Running of the bull delights Dewey
For the 15th year, The Starboard’s bull stormed after hundreds of people, chasing them down the coastline of Dewey Beach July 9 in a parody of the famous running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain.
In reality, the bull did more loping than storming, and it actually was not a bull at all, but two men in a bull costume: bull front man Garrett Walsh and bull back Chris Williams.
“It’s organized chaos,” Master of Ceremonies Michael McDonnell said of the spectacle.
The Running of the Bull originated with McDonnell, Mike Howard and Andrew Brady in 1997 when they rented a bull costume and chased 35 people down the beach. The event steadily grew and continues to grow, now drawing more than 1,000 people to The Starboard.
“Each year is more incredible than the year before, and this year it was huge,” says The Starboard owner Steve “Monty” Montgomery.
Through the sale of Running of the Bull T-shirts and bandanas, The Starboard raised $6,000 to be divided equally between the Rehoboth Beach Fire Company and the Dewey Beach Police Department.
“The funds raised this year will go towards supplies for our fire department and to help purchase a new Tahoe for our Dewey K-9 Unit, for a dog purchased for our police with funds from past year’s bull running,” Montgomery said. “The generosity of our Starboard people is appreciated as these public servants all help us in so many ways. Now it's our day to help them out!”
Murmurings of ole! ole!” become chants, calling “Papa Mike” McDonnell to center stage where he stands beside a bust of his hero, Papa Ernest Hemingway.
The enormous crowd grows quiet as New York City fireman Jim Lee played “God Bless America” on the bagpipes. Heads bow, hats are removed and voices then join with LauraLea singing the “Star Spangled Banner.”
House Majority Leader Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, counts down to the start of the event with the assistance of several Dewey Beach commissioners. The race is on and, for blocks, beachgoers cheer the bull and the people it chases.
Returning, the bull enters the bullring and prepares to confront its nemesis, Matador Kenny G. After several charges, the bull finally falls to the matador’s sword – only to rise again to a cheering crowd, with a promise to return next year.
