After ironing out questions and concerns surrounding its gun show component, Ocean City Town Council members have given the green light to an event planned to fall during the typical week of the unofficial H2Oi gathering.
Council members voted 5-1 during a Monday work session in favor of approving plans for Adventure Fest, which will have an emphasis on law enforcement and run from Sept. 19-25, 2022, at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center.
Monday’s vote also gave the go-ahead for guns to be sold and traded during the event’s hunting and fishing expo — one of several different activities planned to take place throughout the course of Adventure Fest.
No handguns will change possession during the event because of Maryland’s seven-day waiting period for regulated firearms. But participants will be able to buy and walk out with long guns in accordance with state and federal law, which would include a check through the FBI’s National Instant Background Check System.
Adventure Fest organizer Cliff Sutherland noted in his presentation before council members that his team worked to find “the best company” to take charge of the gun show.
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“They run 92 gun shows a year for over 50 years — no incidents,” Sutherland said. “They certainly understand all the laws in all the states.”
Headed into Monday’s work session, one of the major issues on the table was whether firearms would actually change hands during the hunting and fishing expo after a miscommunication when the event was initially proposed to council members in October 2021.
A comment made during that presentation gave the impression that no weapons would be purchased on site, but Sutherland clarified Monday that statement was only meant to apply to handguns.
“That was never our intention,” he said.
Besides the gun show, Adventure Fest will also bring to Ocean City a police motorcycle rodeo, a police K-9 competition, musical entertainment and a dog show that will be featured by Unleashed TV on the Pursuit Channel.
The event is also intended to raise money for local law enforcement and a couple of charity organizations, Sutherland explained.
“All of this is great, but you gotta be able to pay the bill, and the only way I can see to pay the bill is the gun show,” he told council members Monday.
City Attorney Heather Stansbury said she needed council members’ clear direction to move forward because plans to sell and trade certain firearms on site were opposite what was presented when she was instructed to settle details for the event contract.
That direction came in the form of a motion from Councilman Mark Paddack, who emphasized the federal government has tight regulations over these kinds of events.
“They are federally licensed firearms dealers. This is their job, their profession,” he said of the events’ vendors.
The motion was also amended to include a stipulation that firearms be “cased” as they come and go from the event.
Police Chief Ross Buzzuro told council members that his department preferred guns not be sold or traded “just for the safety in general for our citizens,” but said his officers would be able to handle having the event in town.
“Everybody does do what they’re supposed to do we’re gonna be fine,” he said. “We’ll be able to manage this.”
The hunting and fishing expo will also involve the sale and display of knives, which was another major point of concern.
An Ocean City town ordinance prohibits “martial arts weapons,” such as assisted opening knives, fighting knives and butterfly knives.
Sutherland confirmed Monday the event would not be in violation of the ordinance, as the sportsman show’s focus would be on hunting knives.
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Director of Tourism and Business Development Tom Perlozzo noted his job was not only to draw people to town but also “to handle the problematic time periods in town as well.”
The final weekend in September has been one of the resort town’s most notorious. The official H2Oi event left Worcester County, but swarms of car enthusiasts continue to descend on Ocean City each year for a largely social media-driven rally.
The town ramped up enforcement, lowering speed limits and increasing fines in response to what officials characterized through the years as “havoc,” “chaos” and “brazen violence and wanton disrespect” from participants.
The council previously approved plans for a three-day music festival to coincide with the weekend of the pop-up rally. However, a council vote in late February pushed the event’s dates a week later than originally planned.
“The intent brought to tourism and the Convention Center was to provide an additional police element in town,” Perlozzo said of Adventure Fest’s plans to fall on the likely week of the pop-up rally.
Mayor Rick Meehan also stressed to Sutherland to make sure he publicizes to Adventure Fest participants there will be a special event zone in town.
The special event zone is intended to deter traffic violations by lowering speed limits and increasing potential fines and penalties for any driver in violation.
“We don’t want anyone to be surprised,” Meehan said.
