September/October 2023 Ocean City Magazine

It happens about the second week of August. You drive through town to the Community Center just like you did all summer… but something is different. Are the crowds are a wee bit thinner on the island? The weather a wee bit cooler? Are those leaves on the ground?!
The intensity of summer has simmered down.
It’s easy to get wrapped up in the summer scaries… an affliction I personally came down with every August 1 as a kid (sorry mom and dad!)… when it’s impossible to deny your summer freedom of long days and long nights has an expiration date. But this year, instead of letting the scaries take over, I’m trying to embrace the change of season. And you know what? It isn’t that hard… and I can explain why in one word.
September.
Letting go of summer is bittersweet… but it’s the sweet part that we owe to ninth month. It’s cool in the mornings and evenings, hot during the day, the ocean is warm, and the air is crisp and clear.
Ocean City is happening all year round… you know this. Through late summer and fall, there’s loads of events like the Aerobatic Air Show, Corvette Show, and one of my favorite events, Dog Day and the Howl-O-Ween Parade. We welcomed a new fur family member last February – a Bernedoodle named Olive – and she can’t wait to dress up and strut her stuff down the boards.
This month in OC mag, we relish the people, business, landscapes, and events that make Ocean City and its surrounding area so special. Head in the kitchen at Las Olas in Marmora, learn about the posh new Shoppes at the Asbury that took over the Crown Bank building, get spooked by area ghost lore, see what’s happening this year at OC schools and dive into history with Loretta Thompson Harris’ new book about growing up in the Westside. Plus, get shopping with the must haves – this month I went in search of creature comforts around the island and scored big time. From sublime shopping to creative cuisine… and the cool stuff between, we explore it all on these pages. Dive in.