Lewes Doo-Dah needs moolah to stay alive
The Lewes Doo-Dah Parade got its start more than 50 years ago when Phyllis Hoenen and Carolyn Shockley grabbed a battery-powered record player, a wagon and some trash can lids and asked people join in.
“It was always spontaneous,” said John Hoenen, Phyllis’ son. “[Mom] would be going up and down the street playing Souza music. We never knew who was going to show up.”
But time also marches on.
The parade has now grown into a must-see Independence Day event, with hundreds of people marching down Kings Highway from McFee Street, its traditional starting place. The parade loops around downtown and finishes on Savannah Road.
About five years ago, Hoenen said, then-Lewes Mayor Ted Becker started requiring the parade to get a permit and insurance, like any other city event. The Hoenens and the Shockleys have been paying the $900 annual expenses out of their pockets. They also have to pay tax on an LLC they started.
The families have now launched a fundraising effort, through the Greater Lewes Foundation, to pay the costs and keep the tradition alive. Donations to the Doo-Dah Parade fund can be made at greaterlewesfoundation.org.
Lewes Mayor Amy Marasco said she wants to see the tradition continue.
“It’s such a unique parade. I was so impressed by the organic nature,” she said. “I like that families created it. But any parade needs a permit and insurance. Formalizing that is just good governance.”
Marasco said she does not think the city should take over the parade, because it is led by citizens.
That’s just fine with John Hoenen.
“In the spirit of Mom and Carolyn, they would say everybody is invited to join in and celebrate,” Hoenen said.
The Doo-Dah Parade is scheduled to kick off around 5 p.m. Friday, July 4, near McFee Street and Savannah Road.
Bill Shull has been covering Lewes for the Cape Gazette since 2023. He comes to the world of print journalism after 40 years in TV news. Bill has worked in his hometown of Philadelphia, as well as Atlanta and Washington, D.C. He came to Lewes in 2014 to help launch WRDE-TV. Bill served as WRDE’s news director for more than eight years, working in Lewes and Milton. He is a 1986 graduate of Penn State University. Bill is an avid aviation and wildlife photographer, and a big Penn State football, Eagles, Phillies and PGA Tour golf fan. Bill, his wife Jill and their rescue cat, Lucky, live in Rehoboth Beach.
