Get ready, Jeep owners, a new event is coming close to home and the trails are well on their way to completion. The Delmar location for “Safari at the Quarry”  is best described as Jurassic Park without the dinosaurs, said an enthusiastic Brad Hoffman, owner of Live Wire Media and Events. Hoffman, with 30 years of producing automotive, music and other events around the East Coast, has been quietly building what he calls “the ultimate 4x4 playground.”

The location, a 274-acre parcel off Route 13 in Delmar, Maryland, is on property known as “borrow pits” owned by Wicomico County where they mainly obtain dirt and sand for the landfill and road projects. This new venture is on an unused section, or rather had been used but not legally by people sneaking in to ride.

About two years ago, Hoffman started securing the site for off-roading adventures, reaching a “memorandum of understanding” with the county as to how specifically the property would be utilized. The first event May 4-5 will be Jeeps only and, to be clear, no motorcycles, no ATVs, and no side by sides, Hoffman said. The second event will most likely include other 4 by 4 vehicles such as 4Runners and Broncos - vehicles with a certain length wheelbase that will meet their criteria to be able to navigate the course, he explained. 

Hoffman and his team are building a main trail that’s about two miles long, a bluff trail about 1/5-2 miles long and an obstacle course area. They’ve been cutting grass, removing downed trees, and building up the course as well as removing a few unintended access points. Also involved in the project are Jeff Pruitt and Karen Schreiber with Delmarva Jeep Events, Bob  and Vicki Harris from Thin Blue Line Jeep Club,  Nick and Laura O’Lone and John Insley with Lucky 13 Motorsportz, and Mike and Patty Locke, Billy Clemons, and Kris Pari from the Ocean City Jeep Club. Volunteers the next few months will  help clean up the trails that are about 75% done.

The Jeepfest in May will have morning and afternoon shifts, Saturday and Sunday, and participants can sign up for any number of shifts and courses, or choose it all for the VIP experience. Things will kick off Friday night with a welcome party at Kylan Barn in Delmar, only a few minutes away. Kylan Barn all weekend will be the location for food, music, vendors and a “show and shine” event, while all wheeling activities are confined to the new site. Experience has taught him how to mitigate traffic concerns and requiring a sign up for shifts will help control traffic on Connelly Mill Road. Moving the socializing events to Kylan Barn will also help crowd control. 

Anyone from novices to regulars at Jeep events will enjoy the weekend, he said. Jeep enthusiasts will be on hand to teach skills such as how to wench yourself out of a space and how to air down your tires. Drivers will navigate the courses at 10-12 mph.

The whole weekend is a celebration of Jeep culture and the great outdoors. “This kind of thing really brings people together,” he said. There’s no politics, no talk of differences, it’s all about “the common bond of the Jeep,” he continued. Out of the variety of auto events he has produced, he noted Jeep owners are particularly supportive of the community, the police and local charities. 

As I was talking to Hoffman, I admitted I was unfamiliar with 4x4 adventures. He explained it’s lot more than letting air out of your tires and driving on the beach! As I researched, one figure I found said off-roading was a $12 billion industry globally.

The memorandum of understanding between Live Wire Media and Wicomico County is for one year; but Hoffman is already thinking of the future. 

“Our goal is to get the county to see the positive economic impact of these events,” he continued. While there are Jeep and 4x4 events in Ocean City and outside the Salisbury-Delmar area, this is the first of its kind here in Wicomico. Local hotels and restaurants stand to benefit from Safari at the Quarry, as with any big event held here. 

“The county doesn’t have the expertise to do this but they have the land,” Hoffman said. Their day-to-day operation for the borrow pits has gone uninterrupted through the construction, too, he pointed out. Look for a website launch soon for Safari at the Quarry, and in the meantime, follow their Facebook page for updates. If you'd like to volunteer to help get the course ready, contact Hoffman via the Facebook page or by email.