Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth Beach to celebrate Pride July 13-16
Dance parties, drag shows, yoga and more on tap

Is Pride month over? Not if you ask Tony Zacchei. He and his partner have organized a four-day Pride extravaganza in Rehoboth Beach, Del., complete with happy hours, dancing, and yoga.
“I’ve been coming to Rehoboth since 1996 and I absolutely adore this town,” Zacchei said. “And what we realized last year is that, even though Memorial Day, July Fourth, Labor Day are all great festive holidays, we didn’t have our own Pride.”
So Zacchei and his husband took matters into their own hands: The two started planning the long weekend back in January, working with Sussex Pride, CAMP Rehoboth, and Rehoboth’s queer bars to create what they hope will be the first of many Pride events in the beach town.
The long weekend starts with a 9 p.m. kickoff party at Freddie’s Beach Bar on Thursday, July 13. The rest of the long weekend includes yoga and a drag show on Saturday, a drag brunch on Sunday, and a dance party at Aqua Bar. The yoga and drag brunch are explicitly open to all – including those who don’t drink.
The duo started out with more ambitious ideas for a big Pride production, but realized they had to dial it down.
“We realized after talking to some folks at CAMP Rehoboth, at Sussex Pride that you really need a lot of infrastructure to throw a big Pride event,” Zacchei, a retired ophthalmologist, said. “So this year we kind of took a step back a little bit.”
Infrastructure wasn’t the only challenge – time was, too. Zacchei said he and his husband Jacob Anthony had to schedule around Pride events in Washington, Philadelphia, Rhode Island, Provincetown, Mass., and New York as well as Market Days in Chicago and Disney’s Gay Days – all while letting people enjoy Rehoboth’s summer. The two are also in Rehoboth only half the year – most planning took place from their Miami home, making things more difficult. The 13th through the 16th ended up being the sweet spot – not just because his husband’s birthday is on the 15th.
The days include a first – the first dance party at Blue Moon in three years, since the pandemic struck. Zacchei said it wasn’t easy to convince the bar’s owners to host one.
“There was some hesitancy because they’re not used to, for the past three years throwing dance parties or really having much going on at the bar after 10,” Zacchei said. “We’re really glad that they’re going to do this, and I think there’s even the possibility that they may just continue to stay open for dancing on the weekends, which would thrill myself and a lot of folks.”
The Pride events have a charitable side as well – some event proceeds support Sussex Pride and CAMP Rehoboth. Zacchei and his husband have been big CAMP Rehoboth donors for some time – one pool party at the couple’s house raised $2,600, he said.
The couple hopes to put on Pride events rivaling those of big cities in the coming years, closing down Baltimore Avenue and hosting block parties.
“There’s been a lot of excitement here and we’re hoping to stress that this is clearly not a Tony and Jacob show. We are just trying to be facilitators to bring everybody together to work together,” Zacchei said. “And I think that is coming along very nicely.”
This year’s Pride is meant to be a celebration of the entire community, the Philadelphia native said.
“The LGBTQ+ community has taken the rainbow and it has made it our symbol,” Zacchei said. And just like the rainbow has every color, we want every type of person to share, grow with each Pride and be part of it with us.”
Here’s the full list of events:
THURSDAY, JULY 13
9 p.m. – Kickoff party at Freddie’s Beach Bar, S. 1st St. in Rehoboth
FRIDAY, JULY 14
4 p.m. – Happy hour at Aqua Grill, 57 Baltimore Ave. in Rehoboth
9 p.m. – Pride show and dance party at Blue Moon Bar, 35 Baltimore Ave. in Rehoboth
SATURDAY, JULY 15
10 a.m. – Pride yoga at Poodle Beach, 1103 S. Boardwalk in Rehoboth.
12 p.m. – Beach fun at Poodle Beach
4-6 p.m. – Pride barbeque and games at Aqua Grill
8:30 p.m. – Pride drag show at The Pines, 56 Baltimore Ave. in Rehoboth
10 p.m. – Pride party at Diego’s Bar & Nightclub, 37298 Rehoboth Ave. Extension in Rehoboth
SUNDAY, JULY 16
12 p.m. – Broadway drag brunch at Goolee’s Grille, 11 S. 1st St. in Rehoboth
12 p.m. – Pride drag brunch at The Pines
2-6 p.m. – Closing tea dance at Aqua Grill
Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth Beach’s Clear Space Theatre summer 2025 season preview
Main stage musicals include ‘Hairspray’ and ‘Rent’

