Now that Memorial Day Weekend is behind us, high season in Rehoboth Beach is officially underway. Thinking about the beginning of the Rehoboth summer season takes me back to the very first time that Murray and I came to Rehoboth together to share a beach house with friends. The year was 1981, and we were young and filled with anticipation about what the summer held in store for us. We weren’t disappointed, and it was the start of many beautiful friendships and a love affair with a place that quickly felt like home. Like many folks who now live full time in the Rehoboth Beach area, some of our best memories come from those early beach house years throughout the 1980s, filled as they were with an almost mystical feeling that summer really was endless.
June is now widely recognized as Gay Pride Month, though at the time of publication of this issue of Letters we do not have any confirmation as to whether our current president will or will not follow in the path of his predecessors, and make it official. In this issue, Fay Jacobs in her column titled “March On! It’s been a long time in the trenches…,” looks back at the history of Pride and reminds us that “we’ve still got our t-shirts, our banners, [and] our resolve.” CAMP Rehoboth has a bus going to the Equality March for Unity and Pride on June 11 that is already full, but we do have a wait list, and if there is enough interest, we’ll add another bus. Go to pridemarchondc. eventbrite.com and click the tickets button to be added to the list.
So far there is good news out of Dover regarding SB65, the bill that would ban conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth in Delaware: the bill has passed the Delaware Senate with bipartisan support, and now goes to the House. On June 7, the Delaware House Health and Human Development Committee will hold a hearing on the legislation. I plan to be there to speak out in favor of its passage.
One of the resources that we have at the CAMP Rrehoboth Community Center is a library. We are still grateful to Tony Burns for underwriting the cost of the shelving, and donating his remarkable collection of Rehoboth photos to us back when the library first opened. Almost all of the books in our library have been donated by members of our community, so many, in fact, that in recent years we have not been able to accept many books because we were out of space. However, in order to balance library resources, we are now seeking additional books for or about the transgender community. At the same time, we are also seeking volunteers with library experience to help inventory and maintain the space. For information contact Monica Parr in the CAMP Rehoboth office.
On may 24, the Sundance 2017 Host and Sponsor appeal forms were mailed, and we are now signing up support for this year’s extravaganza on Labor Day weekend. Sundance is our biggest event of the year, and plays an important role in the funding of CAMP Rehoboth. Please consider signing up to support Sundance this year—plus, this is the 30th anniversary for the event! Forms should be returned to CAMP Rehoboth as soon as possible or even better, simply go to camprehoboth.com and take care of it all online. Sundance 2017—Rainbow XXX: Solar NRG is a two-night event. Saturday, September 2, from 7-10 p.m., is the silent and live auction (with auctioneer Lorne Crawford!), a cocktail buffet by Plate Catering, and an open bar all night. Sunday, September 3, from 8 p.m.-2 a.m., is the dance party with music by DJ/Remixer Joe Gauthreaux, lights by Paul Turner, and an open bar.
Con’t forget the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center is open seven days a week throughout the summer season. If we can be of any assistance call or stop by and see us, or visit camprehoboth.com, or follow us on Facebook.