As one of America’s favorite seaside playgrounds, Ocean City, Maryland doesn’t only offer everyday sand, surf, and good times: It also boasts an events calendar spanning the whole year and including some heavy-duty East Coast happenings.
You won’t find a better place to stay for attending these festivals, celebrations, and tournaments than the Ashore Resort & Beach Club, which sets you up right along the OCMD beachfront with easy access to the city’s iconic boardwalk and other hubs of activity.
Here’s a quick overview of some—just some, mind you!—of the annual events that draw visitors from near and far to Ocean City each and every year.
Ocean City, MD Annual Festivals & Theme Weeks
From the twinkling walk-through holiday installation of the Winterfest of Lights and the music-filled tribute of Dreamfest over Martin Luther King Weekend to such OCMD theme weeks as Bike Week and Jeep Week, there’s something going on here along the Atlantic oceanfront each and every season.
Freshly in the rear-view mirror this year, OCMD once again hosted the fantastic four-day Ocean City Film Festival, a March traditions since 2017 that draws regional, national, and international filmmakers. And in early May, loads of food-and-music lovers rocked out at Springfest, which boasts live performances on two stages, fantastic food and drink, amusement rides and games, and an arts-and-crafts fair featuring better than 200 talented vendors.
Another widely known OCMD event is coming up September 29th through October 1st: the 2023 Oceans Calling Festival. This three-day music festival, organized with Maryland’s own O.A.R., takes place on three stages along the Ocean City Boardwalk. Headliners this year include Jack Johnson, Alanis Morissette, Third Eye Blind, John Mayer, Sheryl Crow, The Wallflowers, Weezer, and The Lumineers, along with O.A.R. of course!
The Oceans Calling host this year is Jason Biggs. Superstar chefs Robert Irvine and Amanda Freitag will also make appearances during the proceedings, which per usual with feature plenty of local food vendors and classic amusement-park fun at Jolly Roger at the Pier.
Ocean City Restaurant Week
Besides the significant culinary components to some of the abovementioned festivals, the OCMD calendar includes plenty of events highlighting our top-shelf dining scene. That very much includes April’s Ocean City Restaurant Week, where oodles of participating restaurants, bars, and other establishments offer special fixed-price menus and/or steals-of-deals.
World-Class Fishing Tournaments in Ocean City, Maryland
Ocean City, Maryland’s truly renowned as a sportfishing destination—this is the White Marlin Capital of the World, after all—so it’s no surprise some of the biggest and best angling tournaments anywhere go down here.
Coming up on the calendar, for example, we’ve got the 36th annual Ocean City Tuna Tournament (July 14th through July 16th), the largest tuna tournament in the world.
This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the legendary White Marlin Open, marketed as “the World’s Largest & Richest Billfish Tournament.” Targeting the spectacular white marlin and other billfish that cruise the Gulf Stream to local waters, this tourney will take place August 7th through the 11th.
The Best Beachfront OCMD Accommodations at the Ashore Resort & Beach Club
Whether you’re coming to test your mettle against hard-fighting gamefish or ready to groove at Oceans Calling, choose a decked-out, beachside guest room here at the Ashore Resort & Beach Club for your OCMD event-going headquarters! Book your stay with us today.