By MADDY VITALE
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.
The events are free and no advance registration is required.
The South Ocean City Improvement Association parade had not been scheduled for this year, but a group of local residents, the Chamber of Commerce and the city will bring it back.
The south end parade will start at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 3, with participants starting to line up at 9 a.m. in the Our Lady of Good Counsel parking lot at 40th Street and Asbury Avenue.
Flag-waving Phillies fans are among the marchers in the colorful procession in the south end in 2019.
The south end parade ends at the playground at 52nd Street and Haven Avenue.
Michele Gillian, executive director of the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce, said that the Chamber was eager to help keep the tradition going.
"We are excited to continue the tradition of the South End Bike Parade that began in 1954. Ocean City is about families and this community event is for families. Preserving tradition is important,” Gillian said in a statement.
She added, “We can't wait to see all the families and their decorated bicycles for the parade. Both the north end and south end bicycle parades are an important part of America's Greatest Family Resort and we are happy to be a part of it."
Registration for the Gardens Civic Association Bike Parade for the north end parade begins at 9 a.m. Sunday, July 4, in the parking lot at the foot of the Ocean City-Longport toll bridge.
The route makes its way to East Atlantic Boulevard with a finish near Beach Road. The parade begins at 10 a.m.
Bike parades over Fourth of July weekend in the south and north ends of the island will begin the holiday weekend. (Photo courtesy of Ocean City)
Duane Sonneborn, treasurer of the Gardens Civic Association, said in an interview Friday that he is looking forward to a fantastic family-friendly event.
“Everything was canceled in 2020. But this year is different,” Sonneborn said. “We are getting back to normal. Hopefully, we will have a lot of people come out for the parade.”
Sonneborn, who joined the association that hosts the north end parade back in 2009, said it has been a tradition since at least the 1950s for residents of the north end.
“We have about 600 people show up – kids and adults,” he said. “We give out T-shirts to the kids to emphasize bike helmet safety. On the back of the shirt is a list of all of the sponsors who help make the parade possible.”
Sonneborn explained that a lot goes into the organizing of the parade each year and added that the help of police with crowd control and ensuring participants’ safety along the parade route is always appreciated.
“We get great help from the police department,” he said.
Lauren Pall, of Langhorne, Pa., and her husband, Shaun, with son, Louis, and daughter, Emma enjoy the north end parade in 2019.
Sonneborn said he is thrilled that the south end parade will be held because, like the north end parade, it is an important tradition to uphold in the city.
He added, “I think it is a real positive for the city and the Chamber in keeping the tradition going at 40th Street and the south end. It makes sense to have something for the south end.”
He said he heard from a past president of the Gardens Civic Association that the South Ocean City Improvement Association had difficulty getting enough volunteers together to help organize the parade and that the members decided to cancel the parade back in February.
“They always had big parades with floats. Our past president was talking with them and they basically said that they were having the same problem we do at our association," Sonneborn explained. "We can’t get enough volunteers. We get donations, which is great. But we don’t have enough doers.”
Participants display their Fourth of July best. (Photo courtesy of Ocean City)
Other holiday weekend events include a free patriotic Ocean City Pops concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 3, at Carey Stadium on the beach block of Fifth Street.
A kite-flying contest and yo-yo exhibition will go off at 7 p.m. Sunday, July 4, on the beach and Boardwalk near the Music Pier.
The fireworks are scheduled for 9 p.m. on July 4 with the display launched from a barge off Ninth Street.
