Hampton Beach 2021
Summer 2020 was one like never before. What we’ve always known as a time for large gatherings at barbecues and on the beach became a time of distance and isolation. But this summer the folks at Hampton Beach are intent on bringing normal back, kicking it off with an unofficial summer slogan: “Ready for Fun in 2021.”
“There’s an awful lot of excitement in the air,” said John Nyhan, president of the Hampton Area Chamber of Commerce.
He said hotels and motels in the area are already having a great spring season, which he sees as an indicator of a fantastic summer season.
On the beach
Hampton Beach will not have a maximum capacity this summer. However, for as long as social distancing and mask-wearing when within six feet of others is required or recommended by the state government, the same will be true at the beach. Lisa Martineau, the co-marketing director at Hampton Beach Village District, hopes that regulations change for the better during the summer.
“We’re still in a pandemic, we don’t want to try to predict what’s going to happen. But we do see everything moving in a positive direction, so we hope that those restrictions will be either lifted or loosened up a little bit for the rest of the summer,” Martineau said.
Weekly Wednesday fireworks will be back at the beach this summer. The pandemic prevented this well-loved tradition from taking place last summer. The first fireworks display of the season will take place on Saturday. June 19, at dark (roughly 9:30 p.m.), the night of Hampton’s 21st annual Master Sand Sculpting Classic’s awards ceremony.
Hampton’s tradition of Monday night movies on the beach was able to take place last year in spite of the pandemic and will continue this summer as well. “That was one [event] that we were able to manage [last summer] because everybody can kind of spread out on the beach,” said Martineau. “It worked out really well last year.” All movies are family-friendly and begin at dusk (approximately 8 p.m.), according to the event’s website. The summer’s movie lineup includes Trolls World Tour (July 19) and Moana (Aug. 16); check the official Hampton Beach Facebook page each week for the movie and any potential cancellations. Patrons should bring their own blanket or chair.
The dining scene
From fried seafood to steamed lobster to beach pizza, the Hampton Beach strip is known for many of its iconic food joints. Despite the exceptional circumstances last summer, many of the beachside restaurants saw a successful season.
Jax Rogers, a shift leader at Wally’s Pub, had spent two summers working at the popular Hampton restaurant before the pandemic hit.
“All summers are kind of crazy here at Wally’s. Last summer was definitely a little bit more crazy,” she said. Once outdoor dining became available, she said, “everybody and their brother came out.”
The restaurant found a tent big enough for 30 socially distanced picnic tables and set it up behind the building. The staff suddenly found themselves serving more tables than ever. Despite the reopening of indoor dining, the wedding-style tent will remain behind Wally’s this summer in order to accommodate what’s anticipated to be an even busier summer.
“I think it’s going to be wild,” Rogers said with a laugh.
The restaurant’s bar has reopened since last summer, which makes Rogers’ guess all the more likely. State guidelines prevented bar seating at Wally’s from opening last summer, but these restrictions have since been lifted.
Teresa Everett, owner of Blink’s Fry Doe, said that 2020 went “better than expected” for the restaurant. Without events like weekly fireworks and shows at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, Everett was worried about the season. In fact, the summer began with a closed beach. But when the beach opened in June, Blink’s saw its usual crowds. Despite the pandemic, Blink’s had its most successful June and September months ever.
Everett is hopeful for a successful summer 2021. The season looks promising, as the fried dough joint has already seen success on this year’s warm days.
Live music
Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom is a staple of the Seacoast; marketing director Andrew Herrick calls it “where the beach meets the stars.” Since the venue’s establishment in 1899, some of the biggest names in music have taken its stage; the website boasts names like Louis Armstrong and Janis Joplin. But last summer, nobody took to the stage.
“We were closed for the entire year, completely shuttered,” Herrick said.
But the Casino Ballroom will open its doors once again this summer. The first show of the season is set to take place on June 27, when the “Happy Together Tour” will perform a show originally scheduled for last summer. Their summer concert lineup also includes the Sublime tribute band Badfish! (July 2) and country star Chris Janson (July 8), both of which were also postponed last year.
Herrick is looking forward to the Casino Ballroom’s reopening and believes that people will attend concerts with a greater appreciation for live entertainment.
“We are very hopeful,” he said via email. “We believe the roaring 2020s are about to begin.”
Hampton wasn’t completely without live music last summer. Modified shows were able to take place at the Sea Shell Stage starting in July. From then on, free nightly concerts took place on each night.
“Right through Labor Day we had nightly entertainment like we normally do,” Martineau said. However, the shows had to be different than usual. The main Sea Shell Stage, where bands typically perform, wasn’t permitted for use. Instead, the nightly shows were held on the southern stage, which Martineau described as a “little bump-out” off the side of the main stage. The audience could watch right from the beach, which Martineau said was a “really neat experience.” So neat, in fact, that she added, “We may utilize that this summer for some daytime music that’s not in the schedule yet,” despite the main stage’s reopening.
This summer, live music is back at the main Sea Shell Stage. Free nightly shows are set to kick off on June 11 with one-man band Ron Drolet. Martineau explained that performances would normally begin on Memorial Day weekend, but the Hampton Beach Village District is doing what she calls a “soft opening” this year. She said this will give the group more time to properly secure permits and prepare for a great summer season. Fireworks will also be skipped on Memorial Day for this reason.
There won’t be any benches set up in front of the Sea Shell Stage this summer in order to maintain social distancing within the audience. Martineau recommended that people bring their own chairs.
