Visitors “Hop” to Ocean City for Easter

By MADDY VITALE Visitors to Ocean City on Sunday had plenty of events to choose from to make memories with their families and friends and to observe the Easter holiday. The Ocean City Tabernacle hosted a sunrise service at the Music Pier and at noon crowds gathered to listen to the annual lively performance of dueling pianos courtesy of the Philly Keys, also at the pier. While people clapped and sang along to the tunes, a cheerful Easter bunny greeted children and posed for photos with them in a lifeguard boat. “It’s been a great weekend up on the Boardwalk. Yesterday, the Great Egg Hunt was fantastic for our Boardwalk merchants and today is great. We love to see the crowds of people,” said Dan Kelchner, the city’s Director of Community Services, as he watched the crowds enjoy the festivities at the Music Pier. He continued, “We have the Easter bunny, chocolate bunnies to give out and some really awesome music. We love keeping the Easter traditions rolling.” The Simone family enjoys an Easter outing in Ocean City. Bridget and Vince Simone of Mount Ephraim brought their children, Gianna, 3, and 4-year-old Vinny to watch the musical performance of the Philly Keys. “It’s awesome,” Bridget said of the day’s events. Vince said what the family enjoys most about Ocean City on Easter. “It’s great for families. The kids love the arcades. They’re afraid to death of the Easter bunny,” he said with a chuckle. “But we come down here for the atmosphere, just to be near the beach.” Other families also make Ocean City a part of their Easter tradition each year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEQVmQiXIAw Casey Bohrman, of Philadelphia, her children, Toby, 6, and 4-year-old Sloan Habtu, and her parents, Lynne and Fred Bohrman, make the trip each year. The children got excited when the Easter bunny strolled by. When the bunny stopped, Toby and Sloan happily visited with him and posed for photos. Casey Bohrman said the kids were having a wonderful day. “We love Ocean City. I think the whole town, in general, is a really family-friendly town. We come here every summer, but it is fun to come on Easter because there are not quite as many people. Everything is just starting to open up.” Lynne Bohrman added, “We like to see the bunny. We get to go to the fudge shop.” The Ecker family poses with the Easter bunny in the lifeguard boat. Boardwalk strollers stopped to hear the Philly Keys perform hits from Elton John, Billy Joel and more. The duo even got the crowd to sing along to hits such as The Drifters song, “Under the Boardwalk.” Erin and Jason Ecker and their children, 4-month-old twins Hunter and Hayden and their big brother, 1-year-old Brayden, listened to the music before stopping to get their photos taken with the Easter bunny in the lifeguard boat. “We have a great time,” Erin Ecker said. From left, Little Miss Ocean City Stella Fleming, Junior Miss Sarah Avellino and Miss Ocean City Lola DeMarco visit with Hayden Dion of Somers Point. In addition to a musical performance and the Easter bunny, there was a full display table with chocolate bunnies for the taking, courtesy of Ocean City. The Ocean City crown holders stood at the table and greeted families. Amanda Dion, of Somers Point, brought her 3-year-old daughter, Hayden, over to meet the queens, Miss Ocean City Lola DeMarco, Junior Miss Sarah Avellino and Little Miss Stella Fleming. The queens posed with Hayden and gave her a chocolate bunny. Hayden beamed with excitement. The Ocean City Tabernacle’s sunrise service, held at 6:30 a.m., had a large attendance despite the early hour. To view the service click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTtxaXb30Mg&feature=youtu.be Video courtesy of Martin Fiedler, Just Right TV Productions. Paid for by Michael DeVlieger