LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
The Way I See It |
by Steve Elkins, Editor |
October 6-7 was Greyhound Weekend in the Rehoboth/Dewey area and despite the rain and high winds that threatened to spoil the fun, the dogs were out in forceand dressed for the occasion. By Sunday morning, however, the storm had passed and the beautiful weather, the Rehoboth Sidewalk Sale and, of course, the dogs provided a perfect excuse to stroll down the Avenue to visit the beach, boardwalk, shops, and restaurants. The Greyhound weekend is only the first of many shoulder season activities that make this time of year a great time to come to the beachstill to come: Halloween and the Sea Witch Festival; the Autumn Jazz Festival (see page 14); and the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival. Speaking of the Film Festivalsomething I love to do, of coursethe ninth annual Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival is scheduled for November 8-12. For many years now, CAMP Rehoboth has been a sponsor of the Film Festival because it's a great event, but even more importantly because of the way it brings diverse members of our community together to share in the experience. One of the best parts of the Festival is listening to the people around youin the big tent, in line for a film, or sitting in a theater waiting for a film to starttalk about what they've seen and how they felt about it. Our community is very lucky to have a film festival in the first place, but especially one of such high caliber. The best chance of getting a seat for the must-see films of the festival is to become a member of the Film Society. Membership levels come with varying degrees of benefits, including some that provide an opportunity to purchase advance tickets. See page 24 for a listing of films of special interest to the GLBT community. On the national scene, the Mark Foley scandal has everyonegay, straight, Democrats and Republicansfeeling uncomfortable and outraged by the hypocrisy of a man who would publicly enact legislation to protect children from sexual predators and then in private behave in such a questionable manner. Saddest of all, for the GLBT community, is that the scandal plays right into the hands of our opponents who like nothing better than to portray us as pedophiles, even though the facts do not back up their assertions. The truth is that healthy, gay people who are comfortable with themselves and their sexuality do not take advantage of vulnerable young people. On page 26, the former editor of the Washington Blade, Chris Crainin "What was Foley's fatal flaw?"explores the unhealthy distortion that comes from leading a double life. Back in Spring of 2001, following up on the work of the CAMP Rehoboth Project Advisory Committee's public workshops, a brochure was created to kick-off the newly conceived Founders' Circle of the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center Project. At the time CAMP Rehoboth was occupying a tiny 280 square foot space in the back corner of the CAMP Rehoboth courtyard. On the opening page of that red brochure we were to use so successfully for the next five years were the words: "Our dream is to expand CAMP Rehoboth into a full-service community center in downtown Rehoboth Beach. And that's what The CAMP Rehoboth Community Center Project will accomplish within the next five years." Thanks to the enormous support of our very generous Founders' Circle members that expansion has become a reality and within a year will become an even bigger reality. As the summer of 2007 comes to a close, construction will begin on Phase Two of the Community Center, which includes the courtyard redesign, kitchen, bathrooms and all important multipurpose room so necessary for large meetings, conferences, workshops, exhibitions, and intimate performances. The next 12 months will be very important and exciting ones for CAMP Rehoboth as we prepare for that expansion. My thanks to all the Founders' Circle members who helped us meet and surpass our goal. We look forward to seeing you at the Founders' Circle Workshop on October 21. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 16, No. 14 October 13, 2006 |