Live music, fireworks, rides offered on beach Salt Water Day returns to Laurence Harbor Saturday BY BRIAN DONAHUE Staff Writer OLD BRIDGE - They're havin' a party on the beach Saturday, and all are invited to take in the sights and sounds of the Jersey Shore. Visitors to the annual Salt Water Day celebration can enjoy everything from food vendors and fire safety demonstrations to covers of songs by Jersey natives Bruce Springsteen and Southside Johnny, and a large fireworks display. Organizers are hoping for better luck this year than last, when Tropical Storm Ernesto forced the cancellation of the event, which has traditionally been held the second Saturday of August but was switched to Labor Day weekend that year. "When we held it in 2005, it was 104 degrees on the beach, so people weren't coming out and the vendors suffered. So we said, let's move it to Labor Day weekend next year," recalled Dave Merwin, president of the sponsoring Laurence Harbor First Aid Squad. "But Mother Nature has a funny way of showing her displeasure, and she proceeded to give us a hurricane. We realized it's not right to fool with Mother Nature, so we immediately decided to move it back to the second Saturday of August." There are few local traditions as old as Salt Water Day, which began in the 1800s. "The farmers of Old Bridge would bring their crops down to the waterfront to ship them off to New York City. It was the end of the reaping season for them, and they'd have a little festival," Merwin said. Eventually the event lost its momentum, but was revived in 1976 and held until 1988. It returned again in 2003 when the first aid squad celebrated its 75th anniversary, and the squad has co-sponsored it since. The township of Old Bridge and Middlesex County Parks and Recreation Department are co-sponsors. This year's festivities kick off at 4 p.m. Bob Murdock's British Invasion will perform the music of the Beatles, the Dave Clark Five, the Rolling Stones and others starting at 5 p.m. From 7:30 to 9:30, Asbury Fever will play songs by Jersey artists such as Springsteen, the Asbury Jukes, John Eddie and Beaver Brown. The latter band's final songs will lead into a fireworks display set off, at least at first, by Old Bridge Mayor Jim Phillips. "Our fireworks show is second to none in the area," Merwin said. "Believe me, it's top shelf." For those who can't make it to the Laurence Harbor beach, Merwin said the best places to view the fireworks are South Amboy Waterfront Park, the Perth Amboy waterfront, and from boats in the Raritan Bay, which will be patrolled by a fire boat from Perth Amboy. Merwin noted there is plenty to do for the young and old, including free rides for children and displays set up by the fire department and first aid squad. "We're also having some cooling off stations if it's hot," Merwin said. Since parking is limited in the area, shuttle service will be available from the office complex at Exit 120 of the Garden State Parkway, the Cliffwood Beach 7-Eleven, and the Cheesequake Village area. Residents of the Bridgepointe and Parkview developments can get the shuttle by walking out to the main road, Merwin said. There is never a long wait for the shuttle, he added. "We'll get 'em in and out real quickly," he said. Organizers are still seeking additional corporate sponsors for the event. For more information, visit www.oldbridge.com.