In Brief

After a most successful season last year,with two performances of Handel’s Messiah and two highly-acclaimed Spring concerts, the Choral Society is eagerly anticipating its 26th performing season. Christmas will find the group at the Mariner Bethel United Methodist Church on Central Avenue, Ocean View. "The church has wonderful acoustics, great sight lines, and comfortable seating," said Executive Director Elizabeth Hochholzer. A special feature of the program will be Bach’s Christmas favorite, Sleepers Awake, along with well-known carol favorites and several Messiah choruses. A guest children’s choir and organ virtuoso will also be featured.

The spring 2006 concert will be held in Lewes, as part of the 375th birthday of Lewes as well as the 250th birthday of Mozart. An all-Mozart concert, including the popular Requiem, will conclude with a joint birthday party at which audience and performers can celebrate these two great events!

Rehearsals for this season begin on Tuesday, September 6 at 7 p.m. at the Georgetown Presbyterian Church. All voices are welcome.

SDCS is supported in part by grants from the Delaware Division of the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

For further information, call 645-7584 or log on to www.sdchoralsociety.org.

Ninth Annual Delaware Pride Festival

Delaware Pride announces its ninth annual Pride Festival, to be held on Saturday, September 10, 2005, from noon until 6 p.m. at Gordons Pond State Park (North Shores) in Rehoboth Beach.

This year’s festival will feature headliner Crystal Waters, a long-time dance music favorite with such hits as "100% Pure Love" and "Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless)." The festival emcee, Bob Smith, is largely hailed as the first out gay stand-up comedian and the New York Times best-selling author of Openly Bob and Way to Go, Smith!

The festival will also feature well-known performers Ari Gold, Karen Jacobson, and Kevin Lawrence and the Purple Circle, and regional drag favorites including Tisha Towers, CeeCee Lords, Tina Montgomery, and Regina Scott. Dozens of vendors will also be on-hand, offering various food, drink, clothing, jewelry, books, and other items. Many regional GLBT groups will also have tables at the festival, including political groups, churches, community organizations, and extracurricular activities. Local politicians have been invited to speak at the festival, as well.

Entrance into the festival is free, and all members of the regional GLBT community and their allies are invited to attend. Parking will be available on site for a nominal fee, and shuttle parking is also available. The festival is a family-friendly event and people of all ages are invited to attend. This year’s festival is sponsored by the EXP Magazine, The Jolly Trolley, ID Lube, Amtrak, and The Atlantis Inn.

For information on the festival or other Delaware Pride activities, call 302-378-6524 or visit www.delawarepride.org.

Community Chorus to Organize

Doug Yetter, artistic director of Clear Space Productions, will begin the Clear Space Community Chorus in September 2005.

The chorus will rehearse in Lewes on Monday evenings and will focus upon musical literature of American composers, Yetter said.

An August 23 meeting has been set to allow interested people to shape the Chorus and guide its structure. The meeting will take place at the Rehoboth Beach Library, 226 Rehoboth Avenue, from 6-7:30 p.m.

For more information on the chorus, call 302-644-3810.

Pop Rocks Shows Works by Isner

Pop Rocks Art Gallery announces a showing of paintings by local artist Terry M. Isner entitled Crazy Little Thing Called Love. The series of paintings which he calls "PopHart", a magical, whimsical series of paintings inspired by love, will be displayed at the gallery beginning on August 13, 2005 through the Fall. Mr. Isner will be at the opening of his show, and will be available to sign any of his works of art, including his "Heart of Rock ‘n’ Roll" painting. The opening of the show is August 13, 2005 at 6 p.m.

Pop Rocks Art Gallery is located in the CAMP Courtyard at 39 Baltimore Ave.

Come Party with the Pod on Aug. 28

There will be twenty dolphin sculptures waiting to go home with lucky bidders at the Dolphin Sculpture auction and party August 28 at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center.

The Rehoboth Beach Main Street/ Rehoboth Art League Dolphin Project has been a huge success and the 29 sculptures that made up Dolphins: The SEAquel have resided around town since the end of April. Their appearance has been sponsored by local businesses and the sculptures have been magnificently decorated by local artists—all for the purpose of generating downtown visitors, publicity, public art and fun in downtown Rehoboth Beach.

Now folks can have a chance to own one of Rehoboth’s dolphin sculptures to adorn a porch, backyard, business entry or wherever these colorful creatures will look best!

On Sunday evening Aug. 28, 5-8 p.m., at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center, as many as 20 of the dolphins will be auctioned off to benefit Main Street and the Art League.

This colossal beach party will feature great food, Margaritas and other beverages, a DJ, dancing and the exciting auction. The fabulous dolphin artists, generous sponsors, prospective sculpture owners and anyone else who wants to party with the pod are welcome to attend. At the 2003 Dolphin Auction bidding wars, cheers and a rampant competitive spirit made it the event of the season.

So if you’d love to take one of the dolphins home with you, Aug. 28 will be your night to bid on these one of a kind works of art. Even if you don’t plan to bid on a big dolphin, come party with the pod!

Tickets to the event are $25 and are limited. To reserve yours, call Rehoboth Beach Main Street, 302-227-2772. Don’t miss out on the ultimate dolphin beach party!

350 Years Shared Among Seven Locals