Spooks ‘N Kooks Returns to Seventh Street Beach This Sunday October 11th

Ghosts, goblins, and at least a few pizza slices will paddle out at Ocean City’s Seventh Street Beach this Sunday, October 11, for the annual Spooks ‘N Kooks costume surf contest. The Halloween-flavored competition has run since 2012, and every entry helps stock the Ocean City Food Cupboard.

It is one of the town’s more inventive fundraisers. Spooks ‘N Kooks asks people to put on a costume, grab a board, and ride a wave for their neighbors.

How to take part

Registration opens at 10 a.m. on the beach at Seventh Street. To enter, surfers need two things: a costume and a $20 gift card to Acme, ShopRite, or Aldi, which goes straight to the Food Cupboard. If the ocean doesn’t cooperate, the backup date is Monday, October 12.

Surfers compete in three divisions: adults, children, and tandem. Judges pick the top three in each, weighing both costume creativity and how well the rider handles the waves. The field usually runs about 40 to 45 entrants.

Past costumes have ranged from superheroes and pizza delivery guys to Wonder Bear and a Tony Danza tribute. Organizers say nothing elaborate is required; an old mask from the bottom of the Halloween bin will do.

Watching is free, though donations are welcome. Local photographer Joe Almo of Joe 3 Photography will shoot the action again this year, and he also designs the artwork for the event T-shirts and plaques.

How it started

The first contest in 2012 cost a single canned good to enter. The gift-card requirement came later, as organizers looked for a way to give the Food Cupboard more flexibility. Dennis Siteman runs the event with a group of trustees that last year included Sue McElwee, Kevin Farrell, and Rich and Erica Ford.

Scotty Kirkpatrick won that first contest in 2012. Since 2013, though, the title has belonged to Ron Curcio, the reigning holder of the King Kook trophy and the man every entrant is trying to dethrone.

Last year’s stormy edition

The 2025 contest ran straight into a coastal storm that swept through on its scheduled weekend. With the ocean too rough to surf, organizers shifted plans to a costume celebration and a Halloween party at 7th Street Surf Shop on the Boardwalk instead. Even without a single wave ridden, the event still raised more than $1,500 for the Food Cupboard.

Local businesses helped carry the weight. Wildlife Surfboards donated a custom board bearing the Spooks ‘N Kooks logo for the third straight year, and artist Jim McHugh contributed a hand-painted art board. Surfer Supplies, Heritage, 7th Street Surf Shop and Varsity Inn chipped in prizes and sponsorships, and Roma Pizza, reigning OCNJ Local March Pizza Madness Champions,  fed the crowd.

Siteman expects this year to keep the event’s steady growth going.

Where the gift cards go

Gift cards let Food Cupboard volunteers buy exactly what they are short on. Co-chair Jane French calls these staples “core items”: chili, peanut butter and jelly, crackers, canned pasta, tuna and chicken, canned fruits and vegetables, cereal, soup, oatmeal, rice, pasta and ramen. S

The Ocean City Ecumenical Council runs the Food Cupboard out of St. Peter’s United Methodist Church at 8th Street and Central Avenue. It is open Mondays and Wednesdays from 1 to 3 p.m. and Fridays from 10 a.m. to noon, with two Tuesday evenings a month in summer and Saturday mornings in the fall.

Any Ocean City resident can use it once every 30 days, with food portioned by household size. The need is real: Feeding America estimates 1.2 million New Jerseyans face hunger, nearly 330,000 of them children.

For more on the Food Cupboard, visit OCECNJ.org.

Dig out that costume, pick up a $20 grocery gift card, and head to Seventh Street Beach by 10 a.m. this Sunday, October 11. Paddle out for a shot at the podium, or just bring a beach chair and cheer on the kooks. Either way, you’ll help put food on a neighbor’s table this fall.