OCEAN CITY – Ocean City kicked off the 2008 season with Springfest yesterday with the event running through the weekend, featuring live entertainment, arts and crafts and plenty of delicious Eastern Shore food.
Welcome the season with plenty of fun for all ages in and around four festive, big top tents. Many new and unique arts and crafts will be featured among the 186 artists. Children of all ages can enjoy an assortment of activities and great, free entertainment.
Satisfy your appetite with a delicious bounty of foods from famous Eastern Shore delicacies to a wide assortment of ethnic offerings and tempting desserts. Feast on crab cakes, pizza, barbecue, hamburgers, hot dogs and much, much more. Over 30 food and drink vendors will satisfy your taste buds during Springfest.
While admission to the event is free, headline shows are offered each evening at 8 p.m. with paid admission. Country music’s Emerson Drive performs on the Springfest stage Friday and Three Dog Night will rock the house on Saturday.
Tickets for headline acts are now on sale at the Ocean City Convention Center Box Office and will be available at the festival ticket booth on site. Box office hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday; or you can order tickets by calling Ticket Master at 800-555-SEAT; in Baltimore/Washington, call 410-547-SEAT.
Springfest also serves up a variety of free musical entertainment with sounds sweeping the scale from big band to rock and roll. This year Springfest presents Captain Quint, Teenage Rust, The Groove Train, Sir Rod, Rick K and the Allnighters, The Soulcrackers, J.R. Booker, Georgia Lea & Stone Cold Country, Randy Lee Ashcraft & The Saltwater Cowboys, Jesse Garron’s Elvis, The Bopcats, N.O.M.A.D., Frankie & the Pack and the Recreation Line Dancers.
Added to the Springfest entertainment line-up this year are Bill Haley & the Comets, Quiet Fire, The Shades, The Adrian Duke Projek, Big Leg Emma, The Funsters and Jason Jones. On Sunday there will a special performance by The Delmarva Big Band at 3:30 p.m. and Sir Rod completes the festival entertainment at 5 p.m. Children’s roaming entertainment on Saturday is Paul Hadfield and on Sunday is Lollipop The Clown.
Springfest 2008 is open rain or shine 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday, May 1 through Saturday, May 3 and on Sunday, May 4 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. A special welcoming ceremony will be held on the outdoor stage on Thursday, May 1 at 10 a.m.
Since parking is restricted at Springfest, visitors are urged to ride city buses to the festival grounds. Ocean City offers a 24-hour, ride-all-day-for-$2 service. You are encouraged to use the Park and Ride shuttle buses from the West Ocean City Park and Ride located just west of Ocean City on Route 50.
Parking is free and the Park and Ride bus fare is just $1, good for all-day use. Additional park-and-ride locations with $2 bus service are: Public Safety Building at 65th St., Northside Park on 125th Street (walk to 125th St. bus stop), Ocean Plaza Mall at 94th Street and the Gold Coast Mall at 115th Street.
New this year, the Ocean City Transportation Department is offering the Springfest Shuttle from the Ocean City Convention Center’s south parking lot on 40th St. Here the town’s trolleys will offer an express shuttle (no stops) to Springfest. The cost is $2, ride-all-day, same as regular bus fare. Parking is free at the Convention Center south lot. Trolleys will depart the lot every 30 minutes from 9 a.m. until 30 minutes following the end of the evening’s last concert, Thursday through Saturday, and from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Sunday. The Springfest shuttle offers convenient service for festival attendees traveling from the northern part of Ocean City.
The Boardwalk tram also offers service daily. The Boardwalk tram costs $3 per person one-way and delivers you directly to the Springfest grounds. Children under 42 inches are free. The tram runs daily from 10 a.m. to midnight and stops at various locations along the Boardwalk.