Sand Blast Weekend © Copyright 2012, Asbury Park Events
JustCircuit Magazine Nominee 2009 & 2010
JustCircuit Magazine Nominee 2009 & 2010
Sand Blast Weekend Has Always Been Focused On Promoting Gay Homeownership & Tourism
It was back in 2000 when the gays in NYC and Philly started to hear about Asbury Park. There was an article in a gay publication by a guy named named Michael Liberatore who lived and worked in Manhattan but who had fallen in love with the decrepit but beautiful old beach town he’d found 40 miles south of Manhattan on the Jersey Shore. His article included great photos of old dilapidated Victorian houses and a forlorn and empty boardwalk. It worked like catnip. Within days of its publication the local realtor’s phones began ringing and suddenly there were cars filled with well groomed men slowly cruising the streets of Asbury Park wondering if they really were up for the challenge of renovating their first house. Many kept right on driving after that visit and never came back, but within a year there were a dozen guys who’d taken the leap.
In 2001 a small group of gay & lesbian homeowners decided to create a beach party weekend to promote Asbury Park to the gay community in the tri-state area as a new & upcoming destination for a weekend getaway or a second home.
Today over 700 GLBT men and women make AP their weekend home, or full time residence and on summer weekends that number swells to over 2,000 as friends visit. Members of our community have gone on to become our mayor, city council members, our fire inspector and school superintendent. Our business district and boardwalk are lined with gay-owned shops and restaurants and our beaches are packed with “family” from the tri-state area who’ve helped Asbury Park become a major gay & lesbian destination unlike any other.
Whether you’re ready for a fixer-upper or prefer a condo in an oceanview apartment building, if you’ve got the scratch to buy one of our grand beauties that’s fully renovated, or you’re looking for a 2-family with a rental unit, there’s plenty of interesting housing stock here in Asbury Park. While you’re in town over Sand Blast Weekend why not stop by an open house, or visit one of our realtors to see what’s on the market?
How Asbury Park’s Real Estate Hooked The First Wave of Gays
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