By Maddy Vitale
Andrea Kohr, of Ocean City, carefully guided her twin 5-year-old boys, Kai and Keo, through the crowds of bicyclists in Ocean City’s north end Fourth of July bike parade.
The Kohr family’s bicycles all had a definite patriotic theme with red, white and blue ribbons and streamers. The only difference was mom wore colored ribbons in her hair and the boys donned helmets with blue stars and red stripes.
“This is our first time doing the parade. The boys are having fun. We will do it again,” Kohr said with a smile.
And then they were off, with only a moment to chat as hundreds of bicyclists made their way through the Gardens section of town in celebration of Independence Day.
Jessica Falkowitz, of Washington, D.C., helped her 2-year-old son, Miles, with a little push as they joined in the parade.
The Falkowitz family is down in Ocean City for the summer.
“Miles has been talking about the parade all day,” his mom said with a laugh.
The event attracts around 1,000 bicyclists, according to the organizers, the Ocean City Gardens Civic Association.
At the opposite end of the island at the same time, a similarly patriotic bike parade at 40th Street and Asbury Avenue is organized by the South Ocean City Improvement Association.
The bike parades, which have been annual events for at least 20 years, touched off a day filled with holiday celebrations. Crowds filled the Boardwalk, packed the beaches and bustled in the downtown.
The temperatures hovered in the mid-80s. Beach umbrellas dotted the landscape at Ninth Street Beach next to the Music Pier and surrounding beaches.
Children made sandcastles and swimmers took refreshing dips in the ocean to cool off.
Michele Gillian, executive director of the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce, watched the bike parade in the north end of town and said the Fourth of July holiday was really turning out to be the blockbuster event that everyone was hoping for.
She said even the parade has grown over the years.
“The parade has doubled in size since it began. It shows that not just our year-round residents, but our second homeowners and guests enjoy it,” she said. “We see how popular our neighborhood parades are and it shows how unique a community Ocean City really is.”
The bike parade was a family-friendly patriotic prelude to an action-packed day leading into the night of beach and Boardwalk outings, a kite-flying contest, a meet-and-greet with characters from a movie and the grand display of fireworks to celebrate July 4.
Gillian said there were plenty of early indications that the holiday would be a hit, starting with hotel bookings.
“Because of the good weather, many people committed to coming down,” she noted. “Hopefully, that momentum will keep building for the rest of the summer.”
The Andrien family, of Philadelphia, booked a hotel for three days in Ocean City for the holiday.
Ashley Andrien and his daughter, Violet, 4, had some serious business at the Ninth Street beach to tend to on their vacation.
They were making a sandcastle.
“Do the moat,” Andrien said to his daughter and then smiled.
She laughed, took her plastic shovel and carved out a ditch in the sand.
“We have been taking in the beach and we won’t miss the fireworks,” Andrien said.
Marc Taylor, of Atco, and his wife, Carlene, and their two young children were just down for the day to enjoy the warm weather and take advantage of the beach.
“We came down for the sunrise,” Marc Taylor noted. “Then we came right to the beach. We don’t live that far away. We like coming to Ocean City for its family environment.”
Some of the festivities throughout the day included the Ocean City Theatre Company’s “A Star Spangled Salute” in front of the Music Pier, followed by a kite-flying competition on the adjacent beach.
There was also a musical performance by the Tidal Wave Band, a meet-and-greet with characters from the movie, “The Angry Birds 2,” and the highlight — the fireworks display scheduled for 9 p.m. near the Music Pier.
Lynne Cates, owner of Sun Seekers, a boutique on Asbury Avenue, said the weather really helped business.
“We are ahead of last year already,” Cates pointed out. “It is kind of neat to see how there is so much energy here.”
Shoppers strolled along Asbury Avenue throughout the holiday. Business really started to build on Tuesday and continued from there, Cates said.
“People came early, and they are staying,” she said.
