New Jersey Shore Places

Cape May

Festivals

Annual Cape May Food and Wine Festival. For a week every September, Cape May invites visitors to discover why the New York Times called it "the restaurant capital of New Jersey." You can take classes and seminars taught by local chefs, sample beers from a local brewery, and tour wineries and the kitchens of acclaimed restaurants. Various packages including gourmet dinners and lunches are available. Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts, Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St., Cape May, NJ. 609/884-5404 or 800/275-4278. www.capemaymac.org.

Annual Christmas Candlelight House Tours. Revel in the spirit and warmth of a Victorian Christmas. Festooned to their gingerbread rafters, Cape May's Victorian inns, B&Bs, hotels, and churches welcome you for refreshments and self-guided tours as musicians and carolers take to the surrounding streets. Advance reservations are recommended. Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities, Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St., Cape May, NJ, 08204. 609/884-5404 or 800/275-4278. www.capemaymac.org. $25 adults, $20 children ages 3-12. First three Sat. of Dec. from 5:30-8:30.

Cape May Autumn Birding Festival. Commune with nature during hawk, owl, and bat workshops, or attend lectures sponsored by the Cape May Bird Observatory on the first weekend in November (or the last weekend in October). Some of the country's foremost ornithologists, bird artists, and nature writers are always in attendence, and the field trips will take you out on the marshes by kayak, in search of seabirds aboard the Cape May Lewes Ferry, and through wildlife preserves on bicycle. The Northwood Center, 701 E. Lake Dr., Cape May Point, NJ, 08212. 609/884-2736. www.birdcapemay.org.

Cape MayGration Celebration. Guided walks, boat trips, lectures by renowned naturalists, workshops, and cocktails are all part of this three-day nature festival in mid-May, timed for the stopover of massive flocks of birds on their northern migration. Count as many species as you can and perhaps be crowned champion of the Cape May Bird Observatory World Series of Birding contest. The Northwood Center, 701 E. Lake Dr., Cape May Point, NJ, 08212. 609/884-2736. www.birdcapemay.org.

Cape May Music Festival. The menu of concerts during this three-week festival swings from orchestral and chamber music to jazz, folk, and international beats. It all kicks off in late May with performances held in the Cape May Convention Hall. Convention Hall, Beach Dr. at Stockton Pl., Cape May, NJ, 08204. 609/884-5404 or 800/275-4278. www.capemaymac.org.

Cape May's Spring Festival. Make it a Victorian spring. Gardens and 19th-century houses are preened and ready to show off during nine days of festivities from late April to early May. Attend private home and garden tours, trolley rides enlivened by ghost tales, a Victorian ball, an antiques and crafts fair, food and wine tastings, and brass-band concerts. The town-wide event is cosponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities and the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Cape May. Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanites, Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St., Cape May, NJ, 08204. 609/884-5404 or 800/275-4278. www.capemaymac.org.

Dickens Christmas Extravaganza. Gift yourself with the sights and sounds—and tastes and scents—of a Dickens Christmas with three days of plays, readings, lectures, wine-tastings, private-home tours, and period costumes and crafts in early December. It culminates with a Dickensian feast at the Washington Inn. Packages including all activities start at $150, but can be combined with lodging deals at participating local inns. Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanites, Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St., Cape May, NJ, 08204. 609/884-5404 or 800/275-4278. www.capemaymac.org.

Sherlock Holmes Weekend. The Victorian era's favorite detective stars in a weekend-long murder-mystery event in late March and again in early November (or late October). The intrigue starts on Friday evening at a cocktail reception (period costumes welcomed) where actors introduce the crime. It continues Saturday with a search-for-the-clues tour of local inns and a Q&A session with "Sherlock" himself. The mystery is "solved" Sunday at brunch, with prizes awarded to the most clever sleuths. Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities, Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St., Cape May, NJ, 08204. 609/884-5404 or 800/275-4278. www.capemaymac.org.

Victorian Week. Cape May's heritage is on parade in this all-out, town-wide Victorian celebration in mid-October. Tour private late-1800s homes, participate in period dance workshops in preparation for the evening balls, attend theatrical performances and murder mystery dinners, sip wine and nibble on chocolate, buy crafts and antiques, and listen to brass-band concerts. Daily workshops are held on subjects like craft beer making, antique appraisal, and cooking. Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities, Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St., Cape May, NJ, 08204. 609/884-5404 or 800/275-4278. www.capemaymac.org.