Smokers in for a few rough nights at SummerFest

Butt out. It's going to be white-knuckle time for smokers who attend some of this year's upcoming SummerFest events.

The Brick Township Council unanimously passed a resolution at the May 26 Township Council meeting that forbids smoking anywhere in the Windward Beach area on three of the seven scheduled nights this year.

The Brick Municipal Alliance Committee— one of the event's major sponsors — has requested that smoking be banned on the three nights of paid entertainment, Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis said.

The no-smoking nights include July 2, July 23 and Sept. 3, according to the resolution.

The committee, better known as BMAC, is composed of volunteers, township coordinators and staff members who implement drug, alcohol and delinquency prevention programs in the township, including an anti-smoking program. BMAC is partially funded by the Governor's Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse.

"So that's no smoking anywhere during the event?" Councilman Anthony Matthews asked.

"No smoking on Windward Beach at that event," Township Administrator Scott M. Pezarras said.

"What's the definition of Windward Beach?" Matthews said. "Is it the sand or the entire park?"

"It's the entire park for those events," Councilman Brian DeLuca said.

No-smoking announcements will be made during the events, and signs will also be put up at the township-owned waterfront park off Princeton Avenue, Township Administrator Scott M. Pezarras said.

Resident and non-smoker Cathy Ericksen said at the meeting she didn't think the resolution was fair to smokers. The township should have a designated area for smokers at SummerFest, she said.

"I think this is very unfair to people," she said. "Smokers pay taxes like everyone else. I don't know why, with a place as big as Windward Beach, you can't have a designated smoking area."

SummerFest this year has three nights of paid entertainment and four nights of unpaid events.

It kicks off at 7 p.m. on July 2 with the B Streets band and an opening local band, which has not yet been announced. Fireworks are also slated for 9 p.m. that night.

Drive-In Movie Night featuring the film "E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial" starts at 7 p.m. on July 16.

The township has rented a "blow-up" movie screen for the drive-in movie nights, said David Francese, the township recreation director.

"The actual sound will be provided by your car radio," he said. "It's like a regular drive-in movie. We thought that was a neat idea. We're still working on the configuration as to how the cars will line up. There's going to be a finite amount of space."

Residents can also bring small portable radios and lawn chairs and watch the film on the grass, he said.

The Infernos and Gerard Esposito are scheduled to perform at 7 p.m. on July 23, followed by fireworks at 9 p.m.

The National Night Out Against Crime and a Kids' Night celebration are slated for Aug. 4.

The Time Capsule Cruisers will host the fifth annual Car Show at 6 p.m. on Aug. 20.

Another drive-in movie night is slated for 7 p.m. on Aug. 27. The featured film is "Monsters vs. Aliens."

Beatlemania Revisited, featuring the Mahoney Brothers, is the final SummerFest event. The program starts at 7 p.m. on Sept. 3, followed by fireworks at 9 p.m.

Shuttle buses provided by the township will pick up visitors at a number of locations in town, beginning at 5 p.m. The buses will run continuously until the final bus leaves for Windward Beach at 8 p.m. Return trips start at 9 p.m. All children 16 and under must be accompanied by an adult. For more information, call 732-262-1006.

The shuttle bus locations include Drum Point School, Brick Township High School and Midstreams Elementary School.