If you’re not down at the Jersey Shore during the week of Independence Day, you’re going to miss some of the best of 2018’s holiday summer fun.
To start, the Ocean Grove Summer Band will present a free concert, “Happy Birthday, America” on Sat.,June 30. Showtime is 8 p.m. in the Great Auditorium.
On July 3 Bradley Beach will host its biggest fireworks display ever at the beachfront.
On July 4 fireworks will explode over the oceanfront in Asbury Park.
Also on July 4 over 2,000 participants including marching bands, floats, community groups, civic organizations, local politicians and businesses owners will march in the annual Independence Day Parade.
The parade steps off 10:30 a.m. on Whitefield Avenue. This parade has been hailed by The Asbury Park Press as “One of the best parades in the Garden State.” The Star Ledger says it “Remains a civic extravaganza…and is the daytime star of the [holiday].”
The holiday’s evening star will be OGCMA’s resident organist Gordon Turk, performing a free organ recital, “Stars and Stripes,” starting in the Great Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Audiences can look forward to pieces by 18th, 19th, and 20th Century American and British composers, including marches; nostalgic and mellow tunes; familiar and novel sounds; and a rip-roaring patriotic fina
Turk is also OGCMA’s Artistic Director of the “Summer Stars Series.” He is a devoted champion of the pipe organ; a consultant for the building of new pipe organs and the restoration of historic ones.
On July 5 at 7:30 p.m. in the Great Auditorium, the Imperial Brass, the New Jersey-based 28-piece brass ensemble, will perform with guest soloists Philip Smith and Warren Vaché. Their program will include patriotic fare, showtunes, hymns, and a few memorable surprises. Imperial Brass has been delighting audiences around New Jersey for over 25 years. Originally founded as the Rutgers Alumni Brass Band by alumni Steve Dillon and Jon Korsun with arranger Mark Freeh, the band gave its first concert in 1991.