Jason Kelce signs autographs during his Sea Isle City celebrity bartending role in 2024.
Sea Isle City’s most famous summer resident and former football star will be dusting off his part-time bartending skills to help raise money for autism awareness.
For the fifth year in a row, former Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro and Pro-Bowl center Jason Kelce will appear at the Ocean Drive bar and sister property O’Donnell’s Pour House on Landis Avenue to play the role of celebrity bartender while headlining a fundraiser that benefits the Eagles Autism Foundation and his “Team 62” charity.
Based on the turnout in previous years, hundreds of fans are expected to pack the Pour House’s outdoor Paddy’s Green dining area and the Sandbar and Grill next door at the Ocean Drive for Kelce’s appearance on Wednesday.
Doors will open at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Ocean Drive and Pour House. The event runs through 8 p.m.
VIP tickets are sold out, but others wanting to attend the event may wait in line and pay a $10 donation on a first-come, first-served basis.
Beforehand, a family-friendly event hosted by the Eagles Autism Foundation will take place in Excursion Park from 12-3 p.m. Wednesday.
Called “the Eagles Takeover of Excursion Park,” the event is open to everyone and will feature an array of family and kid-friendly activities, including mini-football. A $25 donation upon entry will grant families and guests access to the event.
The main fundraising event has become increasingly popular because Kelce brings along some of the current and former Eagles. The Eagles who will be appearing Wednesday from the Super Bowl championship team have not been announced yet.
A companion event Wednesday called "the Eagles Takeover of Excursion Park" will feature family-friendly activities. (Photo courtesy of Eagles Autism Foundation)As part of the autism fundraiser, Kelce’s Team 62 charity will sponsor a Beer Bowl starting at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Yacht Club of Sea Isle City. A $50,000 cash prize will be up for grabs for the Beer Bowl winner.
“For those of you who don’t know what Beer Bowl is, every year, me, the Eagles Autism Foundation, and a bunch of Eagles go and do an event down at the shore,” Kelce said recently on his New Heights podcast. “On Wednesday, we do a guest bartending event. We started doing an event on Thursday called Beer Bowl, which has been associated with this podcast. We’ve went back and forth on it and we decided, let’s do it again.”
Kelce is enormously popular in Sea Isle, both as a fan favorite during his days with the Eagles and as the owner of a summer vacation home in the resort town. He is regularly spotted stopping in at Sea Isle businesses or participating in the annual Mike’s Seafood Run-Walk for Autism fundraiser each February.
“This community supports any type of charitable benefit like no other. Considering my first time ever stepping foot in Sea Isle, I found it’s a very community-driven island and it’s a very family-driven island,” Kelce said in a 2023 interview with SeaIsleNews.com.
During the Eagles Autism Foundation fundraiser in 2024, chants of “E-A-G-L-E-S” and “Kelce, Kelce” broke out among the crowd as Kelce made his appearance along with other current and former Eagles, including Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Jake Elliott, Landon Dickerson, Trent Cole and Todd Herremans.
Stopping by in 2023 was Travis Kelce, Jason’s brother and All-Pro and Pro-Bowl tight end with the Kansas City Chiefs. Travis Kelce continues to be in the national and international spotlight because of his relationship with pop music superstar Taylor Swift.
Young fans take selfies with Jason Kelce during his celebrity appearance in Sea Isle in 2022 at O'Donnell's Pour House and the Ocean Drive bar.
