POINT PLEASANT BEACH – The 48th Annual Festival of the Sea took over the streets of Downtown Point Pleasant Beach, offering hundreds of craft vendors, live music, a beer & wine garden, and local restaurants with booths serving delicious food.
A rain date was set, but it wasn’t needed. Rain, always a factor in outdoor events, held off for the day, with overcast skies, a light wind, and temperatures holding steady in the low 70s.
The festival took place on Arnold Avenue in Point Pleasant Beach, with a few side streets also used. Free shuttles ran from noon until 7 p.m., with buses departing from the Point Pleasant Boro High School Parking Lot and dropping off at various public parking spaces. Many early visitors walked from surrounding side streets to avoid the larger afternoon crowds.
Local restaurants served their favorite bites throughout the day. Businesses such as Joe’s Surf Shack, The Boatyard, Beacon 70, brandi: innovative American cuisine, Sinners Steakhouse, Point Lobster Co., Joe Leone’s, Atlantic Offshore Fishery, and JSBBQ offered wonderful-smelling delights to an eager public. Places like Shore Fresh Seafood Market and Point Oyster offered fresh Raw Bar options for those wanting iced-down clams and oysters.
Other food favorites like Pickle Culture (pickles by weight and on a stick), hot kettle corn, lemonade stands, and other delectable treats were on offer up and down the street.
For live music aficionados, the music schedule ran all day. The line-up included a DJ for the first two hours, followed by Dalton & Son, Heidi Erin, Desert Jellies, and the Justin Jordan Band.
Perhaps the most appealing part of the event was the craft vendors, whose tents lined Arnold Avenue and beyond. Local artisans offered their handmade creations to the public. Anyone looking for a special piece of art or sculpture could find one-of-a-kind items.
Michael Wales, owner and operator of Wales Artworks, was one such vendor. His unique artwork features custom wall pieces made from oriented strand board. The boards are compressed wood flakes pressed into a thin board. These wooden boards are used in construction, but Wales uses them to create art.
For this artwork, he takes a sheet of board, with an image in mind, and uses charcoal and ink to shade it into the wood. Wales can create beautiful images without drawing them first. He creates the image as he works.
“I start with an image in mind, a reference usually, and I use charcoal and ink to shade or draw the image in,” said Wales.
Wales, who’s been in business for about 5 years, brought a large selection of his art to the festival. The larger pieces can take up to 40 hours to create with stunning details up close.
“I have 9 total pieces with me today. The smallest I have is 24 x 24 inches, and the largest is 30 x 40 inches. I do all the work you see, from the artwork itself to the framing and the epoxying. The epoxy is a 72-hour process.”
To see some of his artwork, visit: walesartworks.com
Many visitors come to art fairs to buy handmade pottery. LaPlaca Pottery Works had two stands at the event. Denise and her husband Eric LaPlaca have been in business for 25 years, selling handmade pottery housewares.
The ghosts and pumpkins were popular sellers. “It takes about, give or take, because there’s a firing process, 2- 2.5 hours to make one,” said LaPlaca. “We do a different line (of pottery) every year, so we have some newer things this year. We try to keep it fresh.”
To see some of their creations, visit: laplacapotteryworks.etsy.com
One of the more unique artisans at the festival was The Art of Algae by Eric Wehmuier. His creations have a distinct look. He uses local algae, or types of seaweed, and adds them to paper. The results are gorgeous artwork with a scientific appeal. Each one is different from the next because the algae is different in each piece he creates.
“Everything is sustainable and locally sourced,” he said. “What I’ll do is collect the algae and put them on a special press with cardboard and newspaper, everything to soak up the moisture, and leave it on the press for a few days, and after I peel it off – the algae will stick to the paper.”
Wehmuier, who said the process is known as algae pressing, similar to flower pressing, has a marine science background. He said he uses a UV coating on the paper to protect the algae. He also said each piece takes about 2-3 days per item, creating a visually unique framed piece of art.
To see some of his work, visit: instagram.com/the_art_of_algae
Carly Riehl of Seafolk Supply has been in business for about 5 months. This was one of her first events of the fledgling business. She specializes in custom flags. “I hand-cut, paint, and sew all of our flags,” said Riehl. “So, they are all custom pennant flags. They are custom for the local towns in New Jersey. We can do fish-themed, surfing-themed; we are very beachy here.”
Riehl said all her creations are for indoor use only, for now. She is working on making them for outdoor use in the future. To see some of her creations, visit: seafolksupply.com
For those interested in food-related items, Tyler and Jess Lucas of Trees to Dreams have your next household item.
“We make anything that’s familiar, but we kind of go over the top with it,” said Tyler Lucas. “One of the main things is charcuterie boards, but instead of the normal size, we make them 6 feet long. Everything that we do is to make an impression. You gotta stand out somehow. What we make is to try and stand out to get a double take from people.”
Lucas said everything is made by hand. The best sellers include his cork boards with designs on them. They are easy for people to pick up, said Lucas. Other items are more unique, like his handmade mugs and huge charcuterie boards. They can take up to 6 hours to make by hand, Lucas said. Each piece is made from various woods and can come in several stains or colors.
To see some of his work, visit: treestodreams.com
For those interested in future events in Point Pleasant Beach, visit: pointpleasantbeachchamber.com
