LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
In Brief |
Bingo at the Beach Benefits State Groups Get your tickets this weekend and tell your friends. On July 8, Bingo-A-Go-Go comes to the Rehoboth Convention Center. It's $10 and benefits Aids Delaware, Rainbow Chorale of Delaware, and Delaware Pride. Tickets are available in New Castle County through Aids Delaware, 652-6776, or from members of the Rainbow Chorale (888-512-5093) and in Rehoboth at the Pelican Loft on Baltimore Avenue, (302-226-5080). Doors open at 6 p.m. and the games start at 7 p.m. Food will be available for purchase. We will be selling tickets in the CAMP Rehoboth courtyard (where Lambda Rising's located) starting at 10 a.m. the day of the event. The theme is Beach Blanket Party. There will be special "bingo runners" that will include drag and guys in swim suits. The lovely Maxine Chambers presides. ACLU Lesbian/Gay Civil Rights Events The ACLU-DE Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights Project will be having two benefit events during the week of July 17-23. Both events are aimed at heightening awareness of LGBT civil rights efforts in Delaware and increasing membership and funding for the Project. The first event will be an evening of entertainment, music and dancing on Thursday, July 20 from 9 p.m. - 1 a.m. at ROAM Nightclub, 913 Shipley Street in Wilmington. The evening will include music and dancing with DJ Billy and entertainment by special guests Lena Ponit, Carmen Monoxide, Samantha Diamond and others. There will be a $5 cover charge with all door proceeds donated to the ACLU-DE Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights Project. Sunday, July 23, Yum-Yum Pan-Asian Bistro, 37 Wilmington Avenue in Rehoboth Beach, will host an Olympic-theme tea dance from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. There is a $3 suggested donation at the door, and again, all proceeds go to the ACLU-DE Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights Project. The Olympic party will also feature the men of Team Yum-Yum and a raffle for prizes. The Project will have information tables and volunteer staff at both events. "We're very excited about both of these events," said Debbie Gottschalk, Statewide Coordinator for the Civil Rights Project. "The staff and management at ROAM have always been supportive of the Project and it's great to be working with our new partners at Yum-Yum. We're extremely grateful to both businesses for their generous donations of time, money and energy." For information or to volunteer at these events, call Peter Medwick (ROAM party) at 302-421-9042 or email at medwick@pit.edu or Dan Fendler (Yum-Yum party) at 302-226-3049 or email at DanFendler@aol.com. Don't Ask, Don't Tell? Forget that. With the military's implementation of "Don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue," it is safe to say that the military is safe for gay personnel. Right? Another American: Asking and Telling, Marc Wolf's sensational one man show dealing with the treatment of gays in the military, is coming to the beach courtesy of Henlopen Theater Project. The show, starring Wolf as 18 characters and directed by Joe Mantello, has received the Obie Award and was nominated for the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award. The play was developed from over 400 hours of interviews that Wolf conducted with service members, pentagon officials, and families of gay servicemen and women. One of the most acclaimed elements of Another American is its complexityall sides of the debate are presented with thoroughness. Wolf portrays characters ranging from the mother of a murdered serviceman to a homophobic marine. Wolf says that the play is about "how America stereotypes the military community as much as it does the gay community." He adds, "You don't have to be a bigot or a terrible person to have some rational reasons" for opposing gays in the military. Another American is part of a relatively new genre of documentary theater. "These are good stories... why make something up?" says Wolf. Another American: Asking and Telling will be presented by HTP July 19 - 22 at the Little Theater at Cape Henlopen High School. Tickets are $15-$25. The opening night performance will benefit the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center Project with a "meet the star" reception at Celsius Restaurant following the performance. Another American is being underwritten by Shore Haus, CAMP Rehoboth, Rehoboth Beach Gayzette, and Celsius Restaurant. As the play contains adult situations and language, no one under 15 is allowed without a parent or guardian. For tickets, call 302-226-4103. Don't Forget to Wear Your Rubbers by Kelli Steele Don't Forget to Wear Your Rubbers. That was a "public service announcement" from the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, DC (GMCW) during a stellar performance at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center, on Saturday, June 24th. Actually, it was just one of several comedic songs performed by the 150 voice chorus. In the group's third Rehoboth appearance, members drew cheers of