Northside Park

Fireworks are as much a tradition in Ocean City as Thrasher's french fries and Dolle's Candyland caramel corn.And on Saturday, Independence Day, the fireworks are spectacular, exploding simultaneously over the Atlantic Ocean and the bay, culminating a day of activities at Northside Park.Once again, Vitale Fireworks Co. of New Castle, Pa., will put on the show. It will begin at 9:30 p.m. and last about 20 minutes.The fireworks will be shot over the ocean off the Wicomico Street pier, but you don't have to be downtown to see them.

It's only Monday, but already you know that the week will end in fireworks. That's because the Fourth of July is this weekend, promising just enough sizzle to get you to Friday. Then it's off to the beach or the lake — no excuses necessary — to get your spark on. After all, it's a holiday. The plan: Ocean City is having two fireworks events, one downtown right on the beach where you can relax with your toes in the sand and one uptown at Northside Park. Both will feature live music: Dr. K's Motown Review downtown and Rick K & the Allnighters uptown.

Given its druthers, the Toyota-Chesapeake Lacrosse Club jTC would prefer to play Long Island LC in the final of the second annual Eastern Shore Lacrosse Classic Sunday at Northside Park in Ocean City.Team Toyota, powered by the Gait brothers and many other World Team players, is revved up to get back at the Long Island club for cutting it off in the final of both the U.S. Club Lacrosse Association championship and the Vail (Colo.) Lacrosse Shootout.For Toyota to exact revenge -- in the event the two teams do make it to the final -- it will have to solve Long Island goalie Sal LoCascio.

Ocean City's Springfest 2010 runs through Sunday at the Inlet Parking Lot, at the south end of the Boardwalk. Hours are 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free, except for Friday night's Country Rat Pack concert ($20-$40) and Saturday's Teen Idols show ($20-$47). Tickets are available through Ticketmaster, 410-481-7328 or ticketmaster.com. Call 800-626-2326. Getting there: By car: Ocean City is about a three-hour drive from Baltimore, depending on the traffic (which can get downright nasty on weekends, especially if the weather is nice)

Jim Huelskamp's dream of turning the Eastern Shore into a lacrosse hotbed has not become a reality. But this week's third Ocean City Lacrosse Classic should provide the locals and those visiting the resort town with more than a glimpse of how the game looks at its highest level.The tournament, which will help raise money for the Delmarva Lacrosse Foundation, has attracted many U.S. world team players and will showcase more than 50 college All-Americans, including Gary and Paul Gait, Brian Dougherty and Mark Millon.

York folk art show For one-of-a-kind handcrafted pieces in traditional American style and design, attend the 17th annual York Folk Art & Craft Show this weekend at York Fairgrounds in York, Pa. More than 110 artisans from across the country will exhibit their wares, including furnishings, paintings, pottery, holiday creations, jewelry and cotton batting. Crafts people will demonstrate time-honored techniques. Held concurrently with the folk art show is the Fall Antiques Show at York, where more than 75 dealers will showcase 18th through 20th century furniture, primitives, textiles, clocks, jewelry, decorative arts and collectibles in room settings.

It's only Monday, but already you know that the week will end in fireworks. That's because the Fourth of July is this weekend, promising just enough sizzle to get you to Friday. Then it's off to the beach or the lake — no excuses necessary — to get your spark on. After all, it's a holiday. The plan: Ocean City is having two fireworks events, one downtown right on the beach where you can relax with your toes in the sand and one uptown at Northside Park. Both will feature live music: Dr. K's Motown Review downtown and Rick K & the Allnighters uptown.

Memorial Day may be the unofficial start to the summer season, but the Fourth of July is perhaps its biggest weekend. In the holiday spirit, beach resorts will be offering plenty to do over the three-day weekend.Up With People's young singers and dancers will be performing in Ocean City, and the Independence Day festivities will culminate Sunday evening with a double fireworks display that promises to fill the skies with dazzling color.Sunday afternoon, the annual "Jamboree in the Park" at the 125th Street Northside Park will feature games, demonstrations, crafts, food and additional shows by the Up With People performers.

Forget Saturday in the park. The annual Sundaes in the Park family concert series returns to Ocean City on Sunday and runs through Aug. 24. The series features free music and kids' entertainment along with a make-your-own-sundae event, for a small fee, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Northside Park. This Sunday's entertainment will be the music of Captain Quint - the Ultimate Jimmy Buffett Tribute Band, as well as kids' magician Mike Rose. Other entertainers are Still Surfin' - Beach Boys Tribute and Karen Lyles the Juggling Lady July 20, Randy Lee Ashcraft and the Salt Water Cowboys and Lollipop's Mother Goose July 27, Frank & Patsy (tribute to Frank Sinatra and Patsy Cline)

Antiques show Armacost Antiques brings its traveling antiques show to Alexandria, Va., this weekend. Some 44 dealers from 15 states and England are selling their goods tomorrow through Sunday. An array of artifacts with Virginia, Washington and other Mid-Atlantic roots will be highlighted on a list of "Here 'n Then" items. And furniture, jewelry, ceramics, textiles, oil and watercolor paintings and a variety of objet d'art from the 17th to the 19th centuries will be for sale. The Historic Alexandria Antiques Show runs 11 a.m.-8 p.m. tomorrow, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday at the Holiday Inn, 625 First St., Alexandria, Va. $12. Call 410-961-5121.

