Ocean City Air Show and Airport Festival Take Off This Weekend 

All eyes will turn to the sky for Ocean City’s Air Show Weekend on Sept. 16 and 17. All events are free to attend, and the early forecasts call for sunny and clear skies.

The celebration starts with the Ocean City Airport Festival on Saturday (Sept. 16) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The festival features a ground display of unusual airplanes ranging from warbirds to helicopters.

The event will feature a parachute jump from Team Fastrax, “America’s Skydiving Team.” It also will include food vendors, music, vehicle displays and kids’ activities.

The skydiving team will perform at the Airport Festival at 12 p.m., depending on wind and weather conditions. Ocean City Solicitor Dottie McCrosson is scheduled to make a tandem jump with one of the team professionals.

A half-mile “Runway Run/Walk” 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 after the skydiving jump. Children’s activities will include airplane and coloring contests between 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

All-day activities include “Bubble Mania,” face-painting, helicopter rides available for purchase, city vehicle displays and special guests Martin and Mollie Mollusk.

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.

Fastrax skydivers perform in tandem during a jump in 2022.

The Parachute Pyrotechnic Show will go off over Ocean City at 8 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 16). 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 Boardwalk Aerobatic Air Show will bring some of the best stunt pilots and aerobatic champions in the nation to put on a show over the beach and Boardwalk starting at 1 p.m. Sunday (Sept. 17). Some of the performers will include:

• Rick Volker Air Shows: Volker pushes the boundaries of both low- and high-speed limits, and artfully utilizes the smallest three-dimensional space to create a masterpiece of entertainment.

• David Windmiller Air Shows: Windmiller will execute gyroscopic tumbles, spins, aerial cartwheels, torque rolls and soaring feats of precision in a light and agile Zivko Edge 540.

• Jersey Jerks: The “Jerks” are highly experienced and trained formation pilots who have been a part of the Warbird community for most of their lives. They are only moderately grumpy.

• Full Throttle Formation Team: Aviation professionals with more than 300,000 total hours of flight experience in military and commercial aircraft. They fly “Van's Aircraft” experimental aircraft.

• Team Fastrax: The team will make a jump to open the show.

Thousands of spectators 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.

These plump Jersey Toms are ripe and ready for purchase at the Farmers Market

OCEAN CITY POPS SEASON FINALE ON SATURDAY

After their breathtaking performance with the Ocean City Pops in 2022, the stars of the Atlantic City Ballet return to heat up the Music Pier stage in “Dance Elegance” on Saturday, Sept. 16. Forging a new, continuing artistic partnership between the ballet and the OC Pops, Maestro Vince Lee is delighted to highlight the talents of neighboring arts organizations.

The Pops will also shine as they play dance-themed orchestral features. A great way to finish an exciting season. Ocean City Music Pier, 7:30 p.m. Tickets available at oceancityvacation.com/boxoffice or 609-399-6111. 

FINAL FARMERS MARKET OF THE SEASON

The popular weekly Farmers Market on the grounds of the Ocean City Tabernacle will end its 2023 season after one final event from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 13. The market features the best of fresh produce from local farms in the region, along with a variety of craft vendors.

COMING UP IN LATE SEPTEMBER

Ocean City, NJ Jeep Invasion (Sept. 23): Jeeps will be displayed on the Boardwalk between Fifth Street and 14th Street from noon to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.NJJeepInvasion.com.

OCNJ Half Marathon, 5k & 10 Mile Non-Competitive Walk/Run (Sept. 24): Choose your distance and participate in one of New Jersey’s favorite race events. Advance registration required for the half marathon. Sign up early to save on registration fees at www.ocnj.us/Race-Events.

Boardwalk and Downtown Table Sales (Sept. 30-Oct. 1): Merchants offer special deals – Sixth Street to 14^th Street along Asbury Avenue and the Boardwalk.

MS City to Shore Ride (Sept. 30-Oct. 1): About 7,000 cyclists raise millions of dollars through a two-day charity ride from Philadelphia area to Ocean City and back. For more information, call 1-800-445-BIKE or visit www.mscycling.org.

Bike MS City to Shore Ride finishes in Ocean City each year.