The 30th Annual New Jersey Seafood Festival returns to Belmar's Silver Lake Park this weekend.
BELMAR - The first full day of the 30th Annual New Jersey Seafood Festival kicks off Saturday morning at Silver Lake Park.
The popular annual three-day event, which has drawn more than 200,000 visitors each of the last few years, features dozens of food vendors, live music, a wine and craft beer tent, contests and activities for kids.
Below is a list of five things you should know if you're planning to attend this year's New Jersey Seafood Festival.
1. Yes, it is earlier this year:
After Belmar officials had to shut down all traffic into the town for approximately four hours during the final day of the New Jersey Seafood Festival because too many people flocked to the 1.6-square-mile borough for the festival and terrific beach weather, the event was rescheduled for a month earlier - to before Memorial Day - in order to avoid similar crowd-related issues.
"Our seafood festival was so heavily attended that the crowds just got too large for our town to handle, so this year we moved it up to before Memorial Day weekend," Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty told NJ Advance Media. "We don't need a large event to draw people to Belmar during the summer, because as long as the weather is nice our beaches will always draw people. So we moved our seafood festival to a time of year when we typically don't get as many visitors and when it isn't quite 'beach season' yet."
2. Festival hours:
The New Jersey Seafood Festival started with a "locals night" from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday night. The festival is then scheduled to run from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
3. Where to park:
Free parking will be available at the municipal parking lot at 5th Avenue and River Road, the Belmar Marina on 10th Avenue and Route 35, or at Dempsey Park on 16th Avenue. Free shuttles will run through Belmar continuously during the event hours on Saturday and Sunday, with stops at the Marina, the Belmar train station, delivering visitors to the end of Silver Lake at 5th Avenue.
4. The food options:
This year's festival is expected to feature more than three dozen food vendors, including: 10th Avenue Burrito, Angelottis Fairs, Inc., Black Jack Grill, Blossom, Brandl, Carnival Concessions, Chip Stix, Coney Waffle Co., D&D Concessions, Fed by Ed Fun*tastic Foods, Greek to me, Hammerheads, Harvest Specialty, Ike's Famous Crab Cakes, Jack Bakers -9th Avenue Pier, Jersey Shore BBQ, JFGB Corporation, Jonathan's Harbor, Klein's, Louie Linguine, M&M Concession, Maddalena's Cheesecake, Mozzeraps, Mr. Shrimp, Philly Pretzels, Point Lobster Company, Ragin Cajun, Simply Southern, Sweet Pepper, Taste & Tail, Team Concessions, The Dudes Mobile, The Palm Restaurant, TNT Seafood Kebobs, Tony's Clam Bar, Tropical Concessions, Waves on Main, Wild Bills and Zuzu Confections.
5. The weather:
The weather for Saturday is forecasted to be nicer earlier in the day, according to AccuWeather.com, as mostly sunny skies with temperatures in the upper 60's make way for mostly cloudy conditions, a temperature drop and the chance of a heavy thunderstorm.
Some clouds are forecasted to linger for the final day of the festival on Sunday, as temperatures are not expected to top 60 degrees. However, the likelihood of rain is expected to be much less on Sunday than on Saturday.
Rob Spahr may be reached at rspahr@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheRobSpahr. Find NJ.com on Facebook.