OCEAN CITY, Md. - Ocean City officials are considering moving the town’s downtown summer fireworks from Monday nights to Thursdays in an effort to encourage visitors to arrive earlier and stay longer.
The idea was discussed recently by the Ocean City Tourism Commission, which has been reviewing what parts of the town’s summer entertainment schedule are working and what could be adjusted.
City Manager Terry McGean told WBOC the proposal is aimed at boosting longer stays in the resort, especially as beach destinations continue to look for ways to fill midweek occupancy.
“The primary goal is to have folks stay a little bit longer and enjoy Ocean City for a little while longer,” McGean said.
Right now, the downtown fireworks are typically held on Monday nights during the summer season and are sometimes paired with other entertainment, like dance parties on the Boardwalk. McGean said officials revisit those events regularly to determine whether changes are needed.
He said one of the main questions now is whether the fireworks would be more effective at the front end of a visitor’s trip rather than the back end.
“The thought was Thursday nights might work maybe better for that,” McGean said. “Leave work after Thursday, come here, watch the fireworks, spend a nice, long weekend Friday, Saturday, Sunday.”
McGean said the proposal remains under consideration, but there is a real possibility the town could move forward with the change.
“I think there’s definitely a possibility that we make the change,” he said.
According to McGean, the idea would be to reverse the current timing tied to Ocean City’s other summer fireworks programming. He said the same fireworks company typically handles the Sunday night displays associated with Sundaes in the Park at Northside Park before staying over for the downtown Monday show.
If the downtown event were moved to Thursday, McGean said the operational impact on the town would likely be minimal.
“In terms of internal staff, it really doesn’t make much difference to us in terms of manpower and setup required, whether it’s done on a Thursday night or a Monday night,” he said.
McGean added the town would still need to coordinate with its fireworks vendor, and any formal change would require approval from the Ocean City Council.
He also said business representatives serving on the Tourism Commission appeared supportive of the concept during early discussion.
If approved, McGean said, the shift could happen as soon as this summer.