OCEAN CITY, NJ — Ocean City’s 71st annual Night in Venice boat parade is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, July 25, 2026, with fireworks planned afterward in the bay north of the Ninth Street Bridge.
The parade will begin near the Ocean City-Longport toll bridge and travel along the bayside to Tennessee Avenue, looping in and out of lagoons along the way.
Free grandstands will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at street ends along the bay from Battersea Road to 16th Street and also at Tennessee Avenue. Streets listed by the city include Battersea Road, North Street, First Street, Sixth Street, Seventh Street, 11th Street, 13th Street, 15th Street, 16th Street and Tennessee Avenue. Spectators with their own seating can watch from other public street ends and from the bayside park at Second Street.
The Bayside Center, 520 Bay Ave., also will open for family entertainment and parade viewing on July 25. The city said the area will include a picnic spot, Jay’s Crab Shack Food Truck, face-painting, a DJ and bleacher seating. Tickets cost $6 for children 12 and under and $10 for adults, with service fees included, according to the guide.
Free parking and shuttle service will begin at 4 p.m. at the Ocean City Municipal Airport, the soccer field at Tennessee Avenue and the Ocean City Community Center at 1735 Simpson Ave. Shuttles will drop spectators at street ends along the route and at the Bayside Center, then return riders to the lots afterward. The service will run until 10 p.m.
Parking restrictions will be in effect all day July 25 on both sides of Bay Avenue between 14th Street and Tennessee Avenue, and at the entrance triangles to West 16th Street, West 17th Street and West 18th Street. The city said parking regulations will be strictly enforced and that vehicles may be towed if public safety is affected. One-way traffic patterns also will be in effect on Spruce Road, Walnut Road, Arkansas Avenue and Michigan Avenue in the Riviera neighborhood.
This year’s optional theme is “Stars, Stripes and Christmas Lights” to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States and “Christmas in July.” Former Philadelphia Phillies all-star John Kruk and actor Randy Quaid will serve as grand marshals. The guide also says Santa, Ben Franklin, Betsy Ross, George Washington, Martha Washington and Thomas Jefferson will join the celebration.
Fireworks are expected to begin sometime between 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., depending on when the parade ends. Results of the decorating contests will be posted on ocnj.us and oceancityvacation.com by noon Sunday, July 26, and awards can be picked up starting at 1 p.m. at the City Hall Welcome Center.
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