| WHAT’S HAPPENING IN OCEAN CITY Holiday Events Continue Throughout the Month in OCNJ Downtown merchants are celebrating “Festive Fridays” again this year. The fun started on Nov. 29 with Ocean City’s traditional Christmas in the Downtown – “Our Miracle on Asbury Avenue” event and continued on Dec. 6 with the annual Christmas Parade. Asbury Avenue will host another Festive Friday on Dec. 13 with extended shopping hours, strolling carolers, and free horse-and-carriage rides from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. (with boarding at Sixth Street and 10th Street). Your favorite downtown restaurants will be serving breakfast at dinner. Dress in your pajamas, join the fun, and look for Santa to pop in. Festive Friday returns on Dec. 20. Free horse-drawn carriage rides will also be available along decorated downtown Asbury Avenue from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays (Dec. 14, 15, 21 and 22) with boarding at Sixth Street. There will be plenty of opportunity for children to visit with Santa. He’ll be available for photos in an OCBP lifeguard boat from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays (Dec. 14, 15, 21 and 22) at the Ocean City Music Pier. He’ll visit with children from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays (Dec. 14, 15, 21 and 22) at Mark Soifer Park (9th Street and Asbury Avenue). The Ocean City Theatre Company’s Junior Company will perform “Anastasia: The Musical” with two shows at the Ocean City Music Pier this weekend. The musical is a 60-minute adaptation of the Broadway hit specially tailored for young actors. It features student performers in grades 3 to 8 and will transport audiences from the twilight of the Russian Empire to the euphoria of Paris in the 1920s, as a brave young woman sets out to discover the mystery of her past. Shows are 7:30 p.m. Saturday (Dec. 14) and 2 p.m. Sunday (Dec. 15) at the Ocean City Music Pier. Tickets ($15) can be purchased at www.oceancitytheatrecompany.com or at the Music Pier Box Office starting 30 minutes before the shows. It’s not too early to think about celebrating the arrival of 2025 at Ocean City’s family-friendly First Night New Year’s Eve celebration. All-inclusive admission buttons are on sale now. Tickets are available: Online: firstnightocnj.com By phone: 609-399-6111. At the City Hall Welcome Center at 861 Asbury Avenue (9th Street entrance): 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily At the Roy Gillian Welcome Center (9th Street causeway): 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. At the 46th Street Welcome Center (4500 block of West Avenue): 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Monday. First Night offers more than 70 entertain programs at 20 different venues throughout town on Dec. 31. One $25 button is good for all programs. Headline entertainment at the Ocean City Music Pier this year will include a tribute to the music of the Eagles and the “Yacht Rock Gold Experience.” The return of perennial favorites like outdoor ice-skating, a magic show, a mentalist, a ventriloquist, the Harlem Wizards, Japanese drummers and a variety of other shows also highlight the entertainment lineup. The Ocean City Pops (with a Rodgers & Hammerstein Extravaganza), Yellow Brick Road: A Tribute to Elton John, the Cape Shore Chorale, a dueling pianos performance, and the Sensational Soul Cruisers are among the additional musical entertainment options. New this year will be a drone light show in the sky over Carey Stadium synced to music. As always, the festivities will end with a fireworks display to ring in the new year at midnight. First Night’s 2025 sponsors include the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Cape May County Division of Culture and Heritage, McMahon Insurance Agency, Ocean City Free Public Library, Uncle Bill’s Pancake House and Atlantic City Electric. The festivities will continue with First Day events on Jan. 1, 2025, and registration is now open for the First Day 5K running race on the boardwalk: ocnj.us/OCNJ-FIRST-DAY-RUN/WALK. Complete information on First Night is available at firstnightocnj.com. |
