Planning underway for Bethany Beach Jazz Funeral Sept. 4
As the town of Bethany Beach prepares for its traditional Fourth of July parade, a small group of local folks is in the process of planning and organizing a lighthearted, end-of-summer celebration known as the Bethany Beach Jazz Funeral.
Residents of the Quiet Resorts will celebrate the unofficial end of the summer resort season with their annual Bethany Beach Jazz Funeral at 5:30 p.m., Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 4, on the Bethany Beach Boardwalk.
2023 Co-Chairs Carolyn Bacon and Marie Wright describe the Bethany Beach Jazz Funeral as a Labor Day farewell-to-summer parade and celebration. As part of the jazz funeral, the public can participate in a boardwalk parade just for fun.
To view highlights of past events, go to jazz-funeral.com.
Mourners will carry a casket with a mannequin representing Summer of 2023 from the north end of the Boardwalk to its final resting place at the bandstand. Music is provided by the combined efforts of three Dixieland jazz bands.
“The Bethany Beach Jazz Funeral is comparable to the jazz funerals that are held in New Orleans that celebrate the lives of those who have passed away," said Bacon. "While visitors and locals are participating in all the activities that make summer so special, very few are thinking about the fact that the summer season we enjoy so much will inevitably come to an end.”
Wright said, “At this year's end-of-the-summer remarks, we will highlight the lighter side of resort living and vacationing in the Quiet Resorts. We want to honor the dedication and hard work of our visiting summer locals and our true local families."
Moss Wagner, a former town council member and Bethany businessman who owned and operated the Bethany Beach Ice Cream Parlor and Moss Boss' Ice Cream Shop, founded this end-of-summer celebration. Wagner's original idea was to have a small party for local business owners to celebrate the closing of the traditional summer resort season on Labor Day. It grew into a town-wide celebration featuring a Dixieland band and a funky funeral procession.
The Bethany Beach Jazz Funeral Silent Auction will begin at 3 p.m., Friday, Sept. 1, at Bethany Blues restaurant, 6 N. Pennsylvania Ave., Bethany Beach. This year’s beneficiary will be the American Red Cross, which prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.
Anyone wishing to volunteer with the Bethany Beach Jazz Funeral or its silent auction may email jazzfuneral@comcast.net or leave a message at 302-537-1585.
