LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
EEK! We're Turning Into Our Grandmothers |
by Kelli Steele |
Imagine! Imagine entering a world decorated with balloons, inflatable fish, dolphins, and beach balls. As you walk around, you hear beach music playing and you notice that there are beach umbrellas and beach chairs set about. You also notice that some people are wearing brightly colored Hawaiian shirts, shorts, beach sandals and Hawaiian leis. You ask yourself, "Am I on Poodle Beach? North Shores?" The answer becomes clear quite quickly when you're handed a stack of bingo cards. You're at Bingo-A-Go-Go. Beach Blanket Bingo-A-Go-Go took place at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center, on Saturday, July 8th. Held in Rehoboth for the first time, Bingo-A-Go-Go raised money for AIDS Delaware, The Rainbow Chorale of Delaware, and Delaware Pride. And I'm proud to report (drum roll please) that each organization will be receiving a check for $2,012. A total of 350 tickets were sold for the "party," which raised a total of $6,036. "I'm very pleased that this amount of money was raised for each organization," said Allen Reese, President of AIDS Delaware. "We were hoping to sell at least 250 tickets and we easily exceeded those projections." Reese went on to say that, "the alcohol-free event was certainly an alternative form of entertainment for the beach that turned out to be very popular." He also said that each of the benefiting organizations is currently looking at the possibility of holding three such events in the summer of 2001. Now, getting back to the game... Over the course of 2 1/2 hours, 10 regular bingo games were played along with five special games. The event was emceed by drag queen Maxine Chambers. Each game was called by a different person, including Phil Cross, a member of the Delaware Liberty Fund Steering committee. Now normally, Bingo isn't necessarily a funny game, but when Phil dropped his ballsNOW YOU KNOW I'M TALKING ABOUT THE BINGO BALLSa chorus of laughter echoed from the crowd. Cash prizes, donated by Brandywine Counseling, Hadfield's Seafood, Rehoboth Beach Gayzette, Delaware Liberty Fund, Co-Bear Contracting, and Mark Macomber at Re/Max Realty, were handed out during the evening. Gift certificates from Total Pictures, pelican loft, Happy Harry's Discount Drug Store, Wild Child Cafe, Dr. Joseph Abate, Mallard Guest House, AmWay and Penn Presents were also awarded to game winners. Other prizes included a weekend hotel stay for two at the Sheraton Suites, four tickets to the Delaware Theatre Co., 10 long-distance phone cards from AT&T, and a weekend stay including a surf and turf champagne dinner at the Doubletree Suites Hotel. I say, "Not too shabby for a game that you thought only your grandparents played." Kelli Steele is a special events reporter for Letters from CAMP Rehoboth. If you know of events that you think our readers might find interesting, call CAMP Rehoboth, 227-5620 and let us know. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 10, No. 9, July 14, 2000. |