MediaWize

Santa is coming to town, so get ready for the holidays in Ocean City. Festivities begin Friday with the "Christmas in the Downtown -- Our Miracle on Asbury Avenue" celebration. Yes, boys and girls, Santa will make a special appearance. Following are more details on Christmas in the Downtown and other upcoming special events through the holiday season.

Roy Gillian, former Ocean City mayor and father of Mayor Jay Gillian, will be honored Tuesday night in a City Council proclamation. City Council and Mayor Gillian have proclaimed Nov. 25 as "Roy Gillian Day" in Ocean City in celebration of his 90th birthday. Members of the public are invited to the City Council meeting 5 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall to wish Roy Gillian a happy birthday.

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach is hosting a sealed bid auction on a newly constructed Gardens property at 15 E. Dundee Road in Ocean City. Originally listed at $1,675,000, the property will now sell at $1,125,000 or above. All bids are to be hand delivered to Berkshire Hathaway, 109 34th Street, Ocean City, by Friday, Nov. 29. This eastside Gardens home is stunning with its southern coastal feel and is a quick walk to the beach. Beautifully crafted by premier custom builder, Whale Beach Builders, the house boasts five bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms.

The Cape May County Municipal Utilities Authority is replacing and rehabilitating the force mains that carry wastewater to the treatment plant on the bay at 45th Street. The work will be done on 31st Street from Haven Avenue to Bay Avenue and Bay Avenue from 31st Street to Eighth Street. Following are details for construction work scheduled during the week of Nov. 25 to 29.

The public is invited to attend the annual community Thanksgiving service that will be held 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26, at the Ocean City Tabernacle at 550 Wesley Avenue. The gathering is sponsored by the interdenominational Ocean City Ecumenical Council. People of all faiths are invited.

Ocean City High School’s American Sign Language Club has invited Nyle DiMarco, role model and activist for the deaf community, to speak at the Bill and Nancy Hughes Performing Arts Center on Monday, Dec. 2 at 9 a.m. DiMarco, winner of “Dancing with the Stars” and “America’s Next Top Model,” is a leader and ambassador for the deaf community. Born into a multigenerational deaf family, he is an honorary spokesperson for Language Equality and Acquisition for Deaf Kids (LEAD-K) and founder of the Nyle DiMarco Foundation, which works to improve the lives of deaf people around the world.

Mayor Jay Gillian said Ocean City was able to showcase its dredging program and the health of its back bays during a session Thursday at the League of Municipalities Conference in Atlantic City. "The idea that Ocean City’s program is a model for the rest of the state is a testament to the success of the team we have put together," the mayor said in his weekly message to the public posted Friday on the city's website.

Ocean City’s “Earlier than the Bird” event is your holiday wake-up call, inviting one and all to come out and shop downtown for pre-holiday savings at all of your favorite shops. The morning of Saturday, Nov. 23, from 8 a.m. to noon is when shoppers can find great deals at stores on Asbury Avenue from Sixth Street through 11th Street. Shoppers are encouraged to wear their pajamas. Free turkeys will be awarded for the best-dressed.

The Ocean City Drama Guild presents "It’s A Wonderful Life," a classic holiday tale about George Bailey's dreams of escape and adventure. Show dates are Dec. 5 and 6 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 7 at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at the Ocean City High School’s Bill and Nancy Hughes Performing at Center.

As Ocean City knockdowns go, this is a big one. The former Perry-Egan Chevrolet, AKA Ocean City Chevrolet, began its fade into history this week to make way for development of a yet-to-be determined number of new homes, or possibly for open space. Chain link fencing surrounded the perimeter of the former dealership on Wednesday afternoon as the old buildings which formerly contained a showroom full of new cars, offices, and the service department, met its date with the heavy demolition equipment. A white sign with red lettering stating “Coming soon 20+ single family homes buildable lots available,” was attached to the fencing. The majority of the buildings and the surrounding asphalt / concrete lots are owned by Klause Enterprises, LLC, of Ocean City. Earlier this year, plans were announced for the homes to be built after negotiations for the property to be purchased by the city ended...