'America's Greatest Family Resort': Ocean City's No-Booze Traditions (2024)

Community Corner

More than 100 years after Methodists first founded the island, Ocean City has stayed true to its roots and remained a 'dry town' ever since.

Posted Tue, Jan 31, 2023 at 12:38 pm ET

When a group of Methodists founded the island in the late 19th century, they wanted to turn Ocean City into a Christian resort, thus deeming it a "dry town."

Alcohol production and sales have been outlawed in Ocean City since 1909, a decade before Prohibition was ushered in nationwide on Jan. 17, 1920.

Now more than 100 years later, the city has kept up the no-booze tradition, and many of its long-standing festivals and celebrations are marketed as "family friendly" events.

"People come here for the beach and the boardwalk," said John Loper, Chairman of The Ocean City Historical Museum. "The traditions [are] all the family-friendly things that take place on the boardwalk and in the town."

For instance, Loper said Ocean City was one of the first communities in the country to hold a non-alcoholic "First Night" celebration. The event was modeled after an alcohol-free New Year's Eve celebration in Boston that marked the nation's bicentennial in 1976.

First Night is now held each New Year's Eve in Ocean City, and people can enjoy a plethora of activities up until the clock strikes midnight. From ice skating to rides at Gillian's Wonderland Pier and fireworks, First Night is a lively celebration that has been held in the beach town since 1992.

The first celebration in Ocean City included 25 entertainment acts in five different locations with admission buttons selling for $8 ($5 before Dec. 26). About 800 buttons were sold.

While other First Night events have faded, Ocean City's has only grown more popular with families making it an annual tradition for a safe New Year's Eve. Today, attendance is capped at 10,000 with admission buttons selling out year after year. Through the years, the event has been sustained by the selfless dedication of volunteers, board members and sponsors.

Loper said Night In Venice is also a long-standing tradition in Ocean City.

City officials first decided to hold a boat parade and bay front home celebration 55 years ago as part of Ocean City's Diamond Jubilee, or 75th anniversary.

The event, which is based on a similar celebration in Venice Italy, was launched by Art Watkins, the City’s Public Relations Director, and Jack Jernee, captain of the lifeguards at the time.

The modern Night In Venice was born the summer of 1954. But prior to this, an earlier event, also called Night In Venice, was held in Ocean City in the early 1900s and consisted of Philadelphia debutantes accompanied by bands sailing through lagoons and greeting bay front homeowners.

This past July, the parade route stretched from the Ocean City-Longport Bridge to Tennessee Avenue. Grandstands are also set up along the street ends so that the public can enjoy the parade.

Cash prizes are awarded to those who best decorate their lagoon homes and boats in various categories.

Last year's theme was "Mummers: Struttin' on the Bay," a tribute to colorful costumes and string bands that define Philadelphia’s annual New Year’s Day parade and Ocean City’s Tuesday nights on the Boardwalk.

"All these traditions bring tourists," Loper said. "The bottom line is we're a tourist industry. All of these brings people to the island to enjoy the island and all the amenities that are here."

Loper added that the traditions on Ocean City's boardwalk goes back to before the turn of the century. Kohrs ice cream, Manco & Manco Pizza, Johnson's Popcorn and Shriver's Saltwater Taffy & Fudge are all classic boardwalk traditions that attract people to the island, Loper said.

You can learn more about Ocean City history and traditions on the Ocean City Historical Museum website.