With this issue of Letters from CAMP Rehoboth we are two-thirds of the way through our 2018 publishing calendar—only two more summer issues to go, and then back to our monthly schedule in September. Over the summer we have made a variety of changes to the publication, both in the way it looks and in the way it is produced. I am especially excited by the changes to our arts and entertainment pages because arts programing is vital to our community and to our organization. Beginning in early August and for most of the month (August 3-26), the CAMP Rehoboth Gallery will feature the work of the 2018 Delaware Division of the Arts Individual Artist Fellows. On August 9, come and meet the artists at the Award Winners Reception, and see performances by selected Fellows.▼
This is also, as far as I can remember, our first official “entertainment” issue. On the cover, we got a hand from our friends down the street at Clear Space Theatre. How could we resist? Frank N. Furter and Mary Poppins together at last! Be sure and check out our feature on Rehoboth’s entertainers, plus a conversation with Clear Space Artistic Director David Button and a couple of this summer’s cast members.
Every year with a city election, CAMP Rehoboth invites the candidates to participate in the Letters from CAMP Rehoboth Candidate Forum. This summer, three candidates are running for two seats, and all three candidates in this year’s City Commissioner’s race—Dick Byrne, Pat Coluzzi, and Gary Glass—responded to our questions. CAMP Rehoboth also partners with the Rehoboth Beach Homeowner’s Association to present a Candidate Forum at the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center.▼
In recent issues we have had more than one article on the devastation that single use plastic is having on the waters of our world. Both articles focused attention on the millions of plastic straws being used every day—yes, 500,000,000 every day, in the US alone! So far this summer, my requests at many local establishments to omit the straw have largely fallen on deaf ears. The habit of opening a straw and sticking it in every glass sent to a table is often so habitual, even after repeated requests, we still get them. Though there are a few area restaurants leading the way forward on this, we can all pitch in: just say no to plastic straws!▼
So far we are getting a very positive response to our decision to add Studio 54/Saint DJ Robbie Leslie to the line-up for Sundance, and quite a few of our Hosts, Supporters, and Sponsors are looking forward to his Disco Twilight Tea at the beginning of the second night of Sundance (7-9:45 pm). Back in our New York days, Steve and I loved Robbie’s White Parties at The Saint. I’ll never forget the Saint’s 48 hour closing party in 1988—the list of Saint DJs was impressive and long and that event legendary. Robbie played the all-important closing set of the party. “In the Name of Love” was the third to last song he played. “In the Name of Love” is the theme of this year’s Sundance in memory of Steve. Interestingly, the Saint closed in 1988, and The Strand opened on Rehoboth Avenue that same year—and the first Sundance was the first big event in that space. One more bit of trivia: the last song Robbie played at the closing party? Jimmy Ruffin’s “Hold on to My Love,” also a beloved song at The Strand in that never-to-be-forgotten summer of 1988.▼
Maybe it is Steve’s death, maybe just the maturing of the LGBTQ community in Rehoboth Beach, but I keep finding myself in conversations about the history of our community. Part of it, I’m happy to say, involves the new permanent collection at the Rehoboth Museum—and the ongoing LGBTQ history discussions taking place this month. More and more I’m intrigued by the idea that we need to gather personal stories from members of our community while we still can. Interested in exploring that idea? Please contact me at CAMP Rehoboth.▼