Tickets on sale for Derby Day event on Lewes Library green May 6
Sussex Academy, Sussex County's only public charter, tuition-free school, is hosting Derby Day from 4 to 7:30 p.m., Saturday, May 6, on the green behind the Lewes Public Library.
Honorary Chair U.S. Sen. Tom Carper will welcome over 200 guests dressed in their derby best for an afternoon of fine food, high style and “the most exciting two minutes in sports."
The green will be transformed by Coastal Tented Events into a grand, tented Kentucky Derby-themed party, complete with mint juleps and live broadcast of the race. Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales will provide a signature cocktail for the event as well as a variety of craft beer. Guests will enjoy heavy hors d'oeuvres catered by Nage, and a dessert station featuring fresh, made-to-order gourmet cookies by Joost Wafel Co. Jay Diaz, Print Coast2Coast, will serve as master of ceremonies. Guests will enjoy music by The Plate Scrapers, a silent auction, and a live auction conducted by Richard L. Bryan, auctioneer. Attendees can also participate in a race raffle, compete for Dandiest Derby Hat, and meet therapy horses from Southern Delaware Therapeutic Riding. Proceeds from this year's event will be used for landscaping and the repair of the school's sidewalks and parking lots.
The Lewes Building Co. is the Derby Day Triple Crown Diamond Sponsor, and Dr. Roman Orsini of Orthopaedic Associates of Southern Delaware is the Triple Crown Gold Sponsor. The event will include a pre-party reception reserved for event sponsors and their guests. For sponsorship information, email gina.derrickson@saas.k12.de.us.
Tickets for the event are $80 each. To purchase tickets, go to www.sussexacademyfoundation.com.
Sussex Academy recently received the prestigious National Blue Ribbon School Award from the U.S. Department of Education. The school opened its doors in fall 2000 for sixth through eighth grades. In 2012, the Delaware Department of Education approved a major charter modification to add ninth through 12th grades. The first ninth-grade class was enrolled in 2013, and a high school grade level was added each subsequent year. The high school was completed in fall 2016, and the first commencement will be held in June.
Although it is a public charter school, Sussex Academy, like all charter schools, does not receive funding for capital expenses. All funding for the acquisition and construction of the school has been raised from foundations, businesses, private donors and fundraising events.
The Sussex Academy Foundation acquired and completed interior construction of an existing building at 21150 Airport Road in Georgetown. This construction included administrative offices, classrooms, locker rooms, additional restrooms, a library, cafeteria, a performing arts stage and an aquatics center. The foundation is currently raising funds for grandstands on the athletic fields, a concession and storage building, and additional landscaping and parking spaces.
Sussex Academy does receive public funding for operational expenses; however, those funds are for operating expenses only and may not be used for capital improvements. Other public schools may be built, renovated or added within a district with passage of a public-supported referendum and paid for by taxes; Sussex Academy must raise these funds independently and without taxpayer support.
