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35th Irish Fall Festival Brings a Full Weekend of Tradition to North Wildwood

Issue #815

September 20, 2026

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In This Cape May Local Scoop Issue…

 📆 Cape May Events

☀️ Cape May Local Weather 

🛩️35th Irish Fall Festival Brings a Full Weekend of Tradition to North Wildwood

⛳Eileen Kirk to Read ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ at Dormer House

🪖Cape May Police Department Earns State Accreditation

Cape May Local Scoop’s Events Are Sponsored By: Survivors of Cancer

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

 September 20

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35th Irish Fall Festival Brings a Full Weekend of Tradition to North Wildwood

One of the Wildwoods' biggest fall traditions returns next week as thousands of visitors are expected to celebrate Irish culture in North Wildwood.

The 35th Annual Irish Fall Festival will run from Thursday, Sept. 24 through Sunday, Sept. 27. The four-day celebration will feature live music, Irish dancing, vendors, a parade, a 5K, amateur boxing and a golf tournament.

The festival is sponsored by the James J. Reilly Division 1 of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. The organization works to preserve and celebrate Irish culture and heritage.

Much of the weekend's activity will center on Olde New Jersey Avenue. Vendors, musicians and visitors will fill the entertainment district throughout the weekend.

The festival also reflects North Wildwood's long connection to Irish culture.

The northern end of Five Mile Island developed as a fishing and maritime community during the 19th century. Irish immigrants were among the groups who settled in the area. North Wildwood later became a popular Shore destination for Irish families from Philadelphia and surrounding communities.

That connection continues through the Irish Fall Festival, which has grown considerably during its 35-year history.

The weekend starts Thursday morning with the annual golf tournament at Cape May National Golf Course.

Tee time is 8 a.m. The $150 entry fee includes greens fees, a cart, refreshments, buffet lunch and prizes. Reservations are recommended and can be made through the Ancient Order of Hibernians at 609-729-0075.

Thursday evening brings an international sporting event to the festival.

The Sean Cullen Memorial Team USA vs. Team Ireland Amateur Boxing event begins at 6 p.m. at Chestnut and Olde New Jersey avenues.

Boxers from Crumlin Boxing Club in Dublin will compete against fighters from No Limits Academy in Rio Grande and representatives from USA Boxing's Mid-Atlantic and New Jersey regions.

The matches will be held outdoors. Wildwood Catholic Academy will serve as the rain location.

The festival expands Friday when Irish merchandise and food vendors open along Olde New Jersey Avenue.

Vendors will operate from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

Free music and dancing will take place on the main stage at Chestnut and Olde New Jersey avenues on Friday and Saturday. Entertainment is scheduled from around noon until shortly after 8 p.m. each day.

Friday's lineup begins at 11:45 a.m. with the national and Irish anthems.

Brothers McGillian will perform at noon, followed by The McCools at 1 p.m. Stall the Digger takes the stage at 2:20 p.m., followed by Timmy Kelly at 3:40 p.m.

Ballina performs at 4:10 p.m. Peter's School of Dance follows at 5:45 p.m., with Emerald Isle School of Dance at 6:10 p.m. Galway Guild closes the main stage beginning at 6:50 p.m.

Saturday's main stage also opens with the national and Irish anthems at 11:45 a.m.

Brothers McGillian performs at noon, followed by The McCools at 1 p.m. Ballina takes the stage at 2:20 p.m., followed by Timmy Kelly at 3:40 p.m.

Shades of Green School of Dance performs at 4:10 p.m. McHugh & Company follows at 4:40 p.m., with Emerald Isle School of Dance at 6 p.m. Broken Shillelaghs closes Saturday's entertainment beginning at 6:50 p.m.

Music will also be featured at pubs and taverns throughout North Wildwood.

Saturday begins early with the Irish Jog.

The event includes a 5K run and a one-mile family walk along the Wildwoods Boardwalk. The race starts at 8 a.m. at Seaport Pier at 22nd Street and the Boardwalk. It will also finish there.

Registration costs $30 and is available through RunSignUp. Participants can also register at Seaport Pier on race day.

The Brian Riley Pipe Exhibition begins at 10 a.m. at Bill Henfey Park at Eighth and Central avenues. Pipe bands from across the region will participate.

Anyone interested in learning a few Irish dance steps will also have an opportunity Saturday morning.

Free Irish dance lessons will be held from 10 a.m. to noon at the Knights of Columbus Hall at 206 N. New York Avenue.

Sunday's events begin with a celebration of Irish faith and heritage at Saint Ann's Roman Catholic Church at Glenwood and Atlantic avenues.

Mass begins at 10:30 a.m. A procession will include the Protectors of the Faith Guards, Cape May County Emerald Society Color Guard and a bagpiper.

The parade begins at 13th Street and JFK Boulevard. It will travel north to Second Avenue and continue west to Surf Avenue. The route then moves north to First Avenue and west to Central Avenue before continuing to Spruce Avenue.

The parade concludes at Spruce and Olde New Jersey avenues.

Fraternal organizations, pipe bands and Irish dance groups will be among the participants.

The Wildwoods Island Shuttle will operate in North Wildwood during the festival.

The festival arrives as the summer tourism season gives way to one of the busiest stretches of North Wildwood's fall calendar.

For generations of families, Irish heritage has been part of the community's identity. For four days in September, that connection will once again take center stage.

Eileen Kirk to Read ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ at Dormer House

Classic American Tales will spotlight Anita Loos’ influential 1925 satirical novel “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” during the next installment of its “Tales at the Dormer House” literary series on Sept. 24, 2026, in Cape May. Actor Eileen Kirk will read selections from the novel at the historic Dormer House Bed & Breakfast, bringing audiences back to the original story of Lorelei Lee, the glamorous and material-minded showgirl whose comic adventures became a defining portrait of the Jazz Age.

The program will also highlight the remarkable journey of Loos’ story from literature to the stage and screen. After beginning as sketches published in Harper’s Bazaar, “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” became a bestselling novel and was later adapted into a 1949 Broadway musical starring Carol Channing, with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Leo Robin. That production introduced the enduring song “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.”

The story reached an even larger audience with the 1953 Hollywood musical directed by Howard Hawks and starring Marilyn Monroe as Lorelei Lee and Jane Russell as Dorothy Shaw. Through Kirk’s Cape May reading, Classic American Tales will return attention to Loos’ original writing while exploring the literary roots of a story that became a lasting part of Broadway and Hollywood history.

Cape May Police Department Earns State Accreditation

Cape May Police Chief Dekon W. Fashaw Sr. accepted a state accreditation plaque during this week’s City Council meeting after the department successfully completed the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police accreditation process. Led by Lt. Scott Krissinger, the department demonstrated compliance with standards covering administration, personnel, operations, investigations and detainee functions. The accreditation is valid for three years, with annual compliance reports required.

Which building in Cape May was designed by architect Stephen Decatur Button and became one of his most well-known works in the city?

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 Answer to the September 19th Trivia Question 

Which event in Cape May's history led to the rapid development of the city as a major resort destination in the 19th century?

A) The completion of the Cape May Lighthouse
B) The opening of the Tuckahoe and Cape May Railroad
C) The establishment of Cape May as a borough
D) The hosting of the first national beach volleyball tournament

Answer: B) The opening of the Tuckahoe and Cape May Railroad

The opening of the Tuckahoe and Cape May Railroad in 1863 significantly boosted tourism in Cape May, leading to its development as a major resort destination​

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