By Craig Horleman

The news came down March 29 that one of the area’s most anticipated events would return one year after COVID-19 shut down almost everything in 2020.

We found out that the Firefly Music Festival would return to the Woodlands of Dover, albeit a little later than its usual June dates. It will indeed be held Sept. 23-26.

That’s all that Firefly officials are willing to say right now. But it gave area music fans a boost after what was largely a year without music and frankly not much fun.

With that news known, we thought we would check in on other events and venues and update their current status for 2021.

• After pausing its plan for a full-scale 13th season last year, the newly named Freeman Arts Pavilion in Selbyville unveiled its 2021 summer lineup Thursday.

Headlining performances for the facility’s 14th season include Indigo Girls on June 18; The Mavericks on June 25; Jake Owen on June 26; Clint Black on July 2; Don McLean on July 3; Fitz and The Tantrums on July 10; Grace Potter on July 11; Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes on July 16; Amos Lee on July 23; comedian Kathleen Madigan on July 24; REO Speedwagon on July 27; Jamey Johnson on July 29; Leslie Odom Jr. on July 30; Straight No Chaser on July 31; Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis on Aug. 7; Big Bad Voodoo Daddy on Aug. 8, ABBA The Concert on Aug. 12; Black Violin on Aug. 13; Train on Aug. 14; Tower of Power on Aug. 19; Foreigner on Aug. 21; Steve Earle and Los Lobos on Aug. 26; The Commodores on Aug. 27; Melissa Etheridge on Aug. 28; Blackberry Smoke on Sept. 10; Lynyrd Skynyrd on Sept. 17; and Earth Wind & Fire on Sept. 25.

Additional performances include Kashmir: The Live Led Zepplin Show on June 17; Austin Colby and Caroline Bowman with “Broadway Under the Stars: Stage and Screen Edition” on June 24; Yacht Rock Revue on July 1; Choir! Choir! Choir! on July 8; EagleMania — The World’s Greatest Eagles Tribute Band on July 22; Sonia De Los Santos on Aug. 11; Tartan Terrors on Aug. 18; The Bronx Wanderers on Sept. 4; and A1A — The Official and Original Jimmy Buffett Tribute Show on Sept. 11.

Crowd favorites will once again grace the stage, including the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, the First State Ballet Theatre and the Brown Box Theatre Project. The Young Audience Series, sponsored by the PNC Foundation, also will take place every Saturday morning throughout the season.

In 2020, the nonprofit presented a smaller season — featuring local favorites, tribute acts and regional artists — to crowds of less than 15% capacity.

Seating for performances through July 31 will go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. April 22. The remaining performances will go on sale at a later date to be announced.

“As we work with local, regional and national touring artists, we will remain flexible as they navigate the logistics of tours, which may allow us to add artists to our rosters, as those tours continue to come together,” said Joshua M. Freeman Foundation Executive Director Patti Grimes.

Along with contactless entry and cashless concessions, this season will feature pod seating, which will allow for proper physical distancing and can seat up to four people. Masks will be required upon entry, exit and moving around the venue. Patrons should also bring their own chairs to all performances.

“As we continue to navigate these unprecedented times, our top priority remains the health and safety of our staff, patrons and the artists,” Ms. Grimes said.

For more information, visit freemanarts.org.

• Another summertime favorite returning are concerts at the Rehoboth Beach Bandstand.

Popular local band Mike Hines and The Look will kick things off June 11 at 8 p.m. It will be a season of nightly free shows Fridays through Sundays.

Bandstand program director Corey Groll is happy to be back presenting shows at the venerable location.

“With everything lifting up and looking hopeful for the year, we wanted to make sure that we got back to as much normalcy as we really could. So given that we’re already an outdoor area, there’s a good opportunity for people to spread out. Hopefully, the community recognizes the importance of what kind of events we’re bringing in. We trust our visitors and our tourists will abide by state of Delaware rules, so that we can partake in our performances,” he said.

Mr. Groll is in his 17th year as program director and 30th overall at the bandstand, as he was a longtime sound technician for the shows.

“Rehoboth is known as that family town, and we give this to them for free. So we want to make sure that we get back to that as soon as we possibly can. We are a destination place to go, but even if you’re not going on vacation, the locals can come down and enjoy what we actually have here,” he said.

Mr. Groll said scheduling a full season of shows was a tricky endeavor.

“We tried to bring back the groups that we had previously booked the year before, at least in the majority, some of which wasn’t able to happen,” he said.

