Halloween Events and Welcome Night
Ocean City’s 73rd annual Halloween Parade returns on Thursday (Oct. 28) and promises a great time for all.
The event is a favorite on the fall calendar and features local children, families, bands, entertainers, businesses, and organizations costumed for the occasion.
The parade starts at 7:15 p.m. Thursday and proceeds down Asbury Avenue from Sixth Street to 11th Street.
The event is sponsored by the Ocean City Exchange Club. Watching the parade is free – with great spots to catch all the action from either side of downtown Asbury Avenue.
Late registration for participants in the parade will be available at a table staffed from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on parade night at Sixth Street and Asbury Avenue in front of GG’s Diamond Tailor Shop. For more information, call 800-813-5580 or visit ochp.blogspot.com.
Traditional trick-or-treating hours for Ocean City will be 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 31.
The Ocean City Skate Park at Fifth Street and Asbury Avenue will celebrate Halloween from 4 p.m. to dusk on Saturday, Oct. 30. Skateboarders are invited to come dressed for the holiday. There will be prizes for best costume and best trick, and candy for the participants.
A house on Victoria Lane is decked out in spooky decorations. (Photo courtesy of Ocean City)
Judging for the second annual Halloween House Decorating Contest in Ocean City will take place on Wednesday and Thursday. A list of winners and participants will be posted at www.ocnj.us/halloween, so everybody can check out all the homes and businesses that were decorated in the spirit of the holiday.
The Ocean City Free Public Library’s Halloween Fest will offer games, stories, crafts, and a costume contest from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27 under the tent outside the library at 1735 Simpson Avenue.
Students in grades 7 to 12 will star in “The Addams Family” (School Edition), a comical feast that embraces the wackiness in every family. The iconic TV show is now an award-winning Broadway musical. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Nov. 5 and 6 at the Ocean City Music Pier. Tickets $15. Call 609-399-6111 or visit oceancityvacation.com/boxoffice.
OCEAN CITY WELCOME NIGHT SET FOR OCT. 27
The Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce will host its annual Welcome Night from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27 at the Ocean City Sports and Civic Center at Sixth Street and Boardwalk. The free event offers residents a chance to meet and learn about Ocean City groups, businesses, and organizations. Welcome Night is free to all attendees. For more information, call 1-800-BEACH-NJ.
Welcome Night showcases local new and old businesses.
REGISTRATION OPEN FOR TRAIL OF TWO CITIES 5K
The Trail of Two Cities 5-kilometer run/walk will be held for the 25th time on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021. The popular 5K (3.1-mile) race offers spectacular views over the length of a point-to-point course from Ocean City to Somers Point. The route travels the length of the Route 52 causeway in the lanes usually reserved for cars.
Registration is open and long-sleeved race T-shirts are guaranteed for the first 400 to sign up. The pre-registration fee is $25, and participants can sign up online until Saturday, Oct. 30 at www.ocnj.us/race-events.
Race-day registration runs at 7 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. at the Ocean City Transportation Center (10th Street and Haven Avenue in Ocean City). The race starts there at 8 a.m. and finishes at Kennedy Park in Somers Point.
Buses will be available at the finish line in Somers Point to transport runners to the start in Ocean City before the race from 6:45 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. Buses also will be available transport runners back to Ocean City from Somers Point after the race. The awards ceremonies will be held at JFK Park after all participants have completed the course.
For more information, visit www.ocnj.us/race-events.
The Trail of Two Cities Run covers a point-to-point course across the Route 52 causeway from Ocean City to Somers Point. (Photo courtesy City of Ocean City)