After a pleasant morning, rain, wind dampen celebration
OCEAN CITY — Perhaps trying to beat the rain, hundreds of people flocked to Asbury Avenue early Saturday morning for the annual Fall Block Party.
Crossing the bridge, it wasn’t at all clear the island actually was at the end of the Route 52 causeway, since fog shrouded it in its entirety.
But it was bright and overcast on the Avenue, where vendors lined both sides from Sixth to 14th streets, selling cool crafts and hot food, sunglasses and sweatshirts, birdhouses and beauty products.
Looking stylish in her multicolored fuzzy sweater and sunglasses, Carol Taggart, of Cape May and Pennsylvania, was selling birdhouses and feeders made of gourds featuring hand-painted scenes. The pieces were selling for $30 to $80, mostly on the higher end.
The owner of Carol’s Custom Birdhouses said it takes seven months to make one of her fancy feeders.
“We grow them, we dry them out. My husband does all of the drilling, I do all of the painting,” she said, noting the houses have an entry hole while the feeders have a large opening and rim upon which birds can perch.
The pieces are then finished with a polyurethane coat to make them water-resistant.
Taggart said she has attended the city’s block parties every year, spring and fall, for seven years.
“I sell the heck out of them,” she said, noting she often attends higher-end juried shows such as during the Philadelphia Flower Show.
George and Valerie Holzer brought their children, Cicci, 4, and Nola, almost 2, to the island for the event, while friends Piper Price and Ronnie Corropolese were having a girls weekend.
The pair visit the island every year for the post-summer street festival.
“We vacationed here for 20 plus years; we love Ocean City, that’s why we still come down in the fall. This is our girls weekend — no kids, no husbands, no pets, no nobody. This is our time,” Corropolese said.
Dressed for inclement weather, Price said she likes to look at everything.
“It looks like we missed the rain,” she said as the sun peeked out from behind clouds.
As it turns out, she was dressed appropriately and overly optimistic, as the sky opened up and the wind began to howl, drenching festival goers for about a half-hour but not driving them away.
The Royersford, Pa., residents stopped by to check out the products Cirese Clindinin was selling at her Skin Therapist booth. The Irvington woman sells natural skin-care products, focusing mostly on moisturizers.
“I like to make different products that help moisturize your body — products for your face, for your hair, for your feet — and they’re all natural,” Clindinin said, noting she has been taking part in the Fall Block Party for about 15 years.
“The sales are good and the people are loyal. It’s a well-run event and you just feel like you don’t want to miss it,” she said.
Natural products were abundant and included the artistic cutting boards made by Tina Prickett of Somers Point.
The owner of Salty Sailor Co. and her brother Leonard Prickett of Dennisville were selling her goods made of woods and resin featuring an ocean design. She cuts shapes such as whale tails and the outline of New Jersey out of hardwoods such as acacia, bamboo and maple and applies colored resin in layers before using a heat gun to “create the illusion of an ocean.”
She said they are both functional and fashionable.
“People say they’re too pretty to cut on but I correct people all the time. If that were the case, I would use bad wood and stain it to look like that,” she said, noting the hardwood creates a clean and durable cutting surface.
Prickett, who lives across the bridge in Somers Point, said she likes the block party because she sees friends and neighbors, as well as repeat customers.
Bergen County resident Jill Kraft and her son Avery were spending the day shopping and stopped by Aritimi Design Studio, where Northfield residents Andrea Fleegle and husband Mark Berg were selling 3D-printed flower pots brimming with succulents.
Jennifer Hetrick and Aaron Wozniak of Reading were chatting with Joel and Charity Hildebrand, who were selling handmade clay creations at their Inspire Pottery Studio booth.
The couple visits the island every year for the block party and always grabs a new item or two to add to their collection.
“I come see him first thing in the morning every year,” Wozniak said.
“It’s like our favorite thing, we look forward to it every year,” Hetrick said. “We always look for new things because we know he’s doing new stuff might be useful.”
Wozniak said he also enjoys the menu options.
“There’s so much good food along the Avenue. We’ll get a fancy coffee, we’ll find some kind of bread or a muffin,” he said.
Charity Hildebrand said she and her husband travel from Lancaster, Pa., for the event.
“There’s always a good turnout,” she said. “We see return customers, which is fun because you get to know people. This is one of our best shows, we always have good sales.”
Laura Idell, owner of Monkey Bread on the boardwalk, had a booth on the Avenue for the event.
Kaileigh, 3, was checking out fishing rods while her mother, Abby Dickinson of Marmora, was working her uncle’s House of Rods booth.
Northfield gal Ashley Fisher took a break from working at Artisans Body Works to strike a pose for a passing photographer. Working at the Making Waves booth, Addison Burns, Danielle Milburn and Stephanie George did the same. All three are from Ocean City, which explains their smiles.
In front of City Hall, Ryan and Christine DiGuiseppe were taking in the sights with children Caden, 3, sporting some cool shades, and new little sister Isla, 1 month.
The Malvern, Pa., residents said they visit every weekend in the summer and like the shoulder seasons.
“You get to see people that you know throughout the summer. I like to shop, so once he goes down for a nap I will definitely be doing some shopping,” Christine said, motioning at Caden.
Blaine Alderfer and Danielle Brown of Nutty Novelties shared a laugh during a short down time in between serving customers.
Out front of the Crown Bank building at Eighth Street, Chef Charles Kitchen was serving barbecue chicken, ribs, brisket and more. It was hard to beat the chef’s advertising, as the smokey aroma wafted well down the street.
Grabbing a bite nearby were Michael and Danielle Magnotta, of Somerdale, with children Evan, 6, and Parker, 3.
Laurie Zaleski, a new author and owner of Funny Farm Rescue, was signing books outside Sun Rose Words and Music for friends Marjorie Ostrowski of West Chester and Cathy Matthews and Rae Guthrie of Downingtown.
Zaleski said Funny Farm is the largest animal rescue in the tri-state area, with more than 700 animals. Her book, “Funny Farm: My Unexpected Life with 600 Rescue Animals,” tells the tale of her upbringing with an abusive father.
“My mother was going to be a nun and married the devil, my father, so we had to escape,” she said. “We moved into a little shack in the woods and I always promised I would buy her her own farm. She died of cancer just before, so her dream because my dream.”
Outside Grass Roots Music Store on the 1000 block, 16-year-old Josie Tolson was playing guitar — she took lessons at the shop this past summer after she picked up the instrument about a year ago — and singing to entertain passersby.
Her mother, Carly Tolson, happened to be nearby taking photos. She said the high school junior has been singing in different choruses, performing in musical theater and taking voice lessons for years.
The Funck family — Troy, Jena, Emalyn, 13, and Aubree, 10, — were taking a break outside Bungalow Bowls. They drove down from Hershey, Pa., the sweetest city in the Keystone State (sorry, Sugarloaf).
“This is our last hurrah on the beach. We usually wait for the crowds to die out. It’s still warm, nice beach days and no crowds,” Jena Funck said.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff