It's Memorial Day weekend at the Delaware beaches.
The unofficial start of the summer season is upon us. The tourists are returning, although, in recent years, many of them never left – they moved here.
Seasonal businesses are reopening, and dolphins have returned to the coastline. Meter attendants are back on the street, and lifeguards are back in their chairs.
Memorial Day weekend also means the start of many summer events at the beaches. Free concerts begin at the Rehoboth Beach bandstand May 24. Here's what else is happening this weekend, plus what to know if you'll be here.
Poseidon Festival
This free Bethany Beach event celebrates the sea with numerous activities downtown and on the beach throughout the weekend.
Things start the night of May 23, with a community kite-fly. On May 24, features mermaids, pirates, a costume parade, a luau show and skimboarding and bodyboarding demonstrations. On May 25, there's a first responder meet-and-greet and marine science and rehabilitation exhibits. There's live music every night.
Visit townofbethanybeach.com for a full schedule.
Artisans Fair
The Artisans Fair takes place at Lord Baltimore Elementary School in Ocean View May 24, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Shop local artisans of fine art, glass, jewelry, metalwork, photography, pottery, textiles and woodcarving. From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., there's also a farmers market. Admission and parking are free.
Visit southcoastalaarp.org for more information.
Red White & Berries
This event, hosted by Saltwater Roots Boutique, features over 75 local vendors, Fifer Orchards' strawberries and strawberry dishes, a petting zoo, a bounce house, food trucks and more.
Red White & Berries takes place at Hudson Fields in Milton on May 24, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Entry is $2 and free for kids 13 and under.
What to know
Just in time for the summer season, the new Rehoboth Beach Patrol building is open at Baltimore Avenue and the boardwalk. Next door, demolition will continue through mid-June on the Sirocco Motel and Grotto Pizza buildings to make room for a new hotel.
Rehoboth is the latest beach town to enact a curfew for minors. Between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., those under 18 aren't permitted in public spaces in Rehoboth, Dewey Beach and Bethany Beach. The same applies in Fenwick Island midnight to 6 a.m.
Delaware State Parks' surf-fishing reservation system opens this weekend. If you have a permit and want to drive on the beach Saturday or Sunday, or on weekend or holiday for the rest of the summer, you need to make a reservation at delawarestateparks.reserveamerica.com.
Meters are on at all the Delaware beaches, so have your ParkMobile app ready. Traffic will reach a fever pitch this weekend. Leave extra time to get anywhere you're going.
As the sign on Rehoboth Avenue says, "You're at the beach ... relax and slow down."