Tourism 101
Ever notice how folks rarely take advantage of what’s in their own backyard? When I lived in NYC I never went anywhere unless I had out-of-town visitors, and didn’t see the Grand Canyon until after I moved back to Denver from Las Vegas.
Now, here in Rehoboth, it took a visit from my sister to get the bikes out, finally, and experience the entire glorious trail from Gordon’s Pond into Lewes and back home on the Junction and Breakwater. So, it’s now my duty to make you act like you don’t live here, pretend you’re a visitor, go downtown when it’s most crowded, and do something you typically would do only in the off season.
See a show, stroll through a gallery, hear one of the great free concerts at the bandstand…just get out and do something! You can even wear a shabby t-shirt and have a cocktail or two. All locations are Rehoboth Beach, unless otherwise noted.
Division of the Arts Makes a Big Impact
Having spent a good deal of my life creating and supporting art in the non-profit sector, I want to explain the importance of the Delaware Division of the Arts (DDOA). DDOA is a branch of the Delaware Department of State and is dedicated to cultivating and supporting the arts to enhance the quality of life for all Delawareans.
Locally, they provide General Operating Support to Clear Space Theatre Company, Rehoboth Art League, Rehoboth Beach Film Society, Rehoboth Concert Band, Rehoboth Summer Children’s Theatre, and the Southern Delaware Chorale. DDOA also provides Project Support to CAMP Rehoboth.
In fiscal year 2018, 107 grants were issued statewide totaling nearly $2.8 million. (That’s less than 1 percent of the $4.2 billion budget for the state.) Your individual donations and patronage of the arts is essential, but without the financial support of the DDOA, our little state would be nearly devoid of art in any form.
The following collaboration between CAMP Rehoboth and the Biggs Museum puts art from the 2018 Award Winners on exhibition in Sussex County. ▼
SPOTLIGHT ON THE ARTS
Artistic Inspiration
Currently on display in the CAMP Rehoboth Gallery are works by the Delaware Division of the Arts’ 2018 Award Winners. The creativity and talent of these artists was celebrated at a reception on August 9. The exhibit remains at the CAMP Rehoboth Gallery through August 26. Here’s information about a few more of the award-winning artists. Come by and experience their work. CAMP Rehoboth is open every day.
Jack Clemons is an aerospace engineer who told us, “I’m especially fascinated by the almost ‘Old West’ dynamism that abounded in Lewes at the turn of the 20th Century.” Clemons was a lead engineer on NASA’s Apollo and space shuttle programs, as well as a published science fiction writer and active member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. His historical fiction novel, The Outliers (set in turn of the 20th century Delaware and being circulated to publishers), explores “…the [1901] boom time in Lewes, when hordes of temporary laborers camped on the beach to construct the new inner breakwater for the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers.”
Ellen Durkan specializes in metal sculpting, a passion since her school years. She took a blacksmith assistantship and was “pretty much hooked after that.” Durkan was quoted as saying, “I forge metal gates; I just put them on the human form.” Her early work (influenced by clothing designer Alexander McQueen) began with stationary dress-form like structures that evolved into her current practice—creating metalwork designs for the human body. Durkan’s intriguing sculptural creations often pose psychological questions of trust, power and vulnerability: though the metal pieces make the wearer feel strong, “they offer no physical protection like traditional armor.” Her constant challenge is manipulating the metal to allow it to sit correctly and comfortably on the human body.
Kevin Bielicki is a sculptor who creates work which can exist on a wall, (though they are often monumental, large-scale pieces) using repetitive ribbon-like forms as a method of expressing movement and the passage of time. Bielicki believes that, “Nature surrounds us; it is us, and it connects us to one another”—a statement which holds true in his art and in his role as the curator of the bonsai collection at Longwood Gardens.
Bielicki’s work channels his interest in the natural world through the forces of growth, tension, and gravity. In addition to his fascination with “the vast scale of nature and the universe,” Kevin is also surprisingly influenced by the small, delicate, and intimate forms of bonsai.
