LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
CAMP Matters |
by Murray Archibald |
Love's Theme in Red, White & Lavender? I love a good theme. So do most gay men, it seems. Maybe there's a theme gene closely related to the gay gene. (The gay gene connected to the, theme gene...the theme gene connected to the, drag gene...the drag gene connected to the, leather jean...) Get the picture? (That's sung to the tune of "Drybones," by the way. Anyway, what's not to love about a theme? The 4th of July comes with a built-in onemore than one, actuallyred, white and blue; stars and stripes; fireworks; and any combination of the three. Back in the days when we used to host the big parties at the Strand, we did a July 4th Lavender Party. Get it? Red plus white plus blue equals...Lavender! I loved that one. Another year we did a Red Party on Friday, a White Party on Saturday, and a Blue Party on Sunday. That one about killed usin those days the Strand stayed open until dawn and then we had to redo the decorations for each evening. There was the T-Party (everything started with the letter "t") and Chains of Love (everyone was so weighted down by enormous chains we could barely shuffle our little dancing feet across that fabulous Strand dance floor. The first Sundance -- our big Labor Day Weekend bash -- long ago became the rainbow party. Every year, though, I have a lot of fun adding sub-themes and twisting it all up into something totally tongue-tying and altogether different for each of the 21 years leading up to this one. This year's theme, by Sundance standards, is relatively simple: Dawn of the Electric Rainbow Sun. Remember the movie To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar? The three drag queens' car breaks down in a little town in the middle of nowhere. In one scene they walk into a diner where the ladies of the town are planning the Strawberry Festival. "What do you think of when you think of strawberries?" Vida Boheme asks. "Red," one of the ladies answers. "Wild," says another. "Red and wild," that's your theme," the drag queens announce. The Strawberry Festival, of course, ends up being fabulous, and the three drag queens depart as heroes. Wondering what all the theme stuff is about? I'll try to explain. Themes to a designer -- be they in fashion, home furnishings, graphic design, or any other creative field -- are a tool for developing and organizing creative solutions. Inspiration for a designer comes from everything -- the cracks in the sidewalk, the grains of sand on the beach, the color of faded paint on the side of a barn. Those sources of inspiration become themes for the couturier's fashion show, paintings in a series of works for an artist, or an ad campaign for a graphic designer. A theme provides an outlinea shapefor an idea or a series of ideas. Though we toss off the themes for events as fun they actually provide organization and design solutions for both the event producers and its participants. Take the Black and White Beach Ball for instance. My choices of design were focused by the color theme; and the guests too, had it easy when choosing what to wear. Over the years, I've come to realize that building an organization is not that different from designing anything else. Instead of paints and colors, or patterns and textures we use mission and purpose, committees, teams, programs and events for our frame, our structure. Design is about finding a balance between form and function, it's about creating a clear message, it's about being efficient -- all of which could apply to the development of an organization as well. Looking back over the 20 year history of CAMP Rehoboth, we have been faithful to our mission and to our vision. Over all that time our "themes" continue to provide a clear guide for our direction and growthbuilding a place with "room for all," creating a more positive world, building a home that welcomes everyone and celebrates diversity. At the heart of it all, of course, is a desire to create more love in a world that needs all the love it can get. This holiday weekend the theme for us is not red or white or even lavenderit's loveand a whole lotta love at that! My guess is, that's a theme we can all love. Pictured are two Strand party posters from the 1990s that predate the Love Weekend as we know it today. The first is from the Summer Love Party, Memorial Day Weekend (1992). The other is from the Chains of Love Party (1991). Recognize the model? It's a very young Rob Dick, the longtime Blue Moon bartender, now at Dos Locos on Rehoboth Avenue. The photo, by the way, was shot by Barb Kenny who went on to become a White House photographer for Bill Clinton and then traveled with Hilary Clinton during her 2008 presidential campaign. Murray Archibald, Founder and President of the Board of Directors of CAMP Rehoboth, is an artist in Rehoboth Beach. Thank you to all the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center Volunteers for the period of June 19-July 2. Sondra Arkin Carl Armideo Cathin Bishop Tony Burns Harvey Chasser Ron Childress Arthur Dochterman Ward Ellinger Michael Fetchko Corky Fitzpatrick Kathy Fitzpatrick Karen Gustafson Allen Jarmon Mike Kelly Spencer Kingswell Charlie Lee Chelsey Leffet Otis Marechaux Dave McDonald Joanne McDonald Anthony Perkins Keith Petrack Deb Qualey Barb Ralph Judy Rosenstein Chris Sampson Laura Simon Steve Strasser Ron Tate Rainbow Thumb Club* Matt Carey Ward Ellinger Rob Freeman Tony Ghigi Steve Hoult Bill Jones Danny Martin Bud Palmer Stephen Palmer Ken Reilly Tom White |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 19, No. 08 July 03, 2009 |