LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
Business Beat |
by Barry Becker |
It was our Fabulous First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton herself who coined the phrase It Takes a Village. I never read her book of the same title, so I dont really know what she was talking about, but I do know it takes a village to put together some of the fabulous events that will take place in Rehoboth in the weeks ahead. The 11th annual Sundance benefit over Labor Day and the inaugural Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival in November are two prime examples. Behind the vision and the steady, hard work of countless volunteers, there is a village of support and encouragement from the local business community that helps make these events possible. Take SUNDANCE, for example. Local businesses that have signed up as $1,000 Sponsors for SUNDANCE 98 include: ABIZAK'S, BAD HAIR DAY, BEACH ESSENTIALS (new to town this year, but already involved), BLUE MOON, CLOUD 9, CONFETTI'S ROOFTOP RESTAURANT (also new to the local restaurant scene), COMMUNITY PRIDE FINANCIAL ADVISORS, IMPERIAL TRANSPORT, L. A. CONNECTION, LAMBDA RISING, Carole and Sara of WOODEN INDIAN (also donating 2 Waterford martini glasses and cocktail shaker for the auction), and the new and hopping YUM YUM PAN ASIAN BISTRO. (The SUNDANCE 98 ad on page 9 has a complete list of the Sponsors.) Donations for the Auction on September 5 began trickling in earlier this month, and the actual solicitation has just begun. Last year eager participants bid more than $50,000 at the action-packed auction to help support the Sussex County AIDS Committee and CAMP Rehoboth. Several hundred items are expected this year. Of course, everyone is wondering how SOMETHING SPECIAL, ABIZAK'S, THE KAMBER GROUP and, of course, BILL GOLDSTEIN can out-do themselves from last year, where their items set off a bidding frenzy that just made me dizzy. In the next issue we'll update you on some of the exciting items up for bid. For more information on Sundance, or to donate an item for the auction, please call CAMP Rehoboth at 302-227-5620. Meanwhile, Rehoboth's entree into the film festival circuit has created quite the buzz, and promises to add a rich depth to the cultural scene here. Slated for November 13-15, with an Opening Gala to knock your socks off on Thursday, November 12, the festival will be held at all six theaters of the Rehoboth Mall Cinema. Award winning films are being booked from around the world and around the corner. Dozens and dozens of businesses in the area have been sporting those playful festival posters in their windows since the Fourth of July (thank you very much!). Many more have joined as advertisers, film sponsors, or festival sponsors. Again, a troop of hard working volunteers is spearheading this effort, with great help from the business community. Big kudos to CAMP REHOBOTH itself for being a media sponsor of the festival through Letters, a huge and vital contribution to getting word out about the event. Joyce Felton of the BLUE MOON is overseeing catering for the Opening Gala, which is being sponsored by the BOTTLE & CORK in Dewey Beach. A diverse array of local businesses are also on board, such as Letters' supporters CP DIVER (so you know where to shop if you need new wheels) and the exquisitely authentic French bistro CAFE PAPILLON. RIO MINING has more than great jewels, they have enough sense to advertise in the festival program, which will be distributed throughout Delaware and surrounding areas at the end of October (all 10,000 copies of them). Our wonderful local realtor friend AUSTIN CLAYTON is a big supporter of the festival, as is DC real estate mogul BRUCE MAJORS, also a big film fan. Fest organizers are thrilled not only to have SPLASH supporting the festival, but to have one of its owners, Bill Sievert, serve on the Board with his years of invaluable experience. Then there's ABIZAK'S of course, which we all know has some of the most killer furniture and home furnishings in Delaware, as a major sponsor. The-getting-ever-cooler EARTHLY WONDERS is on board, as is the luscious ANYTHING GOES. Massage gurus such as GREG MYERS and the great team of Kathleen Donelan and Konrad Noebel at the REHOBOTH HOLISTIC CENTER are eager supporters of the festival, and why not? Imagine all those craned necks and stiff backs after sitting through all those fabulous films (at last count, about 100 programs between the Mall and video programs in town). If I mentioned THE REHOBOTH BEACH PHARMACY and LAMBDA RISING, I would still only be at the beginning of the list. Stay tuned. And don't despair that the festival program is already sold out of advertisement space three months before the event. You can still sponsor a film for $100, which means your business name/logo (or your name, if you are an individual sponsor) will go next to the description and photo of the film you are sponsoring. That means you can introduce the film, talk about your business, give things away, create some excitement. Call the fest hotline at 302-226-3744 to find out how you can still get involved! If you patronized all these wonderful businesses that are working together to build a great and diverse community here (which we hope you will do), you would be well clothed, well fed, have a fabulously decorated home, and you would feel marvelous! Not only can you shop at some of Rehoboth's finest stores and find exquisite things you simply cannot live without, you can also know that these same businesses are giving back to the community in a big way. So, as you're out shopping, thank these business leaders for all they do to make a better Rehoboth. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 8, No. 11, August 14, 1998. |