The Starboard to unveil new floors, phone-charging stations at four-day opening weekend

When the doors to The Starboard swung open for opening weekend Thursday at 8:30 a.m., the first 2018 customers in the venerated beach bar got an eyeful.

Just like in years past when The Starboard added video games to their urinals and a fire pit on the deck, this past off-season was a time for the sprawling Starboard to do some house-cleaning.

A $55,000 flooring project replaced all of the bar's hardwood floors, adding decorative touches of maple and mahogany. While much of the flooring had been replaced about 20 years ago when Steve "Monty" Montgomery and his group bought the party place, parts of had not been touched in nearly five decades.

"I can't wait for that first beer to spill or the first piece of gum to stick," says a brave Montgomery, who will be working his 31st opening this weekend -- a party that stretches from Thursday to Sunday with St. Patrick's Day in the middle.

The new floors aren't the only attention-getting improvements in the land of Orange Crushes and Bull Sharks.

Since The Starboard is the kind of place that can somehow lure you in for brunch and spit you out after dinner, all those hours of fun usually also mean plenty of phone time texting friends and posting on social media. So Montgomery added $20,000 worth of lockable phone-charging stations.

Just how comfortable can The Starboard get? How about some cots next year?

"No. No beds and no hourly hotel rooms, either," cracks Montgomery, whose bar snagged a recent shout-out on ESPN during an interview between a pair of regular customers, host Scott Van Pelt and Notre Dame basketball coach Mike Brey. 

Just like they have for the past decade or so, a large heated white tent is covering the entire Starboard parking lot this weekend, allowing the party to spill off the deck and into every inch of usable space.

And it will be needed. The annual opening party draws a mixture of locals, hardcore weekend warriors and St. Patrick's Day amateurs.

Dewey Beach's hotels are booked, favorites like Mama Celeste's Pizzeria are cutting slices and even bigger bars such as The Rusty Rudder will be open. (The Rudder's two-day no-cover St. Patrick's Day party runs Friday night with Blue Label and Saturday with Love Seed Mama Jump and The Rockets.)

The Starboard will be leaning on plenty of familiar faces to keep the party rolling this weekend with LauraLea & Tripp Fabulous on Thursday night, Kristen & Johnny on Saturday night and Bryen O'Boyle of Mr. Greengenes on for a Suicide Sunday set starting at 2 p.m.

If you're not quite ready to cannonball into a Starboard party -- yes, we understand there's still snow on the ground in some parts of the state -- then perhaps it's time to start planning the end of hibernation.

Here are a few events coming this spring that just might be worth your time. 

April 7 -- Theatre N launches its new "AFI's 100 Greatest American Movies" series. Wilmington's independent movie theater is about to try something that they've wanted to do for a while: screen all 100 of the American Film Institute's 100 greatest American-made movies. The countdown begins April 7 with No. 100 "Ben-Hur," followed by No. 99 "Toy Story" on April 14, No. 98 "Yankee Doodle Dandy" on April 21 and No. 97 "Blade Runner" on April 28. Tickets are $6 for each film.

March 24 -- Downtown Newark Wine & Dine takes over Main Street. While University of Delaware students are on spring break, the townspeople will party! Instead of college kegs "Animal House"-style, Wine & Dine is more Dean Wormer than "Bluto" Blutarsky with its $2 2-ounce pours of wine and small plates. Thirteen downtown Newark restaurants are listed as participants with nine local musical acts performing outside in the sun. All parking is free, both in city lots and at meters.

April 21-22 -- Four words: Dewey Beach Bacon Fest. Sure, you've been bar-hopping in Dewey and Rehoboth beaches. But have you ever been bacon-hopping? A string of fun-loving restaurants in Rehoboth and Dewey beaches will be offering bacon-centric food and drinks for this year's annual grease-filled festival. (Dewey is Saturday, complete with a beach bonfire at night. Rehoboth is Sunday.) Everyone from Nicola Pizza and Grotto Pizza to The Starboard and Fins Fish House & Raw Bar will get in the act. Single-day passes are $20-$30 and two-day passes cost $28-$43.

April 21 -- Record Store Day brings us rare Dogfish-filled Flaming Lips vinyl. Oh, to be a Delaware Flaming Lips fan on Record Store Day. The far-out rockers will not only release a collaborative beer with Dogfish Head -- Dragons & YumYums -- but also a beer-filled 7-inch piece of vinyl featuring a pair of songs inspired by the beer. (Mind officially blown!) There are only 100 copies filled with the beer, so happy hunting. The beer -- a pink-hued 6.5% ABV tart pale ale -- hits shelves Friday, March 23.

May -- Wilmington Brew Works opens. One down, one to go. With the opening of Stitch House Brewery last weekend on Market Street -- the crowds were so large and steady they ran out of food -- attention now turns to the other city brewery preparing to open. Wilmington Brew Works at 3201 Miller Road should be open sometime in May, making it the first production brewery within the city limits in more than six decades. Details on what eateries are headed to the location should be coming soon. In the meantime, curious craft fans will watch as the concrete is poured and the restored brownfield finally comes back to life.

May 29 -- Wilmo A Go-Go revs up the Riverfront. It has become a Wilmington tradition on Memorial Day weekend. Vintage cars, live rockabilly (The Open Road, Coffin Fly), pin-up girls and a beard contest take over the parking lots at the Riverfront for the eighth year. Admission is free, but all the fun stuff from the vendors isn't. This year's food trucks will be Delaware Provision Company, Mojo Loco, Cajun-Sno, Outlandish, Kapow and Sweet Josephines.

June 14-17 -- Firefly Music Festival turns 7 in Dover. Sure there are nearly 100 acts at this year's Firefly Music Festival. And, yes, one of them is Eminem. But he's not the one everyone MUST see. This year's must-see is a hip-hop act, but it's actually Kendrick Lamar. He swept the rap categories at January's Grammy Awards, his brand of socially-conscious rap fits the times and Firefly fans want to see how his live show has grown since his sun-drenched set at Firefly five years ago. When he appears on stage, you might be able to hear it all the way from Wilmington.

All spring -- The Queen's bookings are heating up in Wilmington. Don't look now, but The Queen just might be getting its groove back. Live Nation racked up a string of diverse sell-outs in recent weeks (Blues Traveler, The Marshall Tucker Band, Shine a Light) and has an equally diverse calendar headed our way with more possible sell-outs coming. Keep an eye out for Drive-By Truckers (March 28), Christopher Cross (April 9), Hatebreed (May 3), Ani DiFranco (May 8), St. Vincent (May 25) and Manchester Orchestra (June 6) coming to town this spring.

IF YOU GO

What: The Starboard's opening weekend

When: Thursday through Sunday

Where: The Starboard, 2009 Del. 1, Dewey Beach

Cost: No cover

Information: thestarboard.com