A fashionable Rehoboth Beach Easter celebration in 1956

For many decades in the 20th century, Rehoboth Beach hosted a grand celebration of Easter and its spring finery with an annual Boardwalk promenade. Individuals and families came from far and wide to display fancy clothing and compete for awards in several categories such as Best Dressed Family, Best Dressed Couple and Best Dressed Baby. When weather didn’t cooperate, the promenade moved indoors to the city’s convention center.

In 1956, Toni Ames, left, of Wilmington radio station WTUX, served as master of ceremonies at the event.  Janice Olson of Newark, Miss Delaware that year, joined Ames as one of her celebrity guests at the event. They are shown on the Boardwalk at the end of Rehoboth Avenue with the Atlantic Ocean in the background.