OCEAN CITY — The Fourth of July fireworks display has been postponed, resort officials announced this week.
Near the end of Monday’s marathon Mayor and Council meeting, City Manager Doug Miller announced the traditional Fourth of July fireworks shows were being postponed to a later date. Miller later explained city officials believed the town was not far enough along in the COVID-19 recovery plan to hold the Fourth of July fireworks and the thousands of people they concentrate into small areas at the Boardwalk and uptown.
Instead, the fireworks will be held at a later date, perhaps later in the summer or in the fall when concerns about the coronavirus are eased further and the recovery plan is further along. Most other jurisdictions in the area, such as Berlin, have already cancelled or postponed their Fourth of July fireworks.
Last month, with the Fourth of July still six months away, the Mayor and Council weighed the possibility of still hosting the holiday tradition and agreed to put down the $13,750 non-refundable deposit for the $55,000 contract with the fireworks vendor. Now, despite the key COVID-19 numbers continuing to wane in Maryland, resort officials have made the decision to postpone the Fourth of July fireworks.
Miller said the town has set its sights on some dates in August or September for the fireworks. When the issue was discussed last month and a decision was made to go forward with the deposit, potential dates later in the fall were also discussed as a locals-type celebration.
