Ocean City has an array of facilities that will keep you entertained, informed and healthy all winter. The Community Center Complex, 17th and Simpson Ave., offers a library, a historical museum, an aquatic and fitness center, an art center and a senior center.
The Ocean City Free Public Library offers free programs for all ages, from tots to teenagers to adults. The year-round programs include musical entertainment, free movies, computer instruction and more.
Educational programs include chess and bridge clubs, meditation workshops, book discussions, Bay Atlantic Symphony lectures, learning to play mah-jongg, AARP Save Driving courses and cooking classes. The library will hold a cooking class on Jan. 30 to celebrate National Croissant Day at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Senior Room Kitchen.
Upcoming free movies include Saturday Afternoon Movies: Mission Impossible – Rouge Nation on Jan. 23 at 2 p.m. and the After School Movies program on Wednesdays at 3 p.m.
Programs on jazz music by Michel Pedicin and the South Jersey Jazz Society have become very popular at the library. Upcoming events include “Four Bassists at Play” on Jan. 24 with Andy Lalasis and three other musicians playing original and inspiring music on acoustic, electric and synthesized instruments.
Stay in shape this winter. The Ocean City Aquatic and Fitness Center offers an extensive fitness program with workout facilities and an Olympic sized pool plus instruction in yoga, weight training and more. For more information, call (609) 398-6900.
Enjoy our two Art Centers, the Ocean City Arts Center in the Community Center Complex and the Fine Arts League, 608 Asbury Ave. Both hold free exhibits every month featuring talented local and regional artists. This month the Ocean City Arts Center is showing the work of Carla Migliaccio, a talented Ocean City Artist. The Fine Arts League is featuring the best entries in its 2015 shows.
Both Centers offer art classes and art for sale. The Ocean City Arts Center holds classes in sculpting, music, Tai Chi and dancing, and runs summer art camps in addition to painting and sketching. For more information, call OC Arts Center at (609) 399-7628 or Fine Arts League at (609) 814-0308.
The Ocean City Historical Museum at the Community Center features exhibits of artifacts, photos, clothing and other treasures of Ocean City’s past. There is also a display of unique items salvaged from the Sindia, a ship that beached at 15th Street in 1901. Take time to take a walk through the past of America’s Greatest Family Resort. Knowledgeable volunteers will be on hand to make your tour interesting.
The museum also offers a lecture series on Ocean City history and appraisal programs during which the public may bring in their treasures for evaluation by experts for a reasonable fee. For more information on Historical Museum activities, call (609) 399-1801.
The Ocean City Senior Center located at the Community Center includes a luncheon Monday through Friday (donation of $2, free to those who can’t afford it), exercise programs, card sessions including bridge and pinochle, and a place to meet and chat Monday through Friday from 8:30 to 4:30 p.m. The entrance to the Senior Center is located on the 18th Street side of the Community Center.
The Downtown: Ocean City features an award winning downtown with over 100 specialty shops and restaurants, most of which are open year-round. This, along with the facilities already mentioned, is available to year-round residents and also makes the city ideal for winter getaways. Hotels and motels offer reduced winter rates. For more information, call 1-800-BEACH-NJ.
Senior citizens (and others) will enjoy the weekend of March 12 when Ocean City presents its 3rd Annual Mr. Mature America Pageant. This is a talent pageant for men 55 years of age and older. It is the only one of its kind in the country and the world as far as we can determine – so if you want to experience such an event, you will have to come to Ocean City!
The event celebrates the relevance and talents of our senior citizens plus “The Purity of Maturity and Importance of Social Security.” Contestants compete in talent, interview and poise categories. The event opens with a rousing dance routine choreographed by Jessica Albertson. All contestants participate in this “crowd pleaser” that sets an entertaining tone for the pageant. Tickets are $10. To enter the contest or purchase tickets, call (609) 399-6111 or email msoifer@hotmail.com.