May 2023 - Ride On!

THUR | MAY 4 | 8PM | $38

His pub-rock snarl has worked magic for a generation

A not-for-profit arts organization

Vic DiBitetto

FRI | MAY 5 | 7PM | $45 Blue collar comedy in a red sauce

Jay Ungar and Molly Mason

SAT | MAY 6 | 8PM | $33

Grand favorites return with American folk music from the heart

Martin Sexton & KT Tunstall

SUN | MAY 7 | 7PM | $58

Acclaimed singers/songwriters performing their own sets for an amazing night of music

SAT | MAY 13 | 8PM | $50-$65

SUN | MAY 14 | 5PM | $50-$65

Latest stage play from playwright Priest Tyaire

LeAnn Rimes: The Story So Far

THUR | MAY 18 | 8PM | $49-$79

Grammy Award-winning singer performs her greatest hits along with new songs

The Rock Orchestra performs Billy Joel’s Deep Cuts

FRI | MAY 19 | 8PM | $28

Note-for-note performance of Billy Joel’s best-loved deep cuts

The Rock Orchestra performs Billy Joel’s Greatest Hits

SAT | MAY 20 | 8PM | $30

Thrill to the hits of America’s original Piano Man

Intimate Evening with David Foster and Katharine McPhee

SAT | MAY 20 | 8PM | $49-$84

An intimate show with a powerhouse duo, packed with hits

SUN | MAY 21 | 7PM $47-$59 THE GRAND

Graham Parker

With great food and more!

A lively, after hours fundraiser at the zoo.

Enjoy a variety of beer, wine and spirits from numerous vendors, light fare provided by local restaurants, and topped off by Hy-Point ice cream

Food and beverages are included in admission ticket

Live music by Spokey Speaky. Brew at the Zoo is a fundraiser for the Delaware Zoological Society Your ticket purchase helps further the Zoo’s mission of conservation and education Advanced tickets will be available online or at the Zootique Gift Shop.

An online Silent Auction will begin on June 7 at 8 AM. YourCharityAuction.com/BrandywineZoo,

Thank you to our Sponsors: Exelon, Kizmet Studios, Wegmans

Thank you to our Vendors: Bellefonte, Dogfish Head, Liquid Alchemy Beverages, Stitch House Brewery, Bonefish Grill, Grain, Peco’s Liquors, Wlmington Brew Works, Del Pez Mexican Gastropub, Hangman Brewing Company, Santa Fe Mexican Grill, Diamond Chiropractic, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant and Sassy Bee

Publisher Gerald duPhily • jduphily@tsnpub.com

Director of Publications Jim Miller • jmiller@tsnpub.com

Contributing Editor Bob Yearick • ryearick@comcast.net

Creative Director & Production Manager Matthew Loeb, Catalyst Visuals, LLC

Digital Services Director Michael O’Brian

Contributing Writers Adriana Camacho-Church, JulieAnne Cross, David Ferguson, Mark Fields, Pam George, Lauren Golt, Michelle Kramer-Fitzgerald, Ken Mammarella, Matt Morrissette, John Murray, Kevin Noonan,

Contributing Photographers Jim Coarse, Justin Heyes and Joe del Tufo/Moonloop Photography, Butch Comegys, Lindsay Rudney duPhily Matthew Loeb

Special Projects John Holton, Cullen Robinson, Bev Zimmermann

MAN OF THE CITY

Before there was Wilmington Alliance. And before there was Main Street Wilmington or Downtown Visions.

And even before there was Wilmington Renaissance or Wilmington 2000, there was the Downtown Business Association (DBA). The DBA’s mission was to provide a voice in city affairs for small downtown Wilmington businesses. In other words, the organization strove to ensure that the concerns of family enterprises such as Minster’s Jewelers, Wright & Simon and Leo & Jimmy’s were heard as clearly as the concerns of major employers like DuPont and MBNA.

It was a worthwhile organization.

From 1996 until the early 2000s, I served as president of the DBA. And in 2002, as we were naming three new members to the board, I began engaging regularly with the one-and-only Will Minster. A true champion of Wilmington, Will died last month at age 64.

Minster was a master jeweler in a fourth-generation family jewelry business. The enterprise began in 1895 when Jacob John Minster purchased a jewelry store from Wilmington watchmaker William Alrich.

Will’s store was located at 913 N. Market St., but at one point the Minster family had four locations in the area. The most established location was in the Newark Shopping Center. For most of its recent history, it was run by Will’s mother, Marilyn, a leader in Newark’s small-business community. Minster’s Newark closed in 2018 after a 123-year run.

Though Will was new to the DBA board, he was not new to me. His store was an advertiser, and he was a regular at DBA endeavors and other city functions. In my brief interactions, I could tell Will was a downtown businessman looking to get engaged. And as DBA president, I was eager to find owners of small city businesses looking to engage.

The DBA proved Will’s launching pad. He went on to succeed me as DBA president. And while our styles were as

different as beer and bourbon, I knew Will was a better fit for president of this organization. He was a passionate, wellinformed Downtown retailer; he knew the challenges facing Downtown merchants as well as anyone.

Will made sure city administrators, corporate leaders and non-profit executive directors knew as well. He was outspoken. Sometimes confrontational. But it was an approach driven by passion. Will was determined that his concerns — often the concerns of many small city businesses — not be ignored.

Will was a founding member of Main Street Wilmington in 2007, and when he closed his Market Street jewelry store in 2010, he devoted his full-time attention to improving Downtown. He served as program manager for Main Street Wilmington, became director of business development under Downtown Visions, helped launch the city’s façade-improvement program, and most recently served as director of The Launcher Program at West End Neighborhood House.

The last line of Will’s LinkedIn bio reads: “I love Wilmington and will always offer my skills to help.”

I witnessed Will Minster in action for the past 25 years. He lived up to that promise.

— Jerry duPhily

Will MInster (far right) with from l-r: Carol Arnott-Robbins, Ivan Thomas and Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki at last year's Ladybug Festival. O&A file photo/Joe del Tufo

THE WAR ON WORDS

A monthly column in which we attempt, however futilely, to defend the English language against misuse and abuse

By Bob Yearick

MEDIA WATCH

•USA TODAY ‘s Safid Deen, writing about Andre Agassi and John McEnroe: “Along with Andy Roddick, 40, and Michael Chang, 51, the former tennis legends shined in a new sport during the first Pickleball Slam broadcast by ESPN.” Once you’re a legend, you hold that (unofficial) title for life. You never become a former legend.

•Octogenarian basketball analyst Dick Vitale shot an air ball in this quote from USA TODAY: “Laying in the hospital after you do chemo, your family leaves, you’re laying there and thoughts go through your mind.” Dickie V was lying in the hospital. Laying is the present participle of lay, which means put down, or set in position. E.g., He was laying the carpet in the living room.

•Buzz Bissinger, in his book, The Mosquito Bowl: “The Japanese were besides themselves over the new weapon [kamikaze attacks] they blindly thought would turn the course of the war.” The correct expression is “beside themselves.” Besides can be used to mean “in addition” or “moreover,” and is a little less formal than those words. This is a common mistake among the unlettered, and Bissinger is a fine writer, so let’s assume it’s a simple typo.

•USA TODAY’s Nick Wojton had a bad day when he wrote about the Buffalo Bills 27-10 loss to Cincinnati in the NFL playoffs. He twice added unnecessary words after muster:

“With the weight of an entire city and fan base on his shoulders, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen tried to muster together the right words for how he felt after his season came to an end.”

“Buffalo could only muster up 10 points.”

In both cases, a simple muster would have sufficed.

PROBLEMATIC PREPOSITIONS

Prepositions can be challenging. The usual problem is that writers and speakers incorrectly use the subjective pronoun after a preposition, as in this example, courtesy of reader Jane Buck:

•Robert Franek, editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review : “If you and I went to the same high school and got the same grades with the same activities, there are going to be points of differentiation between you and I from an admission perspective.” The preposition between requires the objective pronoun me .

Word of the Month pointillage

Pronounced pwan-tee-YAZH, it’s a noun meaning a style of painting in which small dots are applied to the canvas. Also known as pointillism.

Sometimes, prepositions can be missing, or the wrong one may be used, as in these examples:

•Josh Tolentino, in The Philadelphia Inquirer : “Contract negotiations will continue to hover the team throughout the offseason . . .” Over needs to be inserted after hover.

•Doug Stutsman, in USA TODAY , writing about a letter from golf legend Ben Hogan that was read by Ben Crenshaw to 33 past winners of the Masters golf tournament: “‘Dear Bob and Cliff,’ wrote Hogan, as 33 sets of eyes latched to Crenshaw.” Onto , not to , is the correct preposition after latched. Tolentino and Stutsman also are part of a growing trend among writers to make changes willy-nilly to our language.

Then we have the unnecessary preposition, which was added at the end of two sentences I recently heard:

•How long did you live there for ? How long were you married for ? Once again: Ending a sentence in a preposition is not grammatically incorrect, but adding an unnecessary one borders on semi-literacy.

A CALL TO ARMS!

Gird your loins for battle, fellow Word Warriors. Descriptivists — those who would allow changes to our language based on popular usage — are at it again, and another word is in danger of losing its meaning. The word, nonplussed , means to be confused or bewildered to the point of not knowing how to speak or act. Now, people are using it to mean the complete opposite — unruffled, unconcerned, even, sometimes, unimpressed. Apparently the prefix non is confusing people. They assume that plussed means being confused, and non, of course, would make it the opposite. Actually, plussed is not a word.

Go forth, then, and fight the good fight! Repel the descriptivists, and preserve nonplussed and its original — and correct — meaning.

DEPARTMENT OF REDUNDANCIES DEPT.

A Morning Show host on 97.5 The Fanatic said that one of his ideas received “ positive affirmation from management.” Affirmation — emotional support or encouragement — is always positive.

Friday, May 5, 2023

RIVERFRONT

The Delaware Contemporary

200 South Madison Street

656-6466 • decontemporary.org

Artists: More Than a Woman? Group Exhibition

Second Nature, Roberta Tucci, Aquifier, 2023 University of Delaware Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition; Lynn Herrick Sharp Award Exhibition, University of Delaware Group Exhibition

Art Loop reception from 5-9pm

DOWNTOWN

2nd & LOMA Leasing Office

211 N. Market Street

655-0124 • 2ndandloma.com

Artist: Motorcycle Rides and Summer Vibes by Beverly Ross

Chris White Gallery

701 N. Shipley Street

475-0998 • chriswhitegallery.com

Artist: Chapel of Tears group exhibition curated by Nanci Hersh

Christina Cultural Arts Center

705 N. Market Street

652-0101 • ccacde.org

Artist: Man Cave: Karl Williams, Milton Downing, Nick Irving, K. O. Simms

City of Wilmington’s Redding Gallery

800 N. French Street

576-2100 • cityfestwilm. com/redding-gallery

Artist: “Out of This World” featuring the art of Kiara Florez

The Creative Vision Factory

617 N. Shipley Street

312-5493

Artists: Open House & Group Exhibition.

Next Art Loop:

Friday, June 2, 2023

Blue Streak Gallery at Piccolina Toscana

1412 N. Dupont Street

598-4293

Artist: Recent Paintings, Catherine Book

Delaware College of Art & Design

600 N. Market Street

622-8000 • dcad.edu

Artist: 2023 Graduation Exhibition

The Grand Opera House

818 N. Market Street

658-7897 thegrandwilmington.org

Grand Gallery: “Varied Perspectives,” Anthony Sealey, David O, & Greta ‘Gblu’ Fox baby grand Gallery: “Philía” by Yakime Akelá Brown Art Loop reception from 5-7pm

Mezzanine Gallery at the Carvel State Building

820 N. French Street

577-8278 delarts.org

Artist: *****, Leanna Thongvong

MKT Gallery

200 W. 9th Street

289-6772

Artist: Artist: Story Telling Exhibition by Geraldo Gonzalez

Over The Border Tacos

125 N. Market Street

442-1894

Artist: Shiloh Banning, Jewelry maker

WEST SIDE

Blue Streak Gallery

1721 Delaware Avenue

429-0506

Artist: 35th Anniversary Retrospective Show, Anna Biggs Jewelry

Howard Pyle Studio

1305 N. Franklin Street

(978) 460-8120

Artists: Group show by the Studio Group Artists

BEYOND THE CITY

Balanced Breastfeeding Independence Mall

1601 Concord Pike, Suite 56 757-2349

Artist: “Structures of Sustenance” by Jen Hintz Eggers

Arden Buzz Ware Village Center

2119 The Highway, Arden

981-4811 • ardenbuzz.com

Artist: Alan Burslem: From Powder to Pottery

Bellefonte Vintage

901 Brandywine Blvd

983-5059

Artists: Mud Buds Ceramics, Cathy James and Jayne Young

COCA Pop-Up Gallery

3829 Kennett Pike

218-4411

Artists: Group show of local artists

The Station Gallery

3922 Kennett Pike

654-8638

Artist: Group Show of Landscapes and Interiors

A program of the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs

of individuals from the state who have passed away from a drug overdose/ drug poisoning.

Things worth knowing

These stories become part of a statewide art exhibition featuring that person’s portrait and narrative.

FIND THE BIKES!

In honor of the Wilmington Grand Prix rolling into town this month, we took a ride through this issue. Along the way, we left behind four of the bicycles shown below. Tell us what pages we’ve left the bikes and we might buy you lunch. Three winners will be selected from those who answer correctly by May 10. Email your answer to Contact@TSNPub.com.

Location: Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington DE

Date: June 1, 2023 – Dec 3, 2023

Sponsored by: DE Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health with support from Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield DE

On Thursday May 4, Riverfront Ministries, in partnership with Wilmington Alliance, Grace zUnited Methodist and First & Central Presbyterian Church, will celebrate the addition of nine food entrepreneurs to its commercial kitchen facilities. From 5-8pm at Grace Church (900 N. Washington St.), guests can sample food from the Collective while listening to live music and taking tours of the facility.

Theresa Clower was inspired to create INTO LIGHT Project shortly after the death of her son, Devin Bearden, to an accidental drug overdose in February 2018 in Baltimore. Having never attempted portraiture work before, she picked up her graphite pencil and began drawing. It was a cathartic experience that allowed her to say goodbye to her son. In so doing, Theresa tapped into an entirely new calling – drawing the faces of others who had lost their lives to drug addiction. From there, INTO LIGHT Project held the first exhibition in Baltimore in 2019. Since then, exhibits have been held in 7 states, with more booked for 2023.

START

WILMINGTON KITCHEN COLLECTIVE CELEBRATES LOCAL FOOD ENTREPRENEURS

To find out more about INTO LIGHT Project’s founder and Executive Director Theresa Clower, watch this biography

In Partnership: DE Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, Office of the Lt. Governor of DE, and the DE Art Museum

For more information contact:

The Kitchen Collective is a community-based project dedicated to serving food industry entrepreneurs from marginalized local communities. By providing guidance and high-quality kitchen facilities, the Collective strives to create career opportunities for participating individuals.

Jane Donovan DE State Ambassador, INTO LIGHT Project 302-438-5537 ajanedonovan@verizon.net

For more on the Wilmington Kitchen Collective and their partner organizations, visit WilmingtonKitchenCollective.com.

Or visit https://intolightproject.org/

Theresa Clower Founder, INTO LIGHT Project 302-455-9595 tclower@intolightproject.org

ALL FEMALE ARTISTS EXHIBITION AT DE COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN

Thank you for considering a submission to our project. We look forward to working together to change the conversation about drug addiction and erasing the stigma of SUD by helping others to better understand this insidious disease.

INTO LIGHT Project, a national non-profit organization to changing the conversation addiction and erasing stigma, the personal stories.

The Regional Center for Women in the Arts (RCWA) is presenting works by 21 women artists at the Delaware College of Art and Design (DCAD) from May 19 through June 30.

The creations in the Multiplicities show include a range of genres from representational to conceptual and abstraction. The participating artists are Margo Allman, Lisa Bartolozzi, Barbara Bullock, Carol Cole, Susan Foley, Katherine Fraser, Fran Gallun, Wendy Hatch, Carla Lombardi, Diane Pieri, Helen Mason, Alice Oh, Mary Page Evans, Rachel Romano, Nancy Sarangoulis, Lois Schlachter, Lynda Schmid, Libbie Soffer, Christine Stoughton, Donna Usher and Valetta.

“The chosen artists have had careers spanning enough time to develop unique styles and who have shown their work in galleries and museums in the United States and abroad,” said Valetta, founder and director of RCWA.

RCWA has shown the work of established and emerging women artists for the past 22 years and has raised funds for numerous local charities that benefit women in need. Funds from the sale of works during this exhibition will assist in providing financial aid for young women interested in studying at DCAD.

DCAD is located at 600 N. Market St., Wilm. and open daily 9am-5pm. The opening reception will be held May 19 (5-9pm). Visit DCAD.edu.

FOOD BANK OF DE HOSTS CORNHOLE TOURNEY

After a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the Food Bank of Delaware’s cornhole tournament, Throwing for Hunger, is back. This year’s event will be held on Saturday, May 13 at the Chase Fieldhouse. Doors open at 9am, and bags will start flying at 10am.

The tournament is being spearheaded by Food Bank of Delaware Board of Director Scott Lammers and day-of coordination will be run by the Delaware Cornhole Association. The cost is $60 per team until May 7; price increases to $70 per team after. Day-of registration will be available. Sign up to participate in advanced, competitive or recreational levels. Bring your own bags. Four round-robin games will take place followed by single elimination. Cash payout for advanced and competitive levels; prize payout for recreational level. Registration includes cornhole play and two drink tickets total per team; food will be available for purchase. Visit FBD.org/cornhole.

A STATEWIDE CELEBRATION OF DELAWARE CRAFT BREWING

Members of the Delaware Brewer’s Guild are hosting a Brewer’s Guild Night Out on Thursday May 18 at breweries up and down the state. Each brewery is featuring a medley of beer-focused activities including brewery tours, tastings, new beer releases, firkin tapping, and even the brewers themselves behind the bar pouring and mixing it up with Delaware’s craft beer enthusiasts.

Participating breweries include: 38 75 Brewing, Autumn Arch, Bellefonte, Crooked Hammock, Dew Point, First State, Iron Hill, Mispillion, Musings Fermentation Underground, Stewart’s, Twisted Irons, Volunteer and Wilmington Brew Works. Visit the individual brewery’s website for celebration details.

CELEBRATE THE BRANDYWINE RIVER AT SHADFEST

The Brandywine River Restoration Trust (BRRT), in partnership with local environmental nonprofits, will host the third annual Brandywine River ShadFest on Saturday, May 20 at Brandywine Park from 10am-3pm.

The free family-friendly event is a celebration of the Brandywine River and the return of the American Shad. ShadFest also aims to raise awareness for environmental issues and encourage environmental stewardship. A 5K ShadRun will kick off the day at 9am. There will also be a judged art show, fishing lessons, demonstrations, exhibitors, live music and food from culinary entrepreneurs who participate in the Wilmington Kitchen Collective. Visit BRRT.org

ShadFest provides a hands-on experience in environmental stewardship.

Photo courtesy ShadFest

BENEFIT SCREENING OF MISTER ROGERS & ME AT THEATRE N

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, the documentary Mister Rogers & Me will make its Delaware debut Saturday, May 6 (7pm) at Theatre N.

In this award-winning PBS documentary, Wilmington resident Benjamin Wagner, a director and former neighbor of Mister Rogers, comes to know more than just the TV icon and his luminous legacy. Wagner’s personal journey unearths the roots of Mister Rogers' values, unmasks the forces acting against depth and simplicity, and examines paths to a deeper, simpler life.

Following the screening, panelists including the filmmaker, Dr. Julius Mullen Sr. (board president, Trauma Matters Delaware) and Tracey Quillen Carney (Delaware's First Lady) will discuss Mister Rogers' legacy in relation to the growing trauma-informed movement.

Tickets are $15 with proceeds from the screening benefit Trauma Matters Delaware. Visit TheatreN.com.

JUST FOOLING AROUND

OK, so there’s no fooling most of our readers. Exactly 80% of the more than 125 who participated in April’s Fake Ad Contest correctly identified the bogus ad on page 30 — New Leaf Nutrition. As for you other 20%, can we interest you in some real estate?

That said, thanks for playing. Free lunch goes to Joseph Julian, Kathleen Chidester and Paul Price.

Stay tuned as we have more entertaining treasure hunts coming in future issues. In the meantime, below are some of the entertaining comments we received from you:

I would LOVE to win the free lunch… native foliage just isn’t doing it for me these days. — Larry

D.

The fake advertisement is New Leaf Nutrition on page 30! Nice try! EAT IT! — Joe J.

I think you guys are trying to pull the grass over our eyes on page 30 with the new leaf nutrition ad. I did not google that xxxx! — Paul

P.

I believe this is an April Fool's joke, but I actually think there are some people (the ones not on Ozempic) who may be more than willing to give it a try for $49 a month! Nothing like having someone else forage for you! —Kathy

C.

As much as I love the outdoors in Wilmington, I’m not in to eating it. — Lisa

B

Benjamin Wagner with Mister Rogers.

2023 PROGRAMMING & EVENTS IN WEST CENTER CITY WILMINGTON

Yoga: All levels welcome! Begins Saturday, May 13th and continues every Saturday- 10am -11 :30am at the Art O Mat (Corner of 7th & Washington)

Drum Circle: Begins Tuesday, May 16th and continues every Tuesday through October 17th -6pm -7pm at the Rock Lot (305 W 8th St.)

Chess Club: Begins Saturday, June 3rd and continues every Saturday12pm- 3pm at the Art O Mat (Corner of 7th & Washington)

Taste & See with WKC Lunchtime Market: Begins Thursday May 11th and continues every Thursday through October 26th -11am-2pm at Grace Church UMC (900 N Washington St.)

SO.CO Arts Market: June 10th, July 8th, August 26that the Rock Lot (305 W 8th St.)

Open Mic: June 17th, July 15th, July 29th, August 19that the Rock Lot (305 W 8th St.)

Summer Concerts: 6pm-7:30pm at 7th & West Park

June 29th - Richard Raw

July 27th - Sug Daniels CHECK BACK FOR August 24th - Nitro Nitra MORE UPDATES ON

MORE PROGRAMMING DETAILS WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON! POETRY WORKSHOPS, HEALING THROUGH THE ARTS WORKSHOPS, TACTIL E ARTS WORKSHOPS, & SO.CO HOLIDA Y ART MARKET

@WilmingtonAlliance

THESE EXCITING PROGRAMS!

WORTH RECOGNIZING

Community Members Who Go Above & Beyond

FASHION STATEMENT

Kyle Hamilton hopes to raise mental health awareness through branded apparel

By Adriana Camacho-Church

Kyle Hamilton, 29, is on a mission. He wants to raise mental health awareness through his clothing line, Mental Blocks. The logo on Hamilton’s t-shirts, shorts, hoodies, sweatpants, vest and hats consists of four different color stripes. “Each color represents a feeling or state of mind I believe we all suffer from either out loud or in silence,” says the Wilmington resident.

