“CRUISIN’ OCEAN CITY” MD – rollin’ those boards…
It’s almost here – that long awaited annual event held to celebrate our love affair with our autos - Cruisin’ Ocean City MD. Begining Thursday, May 20th at 8 am and again on Friday, the fun day begins with the Boardwalk Parade. Car after car rolling southward on the Boardwalk passing folks standing 
with wide grins and awed expressions, evoking in most, memories of ‘the good old days”. Whether it be a shiny restored vintage, custom, hot rod or muscle car…many remember and wax nostalgic. A deep, steady rumble accompanies this parade – the 
large engines of the past, revved and ready to go. And, the odor of Fisher’s Caramel Popcorn or Thrasher’s Fries wafting through the crowd throughout the parade makes that nostalgia even more delicious! The “CRUISIN’ OC” show, one of the region’s largest and most popular comes to our island for four days in the late spring each year. 
Throughout the area more than 3,000 of the “best of the best” may be seen driving on almost any road in and around town…many owners along with their most prized wheeled possessions gather in parking lots all over…
where they are further polished, admired and ready to be discussed with everybody! To add to the fun there’s live entertainment in the form of concerts…(this year featuring live in concert – ‘The Four Tops‘); music that will also take you back! Make no mistake; it’s a car weekend yet it belongs personally to all of us. The fun begins this Thursday – May 20th and continues through Sunday, May 23rd.
For a detailed calendar of events…visit the website at www.specialeventpro.com/cruisin.php. To obtain tickets for the live concert visit the Convention Center Box Office or call Ticketmaster 1/800-551-8314.
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‘PORK in the PARK’…a big, pink pig and more!
Few, early spring, annual events in and around the Ocean City Maryland area are more anticipated by ‘foodies’, friends and would-be chefs than Pork in the Park.
Hoping to avoid having to park far away and ride the shuttle, we decided that an early, ‘brunch’ time visit at 10 am was in order. Weather-wise, we were already enjoying a breezy-sunshine on our way to Winterplace Park on Rt. 346 (Old Ocean City Boulevard) near Salisbury. Within two miles of the festival – we began to sniff traces of wood smoke and good cooking. Seems many of the contestants, in order to have their ‘specialties’ considered ready for judging, stay up all night to insure a good slooow, cook to produce a perfect tender offering!
Upon entering the lovely fairgrounds, (admission $2) we were confronted with 
row upon row of tents, trucks and massive cookers spread over several acres. Early this day the most activity was to be in front of the judge’s tent – a sign up area for the day’s contestants. After viewing this, all the while assailed with wonderful smells, we wandered off to find our ‘brunch’ only to find we were in the wrong area to purchase food. Again, row upon row of busy barbecue cookers and serious contestants – but no food to have –YET! Finally, crossing over several aisles we found what we were looking for! Colorful signs, proclaiming past achievements and tables of trophies vied for our attention. We had finally found our ‘brunch’ although it was now nearly lunch! We stopped at one bright place and placed our order; my companion asking for a genuine pulled-pork 
sandwich and for me – a ‘pulled’ chicken platter; complete with slaw and baked beans. When presented, we were told to take our pick of today’s sauces…a ‘secret’ hickory recipe or one that spoke of ‘apple’. I chose the apple barbecue sauce – and found it to be a real winner with my smoke infused, chunky, tender chicken on multi-grain roll (thank you). We found a nearby seat; near the stage where consecutive musical groups were performing their most lively tunes. Off in the distance we saw the colorful children’s rides already spinning and twirling. Our food was good – really, really good. We shared a bit and I can vouch for the pork barbecue and the chicken (with ‘apple’ flavored BBQ sauce).
Later, we ambled along the real mid-way – again rows of vendors offering 
about everything including some really tempting caramel popcorn! When I begin desiring large quantities of warm, sticky popcorn I know it’s time to leave…but I promise to return again next year to this wondrous gathering of foodies…Pork in the Park!
For more info visit – http://porkinthepark.org
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SPRING 2010 – Activities & Events in Ocean City Maryland
After what many have said to be a most weather-challenged winter, the “best” beach town in the Mid-Atlantic region is gearing up to offer some great events and activities to begin the 2010 season. Come on down and enjoy our springtime offerings!
APRIL
JULIA A. PURNELL MUSEUM EXHIBIT – April 2nd – October 31, Snow Hill, MD.
