Get ready to watch babies race each other on the beach Tuesday. (courtesy City of Ocean City)
For its 109th year, the Ocean City Baby Parade returns as a morning event. The 2018 parade will start at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, August 9.
The annual tradition offers a chance for parents to show off Ocean City’s newest generation. The parade features children cruising the Ocean City Boardwalk in themed strollers, wagons and floats. It starts at Sixth Street with children finishing at 12th Street and all other entries continuing to 14th Street.
The parade is free to watch from either side of the boardwalk. Spectators are welcome to bring beach chairs to watch from the railing along the ocean side of the boardwalk. On the parade morning, the boardwalk will close to bicycle traffic at 10 a.m.
The Give and Take Jugglers will participate and perform a show after the parade in front of the Ocean City Music Pier. The Crescent Shrine Clown Unit, Miss New Jersey Jaime Gialloreto, 8-year-old Netflix series “Maniac” star Aaralyn Anderson, the Ed Coles Band, the OCTC Spotlight Performers Show Choir and Queen Infanta 2018 Grace Bromhead also will be part of this year’s parade.
Babies ride on some interesting floats. (Courtesy City of Ocean City)
Registration is open to anybody who wants to participate in the parade, which features children ages 10 and under. For an online entry form and more information, visit ocnj.us/babyparade. Participants also can sign up at the Welcome Center on the ground floor of City Hall at Ninth Street and Asbury Avenue. Entry fee is $5 per child, and the registration deadline is 5 p.m. Tuesday, August 7.
Pamper Scamper attracts leading infant athletes
Ocean City’s Sixth Street Beach will be awash with determined infant athletes and frantic parents during the popular annual Pamper Scamper at 9 a.m. Tuesday, August 7. The event is a crawling race with the very young competitors placed in the center of a parachute and racing to the perimeter.
Actually, some of the infants are not that determined -- so parents on the sidelines attempt to urge them on by jingling shiny objects, waving their favorite toys and just plain shouting.
The event is open to children up to 15 months old, competing in various age categories. This is strictly a crawling race. Contestants who stand up and walk will be heartily cheered ... and then disqualified.
You will see some unique crawling techniques. Some babies flip-flop on their bellies, others have been known to crawl backwards (feet first), then there are those who just sit calmly in the ring and leave the exertion to others. Bring your cameras. Free registration opens at 8:30 a.m. on the beach adjacent to the Sports and Civic Center and boardwalk at Sixth Street.
Get ready to watch babies race each other on the beach Tuesday. (courtesy City of Ocean City)
Also this week
Beauty and the Beast (August 7 to 10): The Ocean City Pops orchestra and the Greater Ocean City Theatre Company (OCTC) present four performances of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” at 7:30 p.m. August 7, 8 and 10; and 2 p.m. August 9 at the Bill and Nancy Hughes Performing Arts Center on Sixth Street. Based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature, the stage version includes all of the wonderful songs written by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman, along with new songs by Mr. Menken and Tim Rice. The original Broadway production ran for more than 13 years and was nominated for nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Tickets are $25 to $30. Call 609-399-6111 or visit oceancityvacation.com/boxoffice.
Wacky Wednesday – That's How the Cookie Crumbles (August 8): Use your creativity to shape and sculpt a cookie into your very own unique masterpiece. Contest is free. Limited to 150 participants. Open to all ages. Start time: 10:30am at the Music Pier, Moorlyn Terrace & Boardwalk. For more information call 609-399-6111
42nd Annual Boys and Girls Surf Fishing Tournament (August 11): The tournament for youngsters between the ages of 8 and 16 takes place by the Ocean City-Longport Bridge. Registration for the free event is 9 to 10 am, followed by the tournament from 10 am to noon. Prizes and trophies awarded. Rain date is Aug. 18. Co-sponsored by O.C. Fishing Club and Dept. of Recreation. For more information, call 609-814-0216.
Miss Ocean City Pageant (August 11): Miss Ocean City 2017 Madison Kennelly will be on hand as contestants compete in interview, talent, swimsuit, evening gown and onstage question 7 p.m. Saturday at the Ocean City Music Pier. Contestants must be between the ages of 16 and 22. For more information, call 609-399-6111. Stop by the Music Pier Box Office or visit oceancityvacation.com/boxoffice.
Miss Ocean City 2018 Madison Leigh Kennelly flashes a winning smile and waves to the crowd at the Music Pier.
Ocean City Pops – The Wonderful Music of Oz (August 12): L. Frank Baum's classic novel, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," took the world by storm upon its publication on May 17, 1900.
The beloved classic is still enchanting readers and music lovers today – more than 100 years later. Fans now can celebrate all the music based on the original tale in one magical concert event. "The Wonderful Music of Oz" pays tribute to the story as told on Broadway ("Wicked," "The Wiz"), in Hollywood ("The Wizard of Oz," "Return to Oz") and on the radio ("Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," "Tin Man"). Defy gravity and travel over the rainbow as we take a musical journey down the yellow brick road with a cast of New York's top vocalists. There's no place like home and there's no show like "The Wonderful Music of Oz."
The show is 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 12 at the Ocean City Music Pier. Tickets are $20 to $25 and are available at oceancityvacation.com/boxoffice, by calling 609-399-6111, or in-person at the City Hall Welcome Center, the Roy Gillian Welcome Center on the Route 52 causeway and the Ocean City Music Pier Box Office.
