Big March Weekend, Coming Right Up!

People from all over will be enjoying the St. Patrick's Day Parade and Irish Festival in Ocean City, Maryland, this weekend. But two other (very different) events also will be taking place, at the Convention Center.

• The American Guild of English Handbell Ringers will provide an awesome concert with 500 handbell ringers at the Convention Center (40th Street and the Bay) at 4:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon, March 14. If you've never heard handbells, you owe it to yourself to attend. Handbells make beautiful music! And, have you heard the old saying: "The best things in life are free?" It's true. The handbell concert is free and open to the public. Enjoy.
• The Ocean City Custom Hot Rod and Custom Car Show will also be at the Convention Center, on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The show is inside the Convention Center. And some of the best things are not free. I understand there is an admission charge for the Hot Rod and Custom Car Show, but I don't know what it is. No time to do research.
• Oh, right! You wanted to know about the parade. Maryland's second-largest St. Patrick's Day Parade will step off promptly at 12 noon on Saturday starting at 60th Street and marching south to 45th Street, where an Irish Festival of food, drink and music will already be in session, having started at 11 a.m. Are the best things in life free? For sure, both the parade and the Irish Festival are free! And never mind that the official St. Patrick's Day isn't until March 17. If we can celebrate presidents' birthdays on Mondays, we can celebrate St. Patrick's Day on a Saturday.

This is the first big weekend of Spring (even though Spring doesn't officially begin until March 20), so call your favorite hotel to make a reservation.