By ELIZABETH LITTLE/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY — The parking lot at the base of the Ocean City-Longport Bridge was filled with red, white and blue Sunday as people gathered with their bikes for the annual Independence Day bike parade.
The event was hosted by the Ocean City Gardens Civic Association, and the organization set up a table and was accepting donations in exchange for T-shirts designed by Ocean City Intermediate School seventh-grader Mason Kaplan. The design featured a bike with the words “Bike Parade… wear a helmet,” and were available in red, white and blue.
The donations will help fund scholarships for Ocean City High School students whose families own a home in the Gardens, said Marita Miller, a member of the OCGCA. She said the organization is open to helping anyone who needs it, but especially the residents of the Gardens.
“It’s social but it’s also to help people, and at Christmastime we help anyone who needs it,” member Helen Morrison said.
There were bikes of all kinds as well as people — and dogs — of all ages at the parade. One bike, owned by Francine Hallman, had an attachment that would carry a child, so that he or she could learn how to pedal too.
“This was my Christmas present this year, because I love riding in the bike parade with the kids,” Hallman said. “It’s great because the kids can hang on and they can ride safely.”
The roads were blocked off by the Police Department for the parade, and the participants rode down Newcastle Road to Beach Road, where they paraded along the ocean before dispersing.
The OCPD reminded participants about the importance of bike safety, so that everyone can have fun in the safest way possible.
“Wear your bike helmets, obey all traffic laws, the same as a car. Because you have two wheels it’s the same as four,” Lt. Robert Reichanek said.
Emmy Schloesser said participating in the bike parade is a tradition for her and her friends and family. She said the parade is fun but that she was really looking forward to watching the fireworks display from her house.
“I’m looking forward to seeing fireworks on the beach and going to the beach. I usually like to watch the fireworks from the roof of our beach house,” 10-year-old Layla Hassinger said.
“I’m looking forward to the fireworks and playing games with my family like cornhole and charades,” sister Rylee Hassinger, 12, said. “We’re going to go to the beach, I think, and we will spend most of the time there and then we’ll come home and eat dinner and play games.”
Residents of the Gardens lined up along the route to watch the spectacle. Even Mayor Jay Gillian was watching.
“It’s all about family, tradition and neighborhoods. They had a spectacular one [bike parade] down at South End yesterday, and this is what Ocean City is all about,” Gillian said. “After what we’ve been through over the last year, when you see everyone out next to each other with no masks, just living their lives, that’s what it’s all about.”
The OCGCA was ecstatic that there was such a great turnout for the event, estimating that 1,000 people took part in the parade this year.
