Asbury Park is gearing up for a party that is sure to be a blast.
The annual LGBT beach party Sand Blast will take place July 19-21 and returns with several new events, including new after-parties.
Executive producer Brad Hurtado said the inspiration to add more after-parties to this year’s already-packed event came from the success of such parties last year.
“Last year we added two Saturday parties and both were incredibly popular,” Hurtado said. “We only did daytime parties before and there was interest in more nighttime events as part of the weekend, so last year we added a dance party and an after-party and both were successful beyond our wildest dreams.”
The kick-off party, Lost At Sea, beings at 8 p.m. July 19 at Convention Hall, overlooking the beach, with DJs Corey Craig and Susan Levine. With over 1,200 expected, Hurtado said this party is for everyone.
“It is one of our biggest events of the weekend,” he said. “It is for men, for women — young and old.”
Undertow, a new men’s party, will start at midnight July 19 and end at 4 a.m. at The Berkeley Hotel.
Hurtado said Undertow will be one of the most unique parties because it will include a live-stage art display.
“We are using Joe Oppedisano and he is a fashion photographer and he does a lot of fetish photography and does hyper-masculine photographs that people love. He will be doing live photo shoots on stage of porn stars The Maverick Men, Titanmen and Jessie Jackman.”
The main event of the weekend, the Saturday beach party, will run from noon-7 p.m. at the beach outside Convention Hall. DJs Hector Fonseca and Tony Moran will spin beats for the party that usually draws more than 2,000 revelers.
The new Sunset at the Pool party, 6-10 p.m. July 20 at Berkeley, will feature some Southern-style hospitality with celebrity guest Kenya Moore from “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.” Guests will have a chance to meet Moore as well as other celebrity guests including The Maverick Men, Jackman and DJ Nina Flowers.
Deep Blue, the official Sand Blast Saturday night dance party, will include two world-famous DJs, Flowers and Phil B.
“Nina Flowers is known to people because she is a drag queen who has been on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ and is one of the more popular drag queens on the show,” Hurtado said. “She is a phenomenal DJ as well and she will be doing the first set for Deep Blue. Phil B, who will be doing the second set, is from San Francisco and is well known in that circuit.”
Saturday night will also play host to another famous DJ, as DJ Grind provides the beats for Urge Underwear Party from 1-5 a.m., with The Maverick Men joining in on the fun.
“DJ Grind has become incredibly popular and his Podcasts are well known with 1-million downloads,” Hurtado said.
While events like Undertow and Urge are male-focused, there are also plenty of options for women, such as Wet: The All-Girl Party at the Ocean, 9 p.m.-2 a.m. July 20 at Convention Hall or Sirens of the Sea: The Women’s Pool Party, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. July 20 at the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel Pool.
Sand Blast will close with Tea Dance, 4 p.m. July 21 at Berkeley, with a performance by Moore.
In addition to the plethora of parties, Sand Blast will pack on more events including beach volleyball, drag competitions, a cycling tour, shopping excursions, yoga, surfing lessons and much more. For more information, visit www.sandblastweekend.com.