This issue of Letters from CAMP Rehoboth is the first one produced
in our office in the new CAMP Rehoboth Community Center on Baltimore
Avenue. Though the offices and public spaces are in functioning order—we
even managed to have our HEART of the Community preview party on Memorial
Day Weekend—behind the scenes there are still boxes to unpack and the
occasional frantic search for some necessary item that seems to never have
surfaced. That aside, and despite torrential rains that put all the movers
behind schedule, we made it—thanks in part to the fact that our mover
enlisted the aid of 6 marines who took care of all the heavy stuff (and,
by the way, created quite a stir on Baltimore Avenue).
In the last issue of Letters, we were very pleased to announce
that Christopher Peterson will be the host of this year’s CAMP Rehoboth
Follies on Saturday, July 23. Christopher will be returning to Rehoboth
during July and August, and will be appearing at the Atlantic Sands Hotel.
We are also delighted that Ric Kirby has joined the Follies Production
Team as Skit Coordinator and will be available to help all the troupes
prepare for this year’s show and to help them incorporate the new troupe
guidelines created to make it an even more exciting evening. Only eight
skits will be accepted for this year’s production so don’t put off
signing up. Troupes must have at least two members and can be organized by
beach houses, businesses, organizations, or just by friends who want to
get together to put on a show. One word of caution: the eight minute time
limit will be strictly enforced this year, so prepare accordingly. For
information about the CAMP Rehoboth Follies, see the Follies ad on page 46
or call the CAMP Rehoboth office.
Already the summer season is picking up speed. On June 18 the Blue Moon
Bachelor Auction will set the Love machine rolling toward the big Love
Weekend festivities on July 4th weekend. This year’s Love line-up
includes the Friday night Retro Ball with DJ Mark Thomas and a guest
appearance by Evelyn "Champagne" King, singing hits like Shame,
Love Come Down, and I’m In Love. The next night DJ Julian Marsh will
keep the energy up and the crowd dancing at the Love Main Event. Love 2005
benefits CAMP Rehoboth and the Sussex County AIDS Council. Tickets are
available at CAMP Rehoboth.
The week before Love, the Rehoboth Convention Center will also be
rockin’—this time to the music of DJ Jame Foks—at Splash 2005. For
those of you who don’t remember a Splash 2004, it’s not your failing
memory, in previous years the event was called Mermaid Splash and was a
women’s dance. The Splash team has made a point this year—including
the name change—of making sure that everyone knows the dance is open to
all. Splash benefits CAMP Rehoboth and the Safe Haven Animal Sanctuary.
Tickets are available at CAMP Rehoboth.
United States Senator Tom Carper was in Rehoboth for a fundraiser at
Jim D’Orta’s Silver Lake home over the Memorial Day weekend. Not long
ago, we printed a letter from Senator Carper that congratulated CAMP
Rehoboth on our new CAMP Rehoboth Community Center. "You have played
such a great role in helping bring the gay and lesbian community into the
mainstream of life in Rehoboth Beach," he wrote, "and making all
people in the community understand why this is such a positive thing for
Rehoboth Beach." With GLBT issues so much in the headlines during the
last election, I think it is more necessary than ever that we do not take
this kind of support lightly. As a non-profit organization, CAMP Rehoboth
doesn’t support individual politicians. However, as our mission
statement reads, we do "promote political awareness...through voter
information, education, and registration; and analysis of issues and
candidates—and we can encourage everyone to get out and get involved.
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