Is it really mid-July already? The summertime always seems to go by so fast! Now that the big July 4th weekend is past (and we survived a slight brush by the first hurricane of 2014), we’re well into high season in Rehoboth Beach—and Labor Day will be here before we know it. Our Letters’ cover photo (and feature story in this issue), celebrates the summer repertory season of Clear Space Theater on Baltimore Avenue. The Full Monty, Oliver!, and Sordid Lives (starring Christopher Peterson as Brother Boy), will be performed in rotation from now through the end of summer. Christopher’s The Best of the Rest of Eyecons can be seen, post-show on Saturday night, and at 9:30 p.m. on Sunday night. For performance details and reservations, visit the Clear Space website.
Labor Day in Rehoboth Beach, of course, means Sundance, and we’re in our final push for signing up Sponsors and Hosts for the event. The last day to sign up and still be included in all the printed materials is Sunday, July 20. To see a complete list of Sundance Sponsor and Host levels, see page 94 of this issue. From the very first Sundance (when we had only 21), Hosts have made the event possible, and they continue to do so today—plus it’s a great deal (tickets to both nights include an open bar, and a t-shirt). Over the next quarter century, we added Sponsors and Supporters and increased the number of levels in each category. This summer we are very excited to announce that BNY Mellon Wealth Management is back as Presenting Sponsor of Sundance 2014. We continue to be thankful, as well, for our amazing CAMP Rehoboth Annual Premier Sponsors: Karen Gustafson/Move2Rehoboth.com, and Sea Bova Associates; and our Annual Sponsors: Outlet Liquors, and Signarama.
Our thanks, once again, to the incredible hosts of the 6 Futcher Pool Party. Our little skirmish with the hurricane forced the party to move to its rain date on Saturday, July 5, but it certainly didn’t put a damper on the festivities. In fact, the day was gorgeous—as only the day after a storm has cleared out the air, can be. Thanks to the hard work of Mike DeFlavia and Tony Sowers and all the party’s hosts (see photos in CAMPshots), the Pool Party collected over $8,250 for CAMP Rehoboth. Our thanks to all who contributed!
Thanks to the hard work of Robert Thompson and Nancy Alexander, there’s an exhibit at the Rehoboth Beach Museum that celebrates and recognizes CAMP Rehoboth’s role in the history of our community. The exhibit features some old issues of Letters, the shovel used for breaking ground on the new CAMP Rehoboth Community Center, a pen that Governor Markell used there to sign the bill that added sexual orientation to non-discrimination legislation, and other Sundance and CAMP Rehoboth related memorabilia.
Sussex County Clerk of the Peace John Brady, who, by the way, has been a long-time friend of CAMP Rehoboth, shared some facts with us. Since he began conducting same sex marriages in Delaware in July 2013, there have been 880 marriages in Sussex County. That compares to 140 in Kent County and 1,020 in New Castle (which is more than twice the population of Sussex County). Revenue from all marriages in Sussex County was $215,000 (the year before gay marriage was legal, it was $129,000); expenditures were $140,000; resulting in a profit (for the first time ever) of $75,000.
As it has for the last several years, the Sundance Land and Sea (formerly known as the Sundance 5k), will kick off the week of Sundance—Sunday, August 24, 8 a.m. The event, produced by Seashore Striders, and benefitting CAMP Rehoboth, includes a 5k run, a one mile walk, a ½ mile swim, and a biathlon (½ mile swim and 5k run). Register for the event at seashorestriders.com.