Orange represents self-worth, blue depression, green anxiety, and purple love. “You receive a Purple Heart for being in battle or a war,” says Hamilton, referring to the military award for being wounded in battle. “The emotions we deal with daily is a war, a mental war.”

Hamilton wants his multi-colored logo to spark a conversation about mental health.

“I truly believe mental health isn’t talked about enough,” he says. “It only gets brought up when it’s too late. I grew up in a single parent home and I always felt I had to put my feelings on the back burner to make others feel good. It just builds and builds up.”

Hamilton founded the clothing line and designed the logo in October 2022 with the goal of expressing his creativity, having his own business and helping others. He came up with the name after listening to a song by the artist LaRussel.

“There’s a line (in which the artist) says, ‘Wonder how you deal with all the damage, from all the emotions you couldn’t manage, from all of the trauma you couldn’t heal from, mental blocks you couldn’t build from,’” says Hamilton.

Currently, he runs his business out of his apartment. Customers discover him by word of mouth or Instagram.

Vanessa Colon, 27, discovered Mental Blocks

on social media. She bought a hoodie. She says she likes how Hamilton, who she has known since middle school, is using a clothing line to raise mental health awareness.

“Raising awareness can save lives,” says Colon, owner of Over the Border Tacos in Wilmington. “There are a lot of people who suffer from depression and anxiety who unfortunately go through it by themselves. Raising awareness lets people know that they can ask for help.”

To fund his business, Hamilton uses money he saved from working at Amazon. “I’m funding everything,” he says. After working 10-12 hour shifts for over a year he decided to invest in himself instead. He wanted his clothing line to be more than an idea.

Hamilton, who has a 6-year-old son named Tory Charles Hamilton, makes trips to Philadelphia and New Jersey to purchase in bulk the clothes he uses. He also buys different color vinyl to cut and iron the stripes that go on his merchandise.

Before Amazon and Mental Blocks, Hamilton handcrafted pieces of furniture such as desks, tables, and seating for residential and commercial clients. He is a graduate of The Challenge Program, a six-month vocational training program for Delaware’s youth. Since 1995, the program has assisted in earning a high school diploma or GED and job placement services.

“At The Challenge Program, I was taught carpentry and got hired by CP furniture,” he says. CP Furniture brings in graduates from the program and offers them full-time positions with benefits. Hamilton worked there for about five years.

When thinking about the future, Hamilton sees Mental Blocks as a financial support and making a difference in people’s lives. “You never know what someone is experiencing,” he says. He hopes his logo will spark the question, “Hey, what does it mean?”

— Visit Hamilton at Instagram: @MB_mentalblocks

Kyle Hamilton founded Mental Blocks in 2022.

OPPORTUNITY, CUBED

The Pine Box builds a reputation as a go-to rehearsal space for national acts

By Scott Pruden

Not many of us receive the gift of knowing at a young age what we want to do as a career. Scott Humphrey, owner and president of The Pine Box Studios and Light Action Productions, is among those fortunate enough to have received such a gift as a teenager, compliments of the screaming guitar of one of rock’s most innovative guitarists. It was in March of 1978 at the Tower Theater, the venerable Upper Darby music venue, that a teenage Humphrey was in the audience for a triple bill of Journey, Montrose and — opening the show — a fresh new act on the Warner Bros. label called Van Halen touring in support of their eponymous major label debut. As Humphrey walked into the auditorium, guitarist Eddie Van Halen was in the middle of a scorching threeminute-plus version of “Eruption.”►

An exterior look at The Pine Box Studios. Photo by Joe del Tufo

Caption

“I’m blown away. I’ve never heard anything like this in my life,” Humphrey says. “I went out the next day, bought the record, and I’m like, I’m going to be in this business somehow, some way. I’ll do sound, lights — I don’t care what it is.”

Fast forward 45 years, and Humphrey sits in the conference room at the center of Light Action Productions and Pine Box Studios, a complex at E. 7th St. that embodies the culmination of that initial dream.

Situated on 20 acres on the peninsula near the point where the waters of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek merge before heading into the Delaware River, this combination of concert and theatrical production warehouse connected

to a massive soundstage was something previously unheard of in Wilmington, or, for that matter, Delaware.

The Light Action facility relocates Humphrey’s former warehouse in New Castle, providing 100,000 square feet for the storage of the company’s expansive selection of everything needed to build an indoor or outdoor stage, light it and provide visual effects and sound. Fronting the warehouse is a sleek modern office space for the complex’s designers, architects, engineers and administrative staff.

READYING FOR THE ROAD

But the crown jewel of the site is a gigantic empty box. In this case, however, emptiness only means near limitless potential.

The Pine Box, visible from Interstate 495, looms over the cattails and marsh surrounding the site but offers no hint as to what’s inside. And that makes perfect sense, because what’s inside might depend on what day it happens to be.

In 2023 alone, the space has already seen full staging and rehearsals for the national SOS tour of singer SZA and — in a tip of the hat to the show that originally set Humphrey on his path in concert light and sound — staging set up for the 2023 tour of classic rock stalwarts Journey.

Such venues are key for big rock shows, Humphrey says, as they allow production teams often comprised of up to four or five separate companies — stage construction, lighting, sound and visual effects among them — to build everything in advance and work out any logistical issues without the pressure of a looming performance.

The Pine Box has already hosted national acts preparing for upcoming tours.

Photo coutesy The Pine Box

And while rock tours have been The Pine Box’s bread and butter since it opened for business, the facility lends itself to clients as diverse as a rehearsal spot for Broadway touring companies and a soundstage for TV and feature film production.

The space itself comes as advertised — a bare 21,000-squarefoot production studio with a ceiling height of 85 feet. Suspended at the stage end is a 130-foot by 90-foot frame on which visiting bands can suspend up to 100,000 pounds of overhead sound, light and projection equipment. Along the wall opposite the stage are two stories of dressing room, wardrobe, office and catering space totaling 6,000 square feet.

Along the house left side of the “box” is a six-bay loading dock with a climate-controlled anteroom for crews to load in equipment out of the elements before moving it to the main room.

Clients rent The Pine Box as a single unit, with all the ancillary spaces included and a private entrance separate from the main Light Action offices. But it’s not just the building clients are renting, Humphrey says. The goal of The Pine Box team is to provide a fullservice experience, from booking hotel rooms and picking crew and performers up from the airport to providing catering, on-site support and extra gear from the Light Action warehouse if needed.

It’s a very specific selection of features that’s in high demand now that artists have resumed touring after an extended hiatus while COVID-19 restrictions were in place. And because rehearsal space options on the East Coast are limited — Starwood Rehearsals in Nashville and Rock Lititz up the road in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, are two of The Pine Box’s main competitors — booking a client often comes down to who is available at a particular time, Humphrey says.

“You go to yourself, ‘I need to rent a facility that gives me an area where I can set up my stage and all my production equipment, lighting, sound, video, everything. I need at least a 100- by 150foot footprint with a ceiling height of 80 feet or taller.’ Well, if you go online right now to look for how many of those facilities are in the country — let's just talk about the Northeast Corridor — there's not a lot of them,” he says.

THE CITY AS AN AMENITY

And among those limited choices, Wilmington is perfectly situated logistically. Two airports — Philadelphia International and Wilmington — are within a drive of 30 minutes or less, and

Thank you, tourism workers. hospitality and

This year National Travel & Tourism Week celebrates its 40th anniversary of highlighting travel’s critical role in fueling every industry, in every community. From education to new business growth to advancing manufacturing and more— when we move #TravelForward, we move New Castle County and all of Delaware forward.

Let’s Move #TRAVELFORWARD

Scott Humphrey's Pine Box Studios stands tall, visible to passersby on I-495.

Photo by Joe del Tufo

there’s easy access to I-95 and major hubs like New York City ► and Baltimore. There’s very little a tour production manager wouldn’t want.

But it’s not just about what’s available when. It’s about what the artist and crew can find when they arrive, Humphrey notes. The diversity of lodging, dining and nightlife is a driving factor. The Hotel DuPont offers high-end accommodations for performers, and for those who desire a bigger city experience, Philadelphia is a convenient drive. The Riverfront’s multiple hotels within an easy commute of The Pine Box and Wilmington’s growing reputation

as a culinary destination don’t hurt either, Humphrey notes.

“You name it, it's all right here.

And it's within walking distance. The guys [on the crews] are like, "Oh, we stayed down on the Riverfront. This is great. We didn't have to drive anywhere. We didn't need your drivers to take us around,’” he says. “They could just be here, go to the hotel, walk out the door to go to Del Pez or one of the restaurants down there. Go to the theater and watch a movie. During the summertime, you go watch a ballgame.”

Kevin Christopher, production manager for the Journey tour, agreed that having all the benefits of Wilmington nearby was one of the primary incentives for him to book The Pine Box.

“What was really appealing about Pine Box is, OK everybody's going to go work there and anyone who is off for the evening, we're staying in the Riverfront, there's plenty of stuff now in the Riverfront to go find places to eat or stuff like that,” he says.

Meanwhile, the economic benefits of having a touring crew staying in the city are significant, says Sean Park, director of economic development for the City of Wilmington. A preliminary economic impact survey based on tourism data from Visit Delaware and the average spending of non-local overnight visitors estimated an additional $1.8 million annually

The Pine Box with Light Action Productions at right have brought new energy to the 7th St. Peninsula.

Photo by Joe del Tufo

flowing into the Wilmington economy from crews working at The Pine Box.

“We’re hopeful that will have a trickle-down effect on helping to increase the local economy,” he says.

A DREAM FULFILLED

And in another full-circle moment for Humphrey, Christopher kept The Pine Box high on his list because he started his career in production as part of the Light Action team before moving to the West Coast. The two had brainstormed years ago what it would be like to custom build their own facility.

“I think it's even more than I expected from when we were talking about it 20 years ago, because Light Action has grown exponentially since then,” he says.

For Humphrey, coming out of the bleak COVID years when concert and Broadway touring shut down completely has renewed his faith in his dream and reminded him that he can thrive even under the worst of circumstances. During the touring hiatus, he employed freelance crew members to construct The Pine Box and ended up feeling like he was giving them work they hadn’t signed up for. But the truth was, there was no other work to be had so the crew appreciated the opportunity, he says.

“And then I find out half the guys used to do [construction]. They got out of construction to do the entertainment because the entertainment's cleaner,” he says, laughing. As the project progressed and the team saw what they were creating, they offered to hang around. “They said, ‘This is what I want to do. I see myself in this thing.’”

What’s resulted since touring has resumed is a new energy among his team, Humphrey says. Folks from the HR person to the receptionist were thanking him for believing in The Pine Box project and making plans to expand even further — the materials for another soundstage, this one 100,000 square feet — are on site and ready to be assembled.

“I was like, ‘What are you thanking me for?’ And they said, ‘Oh no, Scott, you don't understand how cool this is for Delaware. This is so exciting. You realize we're doing stuff here that they’d normally be doing in L.A. or New York or whatever, they're coming here to do it.’

“So, I mean, that's what's exciting about that, at least from where I sit — seeing this idea come to reality, and then the people that are working here appreciating it.”

Though a massive undertaking, Humprhey knew if he built it they would come.

Photo by Justin Heyes

Photo by Joe del Tufo

Trailblazer?

With an early start in his run for county executive, Marcus Henry hopes to emulate his mother by achieving another political first in Delaware politics

Marcus Henry has set out to become the second member of his family to blaze a trail in Delaware politics. And he has made sure to get an extremely early start on blazing that trail. The son of former Sen. Margaret Rose Henry, the first African American woman elected to Delaware’s General Assembly, he is running for New Castle County executive. If elected, Henry would be the first African American to hold the county’s top office. ►

By Bob Yearick

This will mark the first run for elective office by 52-year-old Marcus Henry.

