By KENNY WALTER
Staff Writer
LONG BRANCH — The 26th annual Oceanfest Fourth of July celebration went off without a hitch.
Business Administrator Howard Woolley Jr. estimated more than 200,000 attendees came to the Long Branch beachfront at some point during the 12-hour event that featured bands, food, crafts and a fireworks display.
“It went very well, we had a huge crowd, the biggest ever,” Woolley said. “Everybody had a great time and everybody did well.”
The annual event included performances by six local bands, a magic show, a fire-eater, dance show, martial arts demonstration, costumed characters, clowns, stilt walkers, jugglers, uni-cyclists and superheroes.
Woolley said people come to Oceanfest throughout the day for different parts of it.
“People come for all sorts of things, they come for the food, they come for the craft vendors, they come for the music, the fireworks are huge at night,” he said. “Different people are looking for different things.”
With more than 200,000 people coming into the city, Woolley said the biggest challenge is always parking and traffic control.
“That’s our biggest issue, we are constantly working on it,” he said. “We try to get people to park in the public lots on Broadway and along the side streets.”
The event is run by the Greater Long Branch Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the City of Long Branch. Oceanfest is a regional event made possible with the support of corporate sponsors, such as Monmouth Medical Center, Ocean Place Resort & Spa and Monmouth University, as well as through the generosity of numerous individuals and businesses in the local area.