laughter from the audience with Don't Forget to Wear your Rubbers. As the song was being sung, six group members danced across the stage wearing bright yellow rain slickers, matching pants and rain boots (rubbers). They returned a few seconds later carrying cellophane-like umbrellas, twisting, twirling and finally popping them open like condoms being sprung from a package. Another song, Pansies Everywhere You Go, also brought the house down with raucous laughter from the audience. During this song eight pansies, oops, I mean men dressed as pansies, danced and wiggled their way across the stage. The GMCW went on to perform quite a different version of John Phillip Sousa's Stars and Stripes Forever. The audience clapped to the beat while chorus members hummed, whistled, and made various other mouth noises to perform the legendary song. Personally, I prefer the Gay Men's Chorus version to the original; it spiced it up a lot. If you were lucky enough to have attended the GMCW performance, you know exactly what I'm talking about when I say the concert was above and beyond fantastic. The GMCW is into its nineteenth season and stands at the forefront of the gay and lesbian chorus movement. The DC Chorus was founded in 1981 and has performed to critical acclaim throughout the world, including performances at the Kennedy Center, the Lincoln Theater, and the Lisner Auditorium on the campus of George Washington University. Last week's performance in Rehoboth was one of the 2000 summer season concerts entitled "Celebrating Our Voice". In July, the chorus will continue their concert series when they travel to San Jose, CA to perform in the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses. Joining the GMCW in the benefit concert was the Rainbow Chorale of Delaware, a year-old, state-based gay singing group made up of both men and women. "The Rainbow Chorale was formed in the spring of 1999 with about 35 members who performed their first concert in December," said Kym Thompson, Vice President of membership for the Rainbow Chorale. "The concert (at the First and Central Presbyterian Church in Wilmington) was amazing...it sold out, and we got a standing ovation from a standing-room-only crowd just for walking on stage," said Thompson. "It was fascinating for lesbians and gays to be 'out' singing beautiful music." Thompson went on to say that, "we have our big kick-off coming up August 27th when the Rainbow Chorale will recruit new members...our goal really is to get about 55 members total (we have 47 now)." Anyone interested in joining the Rainbow Chorale of Delaware can call Thompson at 302-777-4591, or Ron Schnorbus, Rainbow Chorale President at 302-633-3994. The net proceeds from the concert (an estimated $6,400) will support the work of the Sussex County AIDS Committee, a community-based AIDS service organization. SCAC's mission is to provide supportive services to residents of Sussex County who are infected with HIV or AIDS. Among other things, SCAC provides supplemental food, transportation to medical and social services appointments, and emergency financial assistance to clients throughout the county. In ending an already perfect evening, the Gay Men's Chorus joined hands with the Rainbow Chorale to sing Irving Berlin's God Bless America. Needless to say, the number drew a standing ovation from the audience. Democrats Party to Raise Party Funds With the fourth of July right at the tips of our fingers, one political organization got a jump-start on the holiday with a Red, White & Blue fundraising party on Saturday, June 24. Dr. James D'Orta hosted the party at his Rehoboth Beach home as a benefit for the Democratic National Committee. Among the many guests gathered at D'Orta's Silver Lake home were two special guests, Billy Bean, former major league baseball player, and Andy Tobias, author and treasurer of the Democratic National Committee. "The event is to raise federal dollarshard dollars for the Democratic National Committeeso that 'we' can win in November, keep the White House, and not lose the Supreme Court for the next 25 years," said Tobias. Tobias explained that there are lots of upcoming fundraisers for the DNC between now and the November general election. "This particular one is a gay and lesbian fundraiser, and we have a few others that we'll do...and then of course there are scores and scores of just general fundraisers of all sizes. This is a low-dollar event, but low dollars ($25 or $100) to an average person is often as much of a stretch as $10,000 is to some other contributors," he said. "The gay and lesbian community has become a truly basic part of the Democratic Party," Tobias said. "Because of a party like tonight, and tons and tons more of events like this, the DNC should be able to raise enough money to get our message out, and that should be enough to win in November... because when people understand the issues, and where the democrats stand on them, and where the 'other party' stands on them, most people realize that the democrats are the party of the people!" |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 10, No. 8, June 30, 2000. |