OC gearing up for ‘busy couple of months’ in events

By Mallory Panuska Managing Editor

(Aug. 18, 2023) A typical assumption for a resort town like Ocean City is that the fun winds down as soon as the sun sets on Labor Day weekend.

But in reality, the end of summer now means the start of one of the most event-heavy seasons of the year.

“We are about to roll into a very busy couple of months,” Special Events Director Frank Miller said Monday during a Tourism Commission meeting.

Starting off with Wine on the Beach Sept. 8 and 9, sizable touristheavy events are set for every weekend leading up into November. And then comes the Winterfest of Lights, which staff members said will be bigger and more expansive this year.

“Things will be going on in town that will make this a larger impact than just Winterfest,” Miller said.

The changes and additions include a new layout, larger holiday lights displays, the return of the tram to Northside Park, and partnerships with businesses and organizations across the city.

Tom Perlozzo, the city’s director of tourism and business development, said the event, which will still run from Thanksgiving weekend through New Year’s, will have a large tent with new offerings inside, which could include amusement rides courtesy of a local provider.

Higher cost, new design proposed

Continued from Page 15 command center for special events.

Architects created a new design based on the revised plans, and local firm Gillis Gilkerson was selected as the construction manager through a bid process. They priced out the new design and estimated the cost at $4.26 million, or roughly double the original projection. The change was a product of what a staff report called “real world current construction costs based on actual quotes from sub-contractors.”

McGean confirmed Tuesday that the change in design had nothing do with the jump in costs. He also said the new design has potential for more benefits than the first one.

“I think it does a number of things,” McGean said of the proposed building. “It provides a good neighborhood presence for the police department downtown. It frees up storage space for the Beach Patrol. And it gives us … a new command center to deal with special events at the inlet parking lot.”

OC marketing team focused on recruiting workforce now

By Mallory Panuska Managing Editor

(Aug. 18, 2023) Coming off of the success of the summer tourist “Catch a Ride” campaign, members of Ocean City’s outside marketing team hope to expand their focus to a more permanent clientele.

At a Tourism Commission meeting Monday, representatives of marketing firm BVK teased the company’s latest efforts to transform the new “Somewhere to Smile About” campaign and winky smiley face logo into a recruitment method for summer and seasonal workers.

“The idea of leveraging the lifestyle brand of tourism marketing is becoming more and more popular,”

Victoria Simmons, BVK’s senior vice president of travel, said during a presentation on the company’s efforts to attract more residents and workers to cities in Wyoming and Maine.

The “Why Relocate?” campaigns, which transitioned to “Why Hospitality?” during covid, were created to address the issue of aging populations and the departure of young people.

Simmons said BVK staff want to hear from city officials about both seasonal and long-term gaps in workforce and create a campaign to help address the issues.

The firm was hired in December 2021 to rebrand and market the resort with new tourism and recruitment techniques. Representatives regularly update officials on the progress.

Nia Kaylor, BVK advertising and marketing vice president, detailed how company officials plan to use the “Somewhere to Smile About” tagline to target audiences to recruit workers for specific sectors. She said the com-

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