This weekend, Ocean City is hosting a great big US Tennis Association men’s tournament. The 25 players will hail from Maryland as well as the other Mid-Atlantic states, and will compete in one of three divisions: Open, Over 35, and Over 50. Two of the players in the over 35 division are ranked among the top 50 in the division nationwide. The winners will go on to the regional semi-finals, where they will compete with the winners from other participating Mid-Atlantic cities.

This is the only event of its kind on the Eastern Shore, so the earea’s best players will definitely be there. It should be a great show to watch if you like tennis — which, obviously, I do, or I wouldn’t be posting about it in my blog. The tournament starts at 9:00 AM on Saturday, and the finals start at 9:30 AM on Sunday. Admission for spectators is free.

June 1st’s karaoke contest on the beach marked the beginning of 2008’s summer Play It Safe activities. As always, the program focuses on providing fun, supervised, drug- and alcohol-free activities for graduating high-school seniors who come to Ocean City to celebrate their graduation. While the new film “The Graduates” highlights all the trouble that Senior Week visitors are notorious for getting into, Play It Safe hopes to attract those teens who would rather have fun without involving the police or Poison Control, as well as those who want to spend time with others without being harassed by peer pressure.

The karaoke contest was a big hit, with Shannon of Fallston H.S. and Clint of Colonel Richardson H.S. taking the honors. That means that they’ll go on to compete in O.C. Idol in future weeks. Other contestants, well, they tried… but some of them still managed to end up in the “Simon would have a field day” category on the official website. To see the best and the worst, check outhttp://playitsafeoceancity.com/media.html.

We’re halfway through the second annual Ocean City Restaurant Week, and it’s going smashingly. Just like last year, several of OC’s most popular restaurants are offering a special 3-course dinner menu for $30, and a 2-course lunch for $20 per person. Some of the restaurants participating are 32 Palm in the Hilton Suites Hotel, the romantic Victorian Room, the Blue Ox Steakhouse and Raw Bar, and many more.

After the smashing success of last year’s inaugural event, guests can expect restaurants to be packed this week, so try to get a reservation while you can! My guess is that this weekend is going to be a record-breaker for OC’s fine-dining restaurants. I think you’re going to have to either be there or hear about it from all your friends later.

More info and specifics at http://oceancityrestaurantweek.com .