Carnies and bathing beauties start the show off with a walk down Memory Lane, back to the Roaring Twenties when the area was the home of Neptune Beach, an amusement park with extravagant public baths. Then, following a drum corps, you’ll visit “Glory of the Seas,” a WWII-era maritime officer training station, where you can join the trainees for drills. Ryujin the Dragon Queen spins a tale of ecological warning on the shores of the first estuary marine reserve in California, established in 1980. And finally, Japanese taiko drummers, Balinese gamelan performers, musicians, and contemporary dancers take to the beach for a dazzling ‘Island to Island’ finale that pays tribute to our shared waters and the global community’s efforts to protect them.

This event is free and open to the public. A limited number of advanced reservations are available online. Remaining slots will be held for walk-ups on the day of the event. Tours will be filled on a first-come first-served basis.

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Island City Waterways History Talk: The People of Neptune Beach

Friday, May 4th | 7-8:30pm | Rhythmix Cultural Works

From madcap motorcyclists to the founder of the health club, from Hollywood’s Tarzan to the creator of the Popsicle – Alameda’s Neptune Beach Amusement Park attracted a fabulous mélange of personality. Meet the only man in both the surfing and swimming hall of fame, and the woman who could outswim all men. Mob the celebrities, egg on the child boxers, compete in necking contests on the Scenic Railway and gasp as a girl plummets from the Whoopee, all while a terrorist threatens to blow up the entire park. Watch as the City Council deals with the scandal of exposed ankles on the beach, and follow Miss America 1925 in her rise out of Neptune’s pool to the nation’s beauty crown. Daredevil aerialists, entrepreneurs, entertainers and athletes alike, the list of amazing people to pass through Neptune Beach could be used to define the term Americana.