The Saturday of Memorial Day weekend dawned bright and clear, lifting
spirits and setting the stage for what we all hope is a glorious summer
season. For me it officially became summer on the Friday night before when
our friend Sondra Arkin whisked us off for our traditional
start-of-the-summer sushi fest and then on to Funland for our annual ride
on The Sea Dragon. Ah yes, the joys of summer!
Included on the CAMPshots pages of this issue (page 76) is a photograph
of the 2004 Blue Moon staff taken the Friday morning of Memorial Day
weekend. Next summer the Moon will celebrate its 25th anniversary, and I
think that most of us, especially those who have been a part of the
Rehoboth Community for a long time, will want to join in the celebration.
When Joyce Felton and Victor Pisapia opened the Blue Moon in 1980, they
changed the town forever. Suddenly gay life spilled out into the downtown
streets, and it was fabulous and fun and filled with art and music and
laughter. I dare say that a great many of us might not be here today
without the groundbreaking work of the Blue Moon many years ago. From our
beginning the Moon has been a huge supporter of CAMP Rehoboth, and
Sundance, and a great many other causes important to our community. So
congratulations, Joyce, on the new season—I guess we’ll all have to
start looking right now for the perfect silver outfit to wear for next
year’s 25th Anniversary "by the light of the silvery moon"
party.
The Blue Moon may have set the stage, but now there are a whole lot of
other "bright stars" around town as well, and our thanks to all
the businesses and supporters who generously give to the many causes and
needs of this community. One of the newest stars on our horizon is
actually a planet. Planet X owner Justine Carpenter has opened a
restaurant in Dewey Beach called Venus on the Half Shell, and every Sunday
afternoon this summer her "Cocktails for a Cause" will be
donating 10% of the afternoon’s net receipts to support the work of CAMP
Rehoboth.
Recently, this year’s CAMPsafe campaign kicked off the summer season
with the first of its new series of Olympic themed postcards and ads
reminding everyone to "be a winner" by practicing safe sex.
CAMPsafe is a program of CAMP Rehoboth, funded by the Delaware Division of
Public Health. My thanks to Sal Seeley, our CAMPsafe director, for his
tireless efforts at keeping condoms and the CAMPsafe message out for all
to see. Also, our thanks to designers Mary Beth Ramsey and Sondra Arkin,
our CAMPsafe photographer Judy G. Rolfe, and all the models who worked to
make the campaign a real "winner" this year. Volunteers are
always needed to give Sal a hand with packaging the thousands of condoms
needed for the season, so call him at CAMP Rehoboth if you have some time
to help.
I’m sure that Bill Alldredge, the chair of Love 2004, could use some
extra volunteers for this year’s big July 4th Love Weekend extravaganza.
After the success of last year’s Love Retro Ball, the Love Weekend will
again include two nights of dancing—another Retro Ball on Friday night,
with DJ Mark Thomas and a special guest appearance by Bonnie Pointer, and
the Love main event on Saturday with DJ Julian Marsh. Our thanks to Bill
and his committee for their hard work on behalf of CAMP Rehoboth and SCAC.
This is an incredibly busy time of year for us. from the black and
white Beach Ball to the Bachelor Auction, Mermaid Splash, Love, Follies,
Sundance, Letters deadlines, and all the rest, there’s always something
happening. None of it would take place, however, without the incredible
support that comes from this extraordinary community. The dream of the
CAMP Rehoboth Community Center to be the "heart of the
community" is an easy one to believe in because of that support.
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