Ocean City, Maryland – (December 20, 2017): It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! While the holiday spirit has been circulating through town for several weeks, the Town of Ocean City is reminding citizens that town administrative offices will be closed on Friday, December 22, and Monday, December 25, in observance of the Christmas holiday. There will be no trash collection on Monday, December 25. Monday’s trash will be picked up on Tuesday, December 26.
Also beginning December 26, the Town of Ocean City will once again provide a FREE Christmas tree drop-off site at the 100th Street Municipal Parking Lot. Trees can be placed in the northeast corner of the 100th Street lot December 26 through January 15. Please remove all tinsel, ornaments and other non-wooden items from the tree. Trees collected at the site are taken to the county landfill where they are recycled.
Administrative & transportation hours
Citizens should also be reminded that Town of Ocean City administrative offices will be closed on Monday, January 1, in observance of the New Year’s holiday. No trash collection will be offered on Monday, January 1, however; Monday’s trash will be collected on Tuesday, January 2. Also modifying their normal schedule for the holiday is the Town of Ocean City’s Transportation Department, who will offer FREE bus service from 6 a.m. on December 31 to 6 a.m. on January 1. On December 31, bus services will run every 20 minutes from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and every 10 minutes from 6 p.m. until 4 a.m. on January 1. Buses on New Year’s Day will also run every 20 minutes from 4 a.m. until 7 a.m., at which time they will resume a normal winter service schedule of every 40 minutes.
New bus locator app
With a new year comes new and improved service, as Ocean City is celebrating the introduction of the highly anticipated bus locator application. Debuting on New Year’s Eve, the enhanced service will allow bus patrons to view real-time location of busses with the TransLoc Rider app. Available for both iOS and Android, users of the app can watch Ocean City buses moving in real time, as well get an accurate arrival prediction of busses to their exact location via the app’s text messaging feature. Further, the TransLoc Rider app allows users to set favorite routes, get personal alerts and ultimately makes transit more accessible and convenient for patrons.
New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day
Along with free bus services and a new bus locator app, the Town of Ocean City will be hosting a FREE fireworks show on New Year’s Eve to celebrate the beginning of 2018 and the conclusion of the 25th Annual Winterfest of Lights. The show will begin promptly at midnight and will be accompanied by musical entertainment, warm hot chocolate (for a small fee) and the opportunity to ride the Winterfest of Lights prior to midnight. Hours for Winterfest will be extended until 12 a.m. to allow visitors to travel through the winter paradise of lights.
The New Year’s Eve festivities begin at 5:30 p.m. inside the Winterfest Pavilion, with the celebration continuing on until midnight at Northside Park. For more information about the Winterfest of Lights and the New Year’s Eve Fireworks Show, please visit www.ococean.com/events.
Last but not least, the festivities continue on New Year’s Day as Mayor Rick Meehan and members of the Ocean City council treat residents and visitors to a FREE concert at the breathtaking Performing Arts Center. After a brief meet and greet with Ocean City elected officials and participating community partners, the 2018 New Year’s Day Concert will feature performances by Bryan Russo and Nadjah Nicole from NBC’s Emmy Award winning TV show The Voice. Scheduled from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on New Year’s Day, residents and visitors are invited to meet the Mayor and City Council members from 1 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. After the meet and greet, the Performing Arts Center doors will open for seating and the concert will start promptly at 1:45 p.m. with Russo opening the show. Tickets will not be issued, as seating will be first come first serve. For more information, please contact Jessica Waters at 410.289.8967
For more information about Town of Ocean City services and holiday closings, please visit http://oceancitymd.gov.
