Registration Open for 109th Baby Parade on Aug. 9
Boardwalk Art Show, Pops Concerts, Twins Contest This Week
For its 109th year, the Ocean City Baby Parade returns as a morning event. The 2018 parade will start at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, August 9.
Registration is open to anybody who wants to participate in the parade, which features children ages 10 and under. For an online entry form and more information, visit ocnj.us/babyparade. Participants also can sign up at the Welcome Center on the ground floor of City Hall at Ninth Street and Asbury Avenue. Entry fee is $5 per child, and the registration deadline is 5 p.m. Tuesday, August 7.
The annual tradition offers a chance for parents to show off Ocean City’s newest generation. The parade features children cruising the Ocean City Boardwalk in themed strollers, wagons and floats. It starts at Sixth Street with children finishing at 12th Street and all other entries continuing to 14th Street.
The Give and Take Jugglers will participate and perform a show after the parade in front of the Ocean City Music Pier. The Crescent Shrine Clown Unit, Miss New Jersey Jaime Gialloreto, 8-year-old Netflix series “Maniac” star Aaralyn Anderson, the Ed Coles Band, the OCTC Spotlight Performers Show Choir and Queen Infanta 2018 Grace Bromhead also will be part of this year’s parade.
Any bands or performing groups interested in joining the parade line up should contact Mike Hartman at mhartman@ocnj.us.
BOARDWALK ART SHOW, ART OF SURFING FEST, THE ORIGINAL ‘GIDGET’
The 56th annual Boardwalk Art Show will be held Friday through Sunday (August 3 to 5) on the boardwalk between Eighth Street and 13th Street. The celebration of the arts will include a newer event – the Art of Surfing Festival – Thursday to Saturday (August 2 to 4) at the Ocean City Music Pier.
The Boardwalk Art Show features oil, watercolor and acrylic paintings, photography, handmade jewelry, prints and drawings on display and for sale. Show hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. For Ocean City visitors, this is an opportunity to view and purchase great artwork at a reasonable cost. For further information, call the Ocean City Arts Center at 609-399-7628 or visit www.oceancityartscenter.org.
The Art of Surfing Festival features the display and sale of surf-related art, memorabilia, books and clothing. The event includes live music and meet-the-artist sessions. Admission is free to the show 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday (August 2) and noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday (August 3 and 4). For more information, visit artofsurfingfestival.com.
The Ocean City Free Public Library will host Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, the inspiration for the book that started the Gidget surfing movies and phenomenon. She will be signing books (available for purchase) at the library’s Chris Maloney Lecture Hall starting at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 3. A classic Gidget movie will follow the book-signing. The event is free and open to the public. The library is at 1735 Simpson Avenue in Ocean City.
ALSO THIS WEEK
BERNSTEIN/ROBBINS – A CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION (August 1): Composer Leonard Bernstein and director/choreographer Jerome Robbins are two of Broadways most legendary figures. They helped bring the world “West Side Story,” “On the Town,” “The King and I,” “Peter Pan,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Gypsy!” and more. These trailblazers and great friends were born 100 years ago. Kate Flannery (who portrays Meredith in NBC’s “The Office”) and a star-studded Broadway cast join the Ocean City Pops orchestra to pay tribute to the pair in a show at 7:30 p.m. at the Ocean City Music Pier. Tickets are $25 and $20. Call 609-399-6111 or visit oceancityvacation.com/boxoffice.
WACKY WEDNESDAY (August 1): Participants will receive a brown paper bag filled with random supplies. Your mission: to create an object, sculpture or unique work of art using everything in the “mystery bag.” Contest is free. Limited to 150 participants. Open to all ages. Start time is 10:30 a.m. at the Music Pier. For more information, call 609-399-6111.
TWINS CONTEST (August 1): Prizes for those who look the most and least alike. Registration is free and begins at 5:30 p.m. Contest begins at 6 p.m. in front of the Music Pier. For more information, call 609-399-6111.
SAND-SCULPTING CONTEST (August 2): Registration is free, and the informal, family-friendly event begins at 9 a.m. at the Sixth Street Beach. Judging takes place by 11 a.m. For more information, call 609-399-6111.
OCEAN CITY FISHING PIER OPEN HOUSE (August 2): The Ocean City Fishing Club invites shutterbugs and other visitors to tour its pier and clubhouse at 14th Street and Boardwalk from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday. Visitors will also be able to make an optional donation of canned goods to support the Ocean City Food Cupboard.
TONY DESARE – FLY ME TO THE MOON (August 5): The Ocean City Pops Big Band will feature crooner and pianist extraordinaire Tony DeSare in a unique celebration of pop songs by Billy Joel, Elton John, the Bee Gees, Bruce Springsteen, and few select originals, plus the timeless songs of Frank Sinatra. The show is 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the Ocean City Music Pier.
Tickets are $25 and $20. Call 609-399-6111 or visit oceancityvacation.com/boxoffice.
THE BACON BROTHERS (August 6): After playing to a sold-out audience at the Music Pier in 2016, The Bacon Brothers – Michael and Kevin Bacon – make their return to the Jersey Shore. The Philadelphia natives’ brand of bluesy rock & roll is the perfect soundtrack for a summer night. The concert begins at 7 p.m. at the Ocean City Music Pier. Tickets start at $39. For tickets, please visit Ticketmaster, call 1-800-745-3000 or stop by the Music Pier Box Office.
PAMPER SCAMPER (August 7): Annual crawling race for children up to 15 months old. Registration is free and begins at 8:30 a.m. on the beach at Sixth Street. Contest begins at 9 a.m. The event is sponsored by Bowfish Kids. For more information, call 609-399-6111.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (August 7 to 10): The Ocean City Pops orchestra and the Greater Ocean City Theatre Company (OCTC) present four performances of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” at 7:30 p.m. August 7, 8 and 10; and 2 p.m. August 9 at the Bill and Nancy Hughes Performing Arts Center on Sixth Street. Based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature, the stage version includes all of the wonderful songs written by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman, along with new songs by Mr. Menken and Tim Rice. The original Broadway production ran for more than 13 years and was nominated for nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Tickets are $25 to $30. Call 609-399-6111 or visit oceancityvacation.com/boxoffice.
