Page 34 The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch November 15, 2013 Annual License Plate Rally Event Seeks City’s Help By JOANNE SHRINER STAFF WRITER OCEAN CITY – Ongoing discussions were held during Tuesday’s Recreation and Parks Commission meeting that concluded in the OC Vintage License Plate Rally asking for more town support, partnering Mother’s Day and Springfest in 2015, moving a horseback riding service initiative on the beach to the City Council without a favorable recommendation from the commission and a review of the proposed 2014 OC Air Show dates. License Plate Rally Seeks Town Support Representing the Downtown Association, Nancy Howard, a former Ocean City councilwoman, came before the commission to report on the OC Vintage License Plate Rally and Drive in Disguise event that took place on Saturday, Oct. 19, and asked for additional town support. For the third year in a row, residents and visitors with a vintage Ocean City license plate drove down the Boardwalk during the annual OC Vintage License Plate Rally. This year, a new dimension of Drive in Disguise, was added and allowed anyone wishing to decorate their car to ride down the Boardwalk also. This year, there were 56 registered OC Vintage License Plate cars and five Drive in Disguise cars. The first place winner was “Yellow Brick Road” with the passengers dressed as Wizard of Oz characters. The Downtown Association sent out 300 postcards notifying OC license plate holders of the event, Howard said, which ended up being costly. She hopes to receive financial support from the Ocean City Tourism Advisory Board in the future to help with costs promoting the event. “I had to beg every inch of the way to get information out to the public,” Howard said. “The city wanted to expand this to a larger group of people, offering it up and making it a big deal, but we couldn’t get out the word.” In seeking better communication with the town, Special Events Superintendent Frank Miller has stepped up as the town’s point person to work with the Downtown Association in bettering the rally. Commission Chair Councilman Joe Mitrecic pointed out the rally is held the same day as the Making Strides fundraising event, which is a large event held on the Boardwalk to raise funds to support breast cancer awareness. He suggested either changing the date or time of the rally to later in the evening. “If this all does work out into an overall event for the Town of Ocean City allowing myself as the point of contact to oversee how the event plays out, I think that will alleviate a lot of these concerns, and I think it will be beneficial to the town,” Miller said. The commission agreed to pass forward a favorable recommendation to the full Mayor and City Council to appoint Miller as the town’s contact person to work with the Downtown Association on the event. 2015 Springfest, Mother’s Day Cross Promotion Eyed When the commission met last month, the 2015 Town Sponsored Special Event Schedule was presented. A concern arose over Springfest falling on the same weekend, May 7-10, as Mother’s Day is traditionally held, and the commission voted to table the schedule until further research over the conflict was conducted. This week, staff returned the schedule to the commission after polling the Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce, Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association (OCHMRA), Tourism Director Donna Abbott and 2013 Springfest vendors. The boards of the Chamber and OCHMRA responded they felt Springfest weekend is historically a slow time in Ocean City anyhow with the summer season not quite kicking off yet. However, the boards are willing to support an overall Mother’s Day and Springfest promotion for that weekend in Ocean City as long as there is a coordinated effort. Out of 250 Springfest vendors emailed, 57 responded. Those who have attended a festival on Mother’s Day weekend replied the impact is normally positive to the event and for the vendors. Abbott also thought it would be a good idea to promote Mother’s Day alongside Springfest 2015 to draw visitors to Ocean City. The commission was in consensus to pass forward a favorable recommendation to the full council. No Recommendation For Horseback RFP In 2011, Councilman Brent Ashley brought forward the idea of allowing horseback riding on the beach as an off-season promotion and the council approved the concept as well as horse and carriage rides downtown. Horseback riding is allowed from 27th Street south to the South Jetty at the Inlet from Nov. 1 to March 30. Following the first successful offseason with horseback riding on the beach, in late August of 2012 Ashley asked to have staff prepare a RFP for a vendor to offer pony and/or horse led rides on the beach south of the pier to the Inlet. 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