Announcement

Record-breaking holiday weekend in Ocean Pines

Monday, July 5, 2021

Record-breaking holiday weekend in Ocean Pines

Attendance figures shattered for July 4 celebration and fireworks, new single-day sales mark at Beach Club; staff from virtually every department contributed to success

(July 6, 2021) Although the weather didn’t always cooperate, a sunny Sunday on July 4 and big crowds all around led to a stellar holiday weekend in Ocean Pines.

During that span, the Association posted record numbers at several amenities and drew the largest-ever audience for a fireworks display.

Fourth of July events

Independence Day happenings started early on Sunday, with the return of the annual “Freedom 5K” race.

Recreation and Parks Director Debbie Donahue said 225 runners took part. Race results were posted online, at https://www.raceentry.com/results/ocean-pines-association-freedom-5k/view/2021.

“It was a beautiful day and perfect for a 5K,” Donahue said. “That went really well.”

Later that evening, Donahue and the Recreation Department oversaw the return of the annual July 4 celebration at Veterans Memorial Park. She said the largest crowd yet – roughly 3,000 people – came out to enjoy the huge inflatable slides and bounce houses for children, along with carnival games, food vendors, and music for people of all ages.

An accidental fireworks discharge in nearby Ocean City led to the cancelation of two planned fireworks displays there. Donahue said that likely contributed to the enormous amount of people who watched the fireworks on Sunday night in Ocean Pines.

“Ocean City’s unfortunate situation probably contributed to our big crowds, and there’s no way to tell how many people were parked in surrounding areas and probably watching from their homes,” she said. “It was a spectacular event.”

Donahue said the seamlessness of the July 4 celebration was thanks to behind-the-scenes efforts by Ocean Pines Police, Public Works and Volunteer Fire Department.

She also thanked Schaefer Fireworks, Inc. for putting on a successful and well received fireworks display. Video of the fireworks finale, posted on Facebook (https://fb.watch/v/gV9jscfJm/), was viewed 23,000 times as of Tuesday afternoon.

“I want everybody to know that it takes all of us – it's not just a Recreation and Parks event. So, I really want to thank all the different departments that helped us pull this off. All of those employees made it a perfect day,” Donahue said.

“Traffic made it out perfectly at the end of the night, and everything was cleaned up and done in 45 minutes [after the fireworks]. It was crazy!” she continued. “Everybody had their own responsibilities, but everyone also worked as a team. It was a great day, and everything went really well.”

Police Chief Leo Ehrisman credited work by a pre-preparation team that also included Public Works, Recreation and Parks, the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department, and the local neighborhood watch. He said the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office also helped direct traffic before and after the fireworks.

On July 4, Public Works Director Eddie Wells said the first workers arrived at around 6 a.m. to set up for the Freedom 5K, and the last left just after midnight.

Among their duties, Public Works staff helped block off roads, and shuttled food and water for the countless workers and volunteers.

“We took care of the police, and the neighborhood watch guys and anybody else that was working,” Wells said. “We were riding around with coolers of water and food and keeping everybody happy.”

July 4 also marked the first major event since the COVID-19 outbreak shuttered many happenings in 2020, including the fireworks last year.

Donahue said it was awe-inspiring to see so many people back outside and enjoying themselves.

“I just kept saying, ‘Where are they all coming from? What am I going to do with all these people?’” she said with a laugh. “It was very cool to have all the people back out again and having a normal Fourth of July, with everyone joining us and the kids having a great time. It was a perfect day to get back to some normal type of holiday fun.”

Marina, Racquet Sports and Aquatics come up big

Elsewhere in Ocean Pines, Donahue said the Marina had an outstanding holiday weekend.

“From Friday to Sunday, they did really well and they were quite busy throughout the entire time,” she said.

Donahue said the Ocean Pines Racquet Center was also busy, especially because of a record number of pickleball players.

“There was lots of racquet sports traffic coming out of all three sports,” also including tennis and platform tennis, she said. “But pickleball, especially, had people lined up to play.

“It was a very well-attended holiday weekend, everywhere in Ocean Pines,” she added.

Aquatics Director Kathleen Cook said rain on Friday shut down Ocean Pines’ four outdoor pools early, but the rest of the weekend was a success.

“Friday was a wash and we moved everyone indoors [to the Sports Core Pool], and we had a big day there,” she said. “During the rest of the weekend, all of the pools were pretty much at capacity.”

“Most people were pretty kind and understanding” of the large crowds, Cook said. “The most important thing is it was safe. Everyone behaved and we guarded appropriately.”

Packed at the Yacht Club and Beach Club

Ralph DeAngelus, cofounder of the Matt Ortt Companies that runs Ocean Pines’ food and beverage operation, said all three restaurants did well during the holiday.

“Except for the rain on Friday morning, it was a spectacular weekend at all three places,” he said.

That included a new single-day sales record at the Ocean Pines Beach Club, on July 4.

“Obviously, good weather is always number one, but we also saw the desire for people to get back to normal,” DeAngelus said. “We did a lot of large parties for dinner and saw a lot of families – a lot of groups of sevens and eights and nines and tens. People are getting together again for the holiday, which they weren’t able to do last year.”

Rain cut short a performance by Tranzfusion at the Ocean Pines Yacht Club on Saturday, on a night when the popular local band’s bass player also broke a bone in his band. Despite that string of bad luck, DeAngelus said business was good.

“The number that night was still strong,” he said. “Even though the weather killed the band, people didn’t leave.”

Tranzfusion will be back at the Yacht Club on Friday, July 23.

On the following night, Sunday, July 4, a huge audience filled up the Yacht Club patio as another local favorite, Great Train Robbery, performed.

“July 4 at the Yacht Club was the best one we’ve been involved with,” DeAngelus said. “If it hadn’t been for that really, really bad rain on Friday we probably would have had an all-time record for the whole weekend.”

Like Donahue, DeAngelus also underscored the efforts of staff.

“Even with a pent-up demand, there’s restaurants across Worcester County that can’t do those kind of numbers because of the staffing issue,” he said. “We’re able to do those numbers because we’ve been able to retain a lot of staff members that come back because of how we and our customer base in Ocean Pines treats them.”

During the height of the pandemic, the Yacht Club stayed open and ran on a skeleton crew of managers, and the restaurant got creative with family meal specials and home delivery. The Ocean Pines public were grateful, and the management team paid it forward by saving more than $10,000 in tips for workers who had to be laid off.

It’s a courtesy that DeAngelus said returning staff still talks about it.

“A lot of our success is because the employees who come back to work for us are good and strong and they care – and they work their butts off,” he said.

General Manager John Viola said the entire holiday weekend was both a financial success for Ocean Pines, and a much-needed return to normalcy.

“Across the board, we saw people coming back out in large numbers to enjoy our amenities,” he said. “Our team put in a lot of hard work and a lot of long hours behind the scenes. We were happy to see everyone again, we’re grateful for the good weather on Sunday, and we’re looking forward to a busy rest of the summer in Ocean Pines.”

Announcement

Record-breaking holiday weekend in Ocean Pines

Record-breaking holiday weekend in Ocean Pines

Attendance figures shattered for July 4 celebration and fireworks, new single-day sales mark at Beach Club; staff from virtually every department contributed to success

Fourth of July events

Marina, Racquet Sports and Aquatics come up big

Packed at the Yacht Club and Beach Club

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