17th annual Winterfest of Lights Where: : Northside Park, 127th Street and the bay, Ocean City When: : 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, through Jan. 2 What: : Ocean City's seasonal event kicks off Thursday with an opening ceremony featuring holiday songs, children's performances and an appearance by Santa. Winterfest takes place throughout the park, with thousands of twinkling lights outlining hundreds of displays. The Winterfest Village, located inside a heated and decorated tent, offers hot chocolate, a gift shop and photos with Santa (through Dec. 23)

MAY CRUISIN' OCEAN CITY -- Convention Center, 40th Street and the bay, Inlet Parking Lot / 410-798-6304 or specialeventpro.com. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. today-Saturday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. A car show featuring hot rods, custom-built models, classics and muscle cars. There will be live entertainment, parades, vendors and more. $10 admission; free for children younger than 14 accompanied by an adult. JUNE OCEAN CITY RESTAURANT WEEK -- June 1-8. Participating restaurants will offer a fixed-price, three-course dinner for $30. (Alcohol, gratuity and tax are not included.

It's that time of year again, those last few days before Thanksgiving arrives and the holiday season begins in earnest. That last little window of time where you can either try to ease into the holiday spirit or decide to jump in with both feet. For whatever spirit you might be in, there's likely a winter festival or event to match it: from a simple showing of handmade wreaths to an over-the-top spectacle of dazzling lights, from a Thanksgiving parade to a tour of historic homes. While you are out, you can start your gift shopping, find food and drink, or just enjoy a beautifully decorated landscape.

Antiques show Armacost Antiques brings its traveling antiques show to Alexandria, Va., this weekend. Some 44 dealers from 15 states and England are selling their goods tomorrow through Sunday. An array of artifacts with Virginia, Washington and other Mid-Atlantic roots will be highlighted on a list of "Here 'n Then" items. And furniture, jewelry, ceramics, textiles, oil and watercolor paintings and a variety of objet d'art from the 17th to the 19th centuries will be for sale. The Historic Alexandria Antiques Show runs 11 a.m.-8 p.m. tomorrow, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday at the Holiday Inn, 625 First St., Alexandria, Va. $12. Call 410-961-5121.

For some people, vacation fitness means buying two slices of pepperoni pizza, then eating them while strolling the boardwalk, maybe throwing away the crusts if they're feeling especially low-carb conscious. Other folks prefer to bring their normal workout habits with them to the beach, along with their beer cooler and flip-flops. "They don't need a break from fitness," Faith Kromer of Quest Fitness in Ellicott City says of the latter group. "They need a break from the stresses of life.

Santa will sparkle next to twinkling crabs and marlins this weekend at Ocean City's 11th Annual Winterfest of Lights. The weeks-long festival, which kicks off today at 5:30 p.m. in the town's Northside Park, will have a number of its traditional illuminated displays, plus some grand additions. "There's always something new. They're always adding to the displays," said festival spokeswoman Donna Abbott. Organizers have also improved the festival's layout this year, she said. The park's 2003 celebration village, a decorated space where visitors can browse for holiday gifts, take a photo with Santa or sip hot chocolate, will for the first time be set up in a heated tent.

Santa will sparkle next to twinkling crabs and marlins this weekend at Ocean City's 11th Annual Winterfest of Lights. The weeks-long festival, which kicks off today at 5:30 p.m. in the town's Northside Park, will have a number of its traditional illuminated displays, plus some grand additions. "There's always something new. They're always adding to the displays," said festival spokeswoman Donna Abbott. Organizers have also improved the festival's layout this year, she said. The park's 2003 celebration village, a decorated space where visitors can browse for holiday gifts, take a photo with Santa or sip hot chocolate, will for the first time be set up in a heated tent.

The latest jazz in SalisburyFrom noon to 8 p.m. today, pull up a chair at the '91 Shore Jazz Festival in Salisbury. Admission and parking are free, but a full house is expected so try to arrive early.Slated to perform are the 25-member Montgomery College Jazz Ensemble, the Charlie Byrd Trio, Delores Lynn and the Dale Britt Trio, and Keter Betts and Lenny Grazier's Shore Jazz All-Stars.Following the performances will be an open jam session, and jazz musicians and singers are invited to sit in. The annual festival at the Moose Lodge No. 654 at Snow Hill Road and College Avenue is produced by Shore Jazz Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting America's classic music form on the Eastern Shore.