MICROSITE-BANNER 2025Photo courtesy of fireandicede.com

The 2025 Fire & Ice Festival taking place this week on January 31 – February 2, 2025! This year’s theme is “A Weekend for the Books” featuring ice sculptures inspired by all of your favorite novels both new and old. Enjoy a weekend of winter festivities at the beach including multiple ice sculpture tours, live ice carving demonstrations from The Ice God, bonfires, a skating rink, inflatables, chili cook-off, drink tastings, and so much more.

Looking to see where everything is happening? View the digital map to plan yourself the perfect weekend! This map will be updated as more locations and activities are added for 2025 festival. Check back frequently.

Looking to have fun and support the community? Click here to…

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Credit to: Coastal Point, Susan Canfora

After hearing opposition from several residents during a public hearing, the Sussex County Council, 3-2, voted not to impose a 3 percent lodging tax on short-term rentals in unincorporated areas of the county.

Proceeds from the county’s lodging tax are earmarked for beach renourishment, dredging and related projects.

Councilman Mark Schaeffer moved to defer action on the issue at the Tuesday, Dec. 10, council meeting. His motion was not seconded.

Council President Mike Vincent moved to pass the tax, which would have been in addition to a 4.5-percent state lodging tax, but the motion failed, with Schaeffer, Councilwoman Cynthia Green — who said it would have a detrimental impact on the county — and…

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Credit to: Coastal Point, Susan Canfora

The Ocean View Town Council, at their Tuesday, Nov. 12 meeting, passed on first reading an ordinance to prohibit smoking on public property in Ocean View — indoors and outdoors.

No one spoke during a public hearing to comment on the ordinance.

A second reading of the ordinance is expected to be on the agenda at the Tuesday, Dec. 10, meeting.

The ordinance was first discussed at the Sept. 12 council meeting, when Police Chief Kenneth McLaughlin, while presenting the monthly report, said the goal is to be “able to control all kinds of smoking — any kind.”

“It’s not that we have a big problem, but we do have a problem from time to time. Now, we have signs posted but no ordinance, so we want to have…

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Credit to: Coastal Point

State Fire Marshal John W. Rudd this week reiterated that an order has been issued prohibiting all outdoor burning in the State of Delaware. The burning ban became effective on Oct. 15 and remains in effect, including the prohibited retail sale and use of fireworks for the Diwali holiday.

Conditions throughout the state have worsened due to a lack of rainfall, officials said, and the extremely dry conditions throughout the state pose a fire hazard. Strong winds have also factored into the ban.

Everyone is being asked to cooperate to reduce the danger of fires that threaten the state. The burn ban does not include charcoal and gas grills used for actively cooking, but Rudd asked everyone to exercise extreme caution in…

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Credit to: Coastal PointBig Chill Beach Club cleans up

Volunteers gathered for an hour to walk the beach and parking lot at the Delaware Seashore State Park, assisting in the collection of unwanted trash left behind. In total, they had more than 150 volunteers spend a Monday morning picking up trash that had been left behind.

Since 2022, Big Chill Beach Club has organized a total of 26 beach clean-ups, bringing together community volunteers of all ages to protect and preserve the Delaware coastline. At each clean-up volunteers have collected buckets full of trash and debris, including plastic, aluminum cans, food wrappers, cigarette butts, fishing lines and more. Each of the items left behind poses a serious threat to local ecosystems, representatives said.

“As a beachfront…

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Credit to: Coastal Point

U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), chair of the Environment & Public Works Committee in the Senate, announced on Thursday, Sept 19, that he has secured $10 million in federal funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for the beach replenishment project north of the Indian River Inlet Bridge, which has seen two dune breaches this year that cut off access to the bridge.

“I am glad to work with our state and federal partners to help secure this funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” said Carper. “Maintenance of the north and south shores of the inlet is a critical component of the storm management systems that protect State Route 1 and the bridge from extreme weather and other impacts of climate change. This…

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Credit to: Coastal Point

The Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) and Discover Bank announced a significant milestone in their long-standing partnership to expand homeownership opportunities for low-to-moderate-income residents across the state. Over the past decade, the collaborative lending program has provided more than $500 million in mortgage financing to 2,780 first-time homebuyers with household incomes at or below 80 percent of the area median income.

Complementing the more than $500 million in mortgages originated, the program generated more than $5 million in additional subsidies. The subsidies enabled DSHA to offer mortgages with consistently below-market interest rates, furthering affordable homeownership prospects for Delaware…

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One of the most memorable landmarks in the Town of Bethany Beach has to be the towering sculpture known as Chief Little Owl.  What is not so commonly known, is that artist Peter Wolf Toth has created over 70 statues in the US, Canada and Europe, all to honor the indigenous peoples of North America. Toth's project named "Trail of Whispering Giants" began in the 1970s, and at his studio in Edgewater, FL, he carves small wooden statues to support himself and to create more Whispering Giants that honor indigenous peoples that suffered injustice.


Whispering Giant Chief Little Owl of Bethany Beach, DE in the 70s


Each sculpture is made from a single piece of wood and is hand-chiseled, with no use of power tools.  The only exception to this rule is the first…

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The Leslie Kopp Group is once again the Presenting Sponsor of the Annual Beach & Bay Cottage Tour, and we look forward to seeing what the 32nd tour has to offer! This event is a perfect time to head to Bethany Beach and explore what sets the quiet resorts apart from other beach towns.  Participants will have the opportunity to experience the tour both in-person as well as virtually, learning about the architects, builders, designers, and more that helped make these properties so special.


Photo courtesy of Beach & Bay Cottage Tour

Virtual Only tickets will cost only $35, and purchasers will virtually view each of the 10 homes on the tour from the comfort of their own home. When you purchase a ticket at the cost of $50, the Combo Ticket, you are…

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We have enjoyed seeing so many of you enjoying your summer at Bear Trap Dunes over the last few weeks! During the month of May, just 1 property went under contract in Bear Trap. This compares to 1 at the same time last year and 2 in May of 2022. While the continuation of low inventory in Bear Trap has kept values elevate, there is vulnerability in the market.

If you have any questions about the market in general or any specific property, please call our Bear Trap Expert:

Gail Phelan (302) 233-4909

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