Ocean City starts summer ’22 with Business Persons Plunge | Local news

On Monday, local veterans and community members will gather at 11 a.m. to remember members of the military who made the biggest sacrifice.

It was time for nonsense on Friday at noon. During the 19th year, business people from Ocean City purposefully marched into the water, led by Susan Maldowney, known for her costumed performances of several characters at events in the area.

Some, like dive organizer and annual participant John Walton, wear business suits and ties, often dressed much more formally than a job at sea usually requires. Others dress up as pirates, mermaids, or hermit crabs.

This year, the contingent from the Water Fitness Center came like jellyfish, with paper tentacles hanging from umbrellas.

The event goes by rain or sun. When that didn’t happen in 2020 because the beaches were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Walton still entered on his own. The event took place after heavy rain and in the midst of beach renovation projects, so the gray fog that covered the beaches near the Music Pier on Friday at noon was not a big deal.

Hundreds of spectators stood by the fence and the beach to watch the sinking, which followed the official unlocking of the ocean, in which city officials turned a large key in the sand.

It all started with Natalie Ragaco, a Miss New Jersey volunteer, singing “The Star Spangled Banner”, followed by comments from Mayor Jay Gillian. Members of the City Council also gathered on the beach.

“It’s been a long, long, cold winter, but let me tell you, the sun will rise and Ocean City will prosper as usual,” Gillian said. “Let’s live a beautiful, safe, peaceful summer. So enjoy. Happy 2022. ”

Also, this weekend, the daily flag-raising ceremony on the promenade at the Music Harbor began, which was held every morning with the national anthem and playing the song “God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood.

Saturday morning brings the Memorial Beach Challenge, a two-mile obstacle course that covers most of the beach between Fifth and 15th Streets. Proceeds from the event benefit Project 31 Heroes, an organization that specializes in creating programs, financial support systems and opportunities for military personnel, veterans and their families.

The race starts at 8 am at the Music Port. It also includes a children’s fun race and a Memorial Rowing. See memorialbeachchallenge.com for more information.

The national moment of remembrance is also set for Monday. The event, which was established by the Congress, asks Americans, wherever they are at 3 pm on Remembrance Day, to stop in the act of national unity for one minute. Greg Murphy from the group Buglers Across America will play cannons from the music dock in memory of that moment.