Ocean City will host alcohol-free events at multiple venues New Year’s Eve, boardwalk run and plunge New Year’s Day
OCEAN CITY — Say goodbye (or good riddance) to 2023 and hello to 2024 during two days of fantastic fun in America’s Greatest Family Resort.
Ocean City will once again host its popular First Night festivities on New Year’s Eve, complete with musicians and magicians, ice skating and inflatables, basketball and ballet, carnival rides and country line dancing capped off with a fireworks display over the ocean.
On Jan. 1, First Day at the Beach will feature a 5K boardwalk run and the First Plunge featuring the city’s royal ambassadors — Miss Ocean City Lola DeMarco, Junior Miss Ocean City Sara Avellino and Little Miss Ocean City Stella Fleming — leading hundreds of brave souls into the frigid Atlantic Ocean. New this year is a shopping extravaganza from Fifth to 14th streets on Asbury Avenue.
The 5-kilometer run is set to start at 1 p.m. in front of the Ocean City Music Pier at Moorlyn Terrace. Race-day registration begins 11 a.m. at the Music Pier. Race-day entry fee is $35.
The ocean plunge is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. on the beach adjacent to the Music Pier (Eighth Street side). Participants should register inside the Music Pier before heading to the beach. Registration is free, but all participants must sign a waiver.
The 31st anniversary First Night will feature traditional favorites along with headline entertainment including the Stevie Nicks tribute band Gypsy and the Motown revue Motor City.
First Night was founded 31 years ago and modeled after an alcohol-free New Year’s Eve celebration in Boston that marked the nation’s bicentennial in 1976.
The first celebration in Ocean City included 25 entertainment acts at five locations with about 800 people attending.
While other First Night events have faded, Ocean City’s has only grown more popular with families making it an annual tradition. Today, attendance is capped at 10,000 and admission buttons sell out year after year, according to the city.
The event offers more than 70 activities and entertainment programs at 20 different venues throughout town. A fireworks display rings in the new year at midnight. The fun continues on
New Year’s Day with a 5-kilometer run on the boardwalk and the wildly popular First Plunge in the Atlantic Ocean.
Admission buttons are $22 and good for all events. Children under younger than 2 are admitted free. Buttons can be purchases online at firstnightocnj.com, by telephone at (609) 399-6111 or in person at City Hall Welcome Center, 861 Asbury Ave. (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Dec. 31); the Roy Gillian Welcome on the Route 52 causeway (9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; and at the 46th Street Welcome Center on the 4500 block of West Avenue (9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday).
Pickup at will-call will be available daily at the City Hall Welcome Center at the hours listed above. Button sales and will-call pickup will be at the City Hall Welcome Center 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. on the day of the event (Dec. 31).
Headline entertainment at the Ocean City Music Pier this year will include Gypsy, a tribute to the music of Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac, and Motor City, a revue of Motown’s greatest hits.
Perennial favorites such as outdoor ice-skating (with extended hours this year), rides at Wonderland Pier, magic shows, the Harlem Wizards and a variety of musical performances also highlight the entertainment lineup. The Ocean City Pops will perform with a returning favorite — the Chicago tribute band Brass Transit.
In its first-ever First Night appearance, the Atlantic City Ballet will perform a holiday show.
All municipal parking lots and metered parking spots are free. Jitneys will provide free transportation from 5 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. for button-holders, operating continuously between all venues starting at the Ocean City Transportation Center (Ninth Street and Haven Avenue) and Seventh Street Parking Lot (Central Avenue).
The parking lot at Fifth Street and Boardwalk will be closed to allow for the setup and launch of fireworks. The display will best be viewed from the beach or boardwalk in the blocks surrounding Fifth Street.
Food and drink will be for sale at Ocean City High School, Wonderland Pier, Ocean City Community Center), Ocean City Civic Center and St. Peter’s United Methodist Church.
The public is invited to the Ocean City Music Pier at 3:45 p.m. for the official ribbon-cutting to open the festivities.
The event is sponsored by the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Cape May County Division of Culture and Heritage, McMahon Insurance Agency, Ocean City Free Public Library, Wonderland Pier and Atlantic City Electric.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff