BETHANY BEACH JAZZ FUNERAL

The music is a distinctive feature of this "End of Summer Season Celebration". Dixieland bands, including the Jazz Funeral Irregulars and the Dixie Cats, will perform at the Bethany Beach Jazz Funeral. There are usually about 15 pieces in the combined bands, making this one of the largest regular Dixieland band performances on the Delmarva Peninsula.

Around 2,000 people attend Bethany Beach's Jazz Funeral yearly, enjoying a "quirky" tradition. One of the oldest "fun" celebrations in the Lower Delaware resort areas, the Bethany Beach Jazz Funeral is 38 years old.

The end-of-summer celebration was founded by Moss Wagner, a Bethany businessman who owned and operated Bethany Beach Ice Cream Parlor and Moss Boss Ice Cream Shop. Wagner originally planned a small party for local businessmen to celebrate the end of the traditional summer resort season on Labor Day. A funky funeral procession and a Dixieland band were part of his initial small party, which grew into a town-wide celebration.

As the Founder's Award recipient for the 20th anniversary of Jazz Funeral, Wagner was the guest of honor at the 2005 event.

While this year's Jazz Funeral will be held on Labor Day, Monday, September 4, with activities beginning around 5:30 p.m. at the North end of the Bethany Beach Boardwalk, in addition, the Bethany Beach Jazz Funeral Silent Auction is held on the Friday afternoon before Labor Day as a kickoff to the Labor Day weekend.

There will be a silent auction and celebration for Bethany Beach Jazz Funeral at Bethany Blues on Friday, September 1 at 3:00 p.m. The owners and staff of Bethany Blues, located at 6 North Pennsylvania Avenue in Bethany Beach, have generously sponsored the silent auction events over the years. The Beneficiary of the silent auction funds raised on the Friday afternoon prior to Labor Day will soon be announced.

Five non-profit organizations are being considered beneficiaries for the 2023 Silent Auction. American Red Cross Delmarva Region, Sussex County Big Brothers Big Sisters, Sussex County Habitat for Humanity, American Cancer Society Relay For Life®, and Delaware Audubon and Chesapeake Audubon Societies are among them. All these five charities have previously received funds from the Bethany Beach Jazz Funeral Silent Auction.