In Brief

NY Reading of RB Playwright’s Drama

Innovative Stages of Westchester County, New York, is pleased to announce three staged readings of Cruithne by Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, resident and playwright, Timothy Jay Smith.

Both candidates steal an election in this modern Greek drama which asks the question, "Who writes the software that counts our votes?" The readings have been scheduled for October 8, 9 and 10, to coincide with the upcoming Presidential election.

A recent addition to the New York theatre scene, the nonprofit Innovative Stages is committed to the development and presentation of diverse and inventive works for the stage. Winning a staged reading is a competitive process, and Mr. Smith’s play was chosen not only for its timeliness, but for the lyrical beauty of its language that at times verges on poetry. Cruithne’s structure is grounded in ancient Greek tradition, adding to the sense of the profound importance of the issues the play raises for the future of civil society.

Mr. Smith is an accomplished writer who has placed in or won over three dozen national and international competitions. His first play, How High the Moon, won the prestigious Stanley Drama Award and premiered two seasons ago in New York City. In the same year, his screenplay, Checkpoint, won the Grand Prize at the Rhode Island International Film Festival.

More information on the play’s readings—dates, venues and directions—can be found on the web at www.innovativestages.org.

Parade of Ponds in Cape Region

Pond owners in the Rehoboth and Lewes area are opening up their backyards to share the beauty of their garden ponds. On Saturday, September 18th from 10-4, the first annual Parade of Ponds will officially begin. Garden Ponds and Landscaping, the sponsor of this event, has chosen the Children’s Beach House in Lewes to receive all of the proceeds. The first stop on the tour is Children’s Beach House where Parade of Ponds tour booklets, maps and driving directions will be distributed to all ticket holders. They are located on Lewes Beach at 1800 Bay Avenue.

Additional tickets will be available at that time for $10 each.

Homeowners, whose ponds are on the tour, have installed their water features to enhance the enjoyment of their backyard. Ponds provide soothing water trickling sounds, a variety of plants and fish that entertain: a soothing sensory experience. "If you go looking for your heart’s desire, you won’t have to go looking any further than you own backyard," says Joe Salerno, pond owner and water gardening enthusiast.

The Parade of Ponds will offer visitors a chance to experience the natural tranquility and beauty of a variety of water features. The ponds vary in size and shape to fit diverse backyard spaces. Visitors will see small, medium and large ponds that include water features such as waterfalls, streams and fountains. Plants include water lilies, lotus, cattails, iris and papyrus. Most pond owners find that fish enhance the garden pond and provide year-round pets that live safely in the water. These all-natural ponds incorporate the surrounding landscaping requiring minimum maintenance but delivering maximum enjoyment year round.

Garden Ponds and Landscaping is a local business that specializes in pond design, building and maintenance. Information about water gardening, pond installation and fish health will be available on the Parade of Ponds. Pond owners will be available to answer questions at each stop. Two sculptured brass herons will be given away to a lucky POP visitor who registers for the drawing at the first stop of the tour. This first annual Parade of Ponds is sponsored by Turf Equipment and Supply of Frankford, Delaware.

If there is rain on Saturday, September 18, the Parade Of Ponds will take place on Sunday, September 19. Tickets are available at the Rehoboth Beach Chamber of Commerce, the Lewes Chamber of Commerce, Martin’s Garden Center or by sending a check with your name and address to Garden Ponds and Landscaping at 35677 Cutter Court, Lewes, Delaware 19958.

Garden ponds bring peace, tranquility and pleasure to any setting just as the Parade of Ponds offers visitors one more way to enjoy the Cape region.

Lewes Artists’ Studio Tour

Eleven artists at eight locations in and around Lewes are preparing for an open studio tour to take place on Saturday, September 18, from 10 p.m. to 4 p.m. The tour presents a unique opportunity to visit the working environments of regionally and nationally acclaimed local artists and to wander the streets, galleries, and upscale shops of beautiful and historic Lewes—a mecca for artists.

Veterans of past studio tours are Breck Stringer, a well-known marine water-colorist who paints in his home studio on Red Mill Pond. Other acclaimed artists returning to the tour include: Aina Nergaard-Nammack, an acrylic landscape and figurative painter, who creates simplified shapes with saturated acrylic colors; Barbara Petterson who paints very real oil and acrylic beach people and coastal themes; and Julie Molyneux who creates local landscapes in oils produced and exhibited in her new and expanded studio/gallery.

The studio tour is free and open to all who would like to meet the artists and see them at work. Brochures showing the location of each studio will be available at the Saxon Swan, the Nichol Gonzon Gallery, and the Zwaanendael Gallery, all situated on Second Street, and the Lewes Chamber of Commerce on Kings Highway.

Gold’s Gym Challenge 2004
The grand prize winners were Andy Staton of Rehoboth Beach and Sarah Lenkner of Rehoboth Beach. Fitness Challenge 2004 awards went to Jill McKinney of Dover, Barbara Black of Rehoboth, Mike Reese of Rehoboth, Julie Busanic of Ocean City, Bill Lucks of Rehoboth, Bill Mann of Rehoboth, and Doug Thompson of Dover.

LOVE 2004 Check Presented
LOVE Chair Bill Alldredge presents payouts totaling $35,000 to SCAC President John Speicher, SCAC Executive Director Steve Twilley, and CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Steve Elkins.

Rehoboth Tennis Open a Success

The first annual Rehoboth Beach Open tennis tournament ended on Sunday, August 8, after raising $5,000 for its charity beneficiaries.

"We are thrilled to be the largest open tournament in the state of Delaware," said Rich Williams, Tournament Director for the Rehoboth Beach Open.