mvitale

Visitors to Ocean City on Saturday weren’t going to let a little wind and rain, or a lot of rain for that matter, discourage them from having a great time at the Fall Block Party. While the morning started off partly sunny, clouds came in later and then the rains, some of them heavy. But patrons were prepared. They wore raincoats, toted umbrellas, donned caps and popped in and out of vendor tents to shop, grab a bite to eat or just browse. The downtown from Fifth to 14th streets along Asbury Avenue became an ultra-shopping, dining and entertainment experience for the thousands of visitors to the resort.

Rain or shine, Ocean City’s Fall Block Party will go on as scheduled 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. But due to the weather, the fireworks display is canceled, Mayor Jay Gillian said in a statement Friday.

Get ready for the “dog days” of fall -- this month especially -- when canines and their human counterparts will walk down the Boardwalk for the third annual “Howl-O-Ween” parade Saturday, Oct. 21. New this year, pooches will be permitted on the boards Sunday, Oct. 22, as well. The parade begins at 3 p.m. Oct. 21, with a procession from Sixth Street to 14th Street on the Boardwalk. It is being hosted by the Humane Society of Ocean City (HSOC). If it is anything like the past two years, the parade will make for a major family-friendly event and one that pet lovers will enjoy.

Ocean City will be all about delicious foods, mega-shopping, live entertainment, pony rides and, yes, even fireworks to cap off the always popular Fall Block Party on Saturday. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. the downtown from Fifth to 14th streets along Asbury Avenue will transform into a block party that rivals all others throughout the country, while showcasing local restaurants, crafters and downtown and Boardwalk businesses.

Visitors to Ocean City beaches hit the trifecta on Sunday. It was sunny, temps were in the mid-70s, and it was the first day of the shoulder season that dogs were allowed on the beach. And beachgoers didn’t seem to mind some erosion left in the wake of Tropical Storm Ophelia, which battered the coast on Sept. 23, flooding low-lying areas and creating dangerous rip currents.

Tom Hambrose began riding in Bike MS fundraisers 32 years ago as a way to not only spend a weekend doing what he loves – cycling – but also making it count for others. A decade ago, it became personal. “I got a call from my sister. She was in the hospital, diagnosed with MS,” he explained. “I went from being a weekend bike rider for a cause to it being personal and a big part of my life.” On Saturday, Hambrose of Team Del Buono Bakery, was joined by 4,200 other cyclists who made the trek from Cherry Hill, Mays Landing and Hammonton to Ocean City to raise money for programs and research in hopes of finding a cure for MS.

Jeanmarie Mason, of Ocean City, is a fourth stage breast cancer "thriver." She calls herself that because there is no cure for her prognosis. But she fights. She fights in hopes that one day there will be more treatments for those living with fourth stage breast cancer. On Thursday night, Ocean City Council presented Mason with a proclamation in recognition of October as being Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In addition, the proclamation designates Oct. 13 as the official Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) Awareness Day.

An Ocean City married mother of two wants parents to be more involved in classroom activities. She would like to see a greater partnership between school officials and the community. And she would like to see new programs where students could bring family members in to honor them and other events that could help boost the morale in the Ocean City school district. So what Ocean City parent Laura Wheeler did was to form a parent group -- OCNJ Families United for Sensible Education (FUSE) for the purpose of opening up a conversation.

Get ready for a night of camaraderie, food, live music and kids’ activities at PBA Local 61’s second annual Fall Food Festival on Friday outside of the Ocean City Community Center. The free rain or shine event will be in the lot in the 1600 block of Haven Avenue (the 17th Street entrance to the Ocean City Free Public Library). It will run from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and promises to bring neighbors together with some of the city’s police officers for a great time, organizers said.

Tropical Storm Ophelia brought rains and wind gusts to Ocean City throughout the weekend. “She” also took a lot away – sand to be specific – which was swept back into the churning ocean, leaving erosion in its wake.