Rehoboth Beach Writers Guild celebrates 10th anniversary
In the last few years, the Rehoboth Beach Writers Guild has grown accustomed to seeing anywhere from 80 to 100 people showing up at their monthly Night of Song and Stories, a mix of short, original pieces of writing of 300 words or less, interspersed with songs performed by local musicians usually centered on a theme.
But neither they, nor the owners of Paradigm Restaurant, who was hosting the event for the first time, was quite prepared for the 170 people who showed up June 16 for the 10th anniversary Night of Songs and Stories, which featured 10 songs performed by Amy Felker and Stuart Vining and 10 of the most popular readings from the last 10 years.
“It was an amazing night,” said RBWG Executive Director Maribeth Fischer, who founded the guild 10 years ago “by accident” she told the crowd in her introductory remarks. The guild actually began as what was supposed to be a one-day, one-time writing conference to raise money for research into the terminal disease that would take the life of her two young nephews.
The inaugural conference held in 2005 raised $15,000 for mitochondrial disease research. But when one of Fischer's nephews died on the eve of that conference, she realized that the money wasn’t what mattered. What mattered was the story she’d been telling over and over about her nephews.
“I realized that I couldn’t keep them alive,” Fischer said. “But I could keep their story alive.” The fact that over 100 people attended the conference also told Fischer that others had stories they wanted to tell. And so the Rehoboth Beach Writers Guild was born.
The owners and staff of Paradigm who had 170 people all ordering at different times, with separate checks, did an amazing job, as well, and by the time the night was over, they were already making plans for the next Night of Song and Stories set Tuesday, July 21. The July theme will be heat.
For more information, email Fischer at contactus@rehobothbeachwriterguild.com or go to www.rehobothbeachwritersguild.com.
