Baby Parade Returns To Ocean City Thursday Night

OCEAN CITY, NJ — The 108th annual Baby Parade offers a chance for parents to show off Ocean City’s newest generation Thursday night. The parade will feature more than 100 children cruising the Ocean City Boardwalk in themed strollers, wagons and floats, according to Ocean City Public Information Officer Doug Bergen.

The parade begins at 5 p.m. Registration has been extended through 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 9. All families with children ages 10 and under are invited to participate. Entry fee is $5 per child in Division A, B and C.

Registration is available online at ocnj.us/babyparade or in-person at the Welcome Center on the ground floor of City Hall at Ninth Street and Asbury Avenue.

Genevieve Goings and Constantine “DC” Abramson, the stars of Disney Junior’s “Choo Choo Soul,” will serve as grand marshals for the parade, which also will include marching bands, performers, decorated floats and an array of special guests.

The parade is free to watch from either side of the boardwalk. Spectators are welcome to bring beach chairs to watch from the railing along the ocean side of the boardwalk. The parade will start at Sixth Street with children finishing at 12th Street and all other entries continuing to 14th Street.

In the event of heavy rain, entries should still report to the Civic Center where judging will still take place. The parade will not proceed down the Boardwalk.

Division A is for children in fancy decorated go-carts, strollers, coaches, kiddie cars, express wagons, etc, or who are walking. The first section is for children up to two years old; the second section is for ages 2-6; and the third section is for children ages 6-10. If there is more than one child in a wagon, coach, etc. they will be placed in the section of the oldest child.

Division B is for children in comic decorated go-carts, strollers, coaches, kiddie cars, express wagons, etc, or who are walking, up to 10 years old.

Division C is for small children's floats. This includes all vehicles with tops or sides built or added measuring more than 3x5 feet.

Division D is for floats entered by hotels, businesses, organizations, etc. Floats are judged on the parade route. Parents may provide their own music is encouraged.

Before serving as grand marshals in the parade, Choo Choo Soul will perform a show at the Ocean City Music Pier on the same day at 10:30 a.m. Ticket prices are $20 for orchestra seats and $18 for solarium. They are on sale now at oceancityvacation.com/boxoffice, at 609-399-6111 or in-person at the City Hall Welcome Center or the Roy Gillian Welcome Center on the Route 52 causeway.

Goings and Abramson are entering their 11th year of entertaining pre-schoolers and parents worldwide. Born from the mind of a Silicon Valley video game developer, Choo Choo Soul began as a hip-hop/soul children’s album of music that “won’t drive parents crazy.”

The album caught fire and the brand was acquired by Disney and developed into a live-action television interstitial paired with animation in 2006 that encouraged young viewers to get up and dance to their funky, urban sound.

Choo Choo Soul began touring the country in 2007 and has performed for thousands of children in over 100 cities across the globe.

The live incarnation of Choo Choo Soul finds Genevieve, the soulful and hip singing train conductor, and DC, the beatboxing, breakdancing engineer on stage engaging children in sing-alongs, dance routines and lots of crowd participation as they perform the hits as seen on Disney Junior.

More entertainment will be provided by the following musical acts:

• Ed Coles Entertainers
• Original Hobo Band
• Pitman High School Marching Band
• OCTC Spotlight Performers Show Choir performing a medley from “Teen Beach” movie
• The cast of Disney’s Mary Poppins appearing in Ocean City August 8-11

Special guests and dignitaries include:

• Miss New Jersey Kaitlyn Schoeffel
• Miss New Jersey’s Outstanding Teen Augostina Mallous
• Miss Ocean City McKayla Perry
• Junior Miss Ocean City Stella Schwartz
• Little Miss Ocean City Charlotte Erickson
• Mr. Mature America Matthew Allen
• Mayor Jay Gillian
• Martin Z. Mollusk
• Queen Infanta and her court
• The 12 Contestants competing for the title of Miss Ocean City
• Ocean City Fire Dept.
• Ocean City Police Dept.
• Ocean City Beach Patrol
• Ocean City’s Boy Scout Troop Color Guard

Floats and special entries include:

• Ocean City Yacht Club
• Ocean City Sailing Foundation
• Shore Memorial Hospital
• Shore Mother’s Club
• Various Ocean City businesses

More information is available online at ocnj.us/babyparade or at the Welcome Center on the ground floor of City Hall at Ninth Street and Asbury Avenue.

Attached image provided by Ocean City Public Information Officer Doug Bergen