What to do down the Shore, Aug. 23-29: Boyz II Men, O.C. Pops, Winefest, and Cape May’s last carnival night
Plus: Jim Gaffigan, Seafarers' Weekend, and French fry sculpting.
![Cape May's carnival nights go down on the lawn of the Congress Hall hotel.](https://www.inquirer.com/resizer/yQf2tytYQo_OXdQ40A6GvkpwK3Y=/760x507/smart/filters:format(webp)/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-pmn.s3.amazonaws.com/public/L2MWWQ3K3FBJVFBA5B43BQMCR4.jpg)
Looking for something to do (other than veg) down the Shore? We’ve got you covered.
Sports Card, Toys, Comics & Collectibles Show
Admission is free to this massive (150-plus tables) display of memorabilia, including rare Beanie Babies, vintage coins, and signed Schmidt Topps cards.
3 to 9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-to 9 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Wildwoods Convention Center, 4501 Boardwalk, Wildwood, free, 732-422-9365, rksportspromotions.com
International Winefest
Live jazz and French Champagne on Friday, and reds, whites, and rosés from Argentina to New Zealand on Saturday make for a truly classy outing at the Golden Nugget. Discounts for police, firefighters, nurses, and teachers.
7 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday, Golden Nugget, 600 Huron Ave., Atlantic City, $49 (Friday), $89 (Saturday), 800-745-3000, goldennugget.com
Boyz II Men
Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” has broken the record of “One Sweet Day” for most weeks at the tippity-top of the Billboard Hot 100. Nonetheless, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, and Nathan Morris — Philly’s own ’90s R&B juggernaut — remain in the conversation.
8 p.m., Friday, Borgata, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, $49-$79, 888-228-4748, theborgata.com
Tri the Wildwoods
First-time triathletes, including kids, have reported having lots more fun than expected while competing in a multiple-choice morning of triathlons, duathlons, aquabike, just plain 5K, and abbreviated youth versions of most of the above. After-race perks include brunch and all-day admission to Morey’s Piers.
6:30, 6:50, 8, and 9 a.m., Saturday, between 13th and 15th Avenues and the beach, North Wildwood, $30-$249 to enter, free to watch, 609-849-8908, delmosports.com
Seafarers’ Weekend
On the edge of Cape May, Cold Spring Village parks the pirate ship Black Pearl at its welcome center for a weekend-long celebration of the high seas, Robert Louis Stevenson-style (and then some). Pirate-themed mini golf, face-painting, and comedy sketches combine with sword fights and sea shanties that date to the 18th century.
10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, Cold Spring Village, 720 Route 9, Cape May, $14, $12 ages 3 through 12, 609-898-2300, hcsv.org
Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Festival
Slidewinder Blues Band opens Long Branch’s afternoon-into-evening of live music: jazz vocalist Jane Stuart, blues rockers the ShadeTree Mechanics, Mikey Junior Band (Twisted Tail regulars), and Jeff Levine & Friends featuring JT Bowen — followed by fireworks.
1 to 9 p.m., Saturday, Great Lawn on the Promenade, near Madison and Ocean Avenues, Long Branch, free, 732-933-1984, jsjbf.org
Jim Gaffigan
Ever clean-cut, if rarely clean-shaven, Jim Gaffigan brings his dynamic, observational, addictive Secrets and Pies tour to the Borgata for a two-stint, one-night shot of stand-up.
7 and 10 p.m., Saturday, Borgata, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, $49-$79, 888-228-4748, theborgata.com
Carnival Night
Last chance of the summer to get in on the fashionably old-timey Monday evening fun at Cape May’s fashionably historic Congress Hall hotel. Ticketed carnival games, mini-train rides, and face-painting on the beachfront lawn precede a dinner of upscale burgers, corndogs, and fries in the ballroom.
5:30 to 9 p.m., Monday, Congress Hall, 200 Congress Place, Cape May, $20 for dinner, 609-884-6542, caperesorts.com
French Fry Sculpting Contest
This is Ocean City’s second (and last) such competition of the summer.
10:30 to 11:30 a.m., Wednesday, Ocean City Music Pier, 825 Boardwalk (at Moorlyn Terrace), Ocean City, free, 609-399-6111, oceancityvacation.com
Ocean City Pops
Summer in O.C. couldn’t pass without a salute to the 100th anniversary of the American Legion. The Pops plan to play patriotic pieces by Aaron Copland, Irving Berlin, Morton Gould, and late Boston Pops legend Leroy Anderson.
7:30 to 9:30 p.m., Wednesday, Music Pier, 825 Boardwalk (at Moorlyn Terrace), Ocean City, $15 and $20, 609-399-6111, oceancitypops.org