The Big Boo! Is Coming
There’s pretty much nothing gayer than Rehoboth Beach and environs at Halloween.
It’s one of our biggest LGBTQ holidays. Oh, I know it isn’t official, but heck, our gay nation always does it up right.
As my friend Murray Archibald once wrote about gays embracing Halloween, “Maybe that’s because for much of our history we’ve had to wear masks and hide in the dark behind closet doors in order to survive.”
Well, we do have a natural predilection for both celebrating anything interesting and dressing up for it. It all makes for a joyous Halloween at the beach.
Despite the restrictions COVID might present this year, I think we can all celebrate safely and keep up our traditions. Hey, masks are required!!!! And the easiest way to take part is to sashay up and down the second block of Baltimore Avenue and all of downtown on Halloween weekend, drop by the myriad of parties in progress, sip an adult beverage or two, and applaud all the creativity.
Which brings me to an important caution as you plan your costumes. Whatever your costume, leave your hands free and available to hold a cocktail or have an appetizer. One year I went as Captain Hook and while I could hold a drink in one hand, Peter Pan had to feed me.
Who remembers when Teletubby Tinky Winky was making the American Family Association apoplectic? They were sure that purple character who carried a purse was gay. I showed up at a favorite watering hole dressed as little Tinky and there were five of us there. All the Tinkies were queer, here, and the American Family Association never got over it.
In the quest for creativity, revelers show up in the most inventive, divine outfits. Onlookers snap photos and the whole spookily lit downtown is alive celebrating the Day of the Dead, All Hallows Day, and whatever other excuse there is to belly up to the bar, brunch, or the dance floor.
Coming up Halloween weekend of course is the RB Sea Witch® Festival where children of all ages (I see no good reason to act my age) show up on Saturday as witches, monsters, zombies, and other creative characters. There are literally thousands of participants in the parade plus onlookers and folks out for fun. Later in the day, youngsters go trick-or-treating downtown, and the whole municipality glows orange.
The Sea Witch Festival covers two days as the eagerly awaited dog parade takes place at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Doggie parents and costumed contestants gather up by the Henlopen Hotel on the Boardwalk for the parade to the bandstand. It’s undoubtably one of Rehoboth’s biggest annual events.
So how do our local restaurants get involved? Our friends at Rigby’s are open for brunch on Sea Witch Saturday, while over at The Pines and Aqua the two venues are bookending a Halloween Party on October 30. The Pines has a Wizard of Oz-themed costume contest (of course they do!) and also an interactive Rocky Horror Show on the 29th (tix required). The Purple Parrot always has a big costume gathering and Diego’s is planning an October 30 Halloween Bash. Meanwhile, on October 29, Port 251 has its Nighttime Drag Extravaganza to add to the fun.
Getting ready for it all, I am combing through my Halloween stash in the shed, and depending on what I find, I may have to drop over to the Halloween Pop-up store along Route One.
Face it, growing older is mandatory but growing up is not. The rumor is that if you haven’t matured by age 70 you don’t have to. I’ll drink to that, especially if I’m in a hands-free costume.
Happy Halloween. ▼
Fay Jacobs is the author of five published books and is touring with her one-woman sit-down comedy show, Aging Gracelessly.