Nicole's Writings

By Nicole Ciarapica

DEWEY BEACH — It’s the 14th year for Greyhounds Reach the Beach, an annual event that attracts greyhounds and the owners who love them.

Traditionally, the event was held from Friday to Sunday on Columbus Day weekend, but greyhound enthusiasts have slowly been arriving earlier in the week and leaving later.

“It’s a wonderful gathering because we share our appreciation of these dogs — what their pasts held and what their futures will be,” said Michael McCann, president of The Greyhound Project, the organization that previously coordinated the event.

Because there is no available venue this year, the event is much less structured than in years past. The simplicity is taking it back to its roots. What started as a casual get-together between three friends and their dogs in 1995 has morphed into an event that now attracts more than 3,000 dogs.

“The event was bound to change,” said McCann of Boston. “We are a little disappointed that it won’t be as it was, but no matter how the event changes, we will still come.”

This year, there is no registration, formal schedule, or brunch. However, other groups will be organizing events including The Greyhounds in Art Show and silent auction at Grotto Pizza and The American Greyhound Council’s seminars at the Bottle and Cork.

There will also be 100 vendors in various hotels and 20 vendors in Rehoboth’s fire hall selling everything related to greyhounds.

After reading the event’s message boards, McCann said he doesn’t foresee a drop in attendance. This year, he is bringing his four greyhounds — Cavan, Whisper, Mr. Britt, and Santos.

He’s just one proud dog owner who plans to attend the event. Owners travel to Dewey with man’s best friend from all over the U.S., Spain, England, Ireland, and Canada.

And that’s good news for area business owners who say they look forward to the annual gathering.

“We really are dog lovers, so it’s always nice to see the greyhounds,” said Susan McAnelly, manager of Browseabout Books on Rehoboth Avenue.

She said the business starts planning for the event early, ordering books and calendars for the special breed.

And if the weather isn’t perfect, it won’t put a damper on the event, she said.

“It’s extra fun when it rains,” she said. “People dress up their dogs in little raincoats and boots.”

According to McCann, greyhounds are friendly, good-natured and just as social as their owners. That’s what makes them the perfect companion, he said.

“Greyhounds are like potato chips,” he said. “You can’t have just one.”

WHAT. Greyhounds Reach the Beach 2009

WHEN. Oct. 9-11

WHERE. Dewey and Rehoboth beaches

COST. Free

WEB. www.adopt-a-greyhound.

org/Dewey/

By Nicole Ciarapica

DEWEY BEACH — An average of 24 impersonators from all over the world will be at the Elvis Festival this weekend, performing in a two-day competition to prove their likeness to the late King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

On Friday evening, impersonators perform on the Rusty Rudder’s inside and outside stages, followed by entertainment on Saturday afternoon. Competitors sing and dance to track music on Saturday night again, leading up to the crowning of the winners between midnight and 1 a.m.

The judges are musicians who grade the performers in 16 different categories divided as 40 percent volume, 30 percent looks and 30 percent stage presence.

The prize money of $5,000 is awarded in different amounts between 10 impersonators, five who place in each category. There are professional and non-professional categories — the professional including those who earn at least 75 percent of their income from impersonations.

“A good Elvis costume costs at least $3,000 with the gold lame coat and jumpsuit,” said Nancy Fox, owner of Elvis Entertainers Network in Chicago, established in 1997.

Through EEN, Fox acts as an agent for 70 Elvis impersonators and books them for various events, including the Elvis Festival.

Fox will be at the festival with her business partner and event emcee, Ronny Craig. Joining them will be two other officers in EEN — Irv Cass, who has won the 1999 “World Images of the King,” and Jerome Marion, who has competed all over the world as Elvis.

The Elvis Festival is a preliminary to Images of the King, which is the annual world championship for the title that takes place during Elvis week in Memphis, Tenn.

Although Elvis died in 1977, fans and impersonators keep his memory alive.

“I always liked him. I’m 64 so I grew up listening to him,” Fox said, “But it wasn’t until I started doing EEN that I realized no one can match him.”

Even though no one is identical to Elvis, impersonating remains a popular career or hobby for men worldwide. EEN has impersonators from nine countries in addition to the United States including Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales.

Ages have ranged from 4-year-old, “Little E,” of Missouri in the Junior Division to 72-year-old Eric Erickson of Michigan.

“You can sing along to all of his songs — they covered every emotion,” Fox said. “At any given point, you will see people weeping in the audience.”

IF YOU GO:

WHAT. Ninth annual Elvis Festival

WHERE. Rusty Rudder, Route 1, Dewey Beach

WHEN. 7 p.m., Sept. 25-26

COST. $10

CALL. 302-227-3888

By Nicole Ciarapica

REHOBOTH BEACH — Powitanie means “welcome” in Polish, and it’s a word that will be said a lot at this year’s annual Polkamotion by the Ocean.

From Sept. 17-20, the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center will be full of live polka music, polka dancing, authentic Polish food and drinks a la carte.

Mike Ziemski, son of the co-founder, said the music brings people together. And with the event in its 30th year, it’s hard to argue with him.