Rob Waters has been drawn to movie making since the age of 10, and made his first “real” short in 2010, (accepted by a local festival, while another short film won a national award in 2014), and “Since then, I’ve been hooked on creating short films.” He elaborated saying, “Every [film I] shoot is different, and it rarely goes as planned. But it’s the challenge that makes me love it. I really enjoy figuring out dilemmas in the moment.”
A child of the 80’s, Waters found inspiration in the works of film legends like Stephen Spielberg and John Carpenter, and is planning to achieve a life-long goal—creating his first feature-length film this year.
Sufficiently enticing? The CAMP Rehoboth Gallery is open 9a.m.-5p.m. Monday-Friday, 9a.m.-4p.m. Saturdays, and 10a.m.-4p.m. on Sunday.
PERFORMING ARTS
Clear Space Theatre Company (20 Baltimore Avenue; 302-227-2270) has their summer repertory season: Footloose, Mary Poppins, and The Rocky Horror Show (Monday - Saturday), the Delaware Comedy Theatre’s post-show, The Late-R Night Show (August 18 & 25), their Summer Children’s Theatre (11a.m. Saturdays), or sign up your “star of tomorrow” for one of their outstanding summer camps.
Freeman Stage (31750 Lake View Drive, Selbyville; 800-840-9227) is an open-air venue offering a fantastic mix of shows: August 10: Cheap Trick; August 11: An Evening with Vince Gill; August 16: Voodoo Threauxdown featuring Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue; August 17: Step Afrika!; August 18: Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox; August 19: Soja; August 23: First State Ballet; August 24: Footloose (Clear Space); August 25: Locals Under the Lights; August 30: As You Like It; August 31: An Evening with Michael Bolton. They also have several FREE family shows on Saturday mornings and week nights.
Premier Centre for the Arts at Milton Theater (110 Union St., Milton; 302-684-3038) “Keeps Milton weird!” August 11: Peek-a-Boo Revue (18+ only); August 17/18: The Calamari Sisters in “Beat Until Stiff”; August 23: Psychic Medium Deanna Fitzpatrick (matinee); Kirtan: Transcendental Jam Session (evening); August 24: Branson on the Road; August 25: Men in Motion (18+ only); August 31: The Best of Broadway with Eddie Bruce.
Rehoboth Beach Bandstand (Rehoboth Avenue and the Atlantic Ocean; 302-644-2288) celebrates their 56th season—August 10: Dance Candy; August 11: The B-Street Band; August 12: Boathouse Row; August 17: U.S. Navy Cruisers; August 18: U.S. Army Jazz Ambassadors; August 19: The British Invasion Experience; August 24: Larger Than Life—the Ultimate Boyband Tribute; August 25: Peter Johann Band; August 26: Flatland Drive; August 31: The Fabulous Hubcaps. All concerts begin at 8 p.m.
Rehoboth Beach Film Society (17701 Dartmouth Drive in Lewes, 302-645-9095) screens the best new Independent films at their Cinema Art Theatre. Check their website for updates and show times.
Rehoboth Summer Children’s Theatre (in residence at Epworth UMC; 19285 Holland Glade Road; 302-227-6766) has Cinderella, Androcles and the Lion, and Aladdin. Their weekly Theatre and Film/TV camps run through August 24.
Stango Park Concerts (Kings Highway, next to the Lewes Library) offers FREE concerts every Tuesday: August 14: Free Range; August 21: Conley & Watson; August 28: U.S. Navy Band Sea Chanters (at Cape Henlopen High School). Bring a chair!
VISUAL ARTS
Abraxas Studio of Art (515 Federal Street, Lewes; 302-645-9119) features the oil portraits and landscape paintings of Abraxas and his own style of illuminated reality.
Anna Hazzard Museum (17 Christian Street, 302-226-1119) is a captivating look at the early history of Rehoboth Beach as a religious retreat. The museum is housed in one of the original “tent” houses from Rehoboth’s 1870s camp-meeting era and is named for former owner and civic leader, Anna Hazzard.
