All aboard! Ocean City's Winterfest of Lights plans return of beloved tram, more for 2023

Each year, on a crisp, November night, the town of Ocean City comes to life.

It all happens by, quite literally, the flip of a switch. A crowd gathers at Northside Park for Ocean City’s Winterfest of Lights and, there, a countdown begins. One second, the resort town is cloaked in darkness. The next, it is ablaze with shimmering lights.

The event is, what Mayor Rick Meehan believes to be, a joyous kickoff to the holiday season.

The Winterfest of Lights 2022, which celebrated its 30th anniversary, performed exceptionally well, said Ocean City’s Special Events Director Frank Miller. Winterfest opened to the public on the Thursday before Thanksgiving weekend and closed on New Year’s Eve.

Historically, attendance has always been between 100,000 and 110,000 people. This year’s attendance reached just over 104,000, right in the sweet spot, Miller said.

Following another successful holiday season, both Miller and Tom Perlozzo, Ocean City’s director of tourism and business development, are now looking to expand upon the event in 2023. The news was shared during a Jan. 9 Ocean City Tourism Commission meeting.

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Winterfest may soon see the return of the "Winterfest Express," Miller said, if approved by Meehan and the Ocean City Town Council.

“Winterfest has become one of our signature events. It comes at just the right time of the year,” Meehan said. “But you always want to make something new, better, change it up a bit or improve upon it.”

In years past, Winterfest attendees rode the Boardwalk tram through the glittering display of lights. Due to COVID-19 and ongoing health concerns, the tram was removed and the event was modified to become walk-through only.

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“I think one of the things that’s changed is people’s expectations following COVID,” Miller said. “The experience that people want when they come to an event is vastly different from what they wanted prior to COVID. They want to see more things that they can be immersed in and create memories from. (An event) has to be more active than passive.”

Now, after countless requests from attendees, the town is looking to bring the Winterfest Express back.

“It’s a good idea. It’s going to take some work to figure out how to do it, but we have the right people in charge. Tom Perlozzo and Frank Miller, they’ll figure it out,” Meehan said of implementing the positive changes.

Winterfest is a wonderful family experience, Miller said, and the event’s primary target audience is entire extended families. This year, the event welcomed more younger individuals and fewer older guests. By offering the tram once again, Miller and Perlozzo hope to see a better turnout all around.

Meehan’s favorite part about riding the tram has always been hearing comments from energetic children.

“I would hear them say, ‘Wow, that’s new! That wasn’t here last year!’ Meehan said. “It’s hard to surprise kids these days, but just the tree itself, the lights, all of the animation is really captivating. You look at the kids and their eyes are wide open.”

Return of the tram but with multiple destinations

The 60-plus acres of Northside Park has enough walking space and existing paths built in that a separate tram path can be added, Miller said. If the tram returns, it will be presented in a slightly different format than in years past.

Miller would like the tram ride to be more of a trolley experience, allowing passengers to get on and off as they please at numerous stops. These mini destinations, as Miller refers to them, may include fun features such as craft stations, light displays, music and more.

Miller and Perlozzo hope that making Winterfest a more immersive experience will extend the amount of time visitors remain at the event.

“We always watch what’s going on nearby with other events that are similar,” Miller said of neighboring winter festivals in Delaware, such as the Schellville Village and Winter Wonderfest. “But we don’t look to compete with them or mirror them. We want to keep our event unique and iconic.”

More music and more Santa? Bring it on

The town is also looking to enhance the experience with Santa Claus himself, Miller shared. Town residents and visitors may see the holly, jolly, white-bearded man at other events around town during the holiday season, in addition to at Winterfest and the annual holiday parade.

Music will also become a much larger component of the holiday season in Ocean City, Miller said, potentially even at Winterfest.

“Our goal is to drive people to come to Ocean City, to find it as a place of value even outside of the holiday and summer seasons,” Miller said. “Ultimately, it’s to make Ocean City a holiday destination instead of just Winterfest of Lights as a single event. That’s the goal,” Miller said.

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Perlozzo said they are striving to make Ocean City the best that it can be.

“We’ve got a terrific special events team, terrific tourism team,” Perlozzo said. “We’re one unit trying to make Ocean City what we believe it can be in the wintertime and offseason, as well as the summer season.”

How Ocean City's Winterfest of Lights came to be

According to Meehan, it was thanks to Perlozzo that Ocean City’s Winterfest of Lights came to be. As a result of his suggestion, now 30 years ago, that Ocean City host its very own winter festival, the town partnered with the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce in an effort to better celebrate the holiday season.

“It was a big hit right away,” Meehan said.

Meehan believes, to this day, that everyone walks away from Winterfest with a smile.

“It’s happy. It’s fun. It’s one of those carefree experiences where you just relax, take in all of the sights, and enjoy it with your family, friends and pets,” Meehan said, calling Winterfest a one-of-a-kind family experience.

Olivia Minzola covers communities on the Lower Shore. Contact her with tips and story ideas at ominzola@delmarvanow.com.

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Ocean City's Winterfest to get return of tram, other 2023 changes