearance in the world-famous Philadelphia Mummers Parade on New Year’s Day.
The event culminates with a live concert performance by Bandstand at 7:30 p.m.