New exhibit featuring entitled, “Eye of the Beholder”, featuring the changing standards of feminine beauty through the 19th & 20th centuries. Admission. www.purnellmuseum.com
EASTER ART & CRAFT FAIR - April 2 – 4th, 10:00 am – 4:30 pm, Convention Center, 40th St. & Bay. Exhibitors displaying unique hand-crafted items including wearable art, jewelry, lawn & garden decor. Door prizes. Admission includes Easter Kids Fair – Continuous events, activities & entertainment, including the Easter Bunny, egg hunts, puppet shows and much, much more. www.oceanpromotions.info
SPRING CELEBRATION – April 3rd, Main Street, Berlin Maryland. Events for adults & children. Breakfast with the Easter Bunny, games, parade, entertainment & more. Berlin’s FAMOUS Annual Pig Race day. www.berlinmdcc.org.
WARD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WILDFOWL CARVING – April 23-25th, Convention Center, 40th & Bay. 40th annual event features carvers in competition for the world’s most prestigious awards in wildfowl art. Visitors from all over the world enjoy the judging, auctions, seminars and demonstrations. Children’s activities are included along with over 100 exhibitor booths of artisans and art supplies for this fine art craft. Admission. www.wardmuseum.org
MAY
SPRINGFEST - May 6 – 9th, 2010, Inlet Parking Lot. Springfest 2010 celebrates the arrival of spring and the upcoming summer season. It is four dynamic days of delicious food, live entertainment and clever arts and crafts under four huge big top tents located in the Inlet Lot at the south end of Ocean City’s famous Boardwalk! www.ococean.com
CRUISIN’ OCEAN CITY – May 20th – May 23rd, Convention Center, Inlet Parking Lot. Popular car show features over 3,000 hot rods, customs, classics, street machines, muscle cars and more. Live entertainment, celebrity guests, special attractions, Boardwalk parades, manufacturers vendor midway and more. Admission. www.cruisinoceancity.com
CRUSIN’ CONCERT - May 21st, Convention Center. A great concert is always part of Cruisin’ Weekend! This year enjoy the fabulous FOUR TOPS! All seats $35.00. www.ticketmaster.com
OCEAN CITY RESTAURANT WEEK – May 30 – June 6, 2010, Ocean City-Townwide! Week-long culinary experience allows guests to indulge in the finest OC fare at fixed prices. Participating restaurants offer two & three course meals at $20 & $30 respectively.
Check back soon to see featured events coming this summer in Ocean City Maryland!
SPRINGFEST, ARTS NIGHT, JAZZ & BLUES – and MORE!
Each spring, along with the big Ocean City Maryland, four-day, “resort season opener” SPRINGFEST event, other nearby area towns and villages on Maryland’s famed Eastern Shore schedule concurrent crowd-pleasing, fun activities. In the village of Historic Berlin, a short seven-mile jaunt west of the beach, the feature on Friday evening was the annual celebration of Spring ARTS NIGHT with musicians, visual artists and artisans and their works overflowing from shop doors and jamming the streets! The event, along with a “Fall ARTS NIGHT” allows this tiny jewel of a town to exhibit why it has earned the title of a Maryland designated “Arts & Entertainment Community”. From 6 pm until sometimes the wee hours visitors 
may enjoy strolling, shopping, dining, listening to performances and meeting friends – new and old. And, it’s FREE!
For a double whammy weekend – on Saturday, Berlin followed with the Second Annual JAZZ & BLUES BASH. Again, offering that air of fun – this time with added street side vendors and continuous musical performances set on two stages placed at either end of Main Street in the downtown District. Begging to be mentioned were the giant, hot, smoked turkey drumsticks served up that day by the towns’ own GLOBE restaurant. Certainly adding to the enjoyment of a true festival air on this fine spring day was this most tasty ‘fist’ food!
It goes to show that any time you find yourself here at the beach, take a minute to peruse a local tabloid (available anywhere) or jump online and learn about ALL the fun events and activities we have to offer ALL year round!
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SPRINGFEST 2009 – all in perfect alignment!
Always eagerly anticipated however sometimes receiving rather rough treatment by Mother Nature, the stars seem to be in perfect alignment this year for the annual SPRINGFEST 2009! Beginning Thursday, May 7th and lasting through Sunday, May 10th each day builds upon the last with hopefully 
ideal weather conditions in the Ocean City Maryland area. The warm sunshine and soft breezes at the Springfest inlet site requires for most a quick trip to the closet for summertime gear – shorts, broad-brimmed hats and sunglasses! This fun festival features almost constant live entertainment (mostly free) on two stages, two 
huge arts and craft tents with over 180 vendors and filled with hand crafted creations, a food tent containing a variety of terrific Eastern Shore-style food specialties (second to none in our opinion) and a country fair style midway lined by vendors offering more interesting stuff. Crowds are everywhere; along the boardwalk 
going to and from the fest…the line waiting for those famous salt and vinegar spiced fries from Thrashers is sometimes endless and nearly every bench seat is taken with folks just basking in the sunshine welcoming the wonderful summertime season which is now nearly upon us. Late Sunday however will find the tents being carefully packed away 
awaiting the even bigger festival…SUNFEST 2009, running from September 24th through the 27th which marks the beginning of the fall beach season – locally known as ‘second season’. For more information on these and other seasonal events visit the Ocean City Parks and Recreation website at www.ococean.com.
Free parking is available at the West Ocean City Park & Ride. Park free & ride shuttle bus to Springfest for $1. Ride the Boardwalk Tram to the Inlet for $3 each way. Express trolley shuttles will depart from the south lot of the Roland E. Powell Convention Center at 40th Street, ride all day for $2.
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EASTER WEEKEND – A season beginning done right!
No matter what the date, the spring weekend upon which Easter falls each year is really the official opening of the Ocean City Maryland beach season here in the mid-Atlantic coastal region. Signs are everywhere – an increase in the numbers of visitors, a little more vehicular traffic and the smiling faces of folks seen in shops, restaurants, hotels, and motels and especially at annual holiday events all over the area. This year, despite a bit of Saturday morning dampness, visitors, young and old found the annual Easter Art & Craft and Kids Fair held at the 
OC Convention Center filled with color and seasonal cheer. Sponsored by the Ocean City Lions Club and Viva Paper Towels, no effort was spared to make spring a reality! On the Kid’s side – there were many activities including Easter Egg Hunts, ‘Balloonamania’ Classes, Juggling Lessons, Magic Shows – the offerings list goes on and on. For adults there was a spring Art & Craft Show…filled with tempting and unique items as well as my favorite, several booths with CHOCOLATES – some to sample!
To add to the festivities, a short trip over to Berlin MD (7 miles west) helped many prolong this day 
of cheer – at Spring Celebration. There too was the ubiquitous Easter Egg Hunt on the lawn of the Town’s Taylor House Museum, rides offered by Jolly Rogers, both Breakfast and later, Teatime, with the Easter Bunny and more. Alas, this year the infamous 4 pm “Berlin MD Pig Races” were canceled due to weather. However, all in all between Ocean City and Berlin there were still many happy activities to go around to celebrate the beginning of our favorite season!
For more information – visit the websites at www.oceanpromotions.info and www.berlinmdcc.org!
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English Handbell Ringers Area III Spring Festival – Melodious!
For the past six years the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers, Area III has performed a Spring Festival Concert allowing Ocean City Maryland area visitors and locals alike to enjoy their special sounds. This year was no different. On Saturday, members from Area III (MD, DE, VA, DC, NC) converged in the large hall on the second level of the Convention Center to perform eight classically inspired pieces especially arranged for this unique instrument – the English handbell.
These 
are not garden variety bells – the clanging kind, but special solid brass bells particularly tuned to the notes on a piano keyboard – in fact many of the bells have colored handles (straps)– black or white, depending on the key! Of course inside there is a clapper, however upon inspection it was noted that these too could be further tuned to make the sound hard, medium or soft.
Imagine now your favorite music being played by a multitude of bells – most melodiously! There were over 500 well-trained, ringers in attendance this year. The audience surrounding the large hall listened intently and judging by the rapt expressions, enjoy it immensely!
For further information and a list of special performances performed on this unique but ancient instrument, you may visit the website at http://areaiii.org. And, be sure to mark your calendars for this special spring event in Ocean City Maryland next year!
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“Reach the Beach” American CHEER & DANCE Academy 2009
In its 12th year the American Cheer & Dance Academy continue to sponsor the hugely successful National event – a family focused weekend aptly named “Reach the Beach” here in Ocean City Maryland. This activity honors recreation, school and all-star cheer teams from throughout the region. Parents and coaches give their children a valuable gift by supporting them in their athletic endeavors. This past weekend, the first of two closely scheduled activities, drew huge crowds – obvious as both of the Ocean City Convention Center lots were parked to capacity. Inside, in the smaller first floor exhibition hall, 
were vendors offering a myriad of “cheer” related apparel and other necessities. In the large hall, the floor viewing area along with the bleachers were also filled to capacity. Every eye was directed at the stage…or for close-up viewing, the “Jumbo-tron”. In huddles off to the side, youngsters, in every manner and color of cheer costume, were gathered with their coaches anxiously waiting their turn to demonstrate their skills. Music boomed throughout the hall.
At every American Cheer and Dance Event, a portion of the proceeds goes to charity. For the 2008-09 seasons the charities are: Make-A-Wish Foundation, Susan B. Komen for the Cure and The Living Legacy Foundation, in Honor of Rochelle McCoy and Alexa Shearer.
To extend the excitement the International Reach the Beach American Cheer & Dance Academy will hold their All Star and college event here April – 3rd – 5th. Admission. For rules, registration forms and additional information visit the website at acdaspirit.com.
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WHITE MARLIN FESTIVAL & CRAB SOUP COOK-OFF – flavors of the shore!
Mention dining out in Ocean City MD and chances are the first question you’ll hear is, “How’s the crab soup?” Anyone who knows this area knows their crab soup – and their favorite, be it red or white. This event, in its fourth year, called the “White Marlin Festival & Crab Soup Cook-off “ is really all about sampling and 
then determining the soup-making prowess of the entrants – who is currently making and consequently serving the BEST in town? Although taste is subjective this is a serious competition – chefs and recipes do change! This year 10 contestants vied for 2008 braggin’ honors, the three in the “red” category were loaded with fresh crab, vegetables (the best of the locally grown, in season) and spices. The 
seven remaining entries were the “whites”, containing fresh, sweet lump crab gently folded into an appropriately seasoned, rich cream base. Sherry along with other secret ingredients are sometimes added to make that special difference. We attendees cheerfully paid our fee (a reasonable, $12) and were given a paper numbered 1 – 10 along with two tickets with which to vote for the “best red” and “best white” soup at the end of our tastings. We 
then proceeded to the appropriately numbered tent and were given a generous sample – and sample we did – ’til we were very full! Some of the cups were rimmed with lemon and Old Bay giving the soup an even greater “shore style” flavor! And, yes, there were some community exhibits, face painting and clowns for the kids – 
even some lively music in the background but the Crab Soup Cook-off contest was surely the reason for the day! This festival is sponsored each year by the Downtown Association and is conveniently located just steps from the Boardwalk in the Somerset Street Plaza. For more information phone 410-289-1413 or visit the website at www.downtownassociation.net. Note: To enlarge any photo, just “click”!
BERLIN, MD – an up and coming performer!
Long known as that quiet little town located just off Rt. 50, 7 miles west of Ocean City MD, Berlin is rapidly becoming a partner destination here on the Shore. This past weekend along with SPRINGFEST 2008 in OC, Berlin offered a couple of quality attractions to fulfill anyone having a need to have fun and enjoy a weekend of season welcoming attractions. First up on Friday evening, there was annual Spring Arts Night…wherein local shops; galleries and restaurants within 
the downtown historic area offered displays of original works from local artists and artisans. Note that in the 5 years since Berlin became the holder of a Maryland State designation as an official Arts and Entertainment District, it has become hometown too more than just a few nationally known artists. Arts Night is fun, roaming the streets at dusk viewing some really fine art in shops housed within charming and 
landmark architecture, munching on tasty treats served throughout the town and being part of a relaxed crowd – who could ask for more?
The second event quickly followed on Saturday – the “first” annual Berlin Jazz/Blues Street Festival. Being a “first time” one could not be certain of the “depth” of this event despite efforts in planning by the Berlin Chamber of Commerce. It was with pleasant; 
even a bit awed, surprise that this viewer confirmed this joyous activity would no doubt become one of the special highlights on the annual Town calendar. Throughout the day, seven live and lively bands each offering their own unique styles of jazz and blues performed on alternate stages set at either end of the downtown district. Limited 
seating was available (bring your own next year!) However, few viewers were challenged, many finding curbs or leaning on tree trunks and buildings a comfortable spot from which to enjoy the sounds of some really terrific music played out of doors on a fine spring day.
For further information on these and other Berlin Town events visit the Chamber website at www.berlinmdcc.org
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