The Alternative Press

Free entertainment and events take place all week long  in Atlantic City through sponsorship, entertainment grants and funding from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA), as well as events sponsored by the City of Atlantic City, the Atlantic City Alliance and the casinos.  Below are DO AC FREE top picks for the week of August 13 - 19, 2012:  

*           DO Thrilling Friday, August 17: Lift your head up towards the skies for the 10th Annual Atlantic City Airshow "Thunder Over The Boardwalk." Headline appearances by the United States Air Force Thunderbirds and United States Army Golden Knights Parachute Team will highlight a day packed with free fun on the beach and Boardwalk.  10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

  *           DO A Parade Wednesday, August 15: The Atlantic City Salutes America's Armed Forces Parade will be held, rain or shine, on the Boardwalk from New Jersey to Albany Avenues.  The parade honors the sacrifice and dedication that our servicemen and women have selflessly given to our great nation over the years.  Parade starts at 6:30 p.m. (609)344-6990.

For months, the tension in the Caesars, Harrah’s Resort, Bally’s and Showboat poker rooms has been building in anticipation of winning the multi-casino pooled Total Bad Beat Jackpot.  Rising to unprecedented heights, when it was all said and done on Monday night, 411 poker players left Caesars, Harrah’s Resort, Bally’s, and Showboat with smiles on their faces and some extra money in their wallets. Caesars Entertainment Atlantic City announced that on Monday, August, 13th its Total Bad Beat Jackpot of $787,320 hit at center Boardwalk, in the Caesars poker room.  Narong Sae Whited of Shelton, Washington cashed-in on $237,154 for his losing hand, while the winner of the hand and Atlantic City’s own Nick Angelakopoulos added $158,422 to his bank-account.  Additionally, 409 other poker players received a payout of $958, simply for being at a Caesars Entertainment Atlantic City poker room during the time of the Total Bad Beat.

 “Yesterday, Caesars Entertainment made Atlantic City history with our $787,320 Total Bad Beat Jackpot hit,” said Don Marrandino, Eastern Division President for Caesars Entertainment.  “Record setting jackpots were made to be won, so I think congratulations are in order for Narong Sae Whited and AC resident Nick Angelakopoulos, as well as the other 409 players in our poker rooms that took home their share of the prize-pool.  With the Bad Beat being reset to $393,000 it might only be a few weeks before Caesars Entertainment sets a new record.”
  
Narong Sae Whited thought he had the winning hand when he laid out his Quad Nines, only to experience an epic Bad Beat when Nick Angelakopoulos laid-out his a King-High Straight Flush.  This was the first time the Bad Beat Jackpot hit since March 1^st for $281,000, coincidentally, also at Caesars.  The Total Bad Beat Jackpot was immediately reset to $393,000, and is already up to $397,873.86.
  
A new exhibit called “101 Quilts” at the African American Heritage Museum of Southern NJ will feature the needlework of several artisans.  The quilts celebrate  poetry, speak of history and use recycled wedding dresses in their designs.  Quilts have traditionally told a story about their makers and the needle artists whose work will be on display beginning August 1st will be available to talk about their work at a reception at the Martin Luther King Center in Newtonville on Saturday, August 18th from 2-4:00 P.M.

On August 23, 1912, a watermelon party was held to celebrate the opening of the original Shelter Haven Hotel – which instantly became a Stone Harbor, NJ landmark.  To commemorate this event, The Reeds at Shelter Haven – the new boutique hotel resort now under construction at the Shelter Haven site – is hosting a centennial celebration and watermelon party on Thursday, August 23, 2012 from 10 a.m. to noon.

The 'Reeds & Seeds' Centennial Celebration & Watermelon Party will take place outside at the 97^th Street parking lot (Carney’s Restaurant will be the rain location) and feature a live watermelon carving display with Celebrity Chef Joe Poon, the crowning of the first Reeds & Seeds King & Queen, live music, watermelon treats and family entertainment.

“The 1912 watermelon party at the original Shelter Haven marked the hotel’s grand opening 100 years ago. Now that The Reeds at Shelter Haven is under construction at the same site, our team thought it would be appropriate to create our own, updated version of the party and invite everyone to participate and celebrate with a family fun event,” explained Ron Gorodesky, The Reeds at Shelter Haven’s managing director.

Opening summer 2013, The Reeds at Shelter Haven will offer guests an upscale, full-service boutique hotel located in the heart of Stone Harbor. The property will include 37 rooms with breathtaking views, an indoor restaurant and lounge, pool and patio with waterside grill, flexible corporate and meeting spaces, and spectacular wedding and banquet facilities.

A FREE concert at the Fox Park Amphitheatre with Journey tribute band Voyage featuring Hugo will take place at 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 18, in celebration of the city of Wildwood’s Centennial Anniversary. Fox Park is located directly across from the Wildwoods Convention Center at Burk and Ocean Avenues.

Voyage will perform its striking tribute to Journey, along with musical guests Alex Goot and Ground Up, and other very special guests including Breathing Blue, Something About January and Studio Nine. Voyage lead singer Hugo is a ringer for Steve Perry both visually and vocally; and this show is the  closest loyal fans can get to see the early-mid 80′s line-up of Journey live.

 This special FREE concert event is a prequel to the Wild 100 Pop Concert on Sunday, August 19 in the Oceanfront Arena at the Wildwoods Convention Center. Pop acts Hot Chelle Rae, Austin Mahone, The Ready Set, Forever the Sickest Kids, Internet sensation Rebecca Black, Outasight and more will perform at the ‘Wild 100’ Pop Concert.  General admission tickets for the Wild 100 Pop Concert are $35.00 and are on sale at www.ticketmaster.com or charge-by-phone at 800-745-3000. Or you can get your tickets at the Wildwoods Convention Center Box Office for no additional fees. Additional ticket packages and information are also available by visitingwww.wildwoodconcerts.com.

For additional concert information, visit www.WildwoodConcerts.com.

For additional information about the Wildwoods, visit www.WildwoodsNJ.com or call 800-992-9732.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has agreed to purchase the exceptional mahogany dressing table that has been on loan to the Museum for 36 years. Made in Philadelphia in the late 1760s or early 1770s, the table is the mate to the Museum’s monumental high chest, which was donated in 1957 by Amy Howe Steel Greenough. The dynamic carved decoration on both the high chest and the dressing table depicts a scene from Aesop’s fable of “The Fox and the Grapes” on their central drawers. The impressive proportions of these remarkable examples of 18th-century craftsmanship echo the architectural framework of the bedchamber for which they were made. Together, they epitomize the elegance and sophistication that distinguish Philadelphia furniture as the finest produced in British colonial North America.