“But we tried to at least provide them an opportunity to come back the next year, which gave them some hope and at least gave them the guarantee that, hey, we couldn’t support you last year, but this year, we’d love to do something, and it really made it a lot easier.

“There’s some that weren’t performing anymore, and there’s some that are only doing certain nights and not other nights just to kind of keep their own distance since they’re coming in from other states. There’s a lot of different rules, and some of them have family members, and there’s a few groups, unfortunately, that lost people to COVID,so it spans the gamut. It’s hitting everybody in different ways.”

This year’s schedule looks much the same as previous iterations, with tributes to acts such as Elton John, the Rolling Stones and Earth Wind & Fire; the U.S. Navy Concert Band on July 4; and local favorites like The Funsters, Love Seed Mama Jump and lower case blues.

For more information, visit rehobothbandstand.com.

The concert season at the Bethany Beach Bandstand is still awaiting state mandates, but the plan is to have shows on Thursdays during June through August and Saturdays in September and October.

• Another casualty of the pandemic last year was Smyrna at Night, which was forced to go online.

The townwide beer and block party is coming back this year in a big way — with two days of fun. Set for Aug. 27-28, it will be the first time Smyrna at Night has been more than one day.

“The town has made some changes to the event for 2021, with the biggest being the addition of Friday evening entertainment from 5-8 p.m. throughout downtown,” said Jeremy Hebbel of Gable Music Ventures, producers of the event.

“This music will be New York City-busking-style with artists performing right on the street, while attendees enjoy shopping, dining and drinking in downtown businesses.

“The main event is also going to look different, with a shorter period of time for the outdoor music, which will be from 3 to 8 p.m. (Saturday). The plan is for music to continue at indoor locations after 8 p.m., but the main stage and outdoor locations will be ending earlier for 2021.”

Mr. Hebbel continued, “Due to COVID, we’re also stepping back from any national headliners this year and sticking to awesome local talent. We’re planning on adding an additional outdoor stage this year, so stay tuned for that info.”

• Two events did go on last year, the Delaware State Fair and June Jam, although both had modifications that are dropped for 2021.

The state fair went off without a hitch last August but concerts in the M&T Grandstand had to be canceled. This year’s edition of the fair, set for July 22-31 in Harrington, will bring back the acts.

Country stars Sam Hunt, Hank Williams Jr. and Lauren Alaina, contemporary Christian singer TobyMac and ‘90s rapper Vanilla Ice highlight the concert lineup for the 2021 fair.

Mr. Hunt will open the fair July 22; followed by Blippi: The Musical July 23; Ms. Alaina and Maddie & Tae July 24; demolition derby July 25; TobyMac featuring Love & The Outcome July 26; Tedeschi Trucks Band with St Paul and the Broken Bones July 27; Riley Green with HARDY and Jon Langston July 28; harness racing July 29; “I Love the 90s” Tour featuring Vanilla Ice, All 4 One, Young MC and The Funky Bunch July 30; and Hank Williams Jr. with the Desert City Ramblers July 31.

There will also be a return try for the Roots & Boots Tour, featuring Sammy Kershaw, Collin Raye and Aaron Tippin, on June 12 at the Quillen Arena at the fairgrounds. That show was originally scheduled last June but had to be canceled due to concerns over the coronavirus.

•The annual June Jam charity music festival did indeed go last year at the G&R Campground in Houston but it had to be moved to October.

This year, it’s back on June 19. That third Sunday in June is where the event was formerly held before Firefly took over that date and June Jam then moved to the weekend before. With assurances that Firefly would be held later in the season this year, festival director Bob Hartley put it back in its old spot.

Featured acts this year include Triple Rail Turn, Jason Morton and the Chesapeake Sons, Storm Over Seattle, The Jim Cochran Band, Chris Diller, Alicia Maxwell Project, 440 Band and Group Therapy.

For more information, visit JuneJam.com.

•Outdoor festivals were another thing missed in 2020.

Although Dover Days and Bug and Bud are canceled again this year, Bridgeville’s Apple-Scrapple Festival is preparing a comeback in 2021.

A message on its Facebook page said in part “The Apple Scrapple Committee met on March 30 and voted to proceed with planning the 2021 Apple Scrapple Festival. While the festival will look a bit differently than it has in the past, we are committed to doing all that we can to have a fun and safe festival for all. We will be working with the state of Delaware to develop a plan of operation so that we may receive approval/permit to have the festival.”

Vendor applications will be made available on Thursday for the festival set for Oct. 8-9.

