A Busy Week of Entertainment Coming Up in Ocean City

Art shows, contests and other entertainment highlight a week of family fun in Ocean City.

BOARDWALK ART SHOW AND ART OF SURFING:

The 61st annual Boardwalk Art Show will be held Friday through Sunday (August 2 to 4) on the Boardwalk between Eighth Street and 13th Street.

Artists from throughout the region will exhibit and sell their works. The show will feature fine art, including oils, acrylics, watercolors, drawings, hand-pulled prints and photography.

There is something for everyone at the show, and it’s a great opportunity to start or increase your art collection.  Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Awards are given to the top entries in the show.

The event is sponsored by the Ocean City Arts Center and made possible by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. For further information, call the Ocean City Arts Center at 609-399-7628 or visit www.oceancityartscenter.org.

The celebration of the arts will include the 23rd annual Art of Surfing Festival – Thursday to Saturday (August 1 to 3) at the Ocean City Music Pier.

This annual art festival is an event featuring original surf-related artwork, locally shaped boards, and a chance to meet artists from across the region. It also features classic surfboards, memorabilia and live music. Admission is free to the show 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday (August 1) and noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday (August 2 and 3).

CONTESTS AND WEEKLY HAPPENINGS:

Ocean City’s “Wacky But Not Tacky” series of Wacky Wednesdays continues at 10:30 a.m. July 31 at the Ocean City Music Pier with soft-pretzel sculpting. No advance registration is required for this free family event, but participation is limited to the first 150 to enter.

The popular weekly Farmers Market on the grounds of the Ocean City Tabernacle is open 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. every Wednesday. The market features the best of fresh produce from local farms in the region, along with a variety of craft vendors.

The Ocean City Twins Contest awards prizes to those who look the most and least alike. The contest takes place on Wednesday, July 31, and is open to all ages. Registration is free and begins at 5:30 p.m. in front of the Music Pier. The contest begins at 6 p.m.

A Sand Sculpting Contest on Thursday, August 1, will be open to kids, teens, adults and families. Registration is free and begins at 9 a.m. at the Sixth Street Beach. Judging takes place by 11 a.m. 

Family Night on July 31will include stilt walkers, magicians, favorite characters and more set up at different spots between Eighth Street and 12th Street on the Ocean City Boardwalk. Family Nights run 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. every Monday and Wednesday through the summer.

    Sand sculpture contests are a fun attraction in Ocean City.
Mummers Night on Aug. 1 will feature string bands strutting the Boardwalk between Sixth Street and 14th Street. Mummers Nights run 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday through the summer.

Downtown Asbury Avenue will feature entertainment, face-painters, balloon sculptors and more from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday (Aug. 1) for Market Days and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday (Aug. 6) for Funtastic Tuesday. 

FISHING PIER OPEN HOUSE RESCHEDULED FOR THURSDAY, AUG. 1:

The Ocean City Fishing Club will welcome the public to tour its private 14th Street Pier twice this summer in hopes of breaking records set last year for donations to the local Ocean City Ecumenical Council Food Cupboard.

The club joins a challenge made by Mayor Jay Gillian to donate non-perishable foods in memory of Regina Ralston, the manager of the Food Cupboard, who died earlier this year.

The first open house was set for Thursday, July 25, but was postponed due to rain. The new date is Thursday, Aug. 1. The second will be held a week later on Thursday, August 8.

The pier, located at 14th Street and the Boardwalk, will be open to the public from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. both evenings.  Pier visitors are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items or make cash donations. The open houses coincide with the city’s Mummers Nights on the Boardwalk.

In 2023, 2,112 pier visitors brought 385 pounds of food and donated $1,924 in cash to benefit the local food agency. Each of last year’s two open houses at the pier broke previous records for donations to the Ocean City Food Cupboard.

Fishing club members will be on hand to guide visitors and answer questions about the pier and the organization. The pier extends nearly 750 feet from the Boardwalk, over the beach and the Atlantic Ocean.

“We’re glad to join the city in collecting food for the local food cupboard in memory of Regina Ralston,” said Tom Yucis, OCFC president. “We’re hoping the public will again respond generously and set new records for the amount we collect to benefit the needy.”

CARS AND COFFEE ON TAP FOR SATURDAY:

Cars and Coffee from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 3 will combine two of everybody’s favorite things. More than 100 classic and unique cars will be on display on the grounds of the Ocean City Tabernacle at 550 Wesley Avenue. Admission is free, and rain date is August 10. 

TICKETS ON SALE FOR “GREASE” AUG. 6 TO 15:

The Ocean City Theatre Company and the Ocean City Pops invite you to rock and roll with the hit musical “Grease” at the Hughes Performing Arts Center August 6 to 15.

The show features many recognizable hits like “Summer Nights,” “Greased Lightnin’ ” and “We Go Together.” Additionally, several songs from the iconic movie including “You’re The One That I Want,” “Sandy,” and “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” will be included with special arrangement by Robert Stigwood.

This collaborative production features a cast selected through a professional audition process and the talented musicians of the Ocean City Pops.

Performances run August 6, 7, 9, 13, 14, and 15 at 7:30 p.m. with 2 p.m. matinees on August 8 and 15 at the Bill and Nancy Hughes Performing Arts Center (within Ocean City High School at 501 Atlantic Avenue). Visit www.oceancityvacation.com/boxoffice or call 609-399-6111 for tickets.

OCEAN CITY POPS FEATURES SARA MAIMONE:

At 7:30 p.m. Sunday, August 4, Ocean City’s own Sara Maimone will join the Ocean City Pops for a special performance titled “Lights, Camera, Broadway!”

Back by popular demand – since selling out her 2023 Holiday Show with Maestro Vince Lee and the Pops – Maimone invites you to enjoy a night of popular film compositions and Tony Award-winning Broadway arrangements.

For tickets, visit oceancityvacation.com/boxoffice, call 609-399-6111 or stop by the Music Pier Box Office. 

SUMMER CONCERT SERIES FEATURES THE BEACH BOYS: 

The Beach Boys will take the stage at the Ocean City Music Pier for four shows: 6 p.m. Monday (Aug. 5), 8:30 p.m. Monday (Aug. 5), 6 p.m. Tuesday (Aug. 6) and 8:30 p.m. Tuesday (Aug. 6).

Check the Music Pier Box Office for ticket availability or visit etix.com.

REGISTRATION OPEN FOR 114^TH ANNUAL BABY PARADE: 

The 114th annual Baby Parade in Ocean City is set for 10:30 a.m. Thursday, August 8, 2024 and registration is now open.

All families with children age 10 and under are invited to participate. Bands, performing groups and commercial floats are also encouraged to join in the fun.

Complete information and registration is available at www.ocnj.us/BabyParade.

    OCTC’s “Grease” is at the Hughes Performing Arts Center.