Rehoboth Beach’s longtime Easter tradition

In what looks like a scene from the Polar Bear Plunge, this photograph from the 1950s shows a jammed Rehoboth Boardwalk for what used to be an annual Easter Promenade. 

For decades, the promenade brought crowds to Rehoboth Beach to celebrate the holiday and the arrival of warmer weather. The Rehoboth Beach Chamber of Commerce sponsored the promenade event for many years and awarded prizes for many categories including Best Dressed Babies, Best Dressed Families, Best Easter Bonnet and many more.

In the 1990s, the event was moved from the Boardwalk to the convention center to avoid weather-related cancellations. The event faded out, lasting more than 51 years before its finale in 2003. At the time, Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce President Carol Everhart said attendance had been dwindling – the 2003 event drew only about 100 – and people no longer dressed up for the Easter holiday.

At its peak, the event drew about 1,200 people.