•The Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce will host an outdoor street market May 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Vendors will be set up in the Jungle Jim’s parking lot at 36944 Country Club Road, Rehoboth Beach.

Items sold will include business inventory, handmade items, antiques, collectibles and secondhand household items. Food trucks will be on-site, and ample free parking will be available for shoppers. Admission is donation-based.

Up to 90 vendors will be accepted, but a minimum of 50 vendor spaces must be sold to hold the event. Vendor spaces are $60 and include two adjacent parking spaces — one space for the vendor’s vehicle and one space for their display. Tables and chairs will not be provided.

For more information, call the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce at 227-6446 or visit Beach-Fun.com.

•Fourth of July festivities seem to in full swing across the area. A message on Dover’s Fourth of July Facebook page said this week “The Dover 4th of July Committee is moving forward with a smaller celebration for 2021, including a patriotic parade sponsored by the American Legion and a fireworks display. We are closely watching the situation and hope to add some additional surprises as we get closer to the big day. Public health and safety will guide our decisions as we move forward.”

A youthful, red, white and blue celebration of America’s independence has received the green light in Millsboro.

The 15th edition of the July 4 Celebration and Children’s Parade will be held on Saturday, July 3 at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church grounds, at State and Ellis streets.

Millsboro Town Council formally approved the request Monday.

The July 3 event will begin at 10:30 a.m. with ceremonies on the public labyrinth, followed by the parade of bikes, wagons, strollers and those on foot, including pet dogs.

All parade participants will receive a special gift.

There will be games and activities, along with hot dogs, chips and beverages for all.

Participants are encouraged to sport patriotic colors of red, white and blue.

•Staying in Millsboro, July will bring two popular Delmarva bands – Glass Onion and Reunion – to Cupola Park in the Concert in the Park series.

Glass Onion will perform Tuesday, July 13. Reunion will take the gazebo stage Tuesday, July 27.

It’s a 7 p.m. start for both concerts.

Dover’s Concerts on the Green were held last year and will be back again this year throughout the summer.

•Going inside, the Milton Theatre continues its full slate of shows with both comedy and music albeit with a smaller capacity.

Dewey Beach’s Bottle & Cork will get back to hosting shows this summer. Tickets for country star Justin Moore on July 15 and 16 are on sale at BottleandCork.com.

There is still no word on when shows will return to either Dover Downs or Harrington casinos.

•Local stages have reignited their lights.

Second Street Players in Milford continues to bring live theater to the region with its next production of the comedy “An Evening of Culture: Faith County II” by Mark Landon Smith. The show’s prequel, “Faith County,” was produced by SSP in 2015.

Performances will be at the Riverfront Theater, 2 S. Walnut St. in Milford. Live performances are scheduled for April 23, 24, 25 and April 30, May 1 and 2. Friday and Saturday shows begin at 7 p.m. and Sunday shows begin at 2 p.m.

The number of seats sold will be limited to 40 to enable socially distant seating.

To purchase tickets to a live or streaming show or for more information, visit SecondStreetPlayers.com.

Dover’s Kent County Theatre Guild is back in action with a comedy entitled “The Kitchen Witches.”

In the show, Isobel Lomax and Dolly Biddle are two “mature” cable-access cooking show hostesses who have hated each other for thirty years, ever since Larry Biddle dated one and married the other. When circumstances put them together on a TV show called The Kitchen Witches, the insults fly.

Shows are May 7, 8, 14, 15, 21 and 22 at 8 p.m. and May 16 at 2 p.m. Tickets can be bought at kctg.org.

Clear Space Theatre Company in Rehoboth Beach has continued it season of shows with “Seussical: the Musical” April 16-18 and “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” May 7-23.

Currently only tables of two and four are being sold at ClearSpaceTheatre.org.

Finally, tickets for Delaware Theatre Company are on sale for the 2020/21 Season—Take 2!, a new outdoor performance series that will showcase a variety of Hollywood, Broadway and regional performers.

Performances will be held in the parking lot of Delaware Theatre Company at 200 Water St, in Wilmington. To ensure the safety and comfort of its patrons, DTC has designated 58 “boxes” in its outdoor seating space to accommodate either two or four people. To purchase tickets, call DTC’s box office at 302-594-1100 or visit delawaretheatre.org.

This list is by no means complete as groups and venues are still deciding on and submitting plans for their events. We’ll keep you posted.

Now showing

New this weekend in theaters is the sci-fi fantasy “Voyagers.”