Mid-Atlantic seaside resorts, once known only as summer destinations, are increasingly evolving toward year-around towns, offering activities and events for all seasons. Restaurants, hotels and shops no longer board up against a sleepy fall and winter.
Cape May, N.J., the nation’s first seaside resort, has capitalized on its National Historic Landmark designation, celebrating all of the authentic 19th-century charm inherent within its 600 restored buildings. Many, including charming B&Bs, cafes and tea rooms, are open to the public for a time-capsule taste of the resort life enjoyed by our great-grandparents.
This month, Cape May’s “gilded age” is reborn during the 36th Annual Victorian Week, Oct.10-19, sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts, whose headquarters is located in town. Ten full days of entertaining activities including vintage dance workshops, historic house tours, lectures, ghost tours, and murder mystery dinners are on the festival’s jam-packed agenda.
“The Victorian Week event is historically significant in many ways, but firstly, it was the event that began filling out the [off-season] months for our visitors,” said Diane Wieland, director of tourism for Cape May County. “This event proved there are ways to have fun and enjoy the shore beyond the beach and boardwalks of the area.”
Wieland further points out there are hundreds of events from Labor Day to Dec. 31 to keep visitors coming back. The economic impact of these events reaches all segments of the tourism industry including accommodations, restaurants, retail and transportation.
A Victorian Week tradition is the Annual Designer Show House running through the Festival and featuring a charming Craftsman-style home with structural details that have been impeccably restored. This show house, the 1915 Otis Townsend residence, has been embellished by some of the region’s top designers and suppliers.
Throughout the festival period, whether visitors choose a long weekend, a quick overnight or a week, activities abound — such as costumed tours through the historic district, an elegant tea dance at the Chalfonte Hotel (the grande dame of Victorian hotels), various private home tours, wine cellar tours and tastings, a Cape Island boat tour, trolley tours and nature tours.
“There are plenty of wonderful B&Bs that people can stay in,” said Margo Harvey, communications coordinator for MAC. “They can visit the Washington Street Information Booth and purchase tickets for tours and get brochures and maps.”
Cape May, Harvey notes, is a charming vacation no matter what time of year it is.
“Autumn in Cape May includes beautiful weather, less crowds and plenty of entertainment,” she said. “Cape May makes a great quick getaway.”
If you go
- What: Cape May’s 36th Annual Victorian Week
- Distance: 95 miles from Baltimore, 130 miles from D.C.
- Info: MAC’s Web site at www.capemaymac.org, or call 1-800-275-427
