50th Anniversary Celebration Weekend

Saturday and Sunday, June 22-23, 2019

9:30 – 4:30pm

FREE ADMISSION

Join us for a weekend full of activities for the whole family!

Saturday and Sunday, June 22-23 we’re opening our doors for a celebration in honor of 50 years of excellence in research, conservation and education.  We’ll be celebrating all the programs that have made us famous and brought so much joy and discovery. We have planned a little something for everyone!

  • Explore the vast wetlands right outside our door with guided walks, back bay boat, kayak and paddleboard tours! *
  • Get up close and hands on with touch tanks, live animal demonstrations, and other interactive programs.
  • Learn about the founding of the Institute and its historical significance for the region and for environmental research, conservation and education!
  • Exercise your inner artist with local art and crafts demonstrations!
  • Relax waterside to the tunes of local musicians and delicious local fare from our favorite food trucks!

* Advanced reservations required and additional fees apply for boat, kayak and paddleboard tours.

Click for a full schedule of activities
 

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Saturday, May 18
Time Activity Location
Saturday, June 22
Time Activity Location
Ongoing Aquarium Teaching/Touch Tank TWI – Aquarium
Ongoing Terrapin Basking Station TWI – Terrapin Station
Ongoing Festival Photo Stand-ins TWI – Front Lawn
Ongoing Arts & Crafts TWI – Front Lawn
9:30 am Exploration Point Stone Harbor Point
10:00 am Salt Marsh Safari TWI – Lecture Hall and Walkway
10:00 am – 12:00 pm Live Music! Featuring Train Wreck TWI – Front Lawn
10:00 am – 12:00 pm Fly-Tying Demonstration by South Jersey Fly Fishers TWI – Back Lawn
10:00 am – 12:00 pm On The Water! Kayak Tours with Harbor Outfitters** TWI – Dock
10:00 am On The Water! Back Bay Birding and Wildlife Cruise on The Skimmer, register at skimmer.com or 609-884-3100* TWI – Dock
10:30 am Nonpoint Source Water Pollution presentation by AmeriCorps Watershed Ambassador Kristen Andrada TWI – Back Lawn
11:00 am to 1:00 pm Facepainting with Melody Mann TWI – Front Lawn
11:00 am to 3:00 pm Food Trucks! Featuring local fare from Jay’s Crab Shack, Jack’s Shack and Sweet Pea Ice Cream TWI – Front Lawn
11:15 am Creature Feature: Turtles! TWI – Lecture Hall
12:00 pm Lecture: Celebrating 50 Years of The Wetlands Institute TWI – Lecture Hall
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Live Music! Featuring Les DeRose TWI – Front Lawn
1:15 pm Aquarium Feeding Time TWI – Aquarium
1:00 pm On The Water! Back Bay Birding and Wildlife Cruise on The Skimmer, register at skimmer.com or 609-884-3100* TWI – Dock
1:00 pm On The Water! Paddleboarding with AquaTrails** TWI – Dock
1:30 pm Nonpoint Source Water Pollution presentation by AmeriCorps Watershed Ambassador Kristen Andrada TWI – Back Lawn
2:00 pm Terrapin Release TWI – Dock
3:15 pm Crabbing at the Dock TWI – Dock
4:30 pm 50th Celebration Ceremony TWI – Front Lawn
Sunday, June 23
Time Activity Location
Ongoing Aquarium Teaching/Touch Tank TWI – Aquarium
Ongoing Basking Station TWI – Terrapin Station
Ongoing Festival Photo Stand-ins TWI – Front Lawn
Ongoing Arts & Crafts Station TWI – Front Lawn
10:00 am Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary Tour Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary
10:00 am – 12:00 pm Live Music: Denizen Pine TWI – Front Lawn
10:00 am to 12:00 pm Fly Tying Demonstration by South Jersey Fly Fishers TWI – Back Lawn
10:00 am On The Water! Back Bay Birding and Wildlife Cruise on The Skimmer, register at skimmer.com or 609-884-3100* TWI – Dock
10:00 am Terrapin Release TWI – Walkway
10:00 am On The Water! Kayak Tours with Harbor Outfitters** TWI – Dock
10:30 am Nonpoint Source Water Pollution presentation by AmeriCorps Watershed Ambassador Kristen Andrada TWI – Back Lawn
11:00 am – 12:00 pm Book Reading by Dorothy Potash, author of Adelita TWI – Upper Deck
11:00 am – 1:00 pm Facepainting by Melody Mann TWI – Front Lawn
11:00 am – 3:00 pm Food Trucks! Featuring local fare by Mermaid Mutineer, Jack’s Shack and Sweet Pea Ice Cream TWI – Front Lawn
11:15 am Creature Feature: Horseshoe Crabs TWI – Lecture Hall
12:00 pm Lecture: Celebrating 50 Years of The Wetlands Institute TWI – Lecture Hall
1:00 pm On The Water! Paddleboarding with AquaTrails** TWI – Dock
1:00 pm On The Water! Back Bay Birding and Wildlife Cruise on The Skimmer, register at skimmer.com or 609-884-3100* TWI – Dock
1:00 pm – 3:00pm Live Music! Featuring The Hobo Style TWI – Front Lawn
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Demonstration: Wood Carving with Thomas Stewart TWI – Back Lawn
1:15 pm On The Water! Catch o’ the Day TWI – Dock
1:30 pm Nonpoint Source Water Pollution presentation by AmeriCorps Watershed Ambassador Kristen Andrada TWI – Back Lawn
2:00 pm Salt Marsh Safari TWI – Lecture Hall and Walkway
3:15 pm Creature Feature: Finding Nemo Characters TWI – Lecture Hall
Schedule is subject to change

*Requires additional fee and pre-registration due to limited space. Call 609-884-3100
** Requires additional fee and pre-registration to schedule. Call 609-368-1211

Live Music

Train Wreck

Originally considered a “casual affiliation of guitar-playing loose cannons,” this band has recently been upgraded to a “rag-tag team of well-intentioned musical misfits.”

Train Wreck has been bringing its own special brand of live musical entertainment to various venues in the South Jersey area, regaling audiences with their solid blues, popular favorites, and country classics. Their soaring vocals, nail-biting lead guitars, rock-solid rhythms and mind-boggling multi-instrumentalism leave audiences fascinated everywhere they play.
Playing Saturday 10am – 12pm

Les DeRose

Les has been singing and playing music all her life…she started playing piano around the age of four, but didn’t pick up a guitar til years later. Her style can best be described as a blend of pop, folk and blues. Her voice draws comparisons to artists such as Elle King, Brandi Carlile, Colbie Caillat and Norah Jones. She is very excited about growing as an artist and is enjoying all the positive feedback from her new fans.  To her, music has always been the purest form of self-expression and she loves being able to share that experience with her audience.
Playing Saturday 1pm – 3pm

Denizen Pine

Instrumental trio specializing in coffee house conversation, aural complement and fine eatery pro-digestive ambiance. General good vibe enhancement assured. 
Playing Sunday 10am – 12pm

The Hobo Style

In a landscape full of calculations, contrivance and instantaneous responsibility, some things still manage to be created through the mere act of simply willing them to be.  One such thing is the hobo-style.  Armed with nothing more than three minute ditties full of twisted phrases and jingle-jangly expressions, the hobo-style will invade the collective consciousness of city and country mice alike and together we may just drive all of the snakes out of your town.  One broken voice, one broken string and one broken heart at a time.  Please consider yourself warned.
Playing Sunday 1pm – 3pm

Food Trucks

Sweet Pea
Ice Cream

Hit the Road Jack’s

Mermaid Mutineer

Jay’s Crab Shack

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