For Immediate Release
May 21, 2018

MANASQUAN, NJ—The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders gathered with local partners on Manasquan Beach today to announce the beginning of the 2018 summer tourism season.

“Monmouth County is the perfect place to spend time or vacation in the summer and we are ready to welcome visitors,” said Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone, liaison to the County’s Public Information and Tourism Division. “We have miles of beautiful beaches, a variety of parks and historic sites, events and festivals, and towns that provide excellent shopping and dining experiences.”

Speakers at the event included Manasquan Mayor Ed Donovan, Paul Wolf, manager of Leggett’s Sand Bar in Manasquan, Mary Brabazon, director of Belmar Tourism and Margaret Mass, director of the Red Bank Visitor Center.

Last year tourists spent $2.5 billion in the county, which includes dollars spent on food, accommodations, recreation and entertainment, transportation and second homes. That number is an increase of $65 million, or 2.6 percent, over 2016. Monmouth County has approximately 6 million visits each year.

“Nine percent of our local workforce works in tourism directly or indirectly,” said Freeholder Director Arnone.

Freeholder Director Arnone announced the winners of the Monmouth County Summer Kick-off poster contest from the third-grade participants of Manasquan Elementary School. The grand prize winners were:

• First Place - Shuxiang Ni
• Second Place - Patrick Priest
• Third Place - Ella Jackwicz

The students were awarded with summer-themed prize packages with sunglasses, beach towels and complimentary tickets to area events and attractions.

Major events for summer 2018 include the following: 

• Jersey Shore Food Truck Festival at Monmouth Park—May 26-28
• Ocean Grove Giant Spring Flea Market—June 2
• Civil War Encampment and Concert at Allaire Village—June 2-3
• OceanFest in Long Branch—July 4
• Haskell Invitational Race Monmouth Park—July 29
• Monmouth County Fair in Freehold—July 25-29
• Ocean Township Italian Festival—August 8-12      

A full list of Monmouth County events and attractions can be found at VisitMonmouth.com or by following Monmouth County Tourism on Facebook and Twitter.

Visitors and residents are encouraged to use the hashtag #MonmouthSummer to share their summer fun and celebrate all that Monmouth County has to offer.

Photo captions:

Photo 1: Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone kicks-off the summer at the Monmouth County Tourism Press Conference held today in Manasquan.

Photo 2: The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders congratulate the three Manasquan Elementary School third-grade winners of the Monmouth County Summer Kick-off poster contest: First place winner Shuxiang Ni (front center), Second place winner Patrick Priest (front left) and third place winner Ella Jackwicz (front right).