Son surprises mom with 90th birthday parade in Ocean City

OCEAN CITY, Md. – Birthdays during quarantine are a little more challenging to celebrate because you can’t do things like go out to eat or have friends over for a party. But one Eastern Shore resident still found a way to make his mom’s birthday a memorable one.

“It’s her 90th birthday and we had planned a big party,” says Mark Wagner, a Westover resident. “It just didn’t work out because of this corona thing.”

He decided to organize a surprise parade outside his mom’s Ocean City home on Barge Road complete with the fire department,  police, friends and family.

“It really blossomed from what I even imagined would happen. It really did. There were a lot of people here,” says Mark Wagner. “She didn’t even realize it. She thought something was wrong and I said ‘Mom that’s your birthday’. And she started crying.”

“I didn’t know what was happening,” says Toni Wagner. “Who did I see driving by? About everyone I know but didn’t recognize because I’m so full of tears.”

It was a moment to remind us all to take time and connect with the people we love, however we can. “That there is a way to celebrate each other and there is a way to love each other and keep in contact someway or another,” says Mark Wagner.

“How can you tell how much you appreciate something when it was this huge? I just feel very fortunate. We feel fortunate to be here,” says Toni Wagner. “And it just fills your heart to know people are still good people.”

While the celebration wasn’t quite what the family planned, it’s sure to be something they remember forever. Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan, Public Works employees and members of the Elks Lodge were also in attendance.