Whew! We are almost out of the woods as far as winter is concerned, so now a lot of people are getting focused on plans for spring and summer getaways to better-looking surroundings. It’s always best to start planning early so the appropriate rentals can be set up before all the prime dates and locations get booked up.
Any week during the spring or summer is a good time to visit picturesque destinations like Rehoboth, P-Town, New Hope, Fire Island or Asbury Park. But just in case you want something more to look forward to than working on your tan and social schedule, we’ve compiled a list of events you might want to plan your getaways around.
Fire Island Pines, N.Y., hosts the Fire Island Dance Festival, featuring an eclectic mix of fast-rising dancers performing on a stunning waterfront stage July 19-21. The weekend-long festival raised $374,260, last year to benefit Dancers Responding to AIDS. Since its debut in 1995, Fire Island Dance Festival has raised more than $2.9 million. For more information, visit www.dradance.org/dra-fidf-2013-landing-about.
Later in the summer, Fire Island hosts the Ascension Beach Party, the largest gay daytime beach party in the northeast, Aug. 16-18. For more information, visit www.ascensionparty.com.
Provincetown, Mass., has a number of events worth checking out in spring and summer, the earliest of which is Cabaret Fest, featuring performances by world-renowned cabaret artists April 12-14. For more information, visit www.ptown.org/CabaretFest.asp.
Single Women’s Weekend is the only national weekend gathering designed for single lesbians to meet and features speed dating, mixers, entertainment, dance parties and more May 17-19. For more information, visit www.singlewomensweekend.com.
P-Town also hosts the Women of Color Weekend May 30-June 2. For more information, visit www.womenofcolorweekend.com.
Things are bound to get wild in P-Town for Bear Week, a bear fest that draws men from all over the world, July 13-21. For more information, visit www.ptownbears.org.
Closer to home, New Hope Celebrates hosts the 10th anniversary of the town’s Pride celebration — a week of LGBT events, parades, parties and arts events in Bucks County and Lambertville, N.J. — May 12-19. For more information, visit www.newhopecelebrates.com.
Asbury Park is coming back from the ravages of Superstorm Sandy, hosting Jersey Pride’s annual LGBT Pride Celebration on June 2. For more information, visit www.jerseypride.org or www.facebook.com/JerseyPrideFest. And come back the next month for the annual Sand Blast Weekend, July 19-21, three days of beach- and poolside parties and opportunities to take in the sights and sounds of Jersey’s gay enclave.
Down in Delaware, dates and plans for Delaware Pride haven’t been finalized yet, but in the meantime CAMP Rehoboth is hosting Women’s FEST, a four-day event celebrating women with entertainment, dining, tea dances and happy hours, April 11-14. For more information, visit www.dev.camprehoboth.com/news-events/womens-fest-2013.htm.