A random collection of thoughts from my weekend attending the first Oceans Calling Festival in downtown Ocean City.
- It’s tough ahead of time to imagine 50,000 people gathered on the beach and Boardwalk south of N. Division Street and in the Inlet parking lot. It just must be experienced. This event was unlike anything Ocean City has ever seen as a special event. The Dew Tour, at its peak year, rivals the magnitude of the attraction, but there were far more people in attendance at the music festival for longer periods of time.
- It was reported heading into the weekend anywhere from 60% to 70% of attendees had never been to Ocean City before. Because I’m nosey and a newspaper guy, random conversations shed a lot of light on where folks came from. Throughout the weekend, I spoke with people from North Dakota, California, Texas, Massachusetts, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Richmond, Va., Pittsburgh, Pa., Maine, New York, Ohio and Vermont. It was refreshing to overhear their thoughts of the beach town, even during the pouring rain of the Sheryl Crow concert. The unfamiliarity of the area by attendees was humorous at times. One conversation I overheard as we were leaving the main stage and waiting for the masses to exit toward the Boardwalk summed it up. After spending the event at Pickles the night before, the group’s plan was to go to Seacrets – where they had never been — and Waze told her it was a 30-minute walk from N. Division Street. As they started heading toward Baltimore Avenue, I jumped in and told them to walk the Boardwalk instead. The group was unfazed by the walk.
- It was clear throughout C3 Presents – the event promoter — knows what it’s doing with large, multi-stage festivals. It was a world-class event with seemingly everything covered. Each band started exactly at the time it was reported. It’s a minor detail but a big deal. The Town of Ocean City deserves a round of applause as well for all the advance planning. While there may have been a few hiccups here and there, namely end of the night transportation, they were understandable and predictable. The event ran smoothly for the most part, and the overwhelming response has been positive from attendees and performers.
- As far as transportation, most of my observations were obvious. The concerns were exactly what was known would be when it was announced 50,000 tickets would be sold each day. While it’s true many people stayed close by and were walking and biking, mass transit was needed to get high volumes of folks out of the area in an efficient manner. There were successes and failures and lessons inevitably learned.
When we attend concerts or sporting events in Philadelphia at their massive stadium complex, the secret to addressing the overwhelming people onslaught at the end is the subway. It’s a vacuum for removing large amounts of people. Ocean City will never have a subway system. Nonetheless, dozens of mass transit buses were lined up for the inevitable flood of concert goers at the end of the night.
I did not utilize mass transit all weekend. We parked in West Ocean City and walked to Ocean City from the bridge. It was simple.
- The clientele in Ocean City was the subject of multiple casual conversations.
When I asked a few Boardwalk business people if this weekend was like the 4th of July on steroids, the answer was no. The crowds were continuous throughout the weekend from noon to 11 p.m. for those businesses inside festival grounds. One operator said he would take the festival crowd over the summer holiday visitors, saying they understand the onslaught nature of the business surge and were forgiving about the quality of service being provided. It’s no secret the businesses were understaffed for the surge. In many cases, I saw business owners and managers working all day and night to meet demand. I counted lines of 50-70 people at Piezano’s and Caruso often and 100-plus at Thrasher’s throughout the weekend.
The good-natured personality of the people in attendance was clear. At one point, my group was working our way through a moving mob in between concerts to the restrooms. I could hear incoming apologies from men clearly violating common etiquette. The young guys were clearly influenced by their good times. I joked to one guy sporting a Phillies hat who was trying to rudely squeeze by that he better be careful he’s going to get a “tush push,” a nickname for a quarterback sneak run by the Philadelphia Eagles. He liked the reference, leading to him and his friends chanting “tush push, tush push.” Giggles ensued despite the packed nature of the scene.
- During the John Mayer concert specifically on Saturday night, there were at least six medical emergencies requiring EMT assistance. Attendees would raise their cell phones with lights on to bring attention to the situation. Mayer, on two occasions, alerted EMTs, but then asked whether it was necessary to continue alert paramedics. The two situations closest to us seemed to be either dehydration or drunkenness. It was remarkable how fast the EMTs responded, working their way through the crowds to provide care.
- If Ocean City does create a two-week slate of back-to-back major music festivals, as appears to be in the future, it’s going to be interesting to see how manpower issues are addressed. Along with the private sector, the city government’s team – especially those involved in mass transit and public safety – were clearly taxed. Adding two weekends of similar size next year will be interesting. The planning is probably already underway.
