BUY BUTTONS

Ocean City’s popular New Year’s Eve event will return for the 31st time this year, and families throughout the region are ready to celebrate. First Night offers more than 70 entertainment programs at 20 different venues throughout town. The lineup includes entertainment and activities to satisfy every taste and age group. A fireworks display rings in the new year at midnight. The fun continues on New Year’s Day with a 5-kilometer run on the Boardwalk and the First Plunge in the Atlantic Ocean.

ADMISSION BUTTONS:

ADMISSION BUTTONS: Buttons ($17/$22, inclusive of service fee) are good for all events. Children under age 2 are free. Buttons are $17 per person (inclusive of service fee) if purchased by November 30th. Starting December 1st, the price is $20 per person (inclusive of service fee).

• Online: Visit firstnightocnj.com.

• By phone: Call 609-399-6111.

• At our City Hall Welcome Center at 861 Asbury Avenue (9th Street entrance): 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (except 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Christmas Eve, closed on Christmas Day, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Dec. 26, and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on New Year’s Eve).

• At the Roy Gillian Welcome Center (9th Street causeway): 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

• At the 46th Street Welcome Center (4500 block of West Avenue): 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, closed on Tuesdays (except 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Christmas Eve, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Dec. 26).

Pickup at will-call will be available daily at the City Hall Welcome Center (Ninth Street entrance) starting the week of November 13th. Mail orders will be mailed starting the week of November 13th. Button sales and will-call pickup will continue at the City Hall Welcome Center 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. on the day of the event (Dec. 31), or while supplies last. Buttons can sell out!

HISTORY:

First Night in Ocean City was modeled after an alcohol-free New Year’s Eve celebration in Boston that marked the nation’s bicentennial in 1976. The first celebration in Ocean City in 1992 included 25 entertainment acts in five different locations with admission buttons selling for $8 ($5 before Dec. 26). About 800 buttons were sold. While other First Night events have faded, Ocean City's has only grown more popular with families making it an annual tradition for a safe New Year's Eve. Today, attendance is capped at 10,000 with admission buttons selling out year after year. Through the years, the event has been sustained by the selfless dedication of volunteers, board members and sponsors.

SPONSORS:

City of Ocean City, Cape May County Division of Culture and Heritage (Funding for First Night has been made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Cape May County Board of County Commissioners through the Cape May County Division of Culture & Heritage Re-Grant Program), Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce, Ocean City Free Public Library, Gillian’s Wonderland Pier, McMahon Insurance Agency and Atlantic City Electric.