mvitale

Sun-splashed skies, a huge bike parade, packed beaches and a busy Boardwalk marked Fourth of July in Ocean City. Patrick and Cathie Knaus, of Ocean City, couldn’t wait to bring their grandchildren, Brendan, 4, and his 2-year-old brother, Jack, who were visiting from Swarthmore, Pa., to the Gardens Civic Association Bike Parade Sunday morning. “We are thrilled. Last year, with the bike parade and so many other things being canceled, the summer just didn’t have that great Ocean City feel. So this year, we decided to go all out,” Cathie Knaus said.

The late Ocean City resident and Air Force Sgt. Bill Cruice Sr. likely wouldn’t have wanted all of the recognition. He wouldn’t have felt that it was necessary to add his name to the Morvay-Miley-Cruice Post 524 in Ocean City, those who knew him well said. Veterans, family members and dignitaries paid tribute to Cruice during a ceremony Saturday to officially add his name to the VFW building.

Ocean City has done it again. In a statewide poll, beachgoers have chosen the resort community as “New Jersey’s Favorite Beach.”

City Council elected the leaders of the governing body Thursday, maintaining the status quo with President Bob Barr and Vice President Michael DeVlieger holding the same year-long posts they held the prior year. The nominations, however, weren’t unanimous during Council's annual reorganization meeting.

Imagine fantastic weather, wide beaches, a Boardwalk filled with amusements, shopping, dining and entertainment for the whole family. Well, stop imagining. It’s all offered in Ocean City. And to let visitors know how much they are appreciated, Playland’s Castaway Cove and Jilly’s Stores on the Ocean City Boardwalk have partnered with MediaWize and its websites, OCNJDaily.com, SeaIsleNews.com, SomersPoint.com and Downbeach.com, to offer a flurry of prizes in a contest that is sure to create some friendly competition among tourists. Details follow on how to enter the contest.

Crowds of tourists and residents took to the beaches, Boardwalk and the ocean in Ocean City to cool off and escape the heat wave on Tuesday. Families decided to take in the ocean breezes and forego the air-conditioned indoors to enjoy a day of amusements, surf and sun.

Every bride wants her dress to be remembered for its elegance, beauty, uniqueness or maybe its simplicity. But not all gowns are quite so memorable, at least not quite so special that it lands in a museum. Well, Ocean City resident Elizabeth (Burton) Deaner’s gown happens to be on display at an unlikely place -- the 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Ocean City “boxed in” the dilemma of getting rid of environmentally-unfriendly pizza trash on the Boardwalk. And it’s done so in true O.C. fashion, with a common sense yet creative solution. Pizza box disposal units, a fancy name for pizza box-sized trash cans, are the latest tools in the City’s efforts to maintain a beautiful, safe and clean beach and Boardwalk. The boxes are the same height as a standard Boardwalk trash container, and the same shade of blue. You might not even notice them if not for the “Pizza Boxes” lettering on the sides. That’s where the similarities end. The containers are square in shape and tall enough to contain a stack of large pizza boxes. Pizza boxes are too large to fit in most regular trash cans and they obstruct regular trash. Also, their accompanying grease and pizza crumbs make them un-recyclable. Thus, the idea came up for separate temporary resting places for them until public works employees can scoop them up and dispose of the boxes properly. Wooden pizza box disposal units first appeared last summer to help facilitate outdoor dining during the COVID-19 pandemic...

An Ocean City Fourth of July tradition is back -- two bike parades that will kick off the holiday weekend as it had been for the many years before COVID-19. So, families get into your Fourth of July best, decorate your bicycles and pick where you want to ride along in a parade, joined by hundreds of other participants in the south end on July 3 or the north end on July 4.

Fresh Jersey corn, ripe and juicy tomatoes and homemade pies are among the scrumptious goodies available at the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce Farmers & Crafters Market, which opens Wednesday, June 30. The market is held on the Ocean City Tabernacle grounds at Sixth Street and Asbury Avenue every Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. through Sept. 29. The crafters, with handmade jewelry, artwork and household items, will have their items up for sale on Asbury Avenue between Fifth and Sixth Streets.