Chubby Checker Performs, Life Saving Station Opens On First Night

OCEAN CITY, NJ — A rock’n’roll icon will help Ocean City ring in the new year. The legendary Chubby Checker will perform as part of Ocean City’s First Night festivities on the Ocean City Music Pier on New Year’s Eve, Ocean City officials announced this week. He will perform three shows to close out 2017.

The South Carolina native who made a name for himself in Philadelphia first performed “The Twist” on “American Bandstand” in 1960, and dancing has never been the same. He has sold 250 million records and toured continuously in a career that has spanned six decades.

Checker will be part of a spectacular lineup of more than 75 shows and activities at venues throughout Ocean City during the alcohol-free celebration on Dec. 31, 2017. He will perform at 9 p.m., 10 p.m. and 11 p.m., before a dazzling fireworks display helps ring in 2018.

Checker became a local celebrity with his impressions of Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley at Tony Anastazi’s Produce Store on South Street. The Philly boy became a star with a string of hit singles in the 1960s that included “Pony Time,” “The Mess Around,” “Limbo Rock” and “Jingle Bell Rock.” Last summer, he released “Knock Down the Walls,” which made it to No. 1 on Billboard’s dance music chart.

It will also be the first chance Ocean City residents get to see the newly restored U.S. Life Saving Station 30 at the intersection of Fourth Street and Atlantic Avenue. The station operated in Ocean City from 1885 to 1915 as part of the U.S. Life Saving Service, a precursor to the modern Coast Guard, according to city officials.

A years-long effort to acquire and restore the historic building is nearly complete, and anybody with a First Night admission button will be invited to stop by and tour the station between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Life saving stations up and down the U.S. coast were positioned to rescue ships and sailors in distress, and to serve as places of shelter and medical clinics on shorelines that were often sparsely inhabited and remote. They were staffed with men whose motto was, “You have to go out, but you don't have to come back.”

The Ocean City station will become a living history museum that will give visitors a glimpse of what life was like there in 1905. For First Night, guides will be on hand to answer questions about the station, and artifacts will show how it operated. The station will be decorated with a traditional Christmas tree.

Other First Night events and activities include rides on Wonderland Pier, outdoor ice-skating, Abbott and Costello impersonators, the Fabulous Greaseband, nationally acclaimed magicians Chad Juros and Ben Lipman, and Japanese drummers. The pool at the Ocean City Aquatics and Fitness Center and the new skateboard park at Fifth Street and Asbury Avenue will both be open to button-holders.

A printable version of the full schedule of activities and venues, as well as a full description for each activity, is available at firstnightocnj.com.

All municipal parking lots and metered parking spots are free. Jitneys will provide free transportation from 5 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. for button-holders, operating continuously between sites starting at the Ocean City Transportation Center (Ninth Street and Haven Avenue) and Seventh Street Parking Lot (Seventh Street and Central Ave.). For a route map and more information, visit the First Night website.

All-inclusive admission buttons – good for entry to every venue throughout the night – are on sale now for a discounted $20. Children 2 and under get in free. Visit firstnightocnj.com to purchase them online or stop by Roy Gillian Welcome Center on the Route 52 causeway or the City Hall Welcome Center at Ninth Street and Asbury Avenue. Buttons can also be purchased by phone at 1-800-BEACH-NJ. ales are capped at 10,000 and buttons do sell out. Anybody interested in helping out with the event, can download the First Night volunteer form here.

Primary sponsors include Gillian’s Wonderland Pier, the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce, OceanFirst Bank, Ocean City Tabernacle and the Ocean City Free Public Library.

First Night began in 1992, and it was modeled after an alcohol-free New Year’s Eve celebration in Boston that marked the nation’s bicentennial in 1976. Ocean City's inaugural First Night celebration included 25 acts in five locations, with buttons selling for $8. All 800 buttons were sold.

The following day, Ocean City will ring in 2018 with First Day at the Beach. The event includes Ocean City's annual 5-kilometer boardwalk run at 1 p.m. Call 1-800-BEACH-NJ for more information. Additionally, the First Day Shopping Extravaganza includes great bargains on downtown shopping and free horse-and-carriage rides, noon to 3 p.m., starting at City Hall.

If your idea of the perfect New Year’s Eve is curling up on the couch with a hot toddy and watching the countdown in your pajamas, you’re in luck. These are the top two live TV specials people are already talking about. Here’s a peek so you can you can plan accordingly:

“New Year’s Eve Live” With Anderson Cooper And Andy Cohen
Where to catch it: CNN
Why you should watch: For the first time ever, Anderson Cooper will host CNN’s annual New Year’s Eve Live special with none other than “Watch What Happens Live” host Andy Cohen. As these two are best friends in real life, you can expect tons witty banter and hilarious moments from the pair. The Bravo mogul will replace Cooper’s former co-host Kathy Griffin, whom CNN fired after her controversial Donald Trump photoshoot.

“Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2018” Hosted by Ryan Seacrest
Where to catch it: ABC
Why you should watch: Remember last year’s infamous Mariah Carey mic incident? Yes, it happened on Seacrest’s watch. So if that’s any indication, this could be a good one to tune-in to. And even if there aren’t any crazy celebrity snafus, you can count on crazy views of Time Square packed with people, as well as awesome musical performances.

The attached images were provided by Ocean City Public Information Officer Doug Bergen