CAMP Rehoboth Gallery (37 Baltimore Avenue; 302-227-5620) features Delaware Division of the Arts 2018 Award Winners (through August 26). On display September 2 - 25, with a reception Saturday, September 22 (4:30 - 6:30 p.m.) is Scratched—presented in conjunction with the Rehoboth Beach Bears Weekend, featuring works by area artists depicting the bear/cub community.
Cape Artists Gallery (110 W. 3rd St., Lewes; 302-644-7733) represents two dozen artists, with much of their work focusing on beach scenes.
Delaware Art Gallery (239 Rehoboth Avenue; 302-853-5099) offers new and classic Delaware photographs by Kevin Fleming.
Gallery 50 Contemporary Art and Frame Shop (50 A-B Wilmington Avenue; 302- 227-2050) features a variety of artworks in painting, jewelry, glass, sculpture, ceramics, mixed media, and mobiles, as well as special events. On display August 17 - 26, Reflections by Gary Fisher. Opening reception August 17, 5:30-8 p.m.
Heidi Lowe Gallery (328 Rehoboth Avenue; 302-227-9203) has beautiful and unique hand-made pieces (including wedding rings!) and offers classes in jewelry making.
Painting With a Twist (17723 Coastal Highway; 302-313-5769) offers painting classes and “pARTies” for all occasions.
Peninsula Gallery (520 E. Savannah Rd., Lewes; 302-645-0551) presents the Coastal Camera Club Juried Exhibition—through August 26.
Rehoboth Art League (12 Dodds Lane in Henlopen Acres; 302-227-8408) has a fantastic schedule of classes—pottery to pen and ink technique to jewelry making…something for everyone. Current exhibitions: Preservation Matters—over 700 pieces in RAL’s Permanent Collection, and the conservation efforts to maintain the collection—in the Marcia and Henry DeWitt Gallery (through September 6); The 45th Annual Outdoor Fine Arts and Fine Crafts Show continues August 11 - 12 and is not to be missed. Check their website for a complete schedule of exhibits, salons, gallery talks, and summer camps.
Rehoboth Beach Museum (511 Rehoboth Avenue at the Canal, 302-227-7310) has nearly completed renovations to their second floor and revamping of the permanent collection exhibits, and reopens soon! In the meantime, they still have some great walking tours of the area and fascinating lectures.
Stuart Kingston (One Grenoble Place; 302-227-2524) is an auction house and retail store offering fine art and home furnishings.
The Bach Porch Café (59 Rehoboth Ave.; 302-227-3674) New Work 2018 by Rodney Cook (rodcook.us) July 19 - August 16.
The Brush Factory on Kings (830 Kings Hwy., Lewes; 302-745-2229) an artist/craft co-op: furniture, art, clothing, antiques, sea glass, decoys, vintage garden, books, home goods, candles, and more.
The Studio on 24 (20231 John J. Williams Highway, Lewes; 302-644-4424) is open during the summer by appointment only with owner and artisan Deb Appleby’s custom made glassware.
Tideline Gallery (146 Rehoboth Avenue; 302-227-4444) offers unique gifts, jewelry, pottery, and art glass.
Ward Ellinger Gallery (CAMP Rehoboth Courtyard, 39 Baltimore Avenue; 302-227-2710) features art in different mediums by abstract expressionist Ward Ellinger and Sondra N. Arkin.
Zwaanendael Museum (102 Kings Highway, Lewes; 302-645-1148) commemorates Delaware’s first European colony, established by the Dutch in 1631, and serves as a showcase for the Lewes area’s maritime, military, and social history. ▼
Doug is the Artistic and Musical Director for CAMP Rehoboth Chorus, Director of Music Ministries at Epworth UMC, and co-founder and Artistic Director emeritus of the Clear Space Theater Company. Email Doug Yetter to add events to the calendar.
Images: Ellen Durkin, Kevin Bielicki, Deb Appleby
CAMP Rehoboth Arts Programs are supported, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes Delaware arts events on DelawareScene.com
