Let summer begin!

With July Fourth behind us, the summer tourism season is officially underway. Traffic will become all we talk about, especially when clouds drive visitors off the beaches to our Route 1 shopping mecca.

For anyone paying even a little attention, our summer is already off to a great start. Lewes Public Library is open, a new showcase where natural light shines in on a spectacular space loaded with books, new technology and welcoming places for people to meet, mingle or quietly enjoy a book.

Meanwhile, June 26 at Canalfront Park in Lewes, our region kicked off summer with our first Mantra Yoga Festival, gathering hundreds of participants for a day of movement, meditation and healthy food.

Dimitra Yoga in Lewes organized all kinds of yoga – kids yoga, acro yoga as well as more traditional varieties – plus meditation teachers, life coaches, massage therapists and local chefs. The event summoned healing for hundreds of bodies and spirits, sending an inspiring sense of generosity radiating from downtown Lewes. It also raised $6,000 for the park, where visitors and residents enjoy weekly free/donation summer yoga classes among Dimitra's many other free yoga offerings.

July 4 weekend also drew hundreds of athletes for the Beach Paper Firecracker 5K in Rehoboth and Outlet Liquors 5K in Dewey, plus the Dave Reynolds Biathlon and Memory Walk, an event that attracts current and past Rehoboth guards for a fast half-mile swim and 5K. In honor of Reynolds, a Rehoboth guard who died in a surf accident in 2003, the event presents the Dave Reynolds Spirit Award honoring the fastest male and female Rehoboth guards.

These activities – a new library celebrating curiosity and learning, a new yoga festival celebrating healing and health, and an annual race honoring a Rehoboth guard and all the guards who keep us safe – all topped off by our famously quirky parades and our spectacular fireworks – demonstrate our proudly welcoming, generous, and independent spirit.

And now the summer begins.