Belmar Seafood Festival Kicks Off Shore Weekend

The Belmar Tourism Commission is set to open the 38th Annual New Jersey Seafood Festival on Friday, May 15, in Ferruggiaro Park at Silver Lake in Belmar, according to an event listing published by Monmouth County 250. The three-day event runs through Sunday, May 17, with free admission and a lineup built around seafood vendors, live music and family activities. The festival is one of Belmar’s recurring spring draws as shore towns move into the pre-summer weekend calendar. A separate NJ.com report this week also underscored the event’s local profile by noting that Klein’s Fish Market, a longtime Belmar participant, will not return in 2026 after 38 straight years. ### Where exactly is the festival being held this weekend? Ferruggiaro Park at Silver Lake, at 5th Avenue and Ocean Avenue in Belmar, is the listed site for the 2026 festival, according to Monmouth County 250. Other local event listings describe the same oceanfront area as Silver Lake Park, placing the festival along Belmar’s beach-and-boardwalk corridor rather than inland. Belmar’s municipal tourism materials and local travel listings describe the event as a shoreline attraction tied to the town’s early-season visitor traffic. The location puts the festival within walking distance of the boardwalk and the beach, a setup that has long made the event part food fair and part shore outing. ### What are the hours from Friday through Sunday? Friday, May 15, is scheduled to run from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., according to Monmouth County 250. Saturday, May 16, is listed from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, May 17, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Those hours broadly match other 2026 event listings circulating online, though some third-party sites show slightly different Saturday timing. The Monmouth County 250 listing gives the most complete date-and-time breakdown tied to the named event and location. ### What will visitors find there besides seafood? Monmouth County 250 says the festival will feature seafood from New Jersey restaurants, live music throughout the weekend and free admission. Local event guides and family listings add craft vendors, children’s activities and a petting-zoo-style attraction to the mix, though those details appear in promotional summaries rather than a full official program. Vacation in Belmar, a local tourism-oriented site, says visitors can expect food vendors selling items such as lobster rolls, scallops, shrimp and crab dishes, alongside artisan and market booths. Because vendor menus can change by day and sellouts are common at large outdoor festivals, the exact lineup may vary over the weekend. ### How big is the event in Belmar’s spring calendar? The 38th annual label in the Monmouth County 250 listing points to a long-running event that has become part of Belmar’s seasonal calendar. Shore Guide, another event listing site, describes the festival as the 36th annual edition and says it typically draws more than 40,000 visitors, illustrating that published counts and anniversary tallies are not fully consistent across sources. NJ.com’s May 2026 report offered one concrete measure of the festival’s longevity: Klein’s Fish Market said it would miss the event for the first time after participating for 38 consecutive years. The report said the Belmar seafood business had been a regular presence at the festival before deciding not to attend this year. ### What should visitors know before heading over? Free admission is the clearest planning detail across published listings. Food, drinks and vendor purchases are sold separately, and several event guides describe the format as pay-as-you-go rather than ticketed entry. Parking near Silver Lake can tighten quickly on shore weekends, according to tourism-oriented listings, especially on Saturday and Sunday. Those same guides advise checking day-of festival updates and schedules before traveling, because outdoor programming can shift with weather or vendor availability. ### What happens after opening day? Sunday, May 17, is the final day on the published schedule, with the festival set to close at 6 p.m., according to Monmouth County 250. Visitors looking for updated timing, vendor information or day-of changes can check Belmar event listings and local tourism pages before heading to Ferruggiaro Park.