By Gabriella Bancheri
This past weekend Ventnor City hosted a holiday parade full of crafts, prizes, drinks, face painting and more. The festivities included Buddy the Elf and his right-hand man, who were spotted in front of Nucky’s enjoying a refreshing winter brew.
There were free raffles available to those who stayed past 7 p.m., which were sponsored by businesses including Heritage Surf Shop, Provenza, Peace Pie, Rain Florist, Shore Diner, and Sapore.
Photos courtesy of Sean Gleason
For those who got hungry during the parade, there were options lining the streets. From Nuckys — whose staff and venue were decked head-to-toe in holiday cheer — to vendors lining the North Weymouth Avenue block.
Local businesses like PJ Buckets and Salty Paws were slinging goodies to enjoy at the parade or to take home to put in a lucky pup’s stocking. There were several vendors selling holiday gifts.
The face painting booth was a popular hit with the little ones, coming in second place just after the ponies, of course. Just across the street from Nucky’s and the local vendors, families lined up around the block to send their kids for a trot.
Locals of all ages came dressed to impress in their holiday gear to spread some cheer.
The next day, the Ventnor Library hosted a craft show as a perfect holiday gift grab, where I luckily found some holiday gifts and chatted with a few local vendors, including Sue from Spindrift Pottery and Lyntaga from Sea Me Glow.
Sue’s admiration of the shore comes through her work in this beautiful handmade pottery, which can be found at Makt on Ventnor Avenue. Lyntaga is an Atlantic City-based esthetician whose goods and services range from handmade jewelry to facials to full-body skin treatments.
Thankfully, Ventnor highlights these local stars with events like these so we don’t have to go searching for them.
Photos courtesy of Sean Gleason
