Here we go...the 13th Annual Running of the Bull is finally staring us in the face. This Saturday, all day long, I have ordered up a perfectly sunny, 84 degree day for us to celebrate our own Bull Running tradition Dewey Beach style...while thousands of miles away, in Pamplona, Spain...they honor the real thing!

We open at 8am this Saturday (and everyday for that matter), drinks at 9am, and open the parking lot up at 10am as the festivities are generally in full swing by 11am. We will have the entire outside parking lot roped off, have a bar outside to serve you cold Bud Lights on this beautiful day, and have plenty of BBQ from our Bethany Blues available for all to consume. We will have plenty of Gatorade available, as well as free bottled water...one thing most everyone forgets is how dehydrated you get with a few beers in the sun.

With so many people here on Saturday for the Bull Run, tables are very hard to come by for Breakfast and Lunch, which is why we will bring in our catering crew from Bethany Blues...Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Beef Brisket Sandwiches, Pulled Chicken Sandwiches, Baked Beans, Cole Slaw, etc... will all be served out in our parking lot! Be sure to load up as last year we had a few stragglers that didn't exactly finish the run, and we want to prevent that at all costs.

Saturday 10am - Parking Lot Party begins, as you all are aware, things get started early here at The Starboard. We will have the 2009 Edition of our Bull Running T-Shirts which all sales go directly to benefit our local Dewey Beach Police Department and our local Rehoboth Beach Fire Department. We will have some fireman around to help sell the T-Shirts, accept donations, etc... as we get plenty of support from both our police and fire departments in pulling off this major event! Our fire department is completely a volunteer group, and all funds raised are through private donations, so we hope to be able to help them out as much as possible this year!

Saturday 2pm - The Run! We will gather all of you outside around 1:45 to prepare for The Run! Michael, our fearless Bull Leader will take the platform to go over the rules, instructions, etc...so that we do this thing the right way. Laura Lea will then lead us all in her outstanding rendition of our National Anthem. We generally are blessed with the NY and DC area fire department Bag Pipers to lead us in God Bless America as well. Once we get through all the ceremonial activities, in one large group, we will cross the highway and head up to the beach on Houston Street.

Say it together now... ORANGE CONES CROSS TOGETHER ORANGE CONES QUICKLY ORANGE CONES ORANGE CONES ORANGE CONES

Very Important for everyone to understand this part. Though 99% of people here in town absolutely LOVE the Bull Run and all it brings, there are a few that have issues.

The (2) biggest issues are getting everyone to cross the highway together and quickly, and everyone listening to the Lifeguards on our beach so that we all stay together and do not disrupt families on the beach.

At just after 2pm, our local police department, fire police, etc...will have plenty of help here to get you all to cross the busy highway quickly, you then walk up about 3 blocks to Houston Street...where you meet as a group at the dune line! The Sunsations house and others will welcome everyone to the dune line.

Once everyone is there and ready, our Dewey Beach Lifeguards will have several guards there to lead our group THROUGH THE CONES up to the water line. They will clear a huge path for us, marked with Orange Cones, and our ONLY JOB is to stay within those orange cones!! That point will be mentioned a million times, as it is very important if we want to continue running the bull.

Anyone that does not listen to the lifeguards instructions could be subject to a fine by our local authorities. Nobody wants this, but with the size group we bring, we have to find a way to maintain some order to this run. So just stay within the Orange Cones, follow the lifeguards' instructions, and the event will go perfect!

You then run (or walk fast is more likely) up the beach along the waters' edge, escorted by lifeguards, all the way down to Dagsworthy street. At this point, they will once again have the ORANGE CONES set up for us to leave the beach within. This way when we enter and leave the beach, we have access paths all set up. You will then head back up Dagsworthy street, where the Dewey Beach Police will be awaiting to gather everyone. At this point there will be a brief delay while everyone gathers, as we need to have everyone CROSS the busy highway TOGETHER. You then head back to The Starboard, where we will have a cold bottle of water waiting for you, then all of the Ice cold Bud Lights you care for!

This year we are lucky to have our own ELVIS as the Matador, at 3pm, Elvis will take on the two wearing the Bull Costume...and the fight will be narrated by Michael McDonnell. Once the Bull Fight is complete, you will be entertained by the incredible LauraLea & Tripp Fabulous outside on the decks! So enjoy the sunshine, the revelry, the silliness, the crowds, the food, the cold beer, and just a great tradition that is helping us raise money for our local firemen and police!

The aftermath...on Sunday, it is sure to be yet another fun-filled day at The Starboard. With Doug Segree on the deck, yet another great forecast, we will start out serving Eggs Delmarva and Homemade French Toast.....whatever champagne is left from the Bull Run is sure to be consumed on Sunday! Sunday night we have a great young band "Long Walk Home" playing inside at the request of most of our staff. They fell in love with these guys last year so we are happy to have them back this Sunday night.

Thanks so much to you all for participating in this years RUNNING OF THE BULL, check out the site at www.therunningofthebull.com. We will have copies of last years run on DVD available for all to take with them, and this year's run will be available within about 3 weeks for you to have. It should be an excellent weekend, the town of Dewey Beach will be painted RED, and hopefully you will all have the best weekend of the year!

Take care, and see you all very early on Saturday morning!!