Together With Our Friends At

Good morning, Monmouth County! After more than a decade since Fort Monmouth closed as an Army installation, Netflix officially broke ground on construction of their new 292 acre studio campus. At just after 11 am on Tuesday, Governor Phil Murphy and Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos put shovels in the ground as a wrecking ball simultaneously slammed into a building behind them and Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” played in the background.

Netflix Studios Fort Monmouth will soon be home to 12 soundstages and various support facilities. But it doesn’t stop at the film production infrastructure. Development of new housing, entertainment venues, retail businesses and an RWJ Barnabas Cancer Center are already well underway and in some cases completed. It’s estimated that about 1,500 permanent jobs will be created by the project.

In case you missed it in Garden State History class, New Jersey is actually the birthplace of the film industry. Motion pictures were invented and first produced in Thomas Edison’s lab in West Orange in the late 1800’s. Welcome home!

Today’s Buzz 🐝 

 🦞37th Annual NJ Seafood Festival (Belmar)

🎪 Sea Bright Fireman’s Fair

🥘 The Golden Horn - Mediterranean Restaurant

🎭️ Theater Schedule

🎸 Live Music

🌊 Ocean Temp - Tides

🥳 Family Fun

2025 NJ Seafood Festival | Fri 5/16 - Sun 5/18 | Ferruggiaro Park (Belmar)

Be Yourself: Creative Arts & Expression Show | 5/16 5 pm - 8 pm | Bell Works (Holmdel)

Becker STEAM WIng & Garret Reisman Center for Air & Space | Thur-Sun 10 am - 2 or 4 pm Monmouth Museum (Lincroft)

Wonder Wing | Tues-Sun 10 am - 4 pm | Monmouth Museum (Lincroft)

Open Shoot Archery | 5/17 10 am - 1 pm | Thompson Park (Lincroft)

Monmouth County Sheriffs PBA Car Show | 5/18  10am - 3pm | Brookdale CC (Lincroft)

Moana 2: Movie in the Park | 5/16 8:30 pm | Scholer Park (Union Beach)

Kids Fest 2025! | 5/17 10am - 1pm | Manalapan Recreation Center (Manalapan)

Open Archery | 5/17 10:00 am | Camp Zehnder (Wall)

🏠️ Local Events

Vintage Car Show | 5/17 9 am - 3 pm | Main Ave. (Ocean Grove)

Highlands Roar on the River | 5/17-18 12 pm - 6 pm | Veterans Park (Highlands)

Sea Bright Fireman's Fair | 5/16, 17, 18 12 pm | Municipal Complex (Sea Bright)

Rutgers Master Gardeners - Spring Garden Day | 5/16 8 am - 5 pm, 5/17 9 am - 3 pm | Monmouth Agricultural Bldg (Freehold)

Spring Craft & Vendor Show | 5/17 10 am - 4 pm | Allaire Village (Wall)

Country Line Dance Program | 5/17  2 pm - 4 pm | Camp Zehnder (Wall)

Annual Spring Yard Sale | 5/17-18  9am - 3pm | 701 MaIn St (Bradley Beach)

Freehold Porchfest | 5/18 12pm - 5pm | Elks Lodge (Freehold) 

Country Line Dancing | 5/17 6pm - 9pm | Elks Lodge (Freehold)

🍔🍹 Food and Drink

The Golden Horn - Neptune

The Golden Horn isn’t some chic new spot in Asbury Park or Red Bank. You might not see social media micro-influencers rushing in to take selfies with the braised beef cheek and espresso martinis. But to true foodies, sometimes a little understatement is the chef’s kiss. What The Golden Horn is however, is conveniently located right off the parkway and next to a liquor store (since it’s BYO) with food that is getting a lot of great BUZZ!

Online reviews are five stars across the board and the food critics are gushing over their expansive Turkish influenced menu with generous portions. And since our previous favorite Mediterranean spot hoarded the pita bread like it was Almas caviar, we really needed a new place. Jackpot!

Let us know if you love it too by tagging us on Instagram and Facebook.

Other Food Stuff

Keansburg Annual Food Truck Festival | 5/17 2 pm - 7 pm | Rec Center (Keansburg)

Food Trucks in the Fall | 5/17-18 12 pm - 7 pm | Oak Tree Lodge (Wall)

Food Truck Festival | 5/17 11 am - 7 pm | Loffredo Field (Neptune)

Vegan Food Festival | 5/17-18 11 am - 5 pm | Bradley Park (Asbury Park)

Cake Slice Saturday | 5/17 11 am - 2 pm | Chocolate Carousel (Wall)

🍓 Farmers Markets

Asbury Fresh | 5/18 (and every Sunday) 9 am - 1 pm | Press Plaza (Asbury Park)

Howell Farmers Market | 5/18 10 am - 2 pm | Echo Lake Park (Howell)

🎨 Art & History

Fred Staloff: Origins of a Modernist | Tues-Sun  10 am - 4 pm | Monmouth Museum (Lincroft)

Carol Nussbaum: Harmony, Balance, & Symmetry | Tues-Sun 10 am - 2 or 4 pm | Monmouth Museum (Lincroft)

