What’s a Skimmer? Everything You Need to Know About Sea Isle’s Annual Skimmer Festival
The Skimmer Festival Seaside Vendor Craft Market and Antique Auto Show on the Promenade.
A weekend spent in Sea Isle City is special enough as is, but no other weekend captures the heart of the Isle quite like Skimmer Festival. Each year on Father’s Day weekend, dedicated members of the community host Skimmer Festival – a confluence of shopping, eating, on-looking, and good times to be had for guests of all-ages.
“It’s such a great weekend, people are so happy,” says Katherine Custer, who recently retired as the director of community services. “Everybody’s reconnecting with their neighbors and seeing old friends for the first time in a year on the promenade. Skimmer Weekend is just a wonderful event.”
The two-day festival begins on Saturday, June 20, headlined by the Seaside Vendor Craft Market that will be positioned along the oceanfront promenade from 9am-4pm. “Saturday, the big enchilada is the Skimmer seaside market,” Custer says. “We have hundreds of vendors who sell everything from fashion apparel and accessories, to children's toys and fishing gear, arts, crafts, and one-of-a-kind pieces.”
Classic summer bites and beverages will be available for purchase at the food court from 9am-4pm. Many vendors serve boardwalk staples such as hot dogs, french fries, and fried Oreos, while others will mix up the menu with pineapple boats, smoothies, and other unique treats.
There is a variety of activities for families at Excursion Park from 10am-3pm. Kids can participate in arts and crafts by painting at an art bar for free or by building colorful sand art for a small fee. The little ones can also get balloon animals from a balloon artist, jump around bounce houses, and have their faces painted, all free of charge.
Setting the scene for Saturday’s festivities will be the lively tunes of Brass Pocket, a nine-member party band that plays the greatest hits of artists ranging from Earth, Wind & Fire to Bruno Mars. While Brass Pocket serenades Skimmer guests, families also get the chance to capture lifelong memories in a free photo booth and take photos with famous children’s characters.
On Sunday, June 21, the soundtrack of Skimmer will come from the acoustic duo of Marnie & Nate at the Promenade Gazebo. The couple of 25 years plays classic rock covers from bands such as Led Zeppelin, the Allman Brothers, and more.
Skimmer Festival goes full dad-mode on Father’s Day Sunday, as Sea Isle City welcomes dozens of auto enthusiasts to compete in the Antique Auto Show. “A lot of guys are car guys," Custer says. “It’s a great way for fathers and their families to spend the day.”
“We normally have between 80 and 100 vintage vehicles on the promenade,” Custer says. “There’s every kind of vintage car you can imagine. Cars, trucks, sports cars, family sedans, it’s just wonderful to see the variety we get every year.” Beginning at 9am, guests of Skimmer Festival can gaze upon and take pictures with the vast array of vehicles, free of charge.
Contestants get to roll their high-finned antique sedans and flame-varnished hot rods through town in a parade beginning at 1:30pm. Skimmer guests can admire these wild rides along the parade route running south on Pleasure Avenue beginning at 44th Street, making a U-turn at the end of the island on 93rd Street, and running north along Landis Avenue, concluding at JFK Boulevard.
A local artist sets up for the festival.
While Skimmer Festival is beloved for its good times and family fun, the festival’s origin is not nearly as light-hearted. More than 60 years ago, Sea Isle City was recovering from a massive nor’easter. On March 5, 1962, the Sea Isle community, along with the entire East Coast, was battered by the notorious Ash Wednesday Storm. Categorized by the U.S. Geological Survey as one of the most destructive storms to ever hit the mid-Atlantic, the Ash Wednesday Storm raged for three days, killing 40 people and injuring more than 1,000.
As recuperation efforts continued, town leaders were determined to tell the world that Sea Isle City was open for business and stronger than ever. They decided to create the Skimmer Festival, with the name a nod to skimmer hats, which are flat-brimmed straw bowler hats commonly worn in the summer months by men during the Victorian era.
“It was traditionally an image of summertime,” Custer says. “The skimmer hat was an image that quickly represented summer to people. It stirred that old-time feeling.”
The name of the festival wasn’t the only thing inspired by summertime. The annual Father’s Day weekend date was also chosen thanks to its proximity to the beginning of the hot summer season. According to Custer, Father’s Day weekend is “when people really start to feel that summer is finally getting started.”
The festival has operated for more than 60 years nearly uninterrupted, with the exception of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of most of the festival’s events, such as the vendor market and food court. The Antique Auto Show, however, was still held, just with masks and social distancing.
“We roll with the punches here in Sea Isle City," Custer says. “We do our best to keep the fun times going no matter what.”
Through thick and thin, rain or shine, devoted Sea Isle City employees schedule, plan, and execute Skimmer Festival. “My coworkers and my staff work very hard and I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that they’re the ones who organize and host Skimmer Festival,” Custer says.
Even after all these years, Sea Isle City residents and visitors still find Skimmer Festival to be the perfect way to celebrate fathers, rekindle friendships, and strengthen family bonds.
“There’s something for everyone,” Custer notes. “If you like to shop, this is a great event. If you’re a family with kids, this is a great event. If you’re a car guy, this is a great event … All this is happening in the sunshine, the fresh salt air ... While you’re here, take a walk on the beach or enjoy some of our many businesses in addition to what’s happening at Skimmer … We’ve got the greatest restaurants, we’ve got terrific shops, and there’s no way you can’t have a fun time at Skimmer Festival.”
For more information and event details on Skimmer Festival, visit Sea Isle City’s “Event Calendar” page at visitsicnj.com or call Sea Isle’s Division of Tourism at 609-263-8687.