O.C. Happenings: Air Show, MS City to Shore Ride

mvitale

Retired U.S. Navy Capt. Mark Meredith will perform award-winning spins and aerobatics at the air show Saturday. (Photo courtesy City of Ocean City).

All eyes will turn to the sky for Ocean City’s Air Show Weekend on Sept. 14 and 15. All events are free to attend. The celebration starts with the Ocean City Airport Festival on Saturday (Sept. 14) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The festival features a ground display of unusual airplanes ranging from World War II to the present. The event will feature a parachute jump from Team Fastrax, “America’s Skydiving Team.” It also will include food, music, classic cars and kids’ activities, including the Ocean City Board of Realtors’ popular Bubble Mania. The skydiving team will perform at the Airport Festival at some time after 12 p.m., depending on wind and weather conditions. The half-mile “Runway Run” will return and is open to all ages. It offers a chance for anybody to cover ground normally traversed only by planes. The run will go off at some time between noon and 2 p.m. The festival takes place at the Municipal Airport at 26th Street and Bay Avenue. Additional parking for the festival will be available at Shelter Road (off Tennessee Avenue) with free shuttle service provided. The Parachute Pyrotechnic Show will return for its third year at 8 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 14). The show consists of several highly trained and specially licensed Team Fastrax parachuters exiting an aircraft 6,000 feet above Ocean City’s beach and boardwalk. Brilliant white or multi-colored projectile pyrotechnics are then ignited as the parachuters fly in formation, creating a dazzling display for spectators on the ground. The jump will end with a landing on the Seventh Street Beach and will be viewable along the entire Boardwalk.

The aerobatic show will keep viewers looking to the sky. The Boardwalk Aerobatic Air Show will bring some of the best stunt pilots and aerobatic champions in the world to put on a show over the beach and boardwalk starting at 1 p.m. Sunday (Sept. 15). Some of the performers will include:

Mark Meredith Air Shows: Retired U.S. Navy Capt. Mark Meredith performs award-winning spins and aerobatics.
Ace Maker 33: Gregory “Wired” Colyer shows off the capabilities of the T-33, the U.S. Air Force’s first operational jet and a piece of U.S. aviation history.
Tucano Air Shows: The MK1 Tucano and its 1,100-horsepower turboprop “not only roars, it whines,” according to its pilot. The Tucano will execute loops and other maneuvers at all speeds.
Kevin Russo Air Shows: Kevin is in his 22^nd year flying air shows with his restored SNJ-6, which was built in 1944 and delivered to the Navy during World War II.
Team Fasttrax: The team will make a jump to open the show. Ocean City Police Department Chief Jay Prettyman is scheduled to make the jump with the team.

Thousands typically soak up some of the final days of the calendar summer as they watch the spectacle from the beach and boardwalk. The show is best viewed from the area between Fifth Street and 14th Street. There is no rain date for any of the shows, and air performances may be canceled if weather conditions do not allow for safe flying. 9/11 CEREMONY ON WEDNESDAY Ocean City’s annual “A Day to Remember” 9/11 memorial ceremony begins at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, indoors at the Ocean City Tabernacle. All are encouraged to attend. The ceremony is always well-attended and includes music, prayer and reflections on the memory of lives lost and on the community spirit that was renewed in the wake of the tragedy. The event includes the Striking of the Four Fives, a fire service tradition noting the death of a firefighter in the line of duty. This year’s special guest speaker will be Walter Perez of 6abc Action News. Perez was working in New York and on the scene of the World Trade Center attacks in 2001. For more information, call 609-399-6111.

Ocean City firefighters, police officers and other emergency responders stand at attention at a 911 ceremony in Ocean City. ALSO COMING UP “Off the Beaten Path” Art Show and Exhibition (All of Sept.): Local artists capture undiscovered beauty in the “Off the Beaten” Art Show & Exhibition” at the Art on Asbury Gallery (711 Asbury Avenue). The gallery is open daily, and there will be a "Meet The Artist" reception and awards presentation 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13. Light refreshments will be served. All artwork is for sale. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call (609) 814-0308 or visit oceancityfineartsleague.org. Bruce Garrity Exhibit (All of Sept.): Painter Bruce Garrity brings his colorful oil paintings to the Ocean City Arts Center Sept. 2 through Sept. 30. A “Meet the Artist” reception, free and open to the public, will be held 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13. Garrity’s paintings -- in the traditional modes of still life, the figure, interiors and landscape -- reference Garitty’s studio life and practice, as well as an interest in art historical models. The Ocean City Arts Center is within the Community Center at 1735 Simpson Avenue. Symphony Night at the Pops (Sept. 11): Cody Austin and the world-class musicians of the Ocean City Pops are the stars of the show. The orchestra will be at its best as Maestro Vince Lee leads some of the greatest and most-beloved music in history, featuring favorites such as Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and selections from Wagner's operatic Ring Cycle. Tickets are $20 to $25. Tickets are available at oceancityvacation.com/boxoffice or by calling 609-399-6111. Bill Scheible Returns (Sept. 14): The Pops’ retired maestro and artistic director returns to conduct a program featuring the most recent winners of the Esther Weil student competition at the Music Pier. Tickets are $15 to $20. Tickets are available at oceancityvacation.com/boxoffice or by calling 609-399-6111. Ocean City Boardwalk……Walk To Defeat ALS (Sept. 14): This 2-mile walk raises funds to support patient services and research. Registration is 9 a.m. and the walk will start at 10 a.m. Registration is at the practice field at Sixth Street and Boardwalk. For more information, visit www.oceancitywalktodefeatals.org. Ocean City Historical Museum Annual Luncheon (Sept. 18): Former U.S. Representative and Ambassador to Panama Bill Hughes will discuss how his political career began, his time in office, and how Ocean City impacted his life at a luncheon 11:30 a.m. Sept. 18 at Greate Bay Country Club in Somers Point. Tickets ($50 for general public, $45 for members) are on sale now. Call 609-399-1801.

The MS City to Shore ride is coming to Ocean City Sept. 21. MS City to Shore Ride (Sept. 21): Visit www.mscycling.org for more information on the annual bicycle ride across southern New Jersey with an overnight stop in Ocean City. The event typically includes 7,000 cyclists and has raised $5.6 million. Corvette Show (Sept. 22): More than 350 cars from throughout the history of Corvettes are on display in one of the largest shows of its kind on the East Coast. The cars will be on the boardwalk between Sixth Street and 14^th Street from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 609-457-0081 or visit www.boardwalkcorvettesclub.com. Austin Healy Sport and Touring Encounter 2019 (Sept. 25): Car show on the boardwalk from noon to 4 p.m. For more information. visit www.AHSTC.org or call (267) 679-2500. Walk for the Wounded (Sept. 28): Enjoy a walk on the boardwalk to support wounded military heroes and their families. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. in front of the Music Pier. A ceremony honoring our military begins at 10 a.m. followed by the walk at 10 a.m. For more information, visit www.operationfirstresponse.org or call (609) 402-5190. Health, Fitness & Wellness Expo (Sept. 28): The OCNJ Healthy Living Advisory Council will host its first Health, Fitness & Wellness Expo from 10 a.m. to 4 pm. Sept. 28 at the Ocean City Sports and Civic Center, 6th Street and Boardwalk. OCNJ Half Marathon, 5k & 10 Mile Non-Competitive Walk/Run (Sept. 29): Visit www.ocnj.us/Race-Events to learn more and register for these events.