Miss America To Visit Ocean City For Girls Weekend

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Miss America is coming to Ocean City. Cara Mund will help open and close the third annual Girls Weekend in Ocean City April 6-8. Mund will join Ocean City Special Events Coordinator Michael Hartman in hosting the popular Girls Weekend Fashion Show on Friday, April 6. She will then appear at a special meet-and-greet event on Sunday, April 8.

The Brown University graduate is the first woman from North Dakota ever to become Miss America. She has a degree in business, entrepreneurship and organizations. In her new role, she advocates for women’s education, empowerment and leadership. She serves as the national goodwill ambassador for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Among other initiatives, she promotes her personal platform: a Make-a-Wish Passion with Fashion.

The fashion show kicks off the weekend’s events at 7 p.m. on April 6 at Glazed Over Studios, 704 Asbury Avenue. It features clothes and accessories for sale in Ocean City’s retail shops and modeled by local men and women, including members of City Council. The lighthearted event will be catered by local restaurants. Advance tickets are required and on sale now for $20 at City Hall, the Route 52 Welcome Center, Ta-Dah (1040 Asbury Avenue) and the 7th Street Surf Shop, 720 Asbury Avenue.

Mund will return on Sunday for a free meet-and-greet from noon until 2 p.m. Fans and downtown shoppers are invited to stop by Jon and Patty’s Coffee Bar and Bistro, 637 Asbury Avenue, for an autograph/photo-op with Miss America.

Girls Weekend is a star-studded event this year, as Broadway star Kelli Rabke has already been announced for the annual showcase of all that Ocean City’s downtown retail district has to offer. Rabke will star in "Defying Gravity," a show about that special balancing act of motherhood and career that can sometimes seem like it breaks the laws of physics. Rabke will weave tales of motherhood, music, and the misadventures of life and love. The show is set for Friday, April 6, 7:30 p.m. on the Ocean City Music Pier.

Rabke starred in Broadway shows such as "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" (as Narrator) and "Les Miserables" (as Eponine). After 10 years out of the spotlight, she returned to the stage with her sold-out cabaret debut, "No Place Like Home," followed by "The Wizard … and I – The Music of Stephen Schwartz." She now headlines symphony concerts and cabaret shows in New York City and around the world.

She was the voice of Kat in the Discovery Kids series "Kenny the Shark" and played Bernadette on "The Young and The Restless." Her career includes a variety of other roles, but she is most proud of her son, Joseph, and daughter, Abigale. Tickets ($20 adults, $18 seniors and kids) for the show will be on sale by Feb. 1 at www.ocnj.us/boxoffice.

Girls Weekend features hotel and bed-and-breakfast packages, dining offers, shopping discounts, prizes, yoga and wellness classes, craft projects and demonstrations at various locations throughout Ocean City.

For a detailed schedule of Girls Weekend events, accommodations and participating businesses, call 609-399-1412, visit the Girls Weekend blog at www.oceancityvacation.com or check out the Facebook pages “Downtown OCNJ” and “OceanCityNJVacation.”

The images for this post were provided by Ocean City Public Information Officer Doug Bergen:

Attached: Miss America Cara Mund will be part of two events during Girls Weekend in Ocean City. Photo Credit: Matt Boyd Photography

Photo #1 below: Ocean City Councilman Antwan McClellan models summer clothing during the Girls Weekend Kickoff Fashion Show in 2017.

Photo #2: Kelli Rabke will star in "Defying Gravity"