OCEAN CITY The 2013 ver-
sion of Winterfest of Lights saw a
lower attendance than last year, but
recorded a higher daily visitor aver-
age.According to Recreation and
Parks Director Tom Shuster, the
21st Annual Winterfest of Lights at
Northside Park had 91,748 visitors
in 42 days of operation, a 4-percent
drop from 2012. The average daily
attendance was 2,185.
"Although Winterfest was shorter
than last year, our daily ridership
was up by nearly 200 people per
day which was excellent," Ocean
City Communications Manager
Jessica Waters. "Along with an out-
standing daily ridership, the Winter-
fest New Year's Eve Fireworks were
a hit and brought out several thou-
sand people to watch the show.
Winterfest has truly become a val-
ued holiday tradition for our resi-
dents and visitors. After 21 years,
the tradition continues to grow."
The 20th Annual Winterfest of
Lights had 95,599 attendees, ranking
the year of 2012 with the second-
highest attendance in the event's his-
tory. The year prior, thanks to mild
and dry weather, Winterfest broke
records with 107,405 attendees.
When the 21st Annual Winterfest
of Lights came to an end on New
Year's Day, Ocean City Special
Events Superintendent Frank Miller
explained there are a couple of fac-
tors playing into a decrease in atten-
dance compared to 2012 when the
Winterfest of Lights season had an
extra week because Thanksgiving
came early. Additionally, there were
three weekends with foul weather in
2013.On New Year's Eve, Winterfest
of Lights featured a fireworks show
at midnight for the second year. The
crowds starting filling in Northside
Park's parking lot as "DJ Kutt" start-
ed live music at 11 p.m.
Hours for Winterfest of Lights,
which was recently named a presti-
gious Top 100 Event by American
Bus Association and voted "Mary-
land's Finest Holiday Tradition" by
Maryland Life Magazine
, were ex-
tended until midnight on New Year's
Eve.Although there is not an official
count of New Year's Eve attendees
because it is a free event, city offi-
cials estimate thousands enjoyed
the show as Northside Park was
jammed pack and people were seen
in surrounding windows, balcony's,
and watching from nearby streets
and community's.
"I think fireworks on New Year's
Eve at Northside Park are growing,
and I personally see an opportunity
to continue that tradition here and
grow it," Miller said.
OC's Winterfest
Attendance Drops
January 17, 2014
Page 29
The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch
By JOANNE SHRINER
STAFF WRITER
Average Daily
Visitor Tally Up