Donald Wittkowski

The folks at the Ocean City Historical Museum and the Ocean City Free Public Library must have some serious clout up at the North Pole. Not only were they able to get Santa Claus to make a personal appearance Sunday at the annual Ocean City Community Center Holiday Festival, they also snagged Mrs. Claus. Santa made a dramatic entrance, shimmying and dancing his way down the stairs – sorry, no chimney was available – to greet all of the adoring children eagerly awaiting his arrival...

For one brief moment Saturday, 84-year-old Tom Eddis was a kid again. The model trains that chugged around the railroad tracks on the stage of the Ocean City Music Pier rekindled fond memories of the Christmases of his youth. He recalled that his now-deceased older brothers, Joe and Bill, had a train set that was taken out of storage just once a year...

Sisters Grace and Jamison Stepp wanted to be among the first spectators to see Santa Claus, so they grabbed some prime seats on the sidewalk near the start of Ocean City’s Christmas Parade. They were hoping they would be close enough to draw Santa’s attention, perhaps even letting him know some of the gifts they would like to find under the tree on Christmas morning...

Taking a cue from similar tourist attractions in the Poconos, an Ocean City real estate developer unveiled tentative plans to transform the heart of the Boardwalk into a year-round, indoor waterpark and resort hotel costing $250 million to $300 million. Justin Flood, a lifelong Ocean City resident whose family has been in the local real estate business for decades, outlined details of the proposed project in public remarks during a City Council meeting Thursday night...

The Port-O-Call Hotel, the pink-hued grande dame towering over the Ocean City Boardwalk since 1966, decided to rebrand its traditional restaurant three years ago to give it some contemporary flair. What emerged was Adelene Restaurant, whose striking décor now serves as a model for other seashore-inspired architectural updates throughout the hotel, explained Glenn Losch, the general manager of the property...

The strains of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” and other holiday classics filled the auditorium of the Ocean City Tabernacle on Wednesday during the 34th annual Christmas Chorale performance by school choirs across Atlantic and Cape May counties. The performances were recorded by Just Right TV videographer Martin Fiedler and will be broadcast online throughout the holiday season by MediaWize using its network of websites, including OCNJDaily.com, SeaIsleNews.com and SomersPoint.com. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Google and YouTube will also be utilized. This year represents the first time MediaWize has handled the broadcasting...

Ocean City’s 2017 beach tag sales were solid, if not spectacular, during an occasionally rainy summer that may have put a damper on the day-tripper market. In all, the city reaped $4 million in revenue from beach tags this past summer, compared to $4.1 million in 2016, according to figures released Monday. Ocean City had an all-time high of nearly $4.2 million in beach tag revenue in 2015. “It was a solid season, but definitely not the pinnacle,” Frank Donato, the city’s chief financial officer, said of the 2017 summer. “That seems to be consistent with some...

Most of the children who plopped on Santa Claus’ lap on Saturday at the Ocean City Music Pier tried their best to remember all of the things they want for Christmas. However, Olivia Hennessey, 7, and her 5-year-old brother, Connell, really came prepared, bringing with them handwritten wish lists that they presented to Santa...

Friday was a day to discover old-time traditions and to feel the nostalgia of a small-town Christmas as Ocean City celebrated “Our Miracle on Asbury Avenue-Christmas in the Downtown” between Sixth Street and 11th Street. Decked out in the timeless look of lit garland and wreaths and stunning red bows, and with the sounds of holiday classics being played through the city’s Asbury Avenue sound system, downtown Ocean City was filled with the warmth and charm of Christmas past...

Gloria Votta remembers the father who walked into Ocean City’s Ecumenical Council Clothes Closet about two years ago accompanied by his young son, who was wearing only a T-shirt in the cold weather. “The father said, ‘He doesn’t have a coat. Do you have a coat that fits him?’” Votta recalled. Fortunately, the Clothes Closet had just received a new donation of coats then. Votta looked inside a bag of coats and found one that fit the young boy. Those coats were among the donations given at that time to the Ocean City Board of Realtors as part of its annual Warmth for the Winter Clothing Drive...