Welcome to a new edition of Letters from Delaware State Parks, or as I should be saying, "Thanks for welcoming me!" My name is Helen Haughey and I have the privilege of being the Marketing Director for the most diverse and unique park system anywhere. Since I’m always looking for another excuse to "shamelessly plug" our next event, park program, or venue to folks, when Steve Schilly left for Florida I stepped (more like ran) in to take his place!

The park season is about to start and with that comes a lot of "opening weekend" events. The one I’d like to personally invite you to is Fort Miles Historical Area’s Opening Weekend on April 29-30. This will be a great chance to help us celebrate the "greatest generation" with fantastic events and demonstrations by WWII reenactors.

Ever wonder about those observation towers that are such an integral part of our beach skyline? We’ll have tours of the one on Cape Henlopen State Park. You can climb to the top and take incredible pictures of the beach!

Have you ever biked by those buildings at Fort Miles and wondered to yourself "how could people have LIVED in those conditions?" You’ll be able to see just how they did it when we have WWII living historians recreating the barracks life inside one of the buildings.

Battery 519, the home of the 12-inch gun, will also be open for tours. Our uniformed guide will tell you all about the history of the battery, including the heavy artillery, as well as the very bright future of 519, as we start planning to refurbish it into a state-of-the-art museum.

And finally, Saturday night we will be hosting a canteen-style dance in the Recreation Hall. One of the region’s best Big Bands will be playing the "top of the pops" from 1945. So, come on out and swing dance till you drop! Tickets for the dance are available at the Seaside Nature Center or by calling (302) 645-6852 and purchasing with a credit card.

The cost of the tickets is $12 for an individual ticket or $20 a couple. Thanks again for inviting me to write to you, and I hope I’ll get to meet a few of you at the Fort Miles Historical Area Opening Weekend! We’re saving a place for you.