Smilestones
PARTY ON PRINCETON HARBOR A HIT AGAIN
Spread over several bayside properties on Princeton Harbor in Avalon, it just may be the biggest party on the island every summer, and it’s become a tradition on the Seven Mile Beach. The event formally known as Dave Day this year was held Aug. 19. Proceeds still go to charity, but it is now intended to celebrate all dearly departed friends and relatives. It features live music, DJs, beverages, food, and prizes, and has raised more than $100,000 for charity. Aside from being a great time for attendees, it might also be the best-controlled party on the island. Nice job, guys!
TED, YOU MADE OUR DAY!
It’s an amazing August Sunday morning in Stone Harbor. Blue skies, cool breeze, and more than 250 runners/walkers are waiting to begin the Harbor Hustle road race.
Just when you think the day can’t get any better, 4-year-old Ted Park pulls his father Shawn up to the corner where three Stone Harbor Police Officers are on duty. Ted already has his hand extended when his father says, “Hi, my son would like to thank you.”
The officer closest melts into a crouch that takes him down to Ted’s eye level. They exchange a handshake and a few words. Ted appears to be a man of few words. His father Shawn would later explain, “He sees police officers all over town. So, he always waves. Sometimes they will say something to him. He loves it.”
We understand that occasionally Ted even scores a miniature toy police car. And just because you were in the right place at the right time, an amazing morning gets even better. Thanks, Ted!
AND THEY’RE OFF ...
This is the start of the 1-mile run in the Stone Harbor Property Owners Association’s Harbor Hustle on Aug. 20. A total of more than 250 people competed in the 5K, 1-mile run, or 1-mile walk.
GARDENING STAR PAYS A VISIT
Famed gardening guru Mike McGrath was in town for an entertaining and informative evening July 31 at Surfside Park, presented by the Avalon Free Public Library and the Avalon Environmental Commission. McGrath is the host of the nationally syndicated weekly public radio show, “You Bet Your Garden.” An hour of “chemical-free horticultural hijinks,” this popular program has been on PBS39 since 2018. From 1993 through 1997, McGrath was the regular gardening expert on the weekend edition of “The Today Show,” Saturday mornings on NBC. He has also appeared on “NOVA,” “Good Morning America,” “CBS This Morning,” PBS “HealthWeek,” CNN, Fox, and as a regular contributor on the weekly PBS TV series “Your Organic Garden” and the Discovery Channel’s “Home Matters.” At Surfside Park, McGrath spoke and took questions from the audience about anything and everything gardening.
Tying The Knot
MASTRACCHIO-SULLIVAN NUPTIALS
Nicole Mastracchio and Mac Sullivan are getting married in October at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia. Both are graduates of Villanova University. Mac is an asset manager at Campus Apartments and Nicole is a marriage and family therapist at LifeStance Health in Philadelphia. Nicole is the daughter of Jim and Yvonne Mastracchio, of Fairfax, Va., and Avalon. Mac’s parents are Tom and Mary Carol Sullivan, of Atlanta. The couple became engaged in June 2022 in Avalon, their favorite place. They live in Philadelphia and have a home in Avalon, where they have been coming for more than 20 years.
SEVEN MILE BEACH ICONS
“Uncle” Bill O’Hara (left) and Flyers legend Bernie Parent no doubt were discussing pancakes and pucks at Bill Whitmore’s Summer celebration of the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation in Avalon. To learn more about the foundation and the amazing work that it does, log on to sniderhockey.org.
MARGARITAVILLE IN AVALON
It was a great night to be a Parrothead when the Jimmy Buffett tribute band Parrotbeach filled Surfside Park on Aug. 17, for Thursdays at Surfside, the Avalon Department of Recreation’s free concert series. This show, which included Buffett’s greatest hits, was presented by the Avalon Free Library.
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Everyone dreams of their castle by the sea ... but here, someone took it very literally. This work of sand art was located on 103rd Street at the waterline and was about 10 feet wide at the base and at least 7 feet high. From the rake marks going around it, it appears that the Stone Harbor Department of Public Works also appreciates the effort that went into it.