We awoke on June 12 to the tragic news of a mass shooting in a gay nightclub in Orlando—the worst mass shooting on US soil in history. That news shocked the world, and stunned the LGBT community. Not knowing what else to do, CAMP Rehoboth quickly organized a vigil in the CAMP Rehoboth Courtyard to show our love and support for the victims and their families and friends. It was a time for our local community to come together and share our tears of sadness, to let go of our anger, and to pray for peace and an end to violence. Most of all, it was a time for the 200 participants to simply be together in our shared grief. My thanks to all the leaders and pastors who came together to share the experience with us, and especially to our speakers: Rabbi Beth Cohen (Seaside Jewish Community Center), Reverends Vicky Starnes and Pat Loughlin (Epworth Methodist Church), Rev. Max Wolf (All Saints’ Episcopal Church), Delaware House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, and CAMP Rehoboth’s Murray Archibald. Our hearts are broken; our spirits are not.
Because the Stonewall riots took place in late June, this month has become, in many places, the time to celebrate gay pride. There are exceptions, of course, including our own state—Delaware Pride takes place in Dover on August 6—but for the most part, June is still considered Pride Month. Most of the Rehoboth feeder, major metropolitan areas have Pride events in June, or at least in the early half of the summer. Capitol Pride in DC is June 1-12; Philly Pride is June 12; NYC is June 20-29. Baltimore celebrates closer to mid-summer, July 19-24. See CAMP Matters for more on Pride month.
It is old news by now thatSundance 2016 will be held in the atrium of the Rehoboth Mall (due to construction and renovation at the Convention Center). Though it certainly involves more work for us in preparation for the big event on Labor Day weekend, we are excited about the possibilities. Over the 29 years that we have been producing the Sundance benefit, our tech and production people have become a big part of the Sundance family, and on June 7, they all took time to travel to Rehoboth and join Murray for a site visit to begin the process of assessing what needs to be done to turn that almost deserted interior space into a spectacular and once-in-a-lifetime event. I think it’s safe to say, at this point, that we will need even more volunteers, hosts, and sponsors than usual to make all this happen, so don’t wait to sign up. Sponsor, Supporter, Host and all ticket level packages are available at camprehoboth.com. This is going to be a fun event!
Several years ago, CAMP Rehoboth developed an Annual and a Premier Annual Sponsorship Program to give our big supporters the opportunity to participate in all the CAMP Rehoboth events throughout the year—and to make it a “one stop shopping” kind of experience. This summer we are very pleased to welcome The Double L Bar as a Premiere Annual Sponsor of CAMP Rehoboth. Congratulations to Terry Snoddy and Tim Drabic on their new ownership of the Double L, and a big word of thanks for their amazing support of CAMP Rehoboth and our community. Look for more about them and their plans for the Double L in a future issue of Letters from CAMP Rehoboth. Thank you, as well, to those who continue to support us: Annual Premier—Accent on Travel, Dos Locos, and The Sea Bova Associates; Annual—Move2Rehoboth.com, Karen Gustafson, Outlet Liquors, and Signarama. Information about our Annual and Premier Annual Sponsorship levels and benefits are available by contacting me at CAMP Rehoboth. Email Steve
We are approaching the last chance to sign-up for the CAMP Rehoboth Family Pride CAMP, June 24-26. Tickets to the event are available on the CAMP Rehoboth website. Family Pride CAMP is sponsored by Rehoboth Breeze and Olivia Travel. The weekend includes special activities for kids and adults! Sign up today!