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Spring, in all its glory, has arrived
at the beach, and the summer season hovers on the not so distant horizon.
Work on the streetscape of Rehoboth has progressed nicely, and even
skeptics are beginning to see how beautiful the city will look when the
project is completed. Businesses above Second Street on Rehoboth Avenue
have been contained behind barbed wire fences all winter, and now their
owners, staff, and patrons are emerging onto generously wide sidewalks,
with no overhead power lines to cause the new trees to be butchered every
season. There will still be parking on Rehoboth Avenue, of course, but
with slick, new meters.
The uproar over
Pennsylvania u.s. senator Rick Santorum’s recent homophobic remarks
comparing gay people with polygamists, adulterers, and those who commit
incest, has united Democrats and Republicans alike. Log Cabin Republicans
Executive Director Patrick Guerriero has issued a statement calling “on
all Republican elected officials, including President Bush, to distance
themselves from Santorum’s harmful statements that divide the American
family.” Santorum’s comments remind me that there are still times when
we need to be activists—not just for gay and lesbian issues, but anytime
unjust and false ideas are present.
Speaking of unjust, all
of us at CAMP Rehoboth were saddened by the act of Boardwalk vandalism
that destroyed Murray’s dolphin, and caused a quick reassessment of
where the dolphins would be placed around town. A great deal of time and
effort went into the painting of all the dolphins, and on page 6 Murray
and some of the other artists talk about the experience.
Last year, the park
operations administrator for the Delaware Division of Parks and
Recreation, Stephen Schilly, began writing a column for Letters, and
working with CAMP Rehoboth on other park related issues, including
sensitivity training for park personnel. In the last issue of Letters it
was noted that CAMP Rehoboth had been presented an award recognizing us as
a Friend of Recreation. Now we have learned that DNREC has awarded Stephen
the Secretary’s Award for Diversity for his work with CAMP Rehoboth.
Congratulations Steve!
One of the most exciting
projects of camp Rehoboth continues to be the plans to build a new and
improved CAMP Rehoboth Community Center on our current site on Baltimore
Avenue. The focus of that project is, of course, The Founders’ Circle.
This year’s CAMP Rehoboth Community Center Founders’ Circle event will
again be the Black and White (and this time Red all over) Beach Ball in
the Atlantic Sands Ballroom. Dress for the event is Black and White or all
red. The evening includes an auction of the 2003 HeART of the Community
paintings created especially for CAMP Rehoboth. (The paintings can be
previewed at the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center Artists Reception on
Saturday, May 24 from 4-6 p.m.) For more information about the Founders’
Circle, The Black and White (and red all over) Beach Ball, or the HeART of
the Community Art Project, see page 37.
As
summer draws near, so do all the many events and projects in which we are
involved: Love 2003 (this year a two night dance event including a retro
party), Follies 2003, Sundance 2003, The Beach Book, the 2003 CAMPsafe
campaign, and much more. CAMP Rehoboth is also a sponsor of other events
and organizations, such as the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival
and the Henlopen Theater Project (see page 44 for an update on HTP’s new
Artistic Director Ari Kreith). This year, we’re also a sponsor of the
all new Rehoboth Beach Cabaret Fest set for May 2-3. The brainchild of
Chris Riss, the Cabaret Fest brings another dimension to the growing
entertainment scene in Rehoboth Beach. See page 64 for a Cabaret Fest
schedule.
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