Whenever you think of Ocean City, your mind usually calls up images of warm tropical breezes and an island archipelago covered in rain forest.
No?
Then maybe you haven’t heard, but Ocean City New Jersey has a sister city out there, namely San Jose Occidental Mindoro of the Philippines. And that relationship has resulted in an annual tribute to the Philippines each year in the southern New Jersey beach town.
And what a tribute it is.
This year’s celebration is this weekend, July 23-24, and will be centered at the city’s Music Pier, Boardwalk and Moorlyn Terrace, as most city celebrations are. Included are a craft and trades exhibition, tourism fair and entertainment program featuring Filipino and American music.
Also on tap is a Consular Outreach Service, where a team from the Philippine Consulate General in New York will process the applications for passport, notarization and dual citizenship of Filipino nationals from 10am-3pm Saturday.
An opening ceremony is set for Saturday at 11am in front of the Music Pier including members of the Philippine Consulate, city officials and representatives of the chamber of commerce and the business community.
The Craft and Trades exhibition will be held in the pier’s pavilion area and will feature crafts including clothing, pottery, music, exotic lanterns, handbags, photography plus foods and many other items. There will be special displays by the Philippine Department of Tourism and the events sponsors.
Air Circus of Ocean City will present Yo Yo demonstrations during exhibit hours. The Yo Yo was invented in the Philippines and the word means “return-return” in the Filipino language. Show hours are 10am-10pm on Saturday and 10am-3pm Sunday,
On Saturday at 8pm, a Filipino-American Tribute Show will be held in the Music Pier Auditorium hosted by Rene P. Sese, Filipino American singing sensation. Sese will sing both Filipino and American standards. The featured band will be Tidal Wave, a popular group that specializes in the Beach Boys and classic rock.
Also featured in the show will be teenage vocalist Nina Sophia Mojares who was selected out of 70,000 acts to perform as a semi-finalist on NBC’s, America’s Got Talent.
Other performers include singer Monica Castillo Meares as well as April Talangbayan, a flute playing dancer who has wowed audiences throughout the Delaware Valley and New York and Hula dancer Betty Harshaw. The championship Air Circus Yo Yo Team will open the show. Admission is $10. Tickets are available at the Music Pier Box Office.
This week’s events:
Thursday, July 21
Ferko String Band
Music Pier, Moorlyn Terrace and Boardwalk. The Ferko String Band has performed with its unique sound and elaborate costumes to people all over the world. $12. 8pm. Call 525-9300 or vist ocnj.us
Friday, July 22
"Let’s get our heads out of the sand and recognize that alcohol has never been absent in Ocean City."
The Somers Point Jazz Society is presenting a free musical and educational program in Ocean City on Sundays (2-3:15pm) during the month of July.
How do we let the voice of the people be heard and not just the ones who shout the loudest?
OCEAN CITY, N.J. — In a town currently finding itself facing a culinary crossroads, Ocean City’s food and restaurant market has seen the opening of a quartet of new businesses since last summer. This growth occurs simultaneous with a petition drive from the town’s restauranteurs to allow a fairly restrictive BYOB measure to appear on the ballot this coming November. It’s an issue that already sparked much controversy. One original member of the committee advocating a public vote has resigned, in part thanks to harassment he received at his family’s church. Ouch. This flash-point issue serves to demonstrate a growing political divide between...
“It really is the center of everything. Between the Ocean City Pops [which have called the pier home for 83 years] and the concerts, the flower shows and the fairs, and everything else people want to use it for, yeah, you’d have to say it’s the hub. It’s definitely booked solid.”
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