Photo by Stephanie Diani

Henry officially kicked off his campaign for the Democratic nomination on April 26, 2022, some 2-½ years before the primary election in September of 2024.

Explaining the early announcement, Henry says: “This is my first run for public office, and this is a difficult task, so I want to get to know people and have them know me.”

He’s been doing just that over the past year, holding “listening sessions with a lot of stakeholders and political committees and labor, civic and church groups.” He plans to incorporate what he has learned into his platform.

Henry spent the last 20-plus years in public service, most of it in county government. He has worked for the past three county executives — Paul Clark, Tom Gordon, and the current officeholder, Matt Meyer. Prior to that, he gained experience in the private sector, as vice president of development for the Delaware Valley Development Co., followed by a four-year stint as director of capital development for the Wilmington Housing Authority.

Beginning in 2011 under Clark, he held various leadership positions in the county, including serving as the general manager of the Community Services Department from 2017 through 2021.

Affordable Housing, Redevelopment

In listing his county executive qualifications, Henry focuses on his experience in affordable housing and redevelopment projects as well as overseeing site selection and creation of new libraries.

During his years with the WHA, he worked on several projects that demolished and replaced deteriorating public housing with affordable housing units. In 2009, he helped guide the $2.7 million Eastlake Court Townhouse Project, which involved constructing 10 townhomes that would initially serve as public housing then shift to lease-to-own properties for qualified residents.

Margaret Rose Henry, here with her son (right) and campaign consultant Tony Benson II (center), will bring her political clout to Marcus Henry's run for office. Photo provided

That same year, he announced the WHA’s plans to tear down the Lincoln Towers public housing high-rise and replace it with a combined site that would offer affordable housing units for seniors as well as house a local fire station. Completed in 2013, the redeveloped building was an 88-unit modern mixed-income affordable community for seniors that also housed Wilmington’s Fire Company No. 5.

As general manager for the county’s Community Service Department, Henry also oversaw the site selection and land acquisition for four libraries, including the state-of-the-art Claymont and Appoquinimink libraries.

In several of those projects, Henry worked closely with John Cartier, county councilman since 2004 for the Eighth District, which includes Claymont and about half of Brandywine Hundred.

Cartier is unequivocal in his endorsement of the first-time candidate. “Marcus Henry would be the most qualified person to ever run for the job of county executive in terms of his extensive experience in administration in county government, his knowledge of county government, and general work in the community,” Cartier says. “He has a very extensive résumé, going back to the WHA and the private sector.

“I think he would an incredibly effective leader of our government.”

The 52-year-old Henry is a lifelong resident of Wilmington. He and his older brother, John, grew up on Coleridge Road in the Brandywine Hills section of Wilmington, and both graduated from St. Mark’s High School.

His father worked for DuPont while his mother spent her professional career in the nonprofit sector, serving in management roles with such groups as Delaware Guidance Services, Girls Inc., Ingleside Homes, YWCA, United Way of Delaware, and Delaware Technical Community College.

His parents divorced when he was 13, but he remains close with both of them. “They both emphasized the importance of giving back, and we would always do volunteer work,” Henry says.

Business Journalism?

Despite his mother’s strong public service legacy, it took a few years for Marcus to choose the same path. When she was elected to the state senate in 1994, he was majoring in journalism at Howard University in Washington, D.C., with a vague idea about going into business journalism. He did, however, minor in political science.

About a year after graduating from Howard, he made the first of two life-changing decisions. He moved from Wilmington to Chicago, where his father had started a second career and a second family.

“I wanted to try a new career path in a larger city and I wanted to get closer to my father and his wife and my stepbrother and stepsister,” he says.

His father told him about an opening on the staff of City Councilman Joe Moore, who represented Chicago’s 49th District. Henry interviewed, got the job, and proceeded to receive a grass-roots education in government amid the sometimes rough-and-tumble politics of one of the most colorful cities in America. ►

That experience planted a seed.

After 2-½ years in the Windy City, he realized two things: “I needed to further my education. And I wanted to work in government.”

A friend told him about the University of Delaware’s wellregarded master’s program in Public Administration, which led to the second momentous decision — returning to Delaware, enrolling at UD, and, most important, meeting and falling in love with his future wife, Diliana, who also was in the Public Administration program.

Married for 21 years, the Henrys live on Rockwood Road in Wilmington with their two children: Gabriella, 17, a senior at Archmere who will attend American University this fall, and Alexander, 15, a freshman in the autism program at Mt. Pleasant High School.

Alex was the impetus for BrightBloom Centers, which the Henrys founded in 2014 after having struggled to find support services for their son. The centers provide therapy, care and support for families and children with special needs.

BrightBloom specializes in Applied Behavior Therapy (ABA), which is considered an evidence-based best practice treatment for autism by the U.S. Surgeon General and the American Psychological Association. The centers also provide early intervention services, parent training, and school-based services for children with autism.

“My wife and I worked very hard to keep BrightBloom afloat,” says Henry. “It was difficult for the first few years, but I’m proud to say that nine years later we’re now the largest

provider in the state of Delaware. We have a large clinical staff and three service centers in Delaware and one in south Jersey. My wife has the lead on this, and she left a very lucrative job in banking to run it.”

Major County Issues

Henry is still formulating his campaign platform, but he already has identified some key issues that the next county executive will face. At or near the top of that list is public safety, where an officer shortage looms — a common concern throughout the country and critical to the 575,000-plus citizens of New Castle County.

“We are losing a lot of our police force to retirement, or they are transferring out,” Henry says. “Twice a year there’s a police academy that we run with the state and the Fire Marshal’s office, and this year at the first academy we only had about 10 new officers. It takes six months to onboard them, so that’s a concern. And we need to improve communications with the community, create better transparency.

“Also, 911 operators have more demand on them than ever before, so I want to have a pay scale that is commensurate with the work they do. And I want to strengthen our relationship with the county’s volunteer fire services, financially and otherwise. It would cost millions of dollars if the county had to have its own fire service, and we can’t afford that.”

He gives the county a passing grade when it comes to a couple of issues that are in his wheelhouse: land use and housing.

“We’re doing a decent job in land use,” Henry says, “but we can drill down a little better by collaborating with jurisdictions such as Middletown, making sure we have more comprehensive zoning classifications for commercial property and making sure we’re incentivizing affordable housing in areas of need.”

Interestingly, Henry uses the word “we” when speaking of county government. This may be a carryover from having worked for the past 11 years with the county executive, or it may suggest a certain confidence in his chances in the still-far-off election. He says he is receiving “a lot of support from Joe Q. Regular Citizen,” and that some officials have told him they’re “excited” for his run for the office.

With Meyer ineligible to serve a third term (he is almost certain to run for governor in 2024), the only other announced candidate for the Democratic nomination is Karen Hartley-Nagle (a Republican candidate is unlikely to step forward in the heavily Democratic county). Hartley-Nagle has been council president for six years, with two years left in her current term. It’s her first elected office, and her tenure has been marked by a harassment suit and some sparring with council members.

Henry says Meyer “has been supportive” of his candidacy. Of HartleyNagle he says, “I have respect for her office and what she does.”

Perhaps his most influential supporter is his 78-year-old mother, who served as majority whip and then majority leader during her time in the Senate. She still wields some political influence throughout the county and is a valuable and enthusiastic supporter of her son’s candidacy.

“My mother was a role model, from a very young age,” Henry says. “And she taught me — which I think is critically important for everybody — to listen; to listen to people and to have empathy for others.”

As summer approaches, he is slowly ratcheting up his campaign, attending events big and small and scheduling several fundraisers. All of it is focused on Sept. 10, 2024 — when voters will decide if the Henry family has produced a second trailblazer.

FOOD TRUCKS CRAFT BEER & LIVE MUSIC

Kick-off Party at Brandywine Park

A world-class party in the park featuring live music by Too Tall Slim.

(5/19, 5-8pm)

MAJOR TAYLOR COMMUNITY RIDE

3.

Celebrate Wilmington and the spirit of cycling with this FREE ride on the Grand Prix course. All abilities welcome.

(5/20, 11am)

2.

STROLL & SHOP

Market Street merchants will be open and offering special discounts to attendees. Since there is no admission charge to Grand Prix festivities, you’ll have a little extra cash in your pocket to spend.

(5/20, noon start)

10 WAYS

4.

KIDS STUFF

Giant Slide, Games, Bubble Show, Music, Face Painting and more. All Free!

(5/20, noon-5pm)

5. COURSE CAFES

Enjoy lunch and watch the races with a table right on the course at Chelsea Tavern, DiMeo’s, Merchant Bar, Stitch House, Wilma’s & more!

(5/20, noon-5pm)

6. 8.

WATCH WORLD-CLASS CYCLING

Ever see 100 bikes sprint thru a Downtown at 35mph? An international field of pro cyclists will be on hand for this nationally-ranked event.

TO ENJOY

7. 10.

A FAMILY AFFAIR

You don’t have to be a race fan to enjoy six blocks of free family fun. Watch the races, have a beer, and let your kids enjoy the festival.

(5/20, noon start)

JOIN THE GOVERNOR’S RIDE

COBBLESTONE CLIMB

Cheer cyclists up challenging Monkey Hill. Bring your cowbell! And your costume! (5/19, 5-8pm)

DO THE FONDO

Last Fondo, riders from 18 states and five countries came to Wilmington to experience this bucket list ride through the Brandywine Valley. Sign up and you’ll see why.

(5/21, 8am start)

9.

Name: Jacquee Lukawski

Home: Wilmington

Fundraising goal: $250

Name: Laura Wilburn

Home: Wilmington

Fundraising Goal: $2,000

Fundraising goal: $500

This Ride’s A Load

Fundraising goal: $1500

Commuter Challenge a colorful fundraiser for Urban Bike Project

Last year, The Commuter Challenge benefiting Urban Bike Project of Wilmington made its Wilmington Grand Prix debut at the Monkey Hill Time Trial. To label it a success would be an understatement.

“Why did we not introduce this to the Grand Prix sooner?” said Julie Miro Wenger, a co-producer of Grand Prix Weekend. “It was an absolute hit with the crowd.”

"It was such a blast seeing the crowd react to racers hauling sometimes hundreds of pounds up the hill last year, and we can't wait to do it again,” says Laura Wilburn, executive director of Urban Bike Project. “People really got into cheering for the riders.”

Not only did the event raise $15,000 for a perennial partner of the Grand Prix, but it also gave exposure in a creative and colorful way to the city non-profit, whose mission is to bring the joy of bicycling to Wilmington residents — youth and adults alike. Among UBP’s laudable achievements are a free bike program and providing at-risk city youngsters with a place to congregate and learn how to repair bikes.

The premise of the Commuter Challenge is that “gritty” supporters of UBP ride weighted-down commuter bikes around the same 3.2-mile course that the pro-am cyclists will be riding later that evening (Friday, May 19). And, yes, they ride those weighted-down bikes up the cobblestone climb of Monkey Hill, a significant challenge even for a rider on a state-of-the-art racing bike carrying no extra weight.

The more pledges a rider receives, the more weight he/she puts on their bike. Last year, Wilburn led by example, completing the course with more than 200 pounds “of stuff” added to her commuter bike. Other riders completed the course loaded up with everything from plants to law books — weight that symbolically tied into the rider’s vocation.

“We have such a good time with this event, but we also see it as a way to raise visibility for bicycle commuting,” says Wilburn. “At Urban Bike Project, we work with over 1,000 adults every year who use their bikes for transportation. Some choose biking for their health and happiness, while others can't drive for various reasons and rely on their bikes to survive. This event is such a great way to demonstrate how much is possible by bicycle, but also how much fun it can be. “

Pictured above are four of this year’s Commuter Challenge riders with comments on this year's event below. To support these riders, visit UrbanBikeProject.com/commuter-challenge.