Mill Demonstration | 5/17 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, 3:30 pm | Historic Walnford (Upper Freehold)

Historic Walking Tour | 5/17-18  10:30 am - 12pm | Red Bank LIbrary (Red Bank)

Walnford Day | 5/18  11 am - 5 pm | Historic Walnford (Upper Freehold)

Historic Racing Stable Tours | Fri-Sun  10 am - 4 or 7 pm | Thompson Park (Lincroft)

Native Plant Exchange & Lecture | 5/17 8:30 am - 10:15 am | Deep Cut Gardens (Middletown)

🎭️ Theater/Comedy/Cinema

Menopause the Musical: Cruisin’ Through the Change | 5/16  7:30 pm | Count Basie (Red Bank)

Kick Performing Arts Presents: Dream Big | 5/18  2:30 pm | Count Basie (Red Bank)

1776 | 5/16 8 pm 5/17 2 pm & 8 pm, 5/18 3 pm | Algonquin Theater (Manasquan)

Comedysportz: Live Improv as a Sport | 5/17 7 pm | Jersey Shore Arts Center (Ocean Grove)

A Doll's House Part 2 | 5/16-18  7:30 pm | First Ave Playhouse (Atlantic Highlands)

Legally Blonde the Musical | 5/16  8 pm, 5/17  2 pm  5/18  7 pm | Spotlight Players (Matawan)

Naked Eddie Milk Milk Lemonade | 5/17  7:30 pm | The Showroom (Asbury Park)

Green Honey Love | 5/16  8 pm, 5/17  3 pm & 8 pm, 5/18  4 pm | Middletown Arts Center (Middletown)

Lost Highway | 5/16 7:30 pm | The Showroom (Asbury Park)

Sci-Fi and Fantasy Film Festival | 5/16 6:15 pm, 5/17 12:15 pm | Smodcastle Cinemas (Atl. Highlands)

🎸 Live Music

Jazz Night | 5/16  7 pm | Belmar Arts Center (Belmar)

Oh What a Night of Rock N Roll | 5/17  7 pm | Count Basie (Red Bank)

Donna McKechnie | 5/16  7:30 pm | Bell Theater (Holmdel)

Bowie & Beyond | 5/17 8 pm | Bell Theater (Holmdel)

Taylor Swift Tribute Concert | 5/17 6:30 pm-8pm | Marlboro Twp. Rec and Swim (Marlboro)

An Evening with Ricky Lee Jones | 5/16 8 pm | Pollack Theater (W. Long Branch)

Sessanta v2.0: Primus, Puscifier, & A Perfect Circle | 5/17  8 pm - 11 pm | PNC (Holmdel)

Liv Bec | 5/17  8:00 pm | Asbury Lanes (Asbury Park)

The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD | 5/17  1:00 pm | Pollack Theater (W. Long Branch)

Statesboro: Allman Brothers Tribute | 5/16  7:00 pm | Stone Pony (Asbury Park)

John Eddie | 5/17  7:00 pm | Stone Pony (Asbury Park)

Stone Pony Showcase | 5/18  7:00 pm | Stone Pony (Asbury Park)

Rockin' Music Academy Student Concert | 5/18  12:00 pm | Asbury Lanes (Asbury Park)

Ryan Hamilton | 5/16  7:00 pm | Count Basie (Red Bank)

Gary Bartz | 5/17  7:30 pm | Count Basie (Red Bank)

Dueling Pianos | 5/17  7:00 pm | House of Independents  (Asbury Park)

🏃‍♀️ Health/Wellness

Full Course:  Intro to Kayaking | 5/17  9 am - 3 pm | Deal Lake (Asbury Park)

Goat Yoga | 5/17  10 am | Oasis TLC (Red Bank)

Screamin Hill 5k Scramble | 5/17  7:30 am - 12 pm | Screamin Hill Brewery (Cream Ridge)

Marine Corps Run for Freedom 5k | 5/17  9 am | 110 Schanck Rd. (Freehold)

Spring into Summer 5k | 5/17 8 am | St. Mary Mother of God (Middletown)

NJ Sharing Network 5K Celebration of Life | 5/17  8:30 am | Ocean Pathway (Ocean Grove)

Walk for Friends | 5/18  1 pm | Marlboro Rec (Marlboro)

Walk to Cure Arthritis | 5/18 9 am - 12 pm | Great Lawn Pavilion (Long Branch)

Quality Is Our Legacy

🌊 ☀️ Beach

Asbury Park - Ocean Temp. 55°F

Fri 5/16: Low 4:26 am | High 10:29 am | Low 4:12 pm | High 10:31 pm | Sunrise 5:40 am | Sunset 8:07 pm

Sat 5/17: Low 5:04 am | High 11:15 am | Low 4:50 pm | High 11:18 pm | Sunrise 5:39 am | Sunset 8:07 pm

Sun 5/18: Low 5:47 am | High 12:07 am | Low 5:36 pm | Sunrise 5:38 am | Sunset 8:08 pm