The best fall weekend to visit Ocean City (and how to save a little money, too)

(Every weekend in the fall is a good one to visit Ocean City, but one of the best this year is Halloween weekend, Oct. 28-29.)

Shore Craft Beer's OCtoberfest

Friends and family enjoy a beautiful fall day with beer in Sunset Park. Ocean City's biggest craft beer festival will be back at the scenic Sunset Park in downtown Ocean City on Saturday, Oct. 28, rain or shine. Set upon the beautiful Assawoman Bay and co-sponsored by the Ocean City Development Corporation and the Town of Ocean City, OCtoberfest is the celebration of local, delicious and seasonal craft beer. Live music will be provided by the Ocean City, Md. band the Dunehounds, a blues and funk band brewed on Delmarva. More vendors than ever will sell crafts, cookies and other creations, and food trucks including That Kitchen, Malibu Beach Eats, and Anthony's Sessa Hotdogs and Get Baked Food Trolley will be on site. The event is child-friendly and pet-friendly, and there's always a handful of dogs in the cutest Halloween costumes imaginable. Save money (exclusive to this festival): Hotel packages are available from the Gateway Hotel, the Residence Inn by Marriott, the Howard Johnson and Home2 Suites specifically for this event. More may be added. Most of them include one- or two-night stays at a discounted rate, plus tickets to the festival, meal credits, pint glasses and/or gift certificates to local restaurants.

Also, if you're in town the weekend prior, the Howl-o-Ween pet parade is just about the cutest event there is.

Seacrets Halloween Party and Costume Contest

The flyer says it all. Start out with brunch and then join us at the Octoberfest Shore Craft Beer Fest. Then, head back to your hotel and take a nap, followed by a costume contest and Halloween party at Seacrets.

The Ocean City Running Festival - Costume Contest & Discount for Runners to Octoberfest

IF you are headed to Ocean City for the Ocean City Running Festival, there will be a costume contest for contestants. In addition, everybody with race credentials will get $5 off their Octoberfest Shore Craft Beer Fest tickets with the code: RunOC Just go to https://www.shorecraftbeerfest.com/octoberfest.html to get more information. To buy your tickets using your discount code - which gets you 4 hours of fun starting at 1 pm, a commemorative t-shirt, a commemorative stainless steel pint, and unlimited samples of local craft beer, mead and hard seltzer from local breweries, go to the ticketing site.