What do you love about bike commuting or biking in general?

Paul: Noticing the more minute details of a landscape, savoring the simple joy of movement, and having an excuse to show up places and already be smelly.

Laura: Whoa. There are so many things I love about biking. I could write a whole essay about the ways it helps me feel more

connected, healthier, self-sufficient, but at the end of the day it’s just plain FUN. There’s nothing like the feeling of sailing down a hill with wind and sun on your face.

Jacquee: The freedom to get up and go on my own schedule; though I do ride the SEPTA train as part of my commute currently. Also, I love the community of bike commuters that I’m getting to know, including coworkers and graduate students.

Mark: The perspective. You notice things.

Why are you fundraising for Urban Bike Project?

Paul:I love their mission and I cobbled together my first project bike at UBP (a way undersized Royce Union frame from a friends shed that I converted into a single speed/ fixie mountain bike with bullhorn handlebars) so there is a special place in my heart for the organization.

Laura: It has been the joy of my career to help grow this incredible non-profit. Every week I get to witness transformative moments — a volunteer and customer from very different walks of life connecting over their shared love of biking, a kid’s face lighting up with confidence when their bike works again because they fixed it themselves, a neighbor with a disability regaining independence with the help of a free bike from us.

Jacquee: I recently started volunteering at UBP and I love how they make bicycling attainable for people from all walks of life, despite their financial means.

Mark: UBP is just an amazing organization all around. The mission, the fun, the people! They provide skills, offer two-wheeled “green” transpo, hold fun & safe events, and foster community.

What will you be riding for the Commuter Challenge?

Paul: Me salty old Surly Long Haul Trucker with swoopy bars and saddle bags loaded with cinder blocks.

Laura: My trusty old 2008 Trek 7.2FX commuter bicycle. I’ve never owned a car and this bike has gotten me everywhere I need to go and want to go, through 20 states and 2 countries, for the last 15 years.

Jacquee: I’m deciding between my Bridgestone 300 and Centurion Le Mans 12, both are vintage road bikes.

Mark: Salsa Vaya 2. Affectionally known as Sussudio.

What is the craziest thing you’ve ever carried by bicycle? Paul: A miter saw.

Laura: The time I carried a full size sheet cake on my handlebars.

Jacquee: Probably the time I had a yoga mat strapped to my back and Roots bowls takeout bags dangling on my handlebars. Not heavy, just awkward.

Mark: Probably five pizzas, I guess.

DRI E E

By Pam George

By Ken Mammarella

Photos by Joe del Tufo

Agood way to start understanding cannabis in Delaware is with a few acronyms and numbers.

Acronyms include THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the main force behind the psychoactive high), CBD (cannabidiol, well-recognized for its health benefits) and FDA (the federal Food and Drug Administration), because of is complicated stance regarding cannabis.

Numbers include 16,620 (the number of Delawareans who have cards to access medical marijuana), 19 (the minimum number of months it would take for Delaware to start selling recreational marijuana once it is legalized), 100 (percentage of Delaware’s last hemp crop that was destroyed because it had too much THC), 30 (the number of adult-use marijuana retailers being proposed — in contrast Delaware has 320 liquor stores), and 3600 (a block on Kirkwood Highway with two CBD stores). ►

That’s just the start. THC and CBD are among 100 or so cannabinoids in marijuana and hemp, which are two related plants in the cannabis genus.

THC comes in two important forms: Delta 9 (the most common form in marijuana) and Delta 8, with both isomers producing a high. Delta 8 is made “through an unregulated process” from hemp, Dr. Jason Silversteen, chairman of the Delaware Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee, told Delaware’s Medical Marijuana Stakeholder Group last fall, and it is illegally sold in Middletown and surrounding areas.

Variations for CBD include CBC, which Jesse Ginefra, owner of Botana Organics, recommends for headaches, among other issues, CBDV (for seizures, he continues), CBG (for inflammation) and CBN (for sleep). Half the people walking into his North Wilmington store are seeking advice about these variations and various ways to be dosed.

“We’re in the business of helping,” he says. “And to understand CBD, we need to understand the endocannabinoid system.”

The system was identified in 1988. Contrast that to marijuana’s medical use, which goes back to 2737 B.C., in China. Ginefra calls the system “your body’s coach,” for its wide impact, including blood pressure, the sleep cycle, memory, learning and hunger.

Customers at medical marijuana dispensaries — Delaware calls them compassion centers — often are seeking advice too.

“Our sales associates will steer you down the path for the effect you want,” such as energy, focus and sleep, says Volley Hayhurst, a Lewes resident who is vice president of operations for Columbia Care. He says that desire for guidance is especially important for older customers, and people age 50 to 70 make up 40% of Columbia Care’s business at its three Delaware dispensaries.

Guidance is also important for adults who dabbled in marijuana when younger. “In the mid-1990s, the average concentration of THC in cannabis samples was about 4%,” The New York Times reported in April. “By 2017, it was 17%, and some products now have THC levels above 90%.”

Schedule I

Another key date in cannabis history is 1970, when marijuana was labeled a Schedule I drug, with no medical value and high potential for abuse.

“This determination has come to be insulated by a byzantine, Kafkaesque, bureaucratic process now impervious to the opinion of the majority of U.S. doctors — and to a vast body of scientific knowledge — many experts say,” according to Scientific American

That federal classification makes the legal business — both medical and adult-use — “a brutally difficult industry,” says James Brobyn, CEO of American Fiber Co. in Rockland. “You can be a good grower, but you have to be a better businessman.”

Brobyn started in the international cannabis business in 2016 and in May is scheduled to open Field Supply Cannabis as Delaware’s 12th dispensary, strategically set on Kirkwood Highway and Limestone Road, one of Delaware’s busiest intersections.

Even though medical marijuana has been legal in Delaware for a decade, and adult-use (or recreational) marijuana may become legal soon, that Schedule I classification also functions

as a financial straitjacket nationwide, on both how marijuana businesses are established and run.

And that classification also opens the CBD business to dodgy retailers, with Ginefra and Brobyn expressing alarm about gas stations selling who knows what and calling it CBD. That lack of FDA regulation means labels aren’t necessarily accurate in describing how much CBD products contain (or, disturbingly, if they contain any at all) or if they have any contaminants. “Buyer beware,” Ginefra says.

One more key date in cannabis history is 2018, when the federal Farm Bill legalized growing hemp and selling products with CBD, as long as they have less than 0.3% THC. The industry has since grown dramatically, but not smoothly.

“Flat is the new up, sales are growing but price points are dropping,” Natural Products Insider wrote in 2022, reporting on CBD leader Charlotte’s Web. “And the FDA is not lifting a finger to help.”

The “FDA continues to be concerned at the proliferation of products asserting to contain CBD that are marketed for therapeutic or medical uses although they have not been approved by FDA,” the agency writes as part of a 6,000-word FAQ posted online. The answers more often hedge (Q. Is it legal for me to sell CBD products? A. It depends) than speak succinctly (Can THC or CBD products be sold as dietary supplements? A. No.).

“The legal cannabis trade, still in its infancy, is flailing in many parts of the country,” The Washington Post reported on the front page of its print edition in January. “Supply is now flooding the market in several states, economists say, depressing prices and decimating already-thin margins. And competition is sure to escalate as decriminalization spreads, large growers adopt more costeffective technologies and the illegal market not only endures, but thrives. … 2022 marked the first year that any state recorded a decline in tax revenue from cannabis sales, and it occurred in five.” ►

Botana Organics owner Jesse Ginefra. Photo provided

And in Delaware . . .

Delaware’s hemp industry is not doing well, judging by Delaware Department of Agriculture stats. Acreage fell by two-thirds from 2020 to 2022; indoor production fell by 90%. Two-thirds of the 2022 outdoor production and all the indoor production was destroyed because it had too much THC.

Opening a store selling CBD items was simple, Ginefra says, but opening a dispensary is complex. Delaware requires dispensaries to be vertically integrated, handling four major tasks — cultivating, manufacturing, testing, and retailing — all within the state. And Delaware is such a small market — just 16,620 people recommended by their doctor and reviewed by the state to get cards that allow them to buy medical marijuana — that “you can’t get scale,” Brobyn says.

Although the attention this year has been on adult-use marijuana, the Delaware Cannabis Industry Association is advocating for several changes in the medical market: selfcertification for patients 60 years or older, plus higher THC percentages and differentiated products.

CBD products aren’t sold in major chains, Brobyn says, because the lack of an FDA seal of approval means these chains fear an excess legal burden.

Still, chains of CBD stores, such as American Shaman and Your CBD Store, compete against local entrepreneurs. All post disclaimers that read something like this: “These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.”

“The FDA understands that there is increasing interest in the potential utility of cannabis for a variety of medical conditions,

as well as research on the potential adverse health effects from use of cannabis,” the federal agency writes on its website, noting it’s approved just one cannabis-derived drug and three synthetic cannabisrelated drugs. “Importantly, the FDA has not approved any other cannabis, cannabis-derived, or cannabidiol (CBD) products currently available on the market.”

The Delaware Legislature was more confident in marijuana’s medical benefits when it authorized medical marijuana. The

American Fiber CEO James Brobyn (l) with Chief of Staff Ceon Harris at one of the company's cultivation facilities. Photo courtesy American Fiber.

introduction to the law cites nearly 5,000 years of medical use and says, “Modern medical research has confirmed the beneficial uses for marijuana in treating or alleviating the pain, nausea, and other symptoms associated with a variety of debilitating medical conditions.”

Even though medical marijuana is legal in Delaware, marijuana itself is still illegal, according to the federal government. “Businesses face many challenges, such as the inability to openly bank with any organizations in the state of Delaware, which creates additional expenses and generates fees when banking out of state,” according to the 2022 Medical Marijuana Stakeholder Group Summary Report, prepared for the state’s Office of Medical Marijuana.

“Compassion centers are unable to obtain a bank loan, so private investors are leveraged, and they often charge higher interest rates. The restrictions prevent the companies from being able to obtain and use company credit cards,” the report continued. Brobyn calls the rates “predatory.”

Startups are costly: Growing and manufacturing spaces costs $350 to $400 a square foot to build, Brobyn says. Compare that to $100 to $150 for houses.

“Under existing laws, cannabis organizations operate as not-for-profit businesses and are taxed as corporations,” the report continued, noting that that “prohibits these companies from claiming the same standard business deductions that other companies are allowed.”

“Everything is taxed,” at an effective rate of 75% to 80%, Brobyn says, compared to 25% to 28% for other businesses.

The financial complexity continues at dispensaries for buyers, who must pay with cash or “certain registered debit cards that have high interest rates and transaction fees,” according to the report. That’s because major credit card companies don’t want to be involved, either.

Medical Marijuana

Delaware’s medical marijuana program began with the 2011 Medical Marijuana Act. The first dispensary opened in 2015. Six firms have opened 11 dispensaries, with more surprisingly downstate, even though the number of medical marijuana cards is split evenly between upstate and downstate. A 12th dispensary is scheduled to open in May in New Castle County.

A Delaware Health and Social Services landing page lists a dozen physical and mental conditions that can qualify people for medical marijuana. The list includes terminal illness, cancer, being HIV-positive, AIDS, decompensated cirrhosis, Lou Gehrig’s disease, agitation of Alzheimer’s disease, posttraumatic stress disorder, intractable epilepsy, autism with self-injurious or aggressive behavior, glaucoma, and chronic debilitating migraines, and anxiety (CBD Rich Card only). People can also qualify if they have a chronic or debilitating disease or condition or if its treatment produces wasting syndrome, debilitating pain, intractable nausea, seizures, and severe muscle spasms.

