Cape May Sending Off Summer With Free Beach Concert and Movie

Issue #791

August 28, 2026

In partnership with

Your Backyard's New Favorite Room

Host Sunday lunches outside in spring. Grill through summer nights. Watch football outside in fall without freezing. Wrap up with a blanket and a book, snow falling outside.

The secret is in the roof. Louvers - the horizontal aluminum blades that make up Hansø pergola's roof - open to the full sky or close into a solid, rainproof roof in seconds. Full sun, full shade, or full shelter: you decide, instantly.

And these pergolas are engineered to hold up in real conditions: up to 167 mph wind rating, up to 65 PSF roof load capacity, high-quality aluminum built to last 30 to 40+ years.

Hansø Summer Sale is here: save now 35% on Pro+ and Horizon Smart pergolas plus a free Bluetooth speaker & free heater included.

Your extra room is waiting.

 

In This Cape May Local Scoop Issue…

 📆 Cape May Events

☀️ Cape May Local Weather 

 🚢Cape May Sending Off Summer With Free Beach Concert and Movie

🚒 National Survey Says Cape May Best Captures the Character of New Jersey 

🐦 Wycliffe Gordon, Jon Faddis to Headline Jazz@ThePoint 2026 

September 4th for Cape May to be featured in a Hallmark Christmas Movie

👇 Here’s what’s going on in the Cape May Local Area👇

 August 28

Have an Upcoming Event?

 Cape May Sending Off Summer With Free Beach Concert and Movie

We are in total denial that the end of the season is drawing near. Falling leaves, cooler weather and pumpkin-flavored coffee may have their own appeal, but many of us aren’t ready to trade summer away just yet. We’re still clinging to the promenade in shorts, keeping our toes in the sand and soaking up every last bit of summer at the shore.

Unfortunately, fall seems determined to arrive anyway. That said, Cape May will mark the unofficial end of summer with an evening of free entertainment on the beach over Labor Day weekend.

The city’s Summer Send Off is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 6, at the Cape May Convention Hall Beach, bringing live music and an outdoor movie to the sand along Beach Avenue.

The festivities begin at 7 p.m. with a free concert by Fat Mezz. Live music is scheduled to continue until 9 p.m.

At 9:15 p.m., the beach will turn into an outdoor movie theater for a screening of “The Endless Summer,” the classic 1966 surfing documentary that follows surfers traveling around the world in pursuit of ideal waves and an endless summer.

The event is free and open to the public. Families, residents and visitors are encouraged to bring beach chairs or blankets for seating on the sand.

Summer Send Off is scheduled to run until approximately 10:30 p.m. on the beach behind Cape May Convention Hall, 714 Beach Ave.

The event offers one final opportunity to gather by the ocean for live entertainment as Cape May closes out the traditional summer season.

National Survey Says Cape May Best Captures the Character of New Jersey

Cape May has been selected as New Jersey's most iconic neighborhood in a national survey conducted by the Justin Havre Real Estate Team. More than 3,000 adults in the United States and Canada participated in the survey, which highlighted Cape May's Victorian architecture, walkable streets, seaside setting and tourism appeal. For Cape May, the recognition adds another national accolade during a year already focused on celebrating the city's history and enduring role as one of New Jersey's signature coastal destinations

Wycliffe Gordon, Jon Faddis to Headline Jazz@ThePoint 2026

The South Jersey Jazz Society will celebrate the music and legacy of Louis Armstrong with three days of performances, history and tributes when its annual Jazz@ThePoint festival returns to Somers Point Oct. 15-17.

The 2026 festival, themed “Red, White & Louis,” coincides with the 250th anniversary of the United States and spotlights Armstrong’s place in American music and culture. The legendary trumpeter, bandleader and singer known as “Satchmo” became one of jazz’s most influential figures and achieved worldwide recognition through recordings including “What a Wonderful World,” “Hello, Dolly!,” “Star Dust” and “La Vie En Rose.”

The festival opens at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, at Gregory’s Bar, 900 Shore Road, with a presentation by Ricky Riccardi, director of research collections at the Louis Armstrong House Museum and a leading authority on Armstrong’s life and music.

Riccardi will explore Armstrong’s career, personality and enduring influence on American music. The Bob Ferguson All-Stars will provide musical accompaniment inspired by Armstrong’s career.

The festival moves to the Gateway Playhouse, 738 Bay Ave., for two headlining concerts featuring internationally recognized jazz musicians whose work reflects Armstrong’s influence.

Wycliffe Gordon will perform at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16. The acclaimed trombonist, bandleader, composer and educator is known for his distinctive sound and mastery of the plunger mute.

A veteran of the Wynton Marsalis Septet and an original member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Gordon has performed with artists including Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Branford Marsalis, Arturo Sandoval, Dianne Reeves, Paul Simon, David Sanborn and Doc Severinsen. He also arranged the theme for NPR’s “All Things Considered.”

Gordon’s connection to Armstrong is especially prominent in his recording “Hello, Pops: A Tribute to Louis Armstrong,” which combines songs associated with Armstrong with Gordon’s original compositions. Gordon is also a Yamaha Performing Artist.

Following Gordon’s Gateway Playhouse concert, vocalist Paula Johns will perform a free Ella Fitzgerald tribute at 9:30 p.m. at Gregory’s Bar. Fitzgerald and Armstrong were celebrated collaborators whose recordings together included “Ella and Louis,” “Ella and Louis Again” and “Porgy and Bess.”

Trumpeter Jon Faddis takes the Gateway Playhouse stage at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17.

Faddis is an internationally recognized trumpeter, conductor, composer and educator whose musical influences include Armstrong and his longtime friend and mentor Dizzy Gillespie. His career has included work with Lionel Hampton’s band and the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra as well as leadership of numerous ensembles.

Among them are the Grammy-winning United Nation Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie 70th Birthday Big Band, Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars, Chicago Jazz Ensemble, Carnegie Hall Centennial Big Band, Carnegie Hall Jazz Band and Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra of New York. Faddis has also appeared as a guest conductor and featured performer with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony.

The festival concludes Saturday night with another free performance at Gregory’s Bar. Acclaimed trumpeter Terell Stafford will perform beginning at 9:30 p.m. Stafford is director of Jazz Studies and chair of Instrumental Studies at Temple University, founder and bandleader of the Terell Stafford Quintet, and managing and artistic director of the Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia.

The South Jersey Jazz Society selected “Red, White & Louis” to connect the nation’s 250th anniversary with jazz, an art form deeply rooted in American history. Armstrong’s ability to cross racial, cultural and musical boundaries helped establish both his international stature and jazz’s lasting place in the world’s musical heritage.

The Jazz@ThePoint schedule begins with Ricky Riccardi and the Bob Ferguson All-Stars at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, at Gregory’s Bar. Wycliffe Gordon headlines at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, at Gateway Playhouse, followed by Paula Johns’ free Ella Fitzgerald tribute at 9:30 p.m. at Gregory’s. Jon Faddis headlines at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, at Gateway Playhouse, followed by Terell Stafford’s free 9:30 p.m. performance at Gregory’s.

What unique feature did the Mount Vernon Hotel in Cape May boast in its dining area during the 1850s?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

 Answer to the August 27th Trivia Question 

Which notable Cape May building served as a hospital during World War I and was later used by the Navy and Coast Guard?

A) The Chalfonte Hotel
B) Congress Hall
C) Hotel Cape May
D) The Physick Estate

Answer: C) Hotel Cape May

Hotel Cape May, which opened in 1908 and later became the Admiral Hotel, was used as a hospital during World War I. The Navy acquired part of its land to create a naval base, which was taken over by the Coast Guard in 1925.

How Did We Do In This Issue?

Cape May Local Scoop Wants To Know Your Thoughts About Our Newsletter...

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.