Music in the Air
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- Written by Kris Legates
The Freeman Arts Pavilion is marking its 15th year with big sounds — and bigger plans
By Bill Newcott
Photograph by Butch Comegys
From the August 2022 issue
Asked to recall the earliest days of the Freeman Arts Pavilion in Selbyville, orchestral percussionist Dane Krich hears crickets. No, not the “I can’t think of anything to say” kind of crickets. He’s thinking real, chirping crickets.
“This was when the Freeman Stage was just a wooden platform, over by that pond,” Krich says, indicating the squared-off body of water that lies between the Freeman and a bank of four-story condominiums.
“We were playing, and all of a sudden there was this enormous chorus of crickets coming from the pond. It was crazy. You could hear them over the orchestra. Finally, the maestro, Julien Benichou, leaned over in that direction and yelled, ‘You’re chirping out of tune!’”
Net Gains
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- Written by Kris Legates
Fun and fitness combine to make pickleball increasingly popular in coastal Delaware
By Chris Beakey
Photograph by Scott Nathan
From the July 2022 issue
Over the past several years, Ginny Rickards and her teenage grandson, Jason, have learned to surf together, spent long days on the Rehoboth boardwalk together, and shared too many wonderful family meals to count. But then, just when she thought life couldn’t get any better, they both discovered pickleball, one of the nation’s fastest growing sports and now her family’s favorite way to stay in shape.
“Jason started first, in May of last year,” she recalls. “I watched him play with my daughter, Katie, over at the courts at Redden Ridge near Rehoboth. I was somewhat reluctant to try it because
I was never a real tennis player — I’d hit the ball around just to have something to do. But I was surprised at how different pickleball is — the ball is lightweight but moves fast, and once you start playing you realize how much better you get with practice.”
Milton's Country King
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- Written by Kris Legates
Jimmie Allen’s hometown formed the heart of his musical success
By Bill Newcott
Photograph by Dan Cook
From the July 2022 issue
“Daddy, don’t you worry,” country star Jimmie Allen sang at this year’s Grammy Awards show, “’Causeeverything’s good … down home.”
For his millions of ardent fans, “Down Home” — the first single from his new album, “Tulip Drive” — is just the latest in a long string of hit songs from Allen; a procession of tunes that tap into the grand traditions of country music, from pickup trucks on dusty roads to grits bubbling on a rustic kitchen stovetop.
But for those who remember Allen growing up in Milton, the song conjures up images of the youngster heading out on a boat with his dad to drop a line into the Lewes-and-Rehoboth Canal, or motoring out to Indian River Bay and the Atlantic beyond.