Sunfest Attendance Exceeds Previous Record By 18%

Sunfest Attendance Exceeds Previous Record By 18%
Visitors stroll the arts and crafts tent area during the opening day of Sunfest. Photo by Chris Parypa

OCEAN CITY — With picture-perfect weather and a diverse line-up of live music, Sunfest weekend last week was by far the highest attended, blowing away the previous record set just last year.

Wow is about the only way to describe the 45th Annual Sunfest celebration last week. The four-day event attracted 317,419 visitors, blowing away the record 268,406 that attended last year’s event. The new mark set last weekend represented a 18% increase over the 2018 record.

With a great line-up of live entertainment and the usual collection of food and craft vendors along with a few new wrinkles, everything lined up well for the 2019 Sunfest, but the real star was the weather. With clear skies and warm temperatures leading up to and during the event, Sunfest enthusiasts came in droves as evidenced by the numbers.

It’s important to note the 317,419 attendees reported represent those who went through the gates at the event at the Inlet and does not necessarily reflect the total number of visitors in Ocean City last weekend. Anecdotally, traffic in town and crowds at area businesses made it appear as if it was a peak summer weekend. Ocean City Special Events Director Frank Miller said it became evident early on the 2019 Sunfest event was primed to be a record-breaker.

“Thursday at Sunfest 2019 was an eye-opening indicator of what we were in for,” he said. “A great 10-day forecast, great weekend weather, heavy promotion by the tourism department in our target markets and local promotion all led to a Thursday that looked more like a Friday or Saturday. We have never seen Thursday crowds like we had this year, reaching a skyrocketing 85,201 on opening day, easily 35,000 more than we have seen on average this first day of Sunfest.”

A look at the Sunfest numbers for the last 10 years reveals a steady increase in the number of attendees, but this year’s leap from the record-setting year in 2018 jumps off the page. Of course, there have many times over the years Sunfest weekend has been marred by severe weather including coastal storms and the numbers reflect that. Miller said the event’s many vendors shared the wealth in the record-breaker.

“Conversations with event patrons, vendors and other town staff confirmed this unusually high attendance,” he said. “Many vendors had their best revenue day ever on Thursday of any previous Sunfest day. Some had their best revenue in their history of doing business as a vendor. Food sales were up, inventory was depleted and the headline concerts were busy.”

Indeed, the attendance figures for the headline acts confirm Miller’s sentiments. The Who’s Bad Michael Jackson tribute band on Thursday night drew the largest paid attendance at 1,591. Country star Granger Smith performed for 1,475 paid attendees on Friday, while Trombone Shorty drew 1,401 on Saturday.

Miller said after last week’s record-setting Sunfest weekend, town officials are already starting to plan for keeping that momentum going with a couple of milestones looming in the future.

“As we approach the event’s 50th anniversary, followed shortly thereafter by the town’s 150th anniversary, we will look to create a heightened experience for our event patron,” he said. “The focus will continue to be family-friendly fun and entertainment with additional reviews on accessibility, venue capacity, security and other key social factors. Sunfest is here to stay, but like anything else, we need to invest to sustain and invest more to build and develop.”

About The Author: Shawn Soper

Alternative Text

Shawn Soper has been with The Dispatch since 2000. He began as a staff writer covering various local government beats and general stories. His current positions include managing editor and sports editor. Growing up in Baltimore before moving to Ocean City full time three decades ago, Soper graduated from Loch Raven High School in 1981 and from Towson University in 1985 with degrees in mass communications with a journalism concentration and history.