Savor Rockfish during the Monster Rockfish Festival

The 2nd Annual Monster Rockfish Festival is almost here! The festival is Sunday, October 30 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Greenwell State Park and this year, there will be even more to enjoy including more rockfish, more food, more fun, more crafters, more vendors, more of just about everything!


New this year is Monster Rockfish Drag Racing! