#InTheLoop | Big BBQ in Rockaway on Saturday! Stay for the Rest of the Summer

Summertime and the living is easy…on the peninsula.

So easy that internationally famous influencer Rob Martinez is going to throw a huge bash there on Saturday, Aug. 3, at 5 pm.

Beat the heat – and eat much meat – at The Big Hearty Rockaway Party at Postcard Brewing Co. at 111-30 Beach Channel Dr.

Entry to the four-hour grease down is free, but pay $40 for “one of everything” tickets. Here’s what that entails.

One Danger Dog from Super Burrito
One ceviche from La Cevicheria
One BBQ plate from Jase BBQ
One ice from the Lemon Ice King of Corona (choose from four flavors)

Wow. This sounds awesome. But who is Rob Martinez?

With thousands of followers on Instagram and Youtube, he runs a cyber-community for food-and-travel enthusiasts. He organizes events, tours, and networking opportunities, while also selling plenty of merch. 

Cool. Sounds like a noble profession. Why did he choose Rockaway for his Saturday BBQ?

Well, it’s hot (literally and figuratively). The 11-mile-long peninsula has great beaches featuring waves, bikinis, and sandcastles. There are countless seasonal attractions – surfing shops, jetski rentals, ambulant ice cream vendors – but Rockaway is also a residential area with suburban homes, great loca restaurants, and community bars. The A train, the Q53 bus, various private vans, and even NYC Ferry take people there and back.

Some details follow.

Jacob Riis Park

Known as “The People’s Beach,” Jacob Riis Park is the most popular attraction inside the Gateway National Recreation Area. It offers boardwalks, landscaped walkways, pitch-and-putt golf, sand, seaside, and surf. Its famous Art Deco bathhouse is part of a district that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s also a great place to ride bicycles. The public beach is about one mile long, and it is maintained by the National Park Service. It’s open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Riis Park Beach Bazaar

The Riis Park Beach Bazaar has indoor and outdoor facilities near the shoreline in the vicinity of 167-02 Rockaway Beach Blvd. This mile-long shopping Mecca runs from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend. Hours are 11 am to 8 pm on weekends and holidays and noon to 8 pm on weekdays, with possible late hours on Wednesday. The bazaar opened in 2016 and almost immediately became a tourism destination due to its top-notch cuisine. Vendors change each summer, but Seany Pizza, Redhook Lobster Pound, Hook Burger, and Sand Shark Bar should be there in 2023.

Rockaway Theatre Company

Founded in 1997, the Rockaway Theatre Company offers performances at a renovated theater that was once a cinema for United States Army personnel at Fort Tilden (Building T4). Currently, it’s presenting Footloose.

Rockaway Artists Alliance

Rockaway Artists Alliance offers arts and cultural programming including everything from exhibitions in the galleries to multimedia showcases to solo shows in Fort Tilden in the sTudio 6 and sTudio 7 art galleries and in the Education Center in Building T149.

Surf Schools

Rockaway has some of the best swell on the Eastern Seaboard. The peninsula also has some great surf schools featuring native instructors who beam with enthusiasm for the sport and can teach all skill levels. Each one has an interesting story.

Skudin: Will and Cliff Skudin are industry and local legends. Will was the first East Coaster to be nominated for a World Surf League Big Wave Award for best performance. Plus, he is on record for having ridden one of the biggest and most critical waves at Nazare, a surfing community in Portugal. Meanwhile, Cliff is a formally nationally ranked lifeguard who pulled three drowning teenage boys to safety off Long Beach, Long Island, over Memorial Day Weekend in 2012. According to reports, he paddled into the water on his surfboard to grab one boy about 50 yards from shore and then got the other two lads about 100 yards out. The Skudin brothers provide a wide variety of lessons and run surf camps in Rockaway, various Long Beach locations, and Puerto Rico. They also combine sports such as soccer and lacrosse with surfing to offer dual camps for children. Check them out at Beach 67th Street and Beach Front Road.

Conatus: In 17th century European philosophy, the word “conatus” (Kuh-nah-tus) refers to the will to live and the power of mind, body and spirit. Conatus Surf Club founder and lead instructor Dion Mattison, a former pro surfer, was born on a sailboat. The son of a wave enthusiast, he has been surfing since age one. Dion’s philosophy is to teach students about the ocean and the sand, not to push them into anything. In fact, his initial classes focus on basics like paddling and maneuvering. In addition to Rockaway, where he has a clubhouse, he teaches in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Costa Rica and organizes retreats.

Locals: Co-owners Mike Reinhardt and Mike Kololyan are best buddies who grew up in Rockaway. They are lifelong surfers and skaters and they teach both hobbies at this academy, which they founded in 2011. Currently, they offer individual and group lessons, camps for kids and charity programs. They can also be hired for contests, festivals and parties. Surfboards and wetsuits provided. Check them out on the sand at Beach 69th Street.

New York: Private lessons, group lessons, summer camp, maybe even singles and women-only classes. Classes begin in the sand. Then, they go where the spirit takes them. Check them out at Beach 69th Street.

Whale and Dolphin Watching

American Princess Cruises has a 95-foot-long aluminum cruising vessel boat, logically called the “American Princess.” The United States Coast Guard has certified it for up to 250 passengers at a time. Equipped with a high output stereo/PA system with speakers, the vessel has a large upper deck with a canopy and removable side curtains. It also has a large main deck and cabin with cushioned seating, movable tables for casual dining, a bar station, and a separate buffet area. For years, the company was based in Rockaway, but now the trips embark from Pier 3 at 2498 Emmons Ave. in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn.

Top image: Jase BBQ; bottom images: Noah Fecks