This is the July 12 issue of Letters from CAMP Rehoboth, and number nine in our 29th season of publishing this magazine. This is also our food issue. Editors Fay Jacobs and Mary Shockley explored the food of the Boardwalk—and survived to write about it! In our Health and Wellness column, Marj Shannon offers a healthier approach to summertime eating.▽
After July 4th, the pace of the summer always quickens. Sundance now looms large on the horizon in front of us, and Labor Day weekend will be here before we can say “ultraviolet disco day-glo sunrise.” This is the 32nd Sundance. It is the biggest party of the summer season—our biggest dance party of the year. It is CAMP Rehoboth’s biggest fundraising event of the year. The money it raises allows us to continue our work to build a safe and healthy community and to ensure the fair and equitable treatment of everyone, no matter their sexual orientation or gender identity. Sundance is a success because of the support of the people in our community. Please sign up to be a sponsor, supporter, or host of Sundance right now.▽
On June 24, the newly rebranded CAMP Rehoboth Council of Advocates gathered community volunteers to discuss plans for the future and to enlist their services. Once known as the CAMP Rehoboth Council of Elders, the group supports local students and families by focusing on four volunteer areas: mentors, family support, speakers, and policy advocacy. Council members Batya Hyman, Linda Gregory, Sal Seeley, and Mark Purpura provide leadership in each of the four areas. “I was very impressed with the people who came to the meeting,” Council convener Beth Cohen said to me later. So was I. A second informational meeting is planned for July 15 at 6 p.m. at the Lewes Public Library. Email salvatore@camprehoboth.com for more information.▽
In the previous issue of Letters from CAMP Rehoboth, I mentioned meeting Salisbury, Maryland’s PFLAG leaders Michele Schlehofer and Mark Delancey. At the time, I invited them to come to Rehoboth to have a conversation about possible ways we could collaborate. On June 27, the three of us, along with CAMP Rehoboth Health and Wellness Program Director Sal Seeley and PFLAG Rehoboth co-chair Batya Hyman, sat down at CAMP Rehoboth to chat. I left those discussions with two thoughts. First, outside of the progressive bubble that surrounds the coastal communities of Delaware, there is a tremendous need for CAMP Rehoboth to provide resources and training opportunities for other communities looking to develop LGBTQ support groups and programs. Second, I was reminded once again that CAMP Rehoboth has been a success because our community is able to draw upon an abundant supply of talent, resources, and financial support that comes to us from the major cites of the mid-Atlantic region. As an LGBTQ resort community, we have had opportunities not available to other communities on the Delmarva Peninsula. We don’t have to expand CAMP Rehoboth to other communities. We do need to mentor budding organizations in those communities.▽
Also in our previous issue, our cover featured three of the cast members from Mamma Mia! at Clear Space Theatre. The day of the photoshoot, I had barely gotten them arranged on one of the lifeguard stands—and there was still blue sky in front of us—when suddenly the bottom fell out as the saying goes. We dashed for cover in the nearby Grotto’s Pizza. Their costumes, along with the American flags they were holding to make sure it was an appropriate July 4th cover shot, made them look like Betsy Ross and the Supremes! My thanks to all three of the performers from Clear Space, as well as the actors who pitched in to make our Sundance video promo, and especially to Artistic Director David Button for always making our collaborations possible.▽
A quick reminder for the rest of the summer: 1. Sign up to support Sundance and the Sundance Racing Festival. 2. Buy a ticket to The Kinsey Sicks. 3. Save August 11 for Bachelor Auction 2019. Happy summer!▽