Dozens brave heat, humidity to show off their children in elaborate costumes, floats
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY — Among the sights and sounds (and, in the case of one young mechanic, smells) of the shore Thursday, Aug. 12, on the boardwalk were dozens of babies decked out in costumes to complement the theme of their floats as their parents pulled them along the boardwalk in the 111th Ocean City Baby Parade.
The event drew families from near and far eager to show off their crafty creations, as well as hundreds of spectators who lined the boardwalk Thursday from Sixth to 12th streets to watch.
Participants gathered inside and outside the Sports & Civic Center ahead of the 10:30 a.m. start to get their lineup assignment and put the finishing touches on their costumes and floats while trying to keep their children happy amid the growing heat.
Thirtysomethings Dan and Amy Young of Douglassville, Pa., brought their son Carson, 17 months, along with the “Skid Mark Garage” featuring a car suspended on a lift atop a wagon. Carson had a spot in the wagon with some tools of the trade and a shop light made from a toy shovel and duct tape. Mom and Dad wore work shirts and carried a sign reading: “Skid Mark Garage, where baby mechanics are all tired and pooped out! We fix … crappy exhaust pipes, gas leaks, emissions and more. Inspections are our doody! Mom and Pop Shop.”
Kyle Wherrity, 33, and his wife, Sara, 34, brought 9-month-old Dylan to compete in the Fancy Dress category with the entry “The Shoring 20s.” Dylan and Mom were decked out as flappers in fringe dresses and headpieces while Dad was dapper in a red-and-white-striped jacket and straw hat. It’shard to image Jay Gatsby would have approved of the flip-flops, though.
“With us going into the 2020s and seeing the parallels of the 1920s and particularly coming out of the pandemic there was so much pent-up desire for excitement and everything Ocean City has to offer. I can’t think of a better way to spend the next decade than in Ocean City with donuts and dancing, pizza and prosperity,” Kyle said.
Wherrity said he has been spending time in the city since before he can remember and that participating in the parade is a family tradition, although not one he had been part of before.
“My parents never put me in it so maybe I am overcompensating,” he said.
Dylan also participated in the Pamper Scamper two days earlier, winning her first heat in the crawling race but quickly tiring and then retiring to rest up for the parade.
Collegeville, Pa., resident Paula White and her granddaughter Delaney Leszcynski re-created a photograph of White and Delaney’s mother, Jena Leszcynski, 36, taken 35 years ago during the parade in 1986. Delaney sat atop a cotton candy cart while White, sporting a pink apron and white server hat, pushed the cart along.
“It’s absolutely amazing” to be able to do this, White said. “Since I pushed it back then I thought it would be appropriate for me to do it again.”
She said she took part in 15 straight parades, from 1986 to 2001, including during the 100th anniversary parade.
“It’s just a family tradition that my mom put me in so many years and it was an honor to be part,” White said, noting it has never rained during her years of participating.
A family from Upper Deerfield Township in Cumberland County created a stegosaurus float. Lily Parsinitz, 7, road atop on the dinosaur’s back dressed as a jungle explorer. Others participating were her mother, Lauren; sister Olivia, 11; aunt Lisa Rosario; grandmother Susan Rosario, who created the entry; John Dezeeuw and Quintin Koreck.
Tom and Rebecca Firmani proved the parade is not just for tourists and seasonal homeowners. The Ocean City couple set out with a lofty goal in mind but scaled back a bit when they realized it was more work than they could handle.
“I was trying to do a space race like Richard Branson and Jeff Beezos, but it was a little more than I could chew so we did aliens instead,” Rebecca said. “It felt very on-trend.”
So instead of being billionaires, Vivian, 3, and Nicholas, 1, were extraterrestrials.
Tom said he was in the parade with his brother 50 years ago and that his mother was in it 70 years ago.
Rebecca said they were in the parade in 2018 with Vivian, before Nicolas was born.
“It was fun and a creative thing to do and a fun outlet and nice to do a local event, so we decided to do it with both kids this year — which might have been a mistake because he is systematically destroying the float,” she said.
Winners in the 111th annual Ocean City Baby Parade
Bamberger Award
Number: 401
Names: Giavanna Todd
Theme: Giavanna’s Gelateria
Hanscom Award
Number: 400
Names: Dior Fulton
Theme: The Hungry Caterpillar
Dahlhausen Award
Number: 702
Names: Lily Parsinitz
Theme: Spikes Dinosaur Tour of the Jersey Shore
Canale Award
Number: 707
Names: RD, Bodie and Oakley Webber
Theme: OC-On in a Melon!
Soifer Award
Number: 706
Names: Owen Bowker
Theme: Toy Story in OC
Most Outstanding Twins or Triplets
Number: 705
Names: Mariah & PJ McMahon
Theme: Two Sweet Twins
Greatest Distance Traveled
Number: 416
Names: Elizabeth Gerger
Theme: From the Shores of Madison, Ohio
From Madison, Ohio
Division A Section 100 Winner
Number: 100
Names: Delaney Leszcynski
Theme: Sweet as Cotton Candy!
Division A Section 100 Runner Up
Number: 104
Names: Grace Labriola
Theme: A Carousel of Dreams
Division A Section 200 Winner
Number: 202
Names: Heap Babies
Theme: OC Lifeguards
Division A Section 200 Runner Up
Number: 200
Names: Alexandra & Isabella Vital
Theme: Mermaids of Corson’s Inlet
Division A Section 300 Winner
Number: 303
Names: Grace & Tierney Kane
Theme: Butterflies
Division A Section 300 Runner Up
Number: 302
Names: Lillian Albright, Thomas & Samantha Dickinson
Theme: As American as Baseball, Apple Pie and OC
Division B Section 400 Winner
Number: 402
Names: Evelyn Joanna Stencler
Theme: Baby Yoda
Division B Section 400 Runner Up
Number: 416
Names: Elizabeth Gerger
Theme: From the Shores of Madison, Ohio
Division B Section 500 Winner
Number: 503
Names: Vivian & Nicholas Firmani
Theme: OCNJ Space Race
Division B Section 500 Runner Up
Number: 509
Names: Jackson & Cameron Davis
Theme: Country Western in OC
Division B Section 600 Winner
Number: 601
Names: Jacob Lynch, Sawyer & Savannah Moulen
Theme: Mario Brothers
Division B Section 600 Runner Up
Number: 602
Names: Cameron & Allessandra DaSilva, Deacon & Johanna Jones
Theme: Mario Kart
Division C Winner
Number: 703
Names: Beckett & Kenna Adams
Theme: Pollination — save the bees and butterflies!
Division C Runners Up
Number: 704
Names: Luca Chmielewski
Theme: Sitting on The Dock of the Bay!
Number: 701
Names: Dominic & Calvin Pezzella, Cameron & Jordan Monks, Emma Pacholski
Theme: Moanna
Best Float: OCTC Show Choir
Best Musical Act: Absegami Marching Braves