It would only be fitting that longtime Ocean City publicist Mark Soifer had grown up near the water.

And he did. Just not salt water.

The man behind what he calls "wacky, not tacky" events such as Martin Z. Mullosk Day (a beach version of Groundhog Day) is a native of the Delaware River community of Chester, Pa. He has lived in landlocked Vineland for the past 44 years.

But Soifer, 70, who used to write advertising copy about the poultry industry around Vineland, has been one of the best-known Jersey Shore resort promoters for 31 years.

"He's the person most responsible for putting Ocean City on the map as a tourist destination," said city Mayor Henry "Bud" Knight. "He's got terrific ideas and concepts that promote Ocean City as a family resort."

Among Soifer's Ocean City opuses is the Miss Crustacean contest, held July 31. Dressed-up hermit crabs are the the contestants. Soifer is also the brain behind the 30-year- old sand sculpting contests, held July 3 and 31, something he brought back from visits to Florida.

A few city traditions predate Soifer - the Baby Parade goes back to the turn of the century, and A Night in Venice, a July extravaganza for decorated boats, started in the 1950s.

It all started for Soifer with an invitation in the 1960s to promote an Ocean City boardwalk art show, which has become a city institution. Soifer, then owner of a Vineland advertising firm, impressed then-city Mayor Tom Waldman with his promotional skills.

Soifer already knew the resort pretty well.

"I always brought the family here. I have four children," he said in his office across Ninth Street from City Hall.

The art show's success led to a June flower show, now in its 30th year at the Music Pier, and Soifer's "milelong block parties" in downtown Ocean City have been going for 20 years.

All of this happens on a modest events budget of $30, 000, supplemented by about $150,000 from a city mercantile tax. Bigger and better-financed shore resorts "spend more on one event than our entire budget. So we have to be creative," said Soifer.

"One of the things about Ocean City is we get volunteers and the events last," he added.

Bouncing back from unexpected triple bypass heart surgery in November, Soifer said he'd like to continue promoting the city "for a little while longer."

Said Hank Glazer, owner of the 100-year-old Shriver's taffy and fudge store in Ocean City: "He's been able to get more mileage out of less money than anybody else in the publicity business."