Stephen Silver
If it’s summer, it means that many Philadelphia-area Jews are headed “down the shore” at some point and, as usual, the local calendar is full.
This year, the Jersey Shore’s most iconic attraction, Lucy the Elephant in Margate, is celebrating its first summer since the completion of its 15-month renovation in 2022. The “new” Lucy was unveiled in December.
As Rich Helfant of the Save Lucy Committee told the Exponent last year, the famed six-story elephant on Atlantic Avenue received “a whole-body lift,” which required scaffolding that covered up Lucy last summer. Lucy’s 142nd birthday party is set for July 22, featuring “The Multi-Million Dollar Makeover.” In addition, “An Intimate Evening of Art,” featuring work by Jon Baker, is scheduled for June 17.
“Yes, the exterior work is completed, and Lucy looks amazing,” Helfant said.
The next phase, starting in the fall, will include replacing Lucy’s gift shop building.
Meantime, for those whose visits to the shore include time in Atlantic City, there’s going to be a new hotel there. Sort of. Nobu Atlantic City is a restaurant and “distinct hotel experience” on the top three floors of the Caesars Centurion Tower, part of Caesars in Atlantic City. It’s scheduled to open sometime this summer.
Also in Atlantic City, the Las Vegas-based Spiegelworld this June will open The Hook, a theater-and-restaurant concept that’s also part of Caesars. It features a live show — which the company describes as “Atlantic City’s first-ever permanent entertainment residency” — and a restaurant and bars. The Hook is on the former site of the 1929-built Warner Theatre and has recreated part of its famed exterior.
And further up on the Boardwalk, the Showboat Resort hotel in Atlantic City will open a new indoor waterpark called Island Waterpark this summer. It will feature attractions for both kids (waterslides, a lazy river) and adults (multiple swim-up bars, a nightlife destination at night).
Farther to the north, the husband-and-wife Broadway star tandem of Jeremy Jordan and Ashley Spencer is set for a concert on June 17, at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center in Deal, New Jersey. Jordan, Jewish on his mother’s side, has played numerous prominent Jewish roles on stage and screen, most recently in the movie “Spinning Gold.”
The following month, at the Milton & Betty Katz Jewish Community Center in Margate, the renowned Israeli-American chef Michael Solomonov of Zahav and other restaurants will appear for “An Evening with Michael Solomonov” on July 6. Solomonov will discuss his book “Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking,” and raise money for Camp By The Sea.
And on July 20, the Katz JCC will host an event with Philadelphia’s most beloved modern-day Jewish sports figure (at least for the moment): Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman. Roseman is the guest of honor at the Eighth Annual Jackie & Hank Herskowitz Sports Night, ahead of the team’s training camp.
On June 29, Chabad in Ventnor will host a screening of the new film “Myron Sugerman: The Last Jewish Gangster,” with Sugerman himself in attendance, where the one-time associate of Meyer Lansky will “tell the story of the Jewish Mob and their contributions to the betterment of the Jewish people.”
The Jewish Federation of Ocean County will host an event to celebrate Israel’s 75th anniversary on June 8, including a visit by the Tzofim Friendship Caravan. The event will feature “delicious Israeli food.”
The Philadelphia-based “Word Mavens,” Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, are appearing at Beth El Synagogue in Margate on June 28 to share funny stories about Jewish words. The two are authors of the book “The Whole Spiel: Funny Essays About Digital Nudniks, Seder Selfies and Chicken Soup Memories.”
The Shirat Hayam congregation in Ventnor will host its “Devotion by the Ocean” Kabbalat Shabbat services on the beach on five Fridays this summer, on the beach behind the Ventnor Library. Conservative-led services on June 30, Aug. 4 and Aug. 18, with Reform-led services set for July 28 and Aug. 11.
On June 24, Margate will host Beachstock, described as “the planet’s biggest beach party.” New this year is an “anti-surf contest surf contest” called the Red Bull Foam Wreckers Soft Board Surf Classic. The event is free, and several area businesses, such as Margate Dairy Bar and Burger, Tony Baloney and Vagabond Kitchen and Taphouse, will provide food.
And the biannual Ventnor City Garden Tour, presented by the Ventnor Beautification Committee, is set for July 15, with a rain date the following day. The tour will visit around two dozen locations around Ventnor City.
Stephen Silver is a freelance writer.