The Clear Space Theatre Company summer season in Rehoboth Beach kicks off in a few short weeks. This year’s mainstage musicals include “Hairspray,” “Beautiful: the Carole King Musical,” and “Rent.”
“Hairspray” will run from June 24-Aug. 30, with “Beautiful” from June 27-Aug. 28 and “Rent” from July 2-Aug. 26. Clear Space is a repertory theater, meaning that a cast of rotating artists will appear in all of these musicals. Tickets can be purchased at clearspacetheatre.org.
Clear Space was founded in 2004 and is considered Delaware’s second-largest professional non-profit theater and the state’s most prolific producer of professional theater. The “clear space” name refers to a “focus on the process, knowledge, and humanity of arts performance: the idea that we find ourselves in what appears on the stage,” according to its website.
Joe Gfaller, managing director of Clear Space, said the theater has a responsibility to produce work for everyone in the region, which gives them the creative space to do more than just one thing.
“That’s what makes everything at Clear Space so joyful and inventive,” Gfaller told the Washington Blade. “We know that this community that we’re a part of includes all kinds of people, all backgrounds, all experiences, and it’s critical for us to present a variety of work that’s going to move each of those people.”
In addition to the three main stage musicals, Clear Space offers Saturday morning children’s theater productions and Sunday cabarets, which will feature Tony and Emmy nominated artists, a “RuPaul’s Drag Race” star, and other popular entertainers this year.
“What we’re always looking to do as we create our full season, including the summer, is to produce work that’s going to delight and excite and engage the audiences that are here in Rehoboth Beach and coastal Delaware,” Gfaller said. “There’s always a mix of old and new, of plays and of musicals. There’s really something for everyone across our season for each year.”
Summer flex passes are available for purchase as well, which allows patrons to see three or more productions in the summer repertory season and save 15% off the price of single tickets. Passes can be used for the three main stage musicals and for cabaret shows.
Gfaller said the musical “Rent” “speaks to what musical theater is capable of doing” and is a piece that is “deeply grounded” in the experiences of the LGBTQ community.
“There’s always going to be a piece of that in the work that we do because we know that the community that we serve here in Rehoboth Beach and beyond has a lot of folks who are connected meaningfully to the queer community,” he said.
Another facet of the company, the Clear Space Arts Institute offers voice, dancing, and acting classes during the summer. This year, many are at capacity and a waitlist is being offered.
The Rebecca Luker Theatrical Partnership was developed within the last few years to honor the life and career of Luker, a Broadway star, after she passed away in 2020. The partnership aims to create professional leadership opportunities in the theater for individuals from underserved communities.
“Through the Rebecca Luker Theatrical Partnership, CSTC is paving a path forward to create a more inclusive space for future arts leaders of color while honoring the company’s mission and Ms. Luker’s commitment to racial justice,” a press release from Clear Space said.
Clear Space has been growing, according to Gfaller. Over the last 21 productions, 17 have sold out all performances. Though the theater seats just 170, it saw more than 24,000 attendees over the course of one year. Gfaller is excited that there’s been so much growing enthusiasm and wants patrons to feel joyful and connected to each other after watching the shows.
“We want people to fall in love with seeing great live theater … in an intimate space. You can see amazing things on Broadway, and you might need to bring your opera glasses to see what’s going on,” Gfaller said. “What’s wonderful at Clear Space is you are no more than three to six rows from the stage anywhere you sit in the theater, and there is something so much more magnetic and dynamic and inspirational about seeing theater in that context, because you feel that you’re there in the room with the artists, while the artists are making it happen. And there’s really nothing that compares to that.”

The city of Rehoboth Beach in Delaware will host a public ceremony to commemorate the beginning of Pride month.
The event includes a proclamation and flag-raising ceremony outside of city hall at 12 p.m. on Sunday, June 1. The LGBTQ Pride flag will be flown during the month of June.
Rehoboth Beach is known for being an LGBTQ-friendly resort town. The year-round population of about 1,500 residents swells in the summer months, reaching more than 25,000, according to Travel US News.
“Rehoboth Beach is home to a vibrant LGBTQ+ community, which greatly contributes to the social and economic vitality as well as the character of our city,” Mayor Stan Mills said in a press release. “The City of Rehoboth Beach strives to foster diversity among its residents and visitors and to be a welcoming community to all.”
Rehoboth Beach Pride is scheduled for July 16-20.
Rehoboth Beach
Ashley Biden to speak at Blade’s Summer Kickoff Party in Rehoboth Beach
May 16 event to honor Beau Biden, feature speech from Gov. Matt Meyer

The Washington Blade’s 18th annual Summer Kickoff Party is scheduled for today in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
Ashley Biden, daughter of President Joe Biden, has joined the list of speakers, the Blade announced on Friday. She will accept an award on behalf of her brother Beau Biden for his LGBTQ advocacy work as Delaware attorney general.
Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer has also joined the list of speakers.
The event, held at the Blue Moon (35 Rehoboth Ave.) from 5-7 p.m., is a fundraiser for the Blade Foundation’s Steve Elkins Memorial Fellowship in Journalism, which funds a summer position reporting on LGBTQ news in Delaware. This year’s recipient will be introduced at the event.
The event will also feature remarks from state Sen. Russ Huxtable, who recently introduced a state constitutional amendment to codify the right of same-sex couples to marry. CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Kim Leisey and Blade editor Kevin Naff will also speak. The event is generously sponsored by Realtor Justin Noble, The Avenue Inn & Spa, and Blue Moon.
A suggested donation of $20 is partially tax deductible and includes drink tickets and light appetizers. Tickets are available in advance at bladefoundation.org/rehoboth or at the door.
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