In Brief

4 Days, 40 People – Take Control and Get Tested for HIV
by Sal Seeley

40 people, 4 days and 30 minutes of your time. This is the challenge for this year’s National HIV Testing and Counseling day. CAMPsafe wants 40 people to get tested for HIV between June 24 and June 27.

From start to finish the whole thing takes about 30 minutes. You come in and give some info about yourself. You and I talk about the test and then you place a small swab in your mouth and dab it around your gums. Then I drop it in a developer while we talk about risk reduction and safe sex. It is not a sermon; we talk about the tools you need to lead a healthy, happy and safe sex life.

For the past 8 years, testing day has been a way to encourage individuals to know their HIV status. Having a test takes away the anxiety of not knowing.

Currently, the biggest concern in the United States is people who are HIV+ and don’t know it—either because they don’t get tested regularly or they don’t think they are at risk. Then there are those that would rather live in denial or who are just too scared to deal with the realities of being diagnosed with HIV. Many men and women think they could be HIV+ but have chosen not to test— often making that decision based on incorrect information about HIV, or fear about what happens to you once you test positive. If you have HIV, all the evidence suggests that you are better off knowing it—and the sooner you test, the better. Knowing that you are HIV negative allows you to make informed decisions about the sex you have.

Obviously a negative result offers you no guarantees for the future. So whatever the result of the test, you need to think carefully about the sex that you have and avoid sharing needles and injecting equipment. Testing is free, confidential and painless. No needles are used so there are no pokes or pricks. All we have to do is put a swab in your mouth and you get your result in twenty minutes. Painless!

If we get a positive result then we do more tests to be sure. But it cannot get much easier than that! The test is 99% accurate for testing for antibodies! I like those odds.

A word of caution: while the test is 99% accurate for identifying the presence of antibodies, it does not mean that you can go out and have sex without protection. The window of infection is still there. It can take 3 to 6 months for your body to develop antibodies so you may still be infected. Being tested does not remove the need to behave responsibly!

Be part of our challenge from June 24th-June 27th. Protect yourself and protect your partners. Get tested during this year’s National HIV Testing Days. As an added incentive this year, if you’re one of the first 40 people getting tested, you will get a coupon for a free ice cream cone at Double Dippers.

CAMP Rehoboth is located at 37 Baltimore Ave in Rehoboth Beach. Call 302-227-5620 for more information about testing day or to schedule an appointment to come in and get an HIV test.

Bachelors on Parade at Blue Moon Auction
For many years, the Blue Moon Bachelor Auction has helped support the Love Weekend event. This year, Chris Riss passed the torch to entertainer Tisha Towers who did a great job. The 2006 Bachelor Auction raised $14,000 for Love—which benefits CAMP Rehoboth and SCAC. Thanks to all the bachelors and the restaurants whose donations made the event a success.

The Only Thing Worse in Rehoboth

Saturday, June 24, director Fay Jacobs and the Sussex County AIDS Council will present the play The Only Thing Worse You Could Have Told Me by Dan Butler.

At 4 p.m, and 8 p.m. the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center will light up with this fast-moving show that is provocative, moving, and quite often absolutely hilarious. It presents a series of monologues and clever collaborative efforts that provide a glimpse into what it means to be gay in America.

The play was written by Dan Butler, best known for his portrayal of sports reporter Bulldog Briscoe on the television series Frasier. Butler originally performed the piece as a one-man show. Now it has been re-imagined for its Rehoboth premier with a trio of actors playing the roles.

Tickets, $20, are available at SCAC, 302-644-1090 and CAMP Rehoboth, 302-227-5620. All proceeds benefit SCAC.

William Dunlop Paintings at Cloud 9

Cloud 9 Restaurant is the showcase for the work of Rehoboth summer resident William Dunlop through July 10, 2006.

Currently on the art and design faculty at Auburn University in Alabama where he lives during the school year. Dunlop is a graduate of the Corcoran College of Art + Design in Washington, DC, and lived in the Washington DC area for over twenty years. He first began vacationing in Rehoboth in 1976 and maintains a studio here.

His work has been exhibited in national and regional venues, most recently the Lagrange (GA) XX Biennial, and the Mobile (AL) Museum of Art Triennial.

Abstract in nature and minimalist in tone, his paintings utilize ordinary geometric shapes and expressive mark-making to fuse the non-objective and design disciplines.