People must get a prescription for medical marijuana and apply for a card good for a year (there’s talk of increasing that to three years). They can buy 3 ounces of usable marijuana every 14 days, and they can’t use it in public places, any form of transportation, schools, or correctional facilities. ►

WHAT ABOUT LEGAL RECREATIONAL USE?

Adult-use marijuana became legal in April after Gov. John Carney decided he would allow two bills to become legal without his signature.

House Bill 1 decriminalized marijuana possession for personal use, effective April 23. A companion House Bill 2 sets up a system for growing, taxing and selling marijuana, but retail licenses won’t be issued for 19 months, HB 2 says. That lag is similar to nearby states.

New Jersey voters backed recreational marijuana in November of 2020, but the first stores didn’t open until April of 2022. New York authorized recreational marijuana in March of 2021, but the first stores didn’t open until December of 2022. After a referendum in November of 2022, Maryland will authorize recreational marijuana starting July 1.

“As we implement House Bill 1 and House Bill 2, we will do everything in our power to protect children from accessing marijuana and marijuana-related products; prevent Delawareans and Delaware visitors from driving under the influence of marijuana; and closely evaluate the placement of marijuana dispensaries and other businesses, to ensure they do not become a blight on already disadvantaged communities,” Carney said when he would not attempt to veto the bills.

No matter what these other states have done, “nowhere can you buy marijuana and cross state lines,” says James Brobyn, CEO of American Fiber Co. , which owns Field Supply Cannabis, a marijuana dispensary opening in May, and Valor Craft, a THC and CBD brand.

And, according to NORML, an advocacy group, “Delaware has a zero tolerance per se drugged driving law enacted for cannabis, cannabis metabolites and other controlled substances.”

The Delaware Cannabis Advocacy Network estimates that there are 145,000 adult cannabis users in Delaware, or about 18% of the state’s adults. In contrast, 51% of American adults drank alcohol in the last month.

HB 2 establishes a complicated process for adult-use marijuana, with four categories of licenses — cultivating, manufacturing, testing, and selling — and limits of 60 cultivating licenses, 30 manufacturing licenses, three testing licenses and 30 retailing licenses. A “social equity” component covers people convicted of many marijuana-related offenses or who have lived five of the last 10 years “in a disproportionately impacted area.”

Another component is for “microbusinesses,” meaning small firms led by Delawareans, as contrasted to firms like Columbia Care, which operates in 39 states, including Delaware, and wants to expand into adult use in Delaware, says Volley Hayhurst, a vice president.

In retailing, there will be 15 social equity licenses and 15 licenses open to anyone. Applicants will be scored on factors like “fair scheduling, family-supporting wages,” local hiring and diversity goals.

Similar guidelines on local ties and social equity led to a lawsuit that delayed by six months the issuance of some licenses for adult-use retailers in New York. The litigant, whose majority owner lives in Michigan, “has filed a similar lawsuit against Los Angeles,” The New York Times reported in April.

Once the bills become law, detailed rules need to be written.

The Delaware Cannabis Policy Coalition supports “a well-regulated system” that would replace “a dangerous underground market,” raise revenue via taxes, “ensure proper testing, packaging and labeling” and free law enforcement from “enforcing failed prohibition policies.”

“The decriminalization of cannabis doesn’t mean that people who possess personal use quantities of cannabis are not subjected to the criminal justice system,” says Dover attorney Adam Windett. “In fact, the enforcement of decriminalization looks exactly the same as criminalization. In Delaware, people who are suspected of possessing cannabis experience custodial detentions, being placed in handcuffs, humiliating searches of their vehicles and persons, including strip searches, civil asset forfeiture, seizure of their cannabis, fines, and the trauma related to unnecessary police interactions.

“Decriminalization is enforced unevenly, and poor people, young people, and people of color are disproportionately impacted. While these interactions should end with civil citations and not arrests, that is not always the case due to errors by law enforcement and overcharging. In many instances, even if a civil citation is issued rather than an arrest, considerable damage has already been done.

“Far too many people wrongly equate decriminalization with legalization. For the rest of the population, particularly the nearly 6,000 people a year who are cited with cannabis offenses post-decriminalization, the continued enforcement of wildly unpopular prohibitions against possession and consumption of cannabis by adults continues to erode public trust in our system of laws, law enforcement, the courts, and the administration of justice.”

Fresh Delaware sends potential customers looking to order online (but pick up in person) to Leafly.com, which breaks down the merch this way: flower (dried buds, sold by the eighth of an ounce), concentrates (cartridges sold for vaping, sold as half or full grams), edibles (gummies, cookies, candies and tinctures), pre-rolls (individual joints) and topicals (sports sticks and salves). Different strains are promoted to increase and decrease desired feelings, such as arousal and anxiety.

There’s a similar variety for products with CBD. At Botana, they include gummies (the most popular), capsules, topicals (like bath bombs), tinctures (in alcohol extracts), oils, foods (like honeys, mints, chocolates, cookies, drinks, taffies, smoothie mixes and flavoring syrups), disposable vapes, vaping cartridges, hemp flowers (for whatever the customer wants to create) and pre-rolls (basically hemp cigarettes).

The feeling from the gummies lasts the longest, Ginefra says, and smoking CBD pre-rolls is the fastest way to feel the effect (yes, the peppery, oregano-y aroma resembles marijuana).

Ginefra started learning about the business almost a decade ago, while working on a Colorado hemp farm, and he believes that CBD “is a nutrient missing from the modern diet.” He takes it regularly.

He is ready to advise people on whatever their concerns are, the most common being pain, anxiety and problems sleeping. Some products add herbs, mushrooms, or other ingredients, and he also sells CBD products for pets. His concerns for quality control mean he sells products from a small number of businesses, backed by independent testing. “Every month, there’s something new,” he says.

And another key date in marijuana just happened, with Delaware’s legalization of recreational adult use. See What About Legal Recreational Use story at left.

15 Signature Dishes

From carrot soup to broasted chicken, these are some of the area’s favorite foods

By Pam George

n 2011, Xavier Teixido and his partners purchased Kid Shelleen’s Charcoal House & Saloon in Trolley Square and promptly removed the chicken-corn chowder from the menu. The guests voiced their displeasure with “howls and threats of boycotts,” Teixido says. “It came back quickly.”

Smart move. In Delaware, certain items have a cult-like following, and woe to the restaurateur who messes with success. You can add new items, of course. But daring to ditch what’s become a signature dish can spell disaster.

Here are 15 favorites.

Southwestern Chicken Salad at Kid Shelleen’s

Available at the Trolley Square and Branmar Plaza locations, this salad is a tumble of fried chicken, cheddar Jack cheese, tomatoes, pickled onions, corn-black bean salsa, hard-boiled eggs, crispy tortillas, jicama, romaine and honey-chipotle dressing. ►

The meatloaf entree at Dorcea. Photo by Butch Comegys

Fish & Chips at Stoney’s British Pub

A British pub owned by a Brit must have fish and chips. That said, Mike “Stoney” Stone makes a delicious version. “I start with fresh fish — I’m now getting my cod from Icelandic waters — and the batter is simple flour and water,” he says. “I think it’s best not to overthink it when your ingredients are good.”

Initially, Stone didn’t offer tartar sauce at his Concord Pike restaurant because he grew up using vinegar or salt as a condiment. But behind the restaurateur’s back, employees began making the popular seafood sauce, which originated in France. “I love to complain about it,” he proudly says of their initiative.

Yorkshire pudding, a popoverlike baked pudding, is also beloved.

Meatloaf at Dorcea

Shortly after Dorcea’s opening in 2020, customers started craving Chef Michael Bomba’s char-grilled meatloaf with a spicy tomato glaze and garlic mashed potatoes. His Jamaican carrot soup is another sleeper that has found a firm footing on the menu.

Chicken Nixon at Ulysses American Gastropub and Six Paupers Tavern and Restaurant

In 1997, Michael and Steve Lucey opened Dead Presidents Pub & Restaurant in Little Italy partly to salute their passion for U.S. history. Not surprisingly, the menu included an homage to the country’s former chiefs. Chicken Nixon, one of the first creations, boasts cheddar cheese, bacon, creole barbecue sauce — and many napkins. Although the brothers sold that restaurant in 2009, the tasty sandwich has staying power. It’s on the menu at the Luceys’ Ulysses and Six Paupers.

Broasted Chicken at Lettie’s Kitchen

This Hockessin restaurant’s logo includes the head of a chicken — and with good reason. It is the main attraction, and Lettie’s version stands out in an area with no shortage of fried chicken. Credit the cooking method invented by Wisconsin-based Broaster, which patented the pressure fryer in the 1950s, explains Lettie’s owner, Tom Alexander.

Icelandic cod is the key to the fish and chips at Stoney's British Pub. Photo Tripadvisor.com

“About 15 years ago, a good friend introduced me to this style of cooking — under pressure — and I fell in love,” says Alexander. The method gives the chicken a good sear, after which it cooks inside out in its own juices, he explains. “The oil never penetrates the meat making it far less greasy than the traditional way of frying chicken.”

Alexander owns four sturdy Broasters built in the 1990s, and they’re kept busy. Although the equipment is expensive, it’s worth it, he says. Customers agree. “When we first opened, I never thought the fried chicken was going take off like it has, but here we are,” he says. “I’m so glad that others enjoy it as much as I do.”

Meatballs at Scalessa’s “My Way” Old School Italian Kitchen

The Forty Acres restaurant makes between 600 and 1,000 meatballs a week, depending on the time of year. “We hand-roll and fry each one — it’s a ton of work,” says owner Donnie Scalessa, who has tweaked the recipe over the years to produce the current raveworthy version. Scalessa loves to see the first-timers’ reactions. “Wow, these are better than my grandmother’s,” they often tell him.

Caesar Salad at Vincente’s Restaurant

During its long life, this Italian restaurant has moved from Wilmington to Brandywine Hundred to Glen Mills. It’s now on Kirkwood Highway. But no matter the location, the restaurant has retained the famous Caesar salad made tableside.

Assembling the garlicky salad gives customers a dinner and a show, thanks to founder Vincente Mancari. “My father created his recipe in 1972,” says Tom Mancari, who co-owns the restaurant with his brother, Danny. “I filled in for him when he had a health issue at age 43. Once he returned, he resumed making it until he passed nine years ago.”

The brothers have continued the tradition, which includes hurling Locatelli into the bowl from an admirable distance. Mancari says about 95 percent of the guests order the Caesar — up to 240 a weekend. That’s a lot of lettuce. ►

Three unique dining experiences at your doorstep.

Begin with modern wood-fired fare at The Quoin Restaurant. Take in a new side of the city with one-of-a-kind views and craft cocktails at Wilmington’s first and only Rooftop Bar & Lounge. Finally, indulge in specialty drinks in a historic locale at our cocktail bar, Simmer Down

Visit Us:

THE QUOIN RESTAURANT

Tuesday through Thursday, 5pm-10pm

Friday and Saturday, 5pm-11pm

Sunday, 4pm-9pm

ROOFTOP BAR & LOUNGE

Monday through Thursday, 5pm-11pm

Friday and Saturday, 5pm-12am

SIMMER DOWN

Tuesday through Thursday, 6pm-11pm

Friday and Saturday, 6pm-12am

Sunday, 5pm-10pm

Vincente's acclaimed Caesar salad got its start in 1972. Photo courtesy Tom Mancari

The Carpetbagger at Snuff Mill Restaurant, Butchery & Wine Bar

When Robert Lhulier was planning the menu for the Independence Mall restaurant, he pictured an appetizer that would be an “absolute homerun, knock-out dish,” he recalls. The result is a plump flash-fried oyster with shaved filet mignon, thick-cut bacon, Roquefort, jalapeno ranch and a zap of hot sauce — aka the Carpetbagger.

