Ocean City's Winter Work Is Scheduled Around Its Festivals

"More so, I have to work around my 'Special Events Window' of time available to me." Public Works Director Hal Adkins told Ocean City Today in September about extending the Boardwalk at the south end. He wasn't concerned about wood arriving late, since he called it "simply a 'wood' project." His real constraint was the calendar.

That sentence explains the coming winter in Ocean City. The sand refill, the Boardwalk extension and the golf course rebuild all have deadlines in spring. Each one also has to fit around the festivals that keep the Inlet busy through October and Northside Park lit through New Year's. For anyone who lives here, the off-season will be a run of scheduled work windows, each closing before the next crowd shows up.

The Storm Moved the Sand, but the Festival Schedule Held

The nor'easter that came through in late September tested that schedule right away. WBOC reported sand walls a few feet tall where the beach had eroded, badly damaged beach walkways and torn fencing along the beach. Daniel Windon, who has lived in Ocean City since 1988, told the station it was the worst he had ever seen the beach. Beach Patrol members also dug wooden posts out of the sand so no one would trip over them.

Oceans Calling didn't survive the storm. C3 Presents first dropped the Friday performances, then canceled the whole weekend less than 24 hours later. The promoter said tides, floods and high winds had stopped crews from safely building the festival venue. It was the festival's second full cancellation in five years. The first was the 2022 festival, called off because of Hurricane Ian.

The next event stayed on schedule. Crews kept building the same downtown site for the third annual Country Calling Festival on Oct. 2 and 3, with Lainey Wilson, Rascal Flatts, Dierks Bentley, Chris Stapleton and Miranda Lambert headlining. By Sept. 28, town crews were clearing sand off the Boardwalk, restoring the beach profile and moving displaced sand near the festival venue. That same day, the cleanup crews and the festival setup were working on the same stretch of beach.

Seven Miles Out, a Refill That Now Costs Far More

The bigger fix for the beach will come from sand pumped in from offshore. On Sept. 29, 2026, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Baltimore District awarded a $25.7 million contract to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock to place roughly 982,000 cubic yards of sand. The goal is to bring the engineered beach berm back to its full design elevation. The sand will come from Weaver Shoal, more than 7 miles offshore on the Outer Continental Shelf.

The refill was already planned before the storm. Ocean City's beaches are usually renourished every four years, and the last contract finished in 2021. According to the Corps, the timing now lets the project make up for the recent erosion too. Project Manager Todd M. Beser explained that sand pulled offshore in a nor'easter isn't lost. Calmer waves and tides gradually carry it back to the beach, and renourishment adds to that natural process.

The cost is what has changed most. City Manager Terry McGean told the City Council that the 2021 project cost $16 million. This one, for about the same amount of sand, totals $28 million. His $28 million figure covers the whole project. The Corps' $25.7 million is the contract award. Under the 1994 agreement, the federal government pays 53%, Maryland pays 23.5%, and Worcester County and the town each pay 11.75%. The town sets aside $500,000 every year for the shared fund, but McGean said the local share this time was more than the fund held.

There's no start date yet, and no word on which block the pipeline reaches first. McGean said the Corps' kickoff meeting with the contractor hadn't been scheduled, and that until it happens, the town won't have a firmer timeline. The Corps says work on the beach should begin between late 2026 and early 2027 and finish before Memorial Day 2027, "to minimize impacts to beachgoers and local businesses." Like every other project this winter, the start date is open and the finish date is fixed.

How the Dates Line Up

These are all the confirmed dates in one place, with festivals and work windows side by side:

Sunfest is the anchor of the fall calendar, and it's a Town of Ocean City production. The Sept. 14 announcement, released before the storm, lists 20 acts across two free stages at the Inlet, including Surfer Girl, The Amish Outlaws and Luke Borchelt. Ticketed 7 p.m. shows at the Performing Arts Center feature Elton Dan and the Rocket Band on Oct. 22, Live & Let Die: A Tribute to Paul McCartney on Oct. 23, and Black Tie Optional: A Tribute to Michael Bublé & Beyond on Oct. 24. The weekend also includes beach bonfires, tractor rides, the Drive in Disguise parade, the Delmarva Dock Dogs competition, and beach yoga at 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Ticketed Wine on the Beach runs Oct. 23 and 24 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Schedules and vendor maps are posted at ococean.com/sunfest, and the town says to follow @OceanCityMaryland on social media for real-time updates.

The South End Gets a Longer Boardwalk

The Boardwalk extension started as a plan to install an elevator. In 2023, the Maryland Department of General Services gave the town $600,000 to add an elevator on the east side of the Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum so visitors who can't climb stairs could reach the second floor. When bids came in during the summer of 2024, they ranged from $1.22 million to $1.47 million.

The town changed the plan instead of giving up the grant. In March, the City Council approved using the remaining $457,436 to extend the Boardwalk east of the museum. The project adds railings, landscaping, an ADA-compliant interpretive kiosk inside the museum, and an archway sign paid for with money left over from the Boardwalk signage project. If the bids come in within budget, work could start by Dec. 1 and wrap up by April 1.

That leaves time for one more event on the current south-end Boardwalk. The Ocean City Museum Society's 12th annual Storm Warriors 5K Walk/Run is on Saturday, Nov. 7, from 9 to 11 a.m. It's an out-and-back course on the south end of the Boardwalk, and registration opens at the museum at 8 a.m. The entry fee is $30, and runners who register early get a T-shirt. Proceeds support new exhibits and programs at both museums. Bicycles, skateboards, rollerblades and pets aren't allowed on the course.

Eagle's Landing Plays Around the Crews

The town-owned golf course has its own deadline. Tidal water covered the grass on some holes four times in 2025, making them unplayable. The remediation project will raise one hole and add berms and drainage to others. A preconstruction meeting has already taken place, crews mobilize the last week of October, and the target finish is April 15.

Starting in November, the work will affect holes 5, 7, 17 and 18. Deputy City Manager JR Harmon put it plainly:

"Modified play at the course will continue throughout the project."

The course stays open. For a winter round, the front nine will have one hole affected, and the closing stretch of the back nine will have two.

Changes Closer to Home

Some changes are smaller but come up more often.

1. Bus fares by phone. The town chose Token Transit for an app-based fare pilot, with testing planned for mid-to-late October. Cash fares will still be accepted.
2. A new café on Philadelphia Avenue. Magnolia Café held its grand opening Sept. 18 at 1505 Philadelphia Avenue. It's a family-owned spot serving handcrafted coffee, crêpes and desserts.
3. A new kitchen at the convention center. The Roland E. Powell Convention Center and Sodexo plan a $2.9 million food-service renovation, split evenly between them. It includes a modernized main kitchen and a "Grab N Go" bar and coffee shop.
4. Bridge painting in January. The State Highway Administration finished repairs on the Route 50 bridge on March 9, 2026. The next phase is painting the steel members in the moveable portion of the drawbridge, scheduled for January 2027, with single-lane closures.

The bridge work fits the same pattern as everything else. It's set for January, after Winterfest of Lights ends on Jan. 2 and well before the spring deadlines for the Boardwalk, the golf course and the beach.

If you own a home in Ocean City from out of town and want help keeping track of how this winter's beach work, Boardwalk construction or bridge closures could affect your property or your next visit, Mechelle Nichols is glad to follow the schedules with you and share updates as the dates firm up. Let's Connect.