Springfest and Sunfest

What are Springfest and Sunfest?

Springfest and Sunfest are the Town of Ocean City's two large tented festivals, held in the Inlet parking lot at the south end of the Boardwalk. Springfest opens the season in early May and Sunfest closes it in late September, each running several days with craft vendors, regional food, and live music under large tents. They are free to enter for the daytime program, with ticketed headline concerts, and they close the Inlet lot to parking for their duration.

Also called: Springfest, Sunfest.

What the festivals actually are

Tents, vendors, and stages. Rows of craft and food sellers under connected canvas, with music running most of the day. The scale is regional rather than local, drawing visitors specifically for the weekend. Neither is a beach event, which is useful to know: they work in cool or damp weather, which is exactly what May and late September often deliver.

The parking consequence

The lot is gone for the weekend. Downtown parking gets difficult, so the bus and the Park and Ride become the sensible approach. Anyone planning an ordinary Boardwalk evening during festival weekends should account for that, since it is the one predictable time the largest lot in town is simply unavailable.

Using the festivals to bookend a season

Springfest is the reason to visit in early May, when the water is too cold to swim and the town is otherwise quiet. Sunfest gives late September a headline event on top of the best beach weather of the shoulder season. Both are strong reasons to plan a trip outside the peak weeks.

Planning a festival weekend

Current source: Ocean City Tourism events. Fees, hours, posted rules: all of it moves without much notice, so confirm anything time-sensitive on the day you go.

Related terms in this glossary

Springfest and Sunfest rarely settles a plan on its own. These come up in the same decision, and each one has its own page, so open whichever part you're still unsure about.