“It’s decadent, vibrant and surprisingly fresh despite its components,” Lhulier says. “Every element is essential…

Otherwise, it’s not the same.” The chef’s sister, Michele, makes the ceramic “shells”— another touch that makes the carpetbagger a menu staple.

Cream of Tomato Soup at Pizza by Elizabeths

The Greenville restaurant quickly goes through 15 gallons a day in fall and winter, says owner Betsy LeRoy. It helps that the creamy comfort food comes with freshly baked breadsticks.

Pumpkin-Mushroom Soup at the Back Burner

Long before pumpkin became fall’s signature flavor, the Back Burner turned it into a gourmet delight. Consider that in 1983, News Journal culinary columnist Nancy Coale Zippe received more requests for the recipe than any other.

Prime Rib at Walter’s Steakhouse or Harry’s Savoy Grill

You can’t go wrong with this cut at either restaurant. Walter’s, for one, can satisfy most appetites. Sizes range from 10 ounces for a petite to a whopping 34 ounces for the Adams cut. You can also pick the chuck side (rich marbling with a kernel of fat) or the leaner sirloin side. At Harry’s, choose from the 12- or 18-ounce slab.

The Bobbie at Capriotti’s

Sure, Delaware’s homegrown sub shop is now a national chain, but the First State will always have bragging rights to the

Snuff Mill's Carpetbagger is "decadent yet vibrant." Photo courtesy Snuff Mill Restaurant

Bobbie, a hoagie with roasted turkey, mayonnaise, cranberry sauce and stuffing. The Thanksgiving on a roll is named for the aunt of founders Lois and Alan Margolet, who decided to focus on roasted turkey to stand out from other sub shops.

Crab Cake at George & Sons

In the pandemic’s early days, crab cakes and lobster rolls kept registers ringing at the Hockessin hotspot. One taste, and easy to see why people pine for “dad’s crab cake,” a colossal mound of jumbo lump with roasted red pepper aioli.

Chicken Bobby O’Neill at Luigi Vitrone’s Pastabilities Restaurants

The Little Italy icon opened in 1988 and was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives on the Food Network. Part of the lasting appeal is Brooklyn-born Vitrone’s devotion to his customers, including former state deputy attorney Bobby O’Neill. The eponymous entrée features a lightly breaded boneless chicken breast layered with ricotta, prosciutto, eggplant, Bolognese sauce and fontina, which Vitrone has called “Gaelic meets garlic.”

Tortellini at Piccolina Toscana

Since 1991, tortellini with finely ground mortadella ham has graced the menu at Dan Butler’s Trolley Square restaurant. The hand-rolled pasta also contains ricotta, and it’s served with a sundried tomato cream sauce. The atmosphere has changed a few times over the years, but you can always count on the tortellini.

The cream of tomato soup at Pizzy By Elizabeths. Photo courtesy PBE

The prime rib at Harry's Savoy Grill. Photo by Butch Comegys

Experimental Craft

With The Age of Flight, multi-talented recording guru Ritchie Rubini finds another space to spread his wings

By Jim Miller

It’s a bustling breakfast at Kozy Korner. All the booths are filled, and the room is alive with chatter as servers scribble down orders and rush out plates of pancakes and omelets from the kitchen.

Across the table, musician Ritchie Rubini improvises a beat, utilizing whatever’s useful within arm’s reach: spoon and fork become drumsticks, plate and cup of coffee now a snare and cymbal.

You might not guess it, but he’s making a point about putting time into one’s craft.

Dat-dat-datta-ding…!

His animated gestures and syncopated rhythms seem to be fueled by something more than just caffeine…

Dat-dat-datta-ding…!

“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working,” he says, citing a Picasso quote he has framed and hanging on one of the walls of his home studio.

Dat-dat-datta-ding…!

“You got to walk over to the easel,” he adds, stopping the beat and emphasizing the silverware in his hand. “You got to pick up the paints. It’s all there. It’s ready to be downloaded!

“Once you do your part and pick up the paints.” ►

Ritchie Rubini's first instrumental album will be released on all digital platforms May 5.

Photo by Joe del Tufo

Preparing for Launch

In Rubini’s case, the “paints” are drumsticks, the keys to a synthesizer, or the many musical odds and ends one can find in his neo-bohemian Pike Creek studio. He’s someone who thrives on the experimentation that a recording studio can provide.

“Nothing’s more exciting to me than a sense of creative possibility,” Rubini says.

Regardless of the instrument that’s currently withing arm’s reach, one thing is certain: Rubini has been working. To his analogy, he’s been “picking up the paints.”

Like the improvised beat he just made, the musician has been on the move, keeping a relentless pace, zigzagging between shows and studio sessions.

The results have been rewarding. Last year, he repeated his 2020 win for Best Producer at the Hometown Heroes Awards held at The Queen. And this year, somehow, between his busy routine as a music producer and a packed line-up of live drumming gigs, he’s found the time to put the finishing touches on his new project: his first instrumental album called The Age of Flight

It’s an apt name for a collection of ambient-electronic songs that weave transportive sonic textures with retro-futuristic synth tones.

The project developed during in-between moments over the past six years — the waking whiles before work; the minutes or hours crammed between recordings sessions and rehearsals; the occasional off-days amid scheduled projects.

The times when inspiration found him working.

“I’d get up in the morning, open Pro Tools [on the computer], and start with a blank slate,” Rubini says. “I wouldn’t know what

Society and continuing today with The Snap and Region.

What Rubini is not well known for is being a talent who can create compositions that echo the cinema-like soundscapes of Brian Eno, Thomas Newman, and Hans Zimmer — three sonic reference-points that help triangulate the territories in which The Age of Flight glides, soars and explores.

“I think these songs are fun and spacey,” Rubini says. “But I had to ask myself, ‘Is anyone going to like this stuff?’ I know I like to listen to ambient music. It makes sense to me. But what about everyone else who thinks, ‘Yeah, Ritchie is this rock-drummer guy.’ They don’t know I like to be spacey and trippy and all that.”

A visit last year from former-Delaware-based musician Angela Sheik offered a vote of confidence. “She and Olivia were in the studio, and I played them some stuff,” Rubini says. “They really dug it. That made me feel it was worth going forward.

“Then Angela asked, ‘Ritchie, don’t you ever sleep?!’”

He laughs, shrugs his shoulders, then takes another sip of coffee.

Where it all Began

Even when he was just a teenager, Rubini found him drawn to music and experimentation.

“I’d always fool around with sounds — even in my mom’s basement with a fourtrack recorder — and do these little instrumental things. I was always intrigued with sounds and I would listen to all sorts of sounds. I liked fiddling around with things.

“Not to say that I’m some wizard engineer or anything, but it’s fun for me.”

He may be being overly modest. The fact is there are some notable people in the recording industry who think Rubini is something of a wizard when it comes to the studio.

Take longtime friend and musical collaborator Nick DiDia, who has worked as an engineer, mixer and record producer for the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Train, and Rage Against the Machine — just to name a few.

Rubini became friends with DiDia after they met at Philadelphia’s Warehouse Recording Studios in the mid ‘80s. DiDia was doing engineer work for rock bands like Bon Jovi and Cinderella. Rubini and his brother, Rudy, would drive up to pick up work as backing vocalists for various artists and bands.

“I watched Nick grow into a really successful engineer,” Rubini says of those days.Nearly 15 years later, in the late ‘90s, DiDia invited Rubini to his recording studio in Atlanta to work on what would become Let It All Begin , the first solo record of Shawn Smith, a musician who Greg Dulli of The Afghan Whigs has called “Seattle’s Best-Kept Secret.”

At the time, Smith had carved out a respectable reputation for himself in

Seattle’s grunge scene working with a variety of rock groups including Brad, a side project of Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard.

DiDia co-produced Brad’s second album, Interiors , which made him a wise pick to produce Smith’s solo effort. According to DiDia, the decision to bring Rubini into the sessions was equally wise.

“Ritchie was such an important part of that record,” says DiDia, who now lives and works in Byron Bay, Australia. “Not only his drumming, but his singing and vocal arrangements — along with Tony Reyes — really set that record apart from anything else Shawn had done...

“On top of that he’s one of the nicest, thoughtful people I know, and it shows in his playing and production.”

Although not a hit album, Let It All Begin became a cult sensation of sorts, and would continue to earn fans and high praise decades later. In 2015, Louder’s Paul Rees called it the standout album of Smith’s solo career and “a glorious DIY confection of bucolic soul-rock that imagines Stevie Wonder fronting The Band.” ►

Rubini in his studio with Samantha Poole. Photo provided

TUNEDIN

AREA MUSIC NOTES

LEANN RIMES PLAYS THE GRAND MAY 18

She’s sold more than 48 million records around the world, won two Grammy awards, 12 Billboard Awards, and she’s playing The Grand on Thursday, May 18.

She’s Leann Rimes, and you might say she was born to sing, being the youngest solo artist to win a Grammy and, at age 15, the first country artist to win “Artist of the Year” at the Billboard Music Awards.

Rimes will play her greatest hits plus songs from her latest album, god’s work, which features guest artists Ziggy Marley, Robert Randolph, Ben Harper and Sheila E.

For tickets and more info, visit TheGrandWilmington.com.

LADYBUG RETURNS TO ROCK WILMINGTON WITH MORE THAN 30 FEMALE-FRONT ACTS

On Thursday, June 2, the Ladybug Music Festival returns to Wilmington. It remains the longest-running, free female-centric music festival in the country.

The event boasts more than 30 female-fronted bands and acts, including headliners Adia Victoria and Nitro Nitra.

“It feels pretty fantastic to know that we have been able to not only keep this festival going, but grow it as well,” says Gayle Dillman, CEO of Gable Music Ventures, which has nurtured the event since founding it in 2012. “We are instrumental in helping women come together to feature their talents.”

As the website states: “The Ladybug Festival not only exclusively hires female or femaleidentifying fronted bands, but we do our best to hire as many women as we can for available positions on festival staff.”

Dillman adds that her team is “very proud that Delaware is embracing the creative economy by supporting events like Ladybug.”

Last year, Ladybug drew an estimated crowd of 4,000 area music fans to 2nd and LOMA. This year, the event takes place at the 400 and 500 blocks of Market Street from 5-10pm.

For more info on this free event, visit TheLadyBugFestival.com.

ADAM BECK LOOKS UP WITH FEEDING OF THE STARS LP

Featuring deftly crafted guitar licks and wonderfully lush harmonies, Adam Beck’s new EP Feeding Of The Stars is one of those varieties of sweet lemonade derived from the massive influx of sour lemons the world endured a few years ago.

LIST YOUR MUSIC EVENT... FREE!

“The record started pretty darn close to the first major news of the coming pandemic,” Beck recalls. “All the gigs I had lined up were promptly canceled. I felt dismayed.”

But with the cancelations, a clean slate eventually appeared: “I felt the weight lift,” he adds. “I felt free to just create.”

The EP started with the song “The Party Is Over,” which Beck wrote on piano early in the process. After producing the entire song on his own at his home studio, Captured Sound, he decided to do another… then another…

“As much as I wanted to make a full-length record, I always felt more quality than quantity is the way to go and settled on a handful tunes,” Beck says.

“Although it was three years in the making, it wasn’t day in and day out,” he adds. “It was worked on when I was inspired, in between engineering and recording for fellow artists, fishing, playing golf and enjoying life with my family.”

Give Feeding Of The Stars a listen at AdamBeck.Bandcamp.com.

Adia Victoria headlines this year's Ladybug Festival.

ELKTON MUSIC HALL OPENS JULY 15 WITH OH HE DEAD & COSMIC GUILT

Last month, operators announced the opening date for Elkton Music Hall and it sounds like quite the party: A WXPN-hosted jam with Oh He Dead and Cosmic Guilt on Saturday, July 15.

The Washington Post says Oh He Dead creates an “infectious and soulful sound” while NPR calls lead singer CJ Johnson’s voice “a combination of Stevie Nicks and Tracy Chapman.”

Local music fans may recognize Cosmic Guilt’s James Everhart from Philly’s Low Cut Connie and, earlier, Delaware’s own Villains Like You.

The theater holds more than 300 guests standing, 250 seated theater-style, or 175 cabaretstyle. Currently the venue has booked show up through Dec. 1 of this year (Steve Forbert) with other upcoming acts including GA-20 (Aug. 25) and Marshall Crenshaw (Sept. 27).

For tickets and more show dates, go to ElktonMusicHall.com.

State of the Arts

UD’s REP sets stage for inaugural multi-discipline festival May 5 & 6

By Michelle Kramer-Fitzgerald

This spring, the University of Delaware celebrates all genres of artistic expression in a new endeavor: its inaugural State of the Arts Festival on May 5-6.

The festival is the result of collaboration among several UD departments — The Resident Ensemble Players (the REP, UD’s resident professional theatre company), the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Department of Theatre and Dance. Its aim is intended to showcase exceptional student work across disciplines and bring together the greater student body to discover and celebrate the talent of their peers.

The festival’s creative brain trust are The REP’s own artistic director Steve Tague and Company actor/director/ playwright Michael Gotch. Each has been instrumental in the event’s launch, and both are passionate about providing this opportunity to UD students.

“The REP and the Department of Theatre and Dance are making an effort to be more inclusive of the student population, to open the doors, if you will, and become a clearer, bigger part of the UD student experience,” says Tague. “This festival is one example of that effort.”

They encourage all students — especially those interested in a professional life in the arts — to participate. The intention is to showcase all manner of artistic talent — actors, dancers, fashion designers, graphic artists, musicians, painters, photographers, spoken-word poets, stand-up comedians, and sculptors. The festival is meant for all UD students, and

submission was open to any currently enrolled student on any UD campus or affiliate.

“Ultimately, we want to encourage [UD] students to get their work out into the world, enjoy exposure to the wider university community, their peers, and exposure to the REP’s loyal audiences,” says Gotch.

“The festival itself will really be shaped by the individual student artists and their talents,” says Amanda McGinty, program coordinator, marketing and public relations of The REP.

All activities will be held at UD’s Roselle Center for the Arts. The schedule includes a weekend of exhibits that culminate in a public performance on Saturday, May 6, 7:30pm in the Thompson Theatre. The Studio Theatre Gallery will feature visual artwork on display on Friday, May 5, from noon-4pm and again on Saturday, May 6, beginning at noon. ►

Pictured above: University of Delaware’s Chamber REP production of Suite Blackness: Black Dance in Cinema. Photo courtesy UD REP

Both Tague and Gotch are excited about just getting this first year up and running, but also seeing so many students submitting their work.

“It is heartening to see young people doing something that may not be part of their major, but that gives them a chance to show off [a talent] that is important to them, that gives them joy,” says Tague. He says it’s about giving students the opportunity to share their work and communicate with others through it.

They hope this project will inspire more departments in the College of Arts and Sciences to increase participation and help build something lasting.

“Hopefully, it grows into something the full College of Arts and Sciences can participate in . . . perhaps toward credits or for individual study project options,” says Gotch. “It can be a bridge between the classroom setting and the real world, where work needs to live and deserves to be seen, heard, experienced and felt.”

“We have had some crazy visions of this thing becoming a threeday weekend with buy-in from the university and the community, food trucks, outdoor displays of art, performances all day long in a Firefly sort of way, until it becomes a sort of thing that no one wants to miss,” says Tague. “It may take us a while to get there, but this is what we imagine.”

— Audiences can purchase tickets to the State of the Arts Festival on The REP website www.rep.udel.edu, through the box office in the Roselle Center for the Arts at 110 Orchard Road, or by calling 302-8312204. Tickets are $15 for the general public and $10 for students.

WIN A $50 GIFT CARD TO PIZZA BY ELIZABETHS!

Fill in the

You know the drill:

(1) Ask your friends to help “fill in the blanks” for the missing words needed below.

(2) Once completed, read aloud and watch hilarity ensue.

(3) Got a funny one? Take a photo and send it to us at Contact@OutAndAboutNow.com.

Randomly drawn winner will get a $50 Gift Card to Pizza By Elizabeths

(One entry per person; must be 21+ to enter; due by the 21st of each month.). Have fun!

MURDER MYSTERY MOVIE

There’s a great new mystery movie called “( number > 1 ) ( adjective ) ( animal plural )” and it stars ( full name of friend ) as Detective Duff, a ( adjective ) police inspector, who must solve an intricate murder mystery — before becoming the next victim!

Sure, it’s a little cliché in the sense that the movie largely takes place in a old Victorian ( type of dwelling ) complete with a service staff of butler, maid, and ( professional ) — all of them quite ( adjective )!

At the start of the movie, a billionaire is found dead, presumably murdered with a ( adjective ) ( noun ). It’s up to Detective Duff to ( verb ) through the evidence while ( verb ending in -ing ) the suspects.

But, one by one, the suspects start turning up dead: The maid is poisoned with ( adjective ) ( liquid ); the body of a ( professional ) is found in the cellar ( house appliance ); and Uncle ( nonsense word ) gets whacked over the head with a ( adjective ) ( noun ). It’s all very mysterious!

Thankfully, the clever detective finds important clues in a ( adjective ) ( household item ), a pair of ( plural noun ), and a ( animal ) named “( first name of another friend ).”

“( exclamation )!” Detective Duff says at the end of the movie, “The murderer is ( first name of third friend ) ( nonsense word ), the famous ( professional )! The answer was right there in front of our ( body part plural ) the whole time!”

THE CITY

2023 YOUTH PUBLIC SAFETY ACADEMY ANNOUNCED

Mayor Mike Purzycki, Police Chief Wilfredo Campos, and Fire Chief John Looney invite City teens to take part in the 2023 Youth Public Safety Academy, a FREE two-week program for youths aged 13-17 to be held from June 19 to June 30. The academy will run Mon. to Fri. from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and includes breakfast and lunch for participants. Class size is limited, so apply now by visiting WilmingtonDE.gov/YouthAcademy. Applications are due by 5 p.m. on May 29.

The goal of the Academy, which is presented with assistance from JPMorgan Chase, is to strengthen relationships between our City’s public safety professionals and the communities they serve, while providing Wilmington’s young people with a better understanding of the challenges and responsibilities of the work of police officers and firefighters.

“I am encouraged by the many young people in Wilmington who aspire to a career in public service as a first responder,” said Mayor Purzycki. “We have an outstanding police department and an outstanding fire department,” he continued, “and participants in this joint program have much to learn from the fine men and women who are already committed to these noble professions. At the same time, this session is invaluable for our officers and firefighters to learn more about how young people think and about how they interpret issues and circumstances related to safety.”

The Mayor expressed his hope that young people in the City will take advantage of this unique opportunity to learn more about what it means to be a first responder in Wilmington, including the challenges and risks a career in public safety present as well as the many rewards it can offer.

NEW COMMUNITY FRIDGE AT “HICKS” ANDERSON CENTER

Mayor Mike Purzycki joined Parks & Rec Dep. Director Melody Phillips, AmeriHealth CEO Emmilyn Lawson, Jessica Wescott of Planting to Feed, and other guests to celebrate the placement and availability of Wilmington’s latest community refrigerator at the “Hicks” Anderson Community Center in West Center City.

The purpose of a community refrigerator is to help individuals and families that live in a “food desert” or are otherwise food insecure gain access to healthy food items –especially fresh produce, fruits, and vegetables – throughout the year. Planting to Feed, founded in 2016, opened the first community refrigerator in Delaware at Wilmington’s Kingswood Community Center in 2020; this will be the organization’s sixth such refrigerator for underserved populations. The community fridge at “Hicks” Anderson is sponsored by AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware through a $10K grant. Planting to Feed will restock the fridge on a weekly basis.

“Community refrigerators enable neighbors to help neighbors in need, and that is an idea we’re happy to get behind,” said Mayor Purzycki. “I am grateful for this special partnership, which will help address health disparities in an underserved area of our City.”

Mayor Purzycki helps celebrate the arrival of the Community Fridge at “Hicks” Anderson

PHASE II OF RODNEY SQUARE RENOVATION UNDERWAY

Mayor Purzycki and the Rodney Square Conservancy have announced that the second phase is now underway of the approximately $8M renovation of Wilmington’s Rodney Square, originally constructed in 1921. Phase one of the public and privately funded renovation project began in Sept. 2019 and was completed in 2021.

“The restoration of Rodney Square, our grand main public square, was long overdue,” said the Mayor. “But now we are well on our way to returning the square to its original glory – even beyond the original vision. Upkeep for the new square will be more manageable and make it more beautiful, attractive, and useful. The City is very grateful to the Rodney Square Conservancy for all of its efforts.”

Financial support for the estimated $4M cost of this phase is being provided by the State of Del., and work is expected to be completed by Sept. 2023. More info. about the Rodney Square Renovation project can be found in the Capital Projects Stories section of OpenGov on the City’s website: www.wilmingtonde.gov/home

MAYOR WELCOMES

LOUNGE AT EIGHTH

Mayor Mike Purzycki helped welcome Lounge at Eighth and owner Derron Lee to Wilmington’s west side community in April. Lounge at Eighth (801 N. Union St.) is the latest small business to join the growing Union Street commercial corridor.

GET CONNECTED TO FREE HOME INTERNET!

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is a federal govt. program to help eligible families pay just $30/mo. for high-speed internet service. Learn more at public sign-up sessions in May:

Where: Neighborhood House, 1218 B St.

When: Tues., May 16, 5:30 p.m.

Where: SUN Park, E. 22nd St. & Lamotte St.

When: Thurs., May 18, 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Where: LACC, 403 N. Van Buren St.

When: Mon., May 22, 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Where: My Sister’s Keeper, 1009 Sycamore St.

When: Tues., May 23, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

A view of the renovated Rodney Square

Mayor Purzycki (center) helps welcome Derron Lee and Lounge at Eighth to Union St.

Restaurants and Beer Garden

Banks’ Seafood Kitchen & Raw Bar

Big Fish Grill

Ciro Food & Drink

Constitution Yards Beer Garden

Delaware Duck Café and Catering

Del Pez

Docklands

Drop Squad Kitchen

Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant

Riverfront Bakery

River Rock Kitchen

Starbucks

Taco Grande

Timothy’s on the Riverfront

Ubon Thai

RIVERFRONT MARKET

OPEN

MON-FRI: 9AM-6PM

SAT: 9AM-4PM

Stop in and enjoy fresh produce, salads, sandwiches, pizza, sushi, Mexican, Thai cuisine, Peruvian Rotisserie, Soulfood and much more!

Dine-in or carry out

DuPont Environmental Education Center

The DuPont Environmental Education Center provides a 13,000 square foot facility along the 212-acre Peterson Wildlife Refuge, where guests can explore the marshes and look for various species of amphibians, birds and fish.

They offer guided tours, weekly drop-in classes, and have easy access to the Jack A. Markell Bike Trail.

Delawarenaturesociety.org/centers/dupont-environmental-education-center

Photo by Suchat Pederson