After Labor Day, Avon-by-the-Sea Meets at the River End of Main Street

The Avon pool closed for the year on September 7. The borough's lifeguard schedule ends at Labor Day. The beach is open year-round, but from October to the end of the year the town's posted schedule points somewhere else: to the opposite end of Main Street, where the road reaches the Shark River and the Avon Municipal Marina Building sits at 2 Main Street.

The building opened in 2015. The Avon-by-the-Sea Historical Society describes it as having floating docks, a kayak launch and a meeting and event space. That meeting room is where the borough governs, where two of its longest-running volunteer groups gather, and where the one confirmed holiday performance of 2026 is booked. Between now and December 28, the room has something scheduled on 11 separate dates.

The Room Where the Borough Does Its Business

The 2026 schedule for the Avon-by-the-Sea Board of Commissioners puts every meeting at 5 p.m. in the Avon Marina Building. Meetings fall on the second and fourth Mondays, and a few dates marked with an asterisk move to Tuesday. The Planning Board uses the same room at 7 p.m.

The next meeting, on Tuesday, October 13, has an agenda with real substance for anyone who uses the lake, the parks or the street parking. It lists a workshop on the Monument Park Project, a proposed amendment to the borough's permitted-parking rules, and a bond ordinance for a $359,750 Sylvan Lake gate-house replacement, with $342,600 of that in bonds or notes. The agenda doesn't describe the scope of the Monument Park work or the details of the parking change. The public hearing on the gate-house ordinance is set for October 26. As of today, these items are proposals. None has been adopted.

You can read the October 13 agenda on the borough site before the meeting. The full meeting schedule is on the Board of Commissioners page.

Two Nights, Two Meetings, One Building

On two evenings this fall, the Marina Building holds back-to-back meetings.

On Monday, October 26, the Commissioners meet at 5 p.m. and the gate-house hearing is on the calendar. The Planning Board follows at 7 p.m.

On Monday, November 9, the Commissioners meet at 5 p.m. The Avon-by-the-Sea Historical Society then holds its monthly meeting in the same room at 6:30 p.m., and the public is invited.

That November evening shows the building's off-season role better than any other date. Borough business and the town's main volunteer history group share one address on one night, an hour and a half apart.

The Calendar Through December

Here is everything confirmed for 2 Main Street from now through the end of 2026, along with a few nearby events that are part of the same season.

The Gardens of Avon-by-the-Sea lists the Marina Building as its meeting place. The club's page also mentions a December holiday dinner, but the date and venue are still undecided. The Columns says its regular restaurant and bar season runs May through September. Its October events are fundraisers booked into the off-season: the Octoberfest benefits the Avon Home & School Foundation and features the Pat Roddy Band, an auction, a 50/50 and a buffet.

Fifty Seats With a View of the River

The December 13 event is the one most likely to sell out. BroadwayWorld reports that Swingin' Merry Sunday will take place indoors "with a seaside view" at the Avon Municipal Marina Building. It's presented by Karen Morris, the independent producer who founded The Swingin' Music Alliance, formerly The Rat Pack Music Alliance. Brian Mark, executive producer of The Sounds of Sinatra with Sid Mark radio program, hosts. Music historian Chuck Granata speaks, vocalist Zack Alexander sings a medley of Christmas songs, and a longtime collector brings a display of Rat Pack-era memorabilia.

The event has only 50 seats. According to The Swingin' Music Alliance's event page, tickets are on sale now, and buying one requires an entry code you request by email.

Five days earlier, on December 8, the Historical Society's annual Vintage/Costume Jewelry Sale fills the same room from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Avon has few dates on its winter calendar that are open to anyone who walks in, and this is one of them.

The Other Civic Address, at 301 Main

The river end doesn't hold everything. The Avon Municipal Building at 301 Main Street hosts the events built around children and seniors. Avon Leisure Citizens meets there Wednesdays from noon to 3 p.m., in the municipal building and gym. Avon Day was held there on October 3. A JerseyShore.com listing places the Avon Recreation Town Halloween Party at the Municipal Building on October 31 at 5 p.m. Avon Recreation's own page confirms it runs the party but hasn't posted this year's date.

The tree lighting has also been held at 301 Main. In 2025, Star News Group listed the Avon Tree Lighting and Holiday Party for Saturday, November 29, at 4:45 p.m. at the Municipal Building, with hayrides if the weather allowed, music, children's activities, a visit from Santa, and a toy collection by the Avon Police Department. A second 2025 listing gave the start time as 5 p.m. The borough hasn't posted a 2026 date yet. The 2025 details show where and roughly when the event has happened, not a confirmed plan for this year.

Little Gem at 300 Main Street sits across from the Municipal Building and is open Wednesday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. On a Wednesday it opens hours before Leisure Citizens begins, and on December 13 it opens four hours before the noon show at the river end.

The Beach Season's History, on Display Downtown

Until December 31, the Avon Post Office has a display that brings summer back. Historical Society President Norah Magrini curated "The History of the Avon Lifeguards," which opened October 2. According to The Coaster, the borough hires 60 lifeguards each summer, 45 of them full-time, to cover about three-quarters of a mile of beachfront. Avon took over guarding the beach in 1917, after the Avon Beach Company stopped providing guards. By 1920, town-employed guards were paid $21 a week.

"They have been guarding our beach since the early 1900's. They are a very important part of our beach community," Magrini told The Coaster.

The exhibit covers Peggy Byrnes, hired in 1944 as the first woman to guard the town's beach, and the Avon Junior Guards, which began in 1957 and has run every summer since 1991. The program started with 15 children and now has more than 100. The Society displays its collection in the post office, library and school because it has no building of its own. It is collecting signatures for a request to the borough for permanent museum space.

The Water at Both Ends

The beach stays open through the off-season. The borough's posted rules allow bikes and rollerblades on the boardwalk only between midnight and 9 a.m., and they don't list an off-season exception. The municipal code separately bars low-speed electric bikes and scooters from the beach and boardwalk unless they are specifically authorized.

At the river end, the borough sends inquiries about marina rentals, boat slips and kayak storage to the Borough office. The marina building, its grounds and its docks are smoke-free under the municipal code. Just past the docks, an On The Water report dated October 8 said baitfish had moved out of the Shark River, tog fishing was good at the Shark River Inlet, and a few striped bass were coming off local beaches as the fall run started to build.

At Shire Realty, we've followed Avon's calendar through more than 40 years of off-seasons. If questions about a parking amendment, a Sylvan Lake bond hearing or the Monument Park workshop at 2 Main Street affect your home, speak with a Jersey Shore real estate expert who follows the borough year-round.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.