By Cindy Hoffman, Staff Writer

Kids enjoy the crafting stations at last year’s Bay Day in Ocean Pines. Courtesy MD Coastal Bays Program

(May 4, 2023) The fourth annual Bay Day event returns to White Horse Park in Ocean Pines on Sunday, May 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This free, family-friendly event caters to all age groups through hands-on activities, free boat tours, live music, local food trucks, live animal exhibits, and other diversions. Thirty organizations will be at the event to educate people on the local watershed and ways they can help improve the health of the waterways surrounding Ocean Pines.

“We are excited to bring Bay Day back this year for the fourth time,” Maryland Coastal Bays Program Education Coordinator Liz Wist said. “Bay Day is a great way for community members to learn more about how they can make changes that, over time, have a strong positive impact on our Coastal Bays.

“They can learn about the shore’s amazing environmental organizations, take a boat tour of the St. Martin River, listen to music, pick up a native plant, and participate in educational hands-on activities.”

Go Green OC will be at Bay Day to collect compost. Go Green will accept any type of food waste including meat, bones, dairy, fish, shells, fruit rinds, and coffee grounds — if you can eat it, they take it. For food scraps, Go Green OC said the best way to handle them is to freeze food scraps leading up to Bay Day and bring them by their exhibit table.

“We’ll have two pizza box receptacles as well,” Josh Chamberlain said, the founder of Go Green OC.

Go Green OC will also demonstrate its compost program.

“People will be able to touch the finished product of compost we create,” Chamberlain said.

Those who might want to do this on a regular basis can let Go Green know.  Go Green will set participants up with a restaurant in Ocean City to drop off food waste for free.

There will be a recycling station where community members can bring hard-to-recycle items such as plastic grocery bags, alkaline batteries, old phones, chargers, and remotes.

Attendees will also have a chance to check out the Fishmobile to get close to Chesapeake Bay wildlife such as turtles and horseshoe crabs.

“We have 13 different animal tanks, several interactive activities, and displays all focusing on the unique ecosystems that make up the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed,” Kristen Lycett, the executive director of Phillips Wharf Environmental Center, said.

“Kids can make their own recycled paper out of old newspaper at the Coast Kids table,” Verena Chase, of Assateague Coastal Trust (ACT), said.

ACT will also be selling native plants.

Protectors of the St. Martin’s River will lead an oyster cage building demonstration and provide information on oyster gardening.

The first 200 attendees will receive a canvas bag, hand-painted by students from Worcester County Public Schools. Otto Grundman will be providing the live music at the event, bay boat tours on the OC Bay Hopper will be available, visitors can learn how to cast a line with OP Anglers, and indulge in food from The Street Kitchen, Kiwanis, and Kona Ice.

 For more information visit the “Bay Day in Ocean Pines 2023” event at https://www.facebook.com/events/528628399344625/?ref=newsfeed. For questions about the event, email lwist@mdcoastalbays.org. To volunteer, contact gatkin@mdcoastalbays.org