From beaches and parks to restaurants and shops, Middletown, NJ is a great place to spend your summer

From beaches and parks to great local restaurants and shops, events and so much more, Middletown Township is a great place to spend some time this summer.

When you think about it as well, the first stop for those coming down to the Jersey Shore from northern New Jersey or out-of-state in New York or elsewhere, Middletown is right there at the top in Monmouth County.

To discuss summer and what's going on throughout the year as well in this municipality, Middletown Mayor Tony Perry joined myself and Dave Crossan as a guest on 'Shore Time with Vin and Dave' on Sunday on 94.3 The Point and 105.7 The Hawk.

Middletown is one of the largest municipalities at the Jersey Shore and among them statewide as well, so there's no shortage of things to do during the summer.

"We're a 42-square mile town with almost 68,000 people so there's a lot of things to do and a lot of great places to visit in Middletown," Mayor Perry said. "We have over 6,000 acres of Open-Space that are available, we have great municipal parks, we have great county parks, we have Sandy Hook as a part of Middletown -- throughout the summer, Middletown gets busy -- we have Sandy Hook beaches, we have Leonardo Beach, we have Ideal Beach, and all of them are incredible places to go, especially, for young families I always think because you're not on the ocean, you're on the bay so those rip tides and the current isn't as crazy. I have two young kids and that's where I go. We also have Bayshore's Waterfront Park with the Spy House, which is a county beach."

Yes, there are great beaches to have fun, swim, build sandcastles and more but there's also plenty of other fun activities as well near or at the beaches and parks in Middletown.

"In Ideal Beach we have our volleyball leagues that we are having each and every Tuesday that you can come out and play volleyball, we have our Movies in the Park that are happening with some great movies this year -- we have the new SpaceJam movie that's playing this year, MySpy2 is playing this year -- so, a lot of great things for parents to bring their kids to and fun things that we're all just able to come back from this pandemic and see each other," Mayor Perry said. "So, let's all see those smiling faces of our kids, of our parents. Our Middletown Day is September 24 of this year which is going to be even bigger than it was last year, it's always a great time down at Croydon Hall -- I hope everyone can make it over there -- it's really a fun day, just a great day for our businesses to come out and for our residents to meet them."

There will be lots of businesses showcasing all the great items they have along with great music and more at Middletown Day.

What's a summer without fireworks? There are a couple -- legal -- opportunities to see fireworks this summer in Middletown.

"Middletown is definitely a beneficiary of a couple of fireworks shows. Obviously they're "private" but the good things about fireworks is that you can see them from anywhere, right, but on July 1, we have Beacon Hill Country Club's fireworks, which is in the Leonardo section of town, we have Navesink Country Club's fireworks which is the next night, and then Hackensack Meridian (Health) Foundation has theirs over the Navesink River, always on July 3," Mayor Perry said. "Grab your spots on the Route 35 Bridge early and you will be able to see those fireworks. Head on down because there's a lot of great places to see some great artistry with fire -- safely."

There is part of a movie currently being filmed where the old Town Hall is located in Middletown.

"Our new Town Hall is a big thing, and it's something that we're really proud of, obviously, and the residents of Middletown should be proud of because this building represents them and everything that happens in this building represents those people," Mayor Perry said. "While our old Town Hall was fine, it was dilapidated and needed to be rehabbed and sadly it's going to be demolished because of this new 72,000 square foot building that we're in now that's really a one-stop-shop for our residents.

But one great thing that I should mention is that a Hollywood movie is being filmed at our old Town Hall, right now -- Luke Wilson and Donald Sutherland and Andy Garcia -- they're all here right now filming -- right outside my window -- a movie called Miranda's Victim and it's telling the story of Miranda rights and where that came from. It's a pretty cool thing to kick off the summer right before Memorial Day and it's been going on ever since but they're (also) filming in Red Bank, they're filming at Monmouth University -- so they're really utilizing local talent, local folks to do set production, to be in the movies."

There may also be a special Middletown appearance in the movie.

"I don't know if my part is going to remain but I do have a little appearance in this movie. I might play a police officer," Mayor Perry said.

You can listen to more and the full conversation myself and Dave Crossan had with Middletown Mayor Tony Perry on 'Shore Time with Vin and Dave', right here.