There’s pretty much nothing gayer than Rehoboth Beach at Halloween.
With a pop-up Halloween store on Route One to facilitate the fun along with parties and decorations at almost all the watering holes, it is a silly, spooky time just made for a trip to the beach.
By day, on Oct. 26-28, the town is a trick-or-treat haven with The Sea Witch Festival, including a giant Saturday parade (yes, grown-ups are welcome) and events up and down the ocean block of Rehoboth Avenue.
On Oct. 27, the Lewes Historical Society hosts a Boos, Brews, & Booze Fundraiser 7-10 p.m. to benefit the Lewes History Museum. The event will feature spooky views of the historic campus, food and local “spirits.” Visit historiclewes.org for tickets and information.
There’s even a graveyard tour in Lewes to explore the unusual tombstones of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church. Tours leave from the Zwaanendael Museum in Lewes at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Admission is free but, due to space restrictions, reservations for the tours are required by calling 302-645-1148.
Meanwhile, during the Sea Witch festivities, groups of LGBTQ witches and goblins are generally spotted, traveling from one Bloody Mary bar to another, fortifying themselves for the evening to come.
But let’s face it: At Halloween, the night belongs to the LGBTQ costume geniuses. Costumes are encouraged at the Blue Moon Restaurant and Bar, which hosts its regular (and fabulous) drag-queen entertainment that night, but is also well-known as the place to see and be seen.
Pets get in the act at the pet parade Oct. 28. It’s a hoot, with many pets and their humans arriving in group ensembles. On one occasion, there was a group of pups and people dressed in orange — illustrative of it being the new black. Imagine the favorites that could be represented this year. Spooky!
There are costumed pups on leashes, in wagons, on floats. Pet parents are nothing if not creative in celebrating their pooches, with the occasional cat, turtle or rabbit in the lineup.
For Philly visitors hanging at the beach through Oct. 31, there’s the Immanuel Shelter fundraiser: Bubbles and Bites Halloween Bingo, from 6-9 p.m. at the Rehoboth Convention Center. Tickets are $55 at immanuelshelter.org and fabulous drag queens are known to be bingo callers. There will be costume prizes, food, drink and Halloween entertainment.