{"id":1046429,"date":"2026-09-06T06:40:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T06:40:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1046429\/"},"modified":"2026-09-06T06:40:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T06:40:18","slug":"jersey-shore-fills-with-regional-families-for-final-weekend-before-school-bells-ring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1046429\/","title":{"rendered":"Jersey Shore Fills With Regional Families for Final Weekend Before School Bells Ring"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stock photo via Pexels<\/p>\n

Families from across the Philadelphia region and South Jersey packed Jersey Shore beaches and boardwalks this Labor Day weekend, treating the holiday as a last stand for summer before most local students return to class Tuesday, FOX 29 reported.<\/p>\n

From Ocean City to the Wildwood boardwalk, the long weekend brought multi-generational groups seeking one more stretch of sand time.<\/p>\n

Donna Taylor-Stewart and her husband Sidney, former Northeast Philadelphia residents now living in Williamstown, were among those making the most of the holiday.<\/p>\n

Taylor-Stewart told FOX 29 the beach weather Friday had been ideal, and the couple spent the day eating boardwalk food and enjoying the crowds.<\/p>\n

Sidney Stewart noted gas prices had climbed roughly 20 cents per gallon within a week. He said the family offset the cost by fueling at Sam’s Club.<\/p>\n

Families Squeeze in Birthdays and Traditions<\/p>\n

Richie Noia, 52, of Manalapan marked his birthday at the shore with his wife Pamela and their children, including son Lincoln, who described a weekend itinerary of waterpark visits, a theme park trip, and shopping for squishies.<\/p>\n

Pamela Noia told FOX 29 the plan was relaxed: some mini golf, some family time. Two of the couple’s children said they were genuinely looking forward to seeing friends at school.<\/p>\n

Eleanor Fortino, 92, of Marlton, told FOX 29 the shore has been a family fixture since her children were small. Three generations now make the trip.<\/p>\n

Her son Stephen Fortino said the tradition extends to a third generation \u2014 he has three daughters, one of whom has three children of her own, and the family recently sought a larger shore rental to accommodate everyone.<\/p>\n

Ocean City Businesses Brace for a Busy Close<\/p>\n

In Ocean City, 6abc’s Trish Hartman reported<\/a> Friday that local businesses were staffing up and checking equipment ahead of what many operators call one of their two or three biggest weekends of the year.<\/p>\n

Diana Miguel, a shift manager at Hot Bagels & More in Margate, said the pace gets intense and preparation is everything.<\/p>\n

Chris Clayton, owner of Margate Dairy Bar and Burger, said the priority is making sure staff show up and that suppliers are ready before the rush arrives.<\/p>\n

He noted that from inside the service window, workers barely have a moment to breathe even as customers outside remark on how fast summer passed.<\/p>\n

Staffing was a pressure point for some businesses, with a portion of their student workforce already back in the classroom before the holiday.<\/p>\n

Simone Jeffries of Elkins Park told 6abc the summer felt short but full, describing the weekend as finishing strong after a season of activities with her family.<\/p>\n

Her daughter Sarah reported the water was still warm.<\/p>\n

Young visitor Alexander Manka of Oaklyn was already building an elaborate sand trench with his brother Theodore, who said he was eager to reconnect with friends at school next week.<\/p>\n

Their father Sam Manka called the long weekend a useful pressure valve before fall schedules lock in.<\/p>\n

Wildwood Events Bookend the Season<\/p>\n

Summer goes out swinging on the Wildwood boardwalk.<\/p>\n

The season’s final fireworks fired Friday night at 10 p.m., and the World Championship Skeeball Tournament at Ed’s Funcade is set for Saturday evening with free entry.<\/p>\n

An End of Summer Block Party takes over Fox Park in Wildwood on Sunday, with live music and food vendors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stock photo via Pexels Families from across the Philadelphia region and South Jersey packed Jersey Shore beaches and…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1046430,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5132],"tags":[5229,1448,2830,1311,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-1046429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-america","tag-pa","tag-pennsylvania","tag-philadelphia","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117222731562934601","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1046429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1046429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1046429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1046430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1046429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1046429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1046429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}