If you are headed to President Donald Trump’s “Keep America Great Rally” in Wildwood on Tuesday Jan. 28, here is some important information that you should know before you go.
The rally is scheduled to take place at the Wildwoods Convention Center. The address is 4501 Boardwalk, Wildwood. Doors will open at 3 p.m. The rally itself will take place from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m, with President Trump scheduled to speak at 7 p.m.
The event is first-come, first-serve. Having a ticket does not guarantee entry inside the convention center, which can hold about 7,500 people. The entrance will be through the front doors of the center only.
To get in line for the rally and into the event area — which will be restricted — attendees should go through the gate at Fox Park near Atlantic Avenue and be prepared to go through security.
People will be allowed to get in line, inside the event perimeter, beginning Monday at 6 p.m. A line was already forming outside Fox Park on Sunday afternoon.
President Trump will be landing at the Atlantic City Airport and his motorcade is expected to go along the Garden State Parkway, and down to the convention center. Expect intermittent road closures and delays as the motorcade makes it way to the rally.
Drivers should be warned there are some road closures and construction that will affect them. Rio Grande Avenue over George Redding Bridge — the main way into Wildwood — is down to one lane in each direction due to an ongoing construction project. Another way to access the island is through Route 147, or North Wildwood Boulevard into North Wildwood.
If anyone is taking Route 47 as one of the ways to the shore, the area of between Indian Trail Road and Springers Mill Road in Middle Township is closed. Construction crews are repairing a sinkhole.
There will be road closures around the convention center itself, which were expected to start Monday.
Parking in the area will be tight. A number of parking lots around the convention will not be available because the roads to access them will be closed. A number of private parking lots may be open and charge to park in those locations. People who live in the city will not be allowed to charge people to park on their lawns. Also, none of the parking meters on the streets will be turned on.
There will be a limited amount of handicapped parking in the parking lot located at Hand and Ocean Avenues, near the Wildwood sign.
For anyone who is taking a ride-sharing service or is being dropped off in a personal vehicle, the drop-off location will be the 4600 block of New Jersey Avenue. It will be a two-block walk in the eastbound direction to reach Fox Park.
The drop-off area for attendees with disabilities will be at Rio Grande and Ocean Avenues. The people are asked to access the drop-off area by going down Hand Avenue.
The entrance to the event site will be at Fox Park. The entire event site area, extending two blocks west and then about eight blocks south, will be restricted and that perimeter could change, police said.
There’s a specific list of items that will be banned from inside the convention center and a different list of what is banned in the event area outside.
Inside the event area, the following items are prohibited: Alcoholic beverages, backpacks, coolers, drones, firearms, selfie sticks, umbrellas, weapons of any kind, aerosols, mace, pepper spray, packages, explosives, glass containers.
Signs are permitted but no sticks or poles attached to them. Chairs are allowed inside the event area but not inside the convention center. Any of these items that are found will be confiscated and not returned:
Inside, the following items are banned: aerosols, ammunition, non-service animals, backpacks and bags exceeding size restrictions, balloons, bicycles, coolers, drones, explosives, firearms, glass metal or thermal containers, laser pointers, mace/pepper spray, packages, selfie sticks, structures, supports for signs, toy guns, weapons.
Wildwood Police Chief Robert Regalbuto also “strongly urges” attendees outside and inside the rally to not bring any excess baggage, including backpacks, chairs or pets.
Public restrooms will be open on the boardwalk at Youngs Avenue and Leaming Avenue as well as the Doo Wop Museum at Fox park. Portable restrooms will also be set up within the event area.
Even if you like walking on the beach in the winter, do not do it Tuesday. The beach will be closed.
There will be outdoor heaters to keep people warm as they wait in line.
The Wildwoods prepare for the arrive of President Donald Trump and his “Keep America Great Rally,” Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020. Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.comTim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for
You can bring food and drinks inside the event area, but no coolers, backpacks, glass bottles or alcohol. There will be food vendors inside the event area on Tuesday and concession areas will be open inside the convention center.
As for restaurants in the area, according to the Greater Wildwood Chamber of Commerce, the following restaurants will be open on the day of the visit:
Alfie’s Restaurant-Wildwood
Alumni Grill-Wildwood
Anglesea Pub-North Wildwood
Blue Water Grille at The Bolero Resort-Wildwood
Deck at Holly Beach-Wildwood
Dogtooth Bar-Wildwood
Dunffinetti’s Restaurant-Wildwood
Fitzpatrick’s Crest Tavern-Wildwood Crest
Key West Café-Wildwood
La Piazza Cucina-Wildwood
Mr. D’s Pizzeria Steaks & Subs-WIldwood
Mudhen Brewing Company-Wildwood
Mulligan’s Sports Bar & Grill-Wildwood
Olde City Pub-Wildwood
Owen’s Pub-North Wildwood
Poppi’s Brick Oven Pizza-Wildwood
Primo’s-North Wildwood
Shamrock Café-Wildwood
Vegas Diner-North Wildwood
In case you are not able to head down to the event and want to see the crowds wherever you are, the city has webcams set up in different areas to see what is going on in Wildwood.
Chris Franklin can be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @cfranklinnews or on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips.
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