Get Those Beach Blankets, Coolers Ready

It's a harbinger of spring. Just as the first robins of the season were spotted a bit more than a week ago, Greenwich residents had another sign that spring is in the air ... when they opened their mailboxes.

The much coveted beach card applications were mailed to residents seeking a sandy respite at any of the town's four beaches. Town parks officials have said that nearly 50,000 beach applications were processed last year.

For $30, town residents can enjoy Greenwich Point Park — affectionately known as Tod's Point; Byram Park, and the two off-shore beach parks at Island Beach and Great Captain's Island. The latter are accessible by ferry for which residents pay an additional $4 per round trip.

Beach passes are required from May 1 through Oct. 31. (For nonresidents, there is a $10 admission daily fee, plus $20 for parking; plus an additional $10 daily fee to ride the ferry.) The town's ferry service begins June 9 and will continue Sept. 16. For a complete schedule click here.

The town has expanded its "Cruise to Nowhere," a two-hour trip along the Greenwich coastline, with 2 trips in June, and 6 in July and in August. These cruises are open to the public and cost $10 a person.

Parks personnel recommend sending in the application forms with the requisite residency documentation soon so residents' computer-coded ID pass cards can be renewed before the season starts.

For park pass information, call (203) 861-3169 or log onto the town website: www.greenwichct.org.

This year the Parks and Recreation Department continues its tradition of scheduling popular bands for the annual Wednesday Night Concert Series held at the waterfront Roger Sherman Baldiwn Park. Perennial favorites including the Greenwich-based Bob Button Orchestra and Billy and the Showmen; Gunsmoke and Cynthia Sayer have been booked, along with another popular cover band, The Short Bus, another town-based group.

Other activities include the Sunday night concerts in July and August with the Sound Beach Community Band; the family movie and picnic nights at the Bendheim Western Greenwich Civic Center, and the 4th of July fireworks at Greenwich Point and Binney Park on July 7.