Ocean City Draws “Record Number” of Visitors Over Holiday

By MADDY VITALE The Fourth of July holiday and the weekend leading up to it were busy in Ocean City, to say the least. Visitors flocked to the beaches and the Boardwalk, did lots of shopping and dining and attended everything from parades to concerts to a fireworks display. “The Fourth of July weekend was good for the business community of Ocean City. We saw record numbers of guests enjoying the beach, Boardwalk and bay, while also visiting their favorite attractions and great places to eat,” said Michele Gillian, executive director of the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce. Gillian estimated that there were over 150,000 visitors to town over the five-day stretch from Friday through the Fourth. The South End Parade on July 4 starts the holiday off with a lot of patriotic spirit. Gillian also remarked about the activities and entertainment that make Ocean City such a family-friendly resort to visit. “Yesterday was a testament to what a wonderful place Ocean City is, from neighborhood Fourth of July parades to free Ocean City Pops concerts and the best fireworks in the region,” she said. “What a great hometown to be part of.” Both the north end and south end neighborhoods hosted parades that featured bicycles and floats decorated in celebration of the holiday, in a longstanding tradition. Beachgoers enjoyed lounging, especially at the water’s edge, where there was a slight breeze. The water temps hovered around 68 degrees and even inched up to the 70s on Saturday and Sunday, both warm enough to enjoy and cool enough to provide some relief as the air temps hung in the sticky 80s for much of the holiday. Police, fire and emergency personnel were nonstop with calls. Some rough water had lifeguards rushing into the surf to do numerous rescues as well. Mayor Jay Gillian remarked on Monday about all of the city personnel working together to keep the residents and tourists safe. “I could not be more proud of our lifeguards, police, and fire and the entire city team for handling all of the visitors and residents that are enjoying our town,” he said. Boardwalk merchants saw plenty of visitors who did their share of shopping and dining. Wes Kazmarck, president of the Boardwalk Merchants Association, said the Boardwalk was still bustling on July 5. He said the merchants did well over the weekend leading up to the Fourth of July as well as the holiday itself. Kazmarck characterized the holiday as a “good Fourth.” "I would call it a good Fourth. It was busy. It was a different kind of Fourth due to the date falling on a Tuesday,” he said. “A Fourth of July with a three-day weekend is arguably the best three days of the season, but when it isn’t connected to the weekend, and it is spread out over five days, it isn’t the same.” He said, however, that the Boardwalk merchants -- there are approximately 140 of them -- did well overall. “We had some really busy nights. On the Fourth, we had a really strong day leading up to the night,” Kazmarck added. “It was very busy. And there are still a lot of people out today on the Boardwalk. When you add up all five days, we had a really strong week.” Fireworks cap off the holiday. (Photo courtesy of Ocean City)