Ziemski and Mike Matousek inherited Polkamotion about four years ago. As partners and co-promoters, Ziemski manages the operations, while Matousek handles the marketing.

The music at Polkamotion is a more contemporary evolution from European-American immigrants. Its sound is a combination of many different instruments — the drum, guitar, bass, trumpets, reed, sax, clarinet, accordion and concertina.

“It’s a hybrid between traditional and contemporary polka with a Cajun/Tex-Mex flavor,” said Ziemski, noting that polka is a fast ballroom dance — a three-step like the waltz.

Other bands at Polkamotion will include Rick Anton and the Polka Stars, Eddie Forman Orchestra, Boys from Baltimore, Dennis Polisky and the Maestro’s Men, Polka Family band, the Knewz and Tommy Thomas Trio.

Gil Ziemski, now 70, founded Polkamotion with his friend, Fred Bulinski, in 1980. Now, he focuses on the cooking. So far, 100 pounds of Polish sausage, 1,300 pierogies, and 300 polish-style hamburgers from his grandmother’s recipe have been made. Also on the menu are Polish beet soup, golumbki, and hot dogs for the children.

The event is special to all of those involved, especially since it’s the last of its kind.

“That makes us all the more determined to preserve it,” said Matousek. “It’s not just a music festival.”

Instead, he said, it’s about Polish roots and family traditions.

“I grew up with it. As a child, my grandparents used to play records,” Ziemski said. “I heard it at every function — birthdays, holidays, anniversaries.”

Polkamotion also gives back. All of the proceeds are donated to the Freddy K. Jr. Music Scholarship Fund, created by Fred and Linda Kendzierski in memory of their son who died in an automobile accident at a young age.

Freddy Jr. played polka music with his father in the Freddy K. Band, so each year an award is made to a promising high school senior involved in the polka industry. Polkamotion typically makes a $1,000 donation every year.

For those who have never experienced Polkamotion, Ziemski describes the event as being like a huge wedding reception.

And if you can’t speak Polish or dance the polka perfectly, you can still enjoy the event, he said.

“The good thing is the music is losing its ethnic attachment and becoming something fun for everybody,” Matousek said.

IF YOU GO:

What: 30th Annual Polkamotion by the Ocean

Where: Rehoboth Beach Convention Center, 229 Rehoboth Ave.

When: 6 p.m. to midnight, Sept. 17 and 18; 5 p.m. to midnight, Sept. 19; and 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Sept. 20

Cost: $16 for adults, $15 for seniors, and free for children 16 and under; $10 for adults and seniors on Sunday

Call: 410-654-4724

By Nicole Ciarapica

MILLSBORO — Mac McKeown was a deep sea commercial scallop fisherman on the Atlantic Ocean for 23 years.

One day out on the water, his artistic inclination distracted him from his work.

“I saw a big rock come up in the dredge. It had barnacles and shells stuck in it,” he said, “I wondered if I could put it in a cement tile like that.”

He traded in hard physical labor for what he describes as equally difficult work. But 12 years of experimenting and thousands of dollars later, his all natural, handmade sea tiles are finally perfected.

“I never give away my 50-step process,” he said. “If you mess up one step, you might as well throw the tile away.”

The process to create one tile takes about two weeks since they aren’t ceramic or kiln-fired. McKeown has his own recipe for the foundation of the quarter of an inch tile — a fiberglass, aggregate-based mixture.

Steps include spacing, sizing, coloration and symmetry. He uses 1,700 different species of shells from all over the world to design the tiles, cutting them at certain angles for different effects.

McKeown even uses museum-quality fossils — one being a Megalodon shark tooth that dates back 30 million years. He never uses living things.

Originally from Cape May, N.J., McKeown moved to the Delaware shore 12 years ago and now resides in Millsboro. He established Sea Art Studio in 1994. He researches two times a month to check on his competition, but he has none.

“I realized a few years back that I have something that no one else in the art world has ever done,” he said.

Because his sea tiles are one-of-a kind, his business is taking off — even in today’s economy.

He has sold his tiles from Florida to New York along the East Coast, Texas, California, Canada, and abroad to Hawaii, the Philippines, India, Africa, Japan, and China.

These “pictures of nature with nature” cost anywhere from $100 to well over $1,000.

“It’s a functional work of art,” said McKeown.

Because the tiles are waterproof, a lot of buyers place the tiles in their bathrooms or kitchens. Above the fireplace is a popular location, but a majority of people choose to frame them.

The creation of the sea tiles is McKeown’s favorite part. Customers can be a part of the design process by choosing the shell types and previewing the layout before purchase.

Themes and series available are nautical underwater scenes, botanical, dragonflies, birds and insects, wedding series, shorebirds series, large custom antique flower pot series, and art deco and custom designs.

“People want something their neighbor doesn’t have — something they can be proud of,” McKeown said. “They look at it in a different value.”

McKeown plans to place his art in galleries soon. He is available for home shows and studio visits by appointment. To view his work, call 302-841-477.

“People are touching history and nature,” he said. “To see it is to believe this is a real seashell.”