OCEAN CITY — Replacing the vastly popular Dew Tour has been a challenge for Ocean City, but resort officials this week gave initial approval to a homegrown, family-friendly event that could make that special event a distant memory.
During Monday’s Mayor and Council meeting, the Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) presented a new special event, the Jellyfish Festival, proposed for June 2019, which would feature a town-wide live music festival combined with action sports, family-oriented interactive entertainment and arts and culture. The Jellyfish Festival would utilize the town’s best assets with state-of-the-art stage setups and other events at the beach downtown near the Boardwalk and other venues including the Ocean Bowl Skate Park and Northside Park.
The concept is to create a family-friendly special event that includes big-time national music acts, many of the same elements as the Dew Tour including surf and skate competitions and other interactive fitness-related activities over the course of three days in June 2019 before the summer season really kicks in. At night when the official venues go dark, the Jellyfish festival would continue at businesses and other venues throughout town from one end to the other.
The event is being put together by a trio of producers known for putting together major special events in the resort and beyond. The team is spearheaded by Brad Hoffman of Live Wire Media and Events, which produces the OC Car Show, OC Jeep Week and the Susan G. Komen events. The team also includes Endless Summer Surf Shop owner and CEO Joe “Salty” Selthoffer, who has brought major events to Ocean City in the past including the Molson Pro Beach Volleyball Tour, Delmarva Bike Week and the All-Star Chopper Show among others.
Perhaps the key addition to the impressive Jellyfish Festival production team is Brian Gilpin, whose Illusion Sound and Lighting company has produced major concert events featuring some of the top acts in the country and beyond with state-of-the-art digital concert boards, stages and sound systems with multi-venue capabilities. Combined, Hoffman, Selthoffer and Gilpin have over 50 years of experience in producing major special events and the proposed Jellyfish Festival in Ocean City in June 2019 could be their biggest ever.
TAB spokesman Greg Shockley told the Mayor and Council on Monday the board carefully vetted the proposed festival and unanimously agreed to recommend approval for seed money from the TAB budget. In each of the last few years, the town’s budget has included roughly $300,000 for TAB to use to explore new special events for the resort subject to the approval of the Mayor and Council.
Shockley explained the Jellyfish Festival producers approached TAB seeking $220,000 for the continued development of the event. TAB ultimately recommended funding at 75 percent of what was requested, or around $198,750. The Mayor and Council unanimously approved the $198,750 allocation on Monday, which sets in motion the development of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the event’s producers.
“They need this commitment to get this process started,” Shockley told the Mayor and Council. “They need to sit down with the Mayor and Council and staff to start formulating the MOU that will allow this to come together. They need this lead time to accomplish all of their goals.”
Shockley explained that at a time when the town is seeking alternatives to the series of motorized special events, the proposed Jellyfish Festival offers a variety of family-friendly concerts and other interactive activities. From concerts on the beach and at Northside Park featuring, depending on the time and location, country music, classic rock and Christian rock, to competitions at the skatepark and in the ocean to interactive family activities, the Jellyfish Festival could provide what the town is seeking with its special events. It would also come at a time when the resort is ramping up for the height of the summer season.
“It’s a good event and a clean event,” he said. “It’s something we’ve all been looking for. It’s a family-oriented event and it will utilize our best assets including the beach and Boardwalk.”
While the Jellyfish Festival is largely Hoffman’s brainchild in conjunction with Selthoffer, it is the addition of Gilpin that could really set it over the top in terms of nationally-recognized events. Tourism Director Donna Abbott said she had vetted Gilpin and the accolades kept pouring in.
“He has an extensive resume in producing major events and concerts,” she said. “He has extensive experience in working with big acts with sound and lighting stage systems. I checked with the Delaware State Fair and they gave him a glowing recommendation, so I think he is the key to making this a successful event.”
Mayor Rick Meehan said his interactions with Gilpin came with the same results. He said the festival had known entities with Hoffman and Selthoffer and their vast success and experience in creating special events in the resort and beyond, but the addition of Gilpin to the team really added credence to the proposed Jellyfish Festival.
“I had the opportunity to meet Brian and he is impressive and I think he is the missing piece,” he said. “When you put all three of these gentlemen together, they have the ability to put on the type of event we’re looking for. We’ve had a bunch of different promoters come in here and give us a pitch, but this one really has substance. I think it has the ear-markings to be a very successful event.”
For his part, Hoffman said he began looking for alternatives when the Dew Tour left after a three-year run in Ocean City.
“I started building on this idea when the Dew Tour left,” he said. “It’s going to be a positive, family-friendly event with great live music, extreme sports and a festival at different venues around Ocean City for three days. It will have big family elements. Those who attend will not just be spectators, but also participants.”
Hoffman said this week he was stoked the council approved the initial allocation for the festival and was ready to move forward with the development of an MOU. Much of the groundwork has been accomplished, but the MOU will start moving concepts to realities.
“We have significant value as a team because of our assets,” he said. “We’re excited that it has been conceptually approved by the Mayor and Council and now the real works begin. More details will come out as the different elements come together.”
Hoffman said he was confident the Jellyfish Festival would become a huge success in the first year and would only build in the out years.
“It’s going to be a festival for the whole community,” he said. “We’re going to bring real entertainment to the town at different venues utilizing the town’s best assets. It’s going to be a nationwide festival on par with anything like this in the country.”
Hoffman said the festival would have broad appeal for all visitors and residents.
“We envision different nights with different themes,” he said. “Maybe a country night, a classic rock night and the Christian rock night. All of it will have positive family messaging and will be family interactive.”
Hoffman agreed the town’s residents and visitors were looking for an alternative to the motorized events and some of the issues that come with them and the Jellyfish Festival could fill that void.
“It’s an alternative to the motorized events everybody has been looking for and asking for,” he said. “Everybody has been looking for something like this. It didn’t come easy and it’s going to take some time, but it’s something I think the whole town will be proud of.”