“Dancing will be welcomed … as long as you stay six feet apart from other couples or families,” she said.
Main events
There will be no shortage of events at Hampton Beach this summer. Lisa Martineau and her colleagues at the Hampton Beach Village District have spent the year hard at work in order to give Hampton Beach’s visitors a summer for the books.
“We’re really excited and we’re looking forward to a really fun summer for everybody,” Martineau said.
Kites of all colors will fight against cancer and honor those who have battled it as they fly above Hampton Beach for the 10th annual Kites Against Cancer on Sunday, May 16, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event is hosted by the Hampton Area Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Exeter Hospital. Proceeds from the event benefit Exeter Hospital’s cancer center, according to Nyhan.
Hampton Beach’s 21st annual Master Sand Sculpting Classic will kick off the summer as the first big event of the season. On June 10, 200 tons of imported sand will be dropped on the beach in preparation for the competition, according to the event’s website. Between June 11 and June 14, a group dubbed “The Grady Bunch” will form the 100-ton site where the sculpting will take place. The event officially starts on June 17, when the sand sculpting begins. Sculpting will last for three days, ending on Saturday, June 19.
Watching elaborate sculptures take shape from piles of sand can look like real-life magic in the eyes of a vacationing, sunburned child. For the sculptors, over $25,000 in awards are on the line. The awards ceremony will take place on the Sea Shell Stage on June 19 at 7 p.m. Live music will serve as a backdrop to the ceremony and a fireworks finale will finish off the evening. The theme of the 21st annual competition is yet to be determined. Last year, the competition was postponed until September as a result of the pandemic.
A new event is coming to Hampton Beach this summer. The first ever Beach and Brew will take place at Hampton State Park Reservation on June 26. The event will be hosted by local Smuttynose Brewery, based right in Hampton.
Southern charm is sure to fill the salty ocean air July 6 through July 8 when Country Music Fest comes to Hampton Beach. The event is hosted by the Hampton Beach Village District and will be headlined by William Michael Morgan, who is scheduled to perform on the final day.
The annual beauty pageants, Little Miss Hampton Beach and Junior Miss Hampton Beach, will take place on July 24 and July 25.
One of the biggest events of the summer is Children’s Week, which hits the beach on Monday, Aug. 16, and runs through Friday, Aug. 20. Each day of the kid-friendly week is packed with activities and is hosted by the Hampton Area Chamber of Commerce and Hampton Beach Village District, who partner on many of the beach’s big events.
“It’s always a big week for us,” said Nyhan. “People actually work to make their vacation plans for that week just for their children.”
Performances just for kids will take place on the Sea Shell Stage each day of the week. Other activities such as face painting and discounted mini golf will fill the week with fun. The biggest event of the week-long celebration is the costume parade on Friday, starting at 11 a.m.
“A lot of people are really creative with coming up with these great costumes that are related to the beach,” said Martineau. “It’s crazy, some of the stuff they do … crazy good.”
Past costumes have ranged from swashbuckling pirates to faux-feathered seagulls. All parade participants receive a prize afterward, but special prizes are given for costumes in a number of categories.
The other big event during Children’s Week is the bumper sticker competition. Kids can pick up entry forms at the beach’s information center and have the rest of the week to design an official Hampton Beach bumper sticker. The prizes in store for the winners adds to the draw of the competition: first place in both age groups will win a brand new bike. Along with their new ride, the winners get the satisfaction of seeing their Hampton Beach-themed design become real stickers, which are printed the following season.
“The kids love it,” said Martineau. “It’s their design, it’s usually done with crayons.” Last summer, the bumper sticker competition was the only Children’s Week event that the rampant pandemic couldn’t put a stop to.
On Sept. 4, the Sea Shell Stage will serve as a makeshift circus tent for Cirque du Hampton, hosted by the Hampton Beach Village District. The show is put on by the Boston Circus Guild. The event took place for the first — and only — time during the summer of 2019. “It was such a huge hit,” said Martineau. The coronavirus prevented Cirque du Hampton’s return last summer, making the event’s second year greatly anticipated.
The summer will end with Hampton’s 32nd Annual Seafood Festival, which will take place the weekend after Labor Day, Sept. 10 to Sept. 12. Nyhan calls this event “the finale of the summer.” The event may be modified this year in order to maintain social distancing, according to Martineau.
Hampton Beach Village District is in the process of creating new events in order to make life at the beach better than ever. One of the events currently in the works is Veterans Week. However, Martineau’s vision of the event includes army bands. These bands are notorious for their ensemble size, making the necessary social distancing impossible while confined on stage. Hampton Beach is likely to introduce a number of brand new events for summer 2022.
“We’re trying to add a little bit more fun for everybody,” Martineau said.
Logistics
According to Nyhan, no road closures are expected for this summer. Last summer Ocean Boulevard was closed to vehicles and open to foot traffic only. During this time traffic was rerouted onto Ashworth Avenue. Nyhan explained that this was done in order “to manage social distancing” in light of the pandemic.
“Parking, public and private, will be wide open,” said Nyhan. “There’s not going to be any restrictions or limitations.”
This is also a change from last summer, when parking was cut in half in an effort to limit the number of people on the beach and promote social distancing.
Nyhan is looking forward to a summer without these restrictions in place.
“We’re going back to pre-Covid logistics,” he said. This is a bit of an overstatement, Nyhan acknowledged, but he said the Chamber of Commerce and Village District are working together “to try to go back to at least some type of normalcy.”
- Sadie Burgess