OCEAN CITY — Rain dampened the spirits of some hopinag for outdoor entertainment but there was plenty to do inside during First Night in America’s Greatest Family Resort.
The city had events scheduled from 4 p.m. to midnight at 11 venues across the city, including the Music Pier, St. Peter’s Church, Gillian’s Wonderland Pier, all three public schools, the Lifesaving Station, skateboard park, Ocean City Tabernacle and Aquatic and Fitness Center.
Things got started early at the Aquatic and Fitness Center, where renowned mentalist Dustin Dean was performing. His bit included audience participation, and Tom Helinek of Pennsylvania and Caitlyn Russell, 13, of Clementon, N.J., got drawn into the show.
Dean, of Syracuse, N.Y., specializes in corporate events but also performs at colleges and private events across the country.
“I get inside people’s heads — nothing supernatural, I don’t have a gift, I don’t have an ability, I’m not a psychic,” he said. “I use real-world techniques to create the illusion that I can literally read someone’s mind, sometimes predict what they will do, influence what they do.”
He said he fell in love with sleight of hand and got his first magic kit at age 6. As he got older, he became more interested in the psy-chology behind magic.
“I started to learn what causes people to be misdirected, how does it fool them,” he said.
It was his second year at the event and he said it has been a terrific time.
“I was amazed last year by the turnout,” he said. “I have three shows and they were all getting filled up.”
Dan Spradlin of Garnet Valley, Pa., brought son Gio, 12, and daughter Tessa, 9, to see the show.
Inside the Ocean City Historical Museum, Jennie Swaim of Jenkintown, Pa., and children Joseph, 14, Scarlet, 13, Georgia, 11, and Vincent, 8, were checking out an old map to identify where their home is located.
“Last year was the first year we came and we loved it so much that we got our buttons super-early this year,” Swaim said.
In the atrium, Molly Driscoll, 5, and brother Aidan, 4, were posing for funny photos with friend Marisol DeCastro, 6. A few steps away, Victoria Selby, 5, of Newtown Square, Pa., was playing with a hula-hoop while DJ Bill Lynskey was pumping up the jam.
In the media room of the Ocean City Free Public Library, siblings Hudson Brown, 9, and Leo, 5, of Ocean City, were playing with Legos while grandfather Bill Carr of Somers Point relaxed nearby.
“They are able to do anything they want — they went swimming, they’re doing this, they are going to see a magician and go to the bouncing place,” Carr said.
Over at the Intermediate School, the Harlem Wizards were a huge draw, forcing some to wait until a later show.
On the court, the players demonstrated their ball-handling skills while interacting with the audience.
Randy Gustafson of Pitman, N.J., sat courtside with daughter Alexandria, 8 months.
Inside the Kull Youth Center at the Tabernacle, Ben Lipmann entertained the crowd with fire, juggling, professional yoyoing and even some jokes.
Lipmann has been performing in Ocean City for the past 25 years.
“It’s how I got my start,” he said. “Back when I was a student at Stockton, I used to perform on the boardwalk.”
He said the owner of Johnny B Goode Ice Cream Parlor hired him for his first show and since he has performed at places such as the Taj Mahal and Boardwalk Hall. But he never got too big for his britches and returns to perform there Friday nights in the summer.
“It’s great family crowds, an enthusiastic audience and well-run,” he said.
Lipmann got Dan Carson, 39, of Hanover, Pa., up on stage, much to the delight of his children — Emma, 12, and Benjamin, 7 — and wife, Jessica.
“We like the variety. There’s a lot of really neat things to see, the music is as lot of fun, the acts are really cool,” Carson said, noting they had ventriloquist John Pizzi and illusionist Salazar earlier in the evening.
In the crowd, Charlie and Kelly O’Neill of Hershey, Pa., were enjoying time with little Charlie, 1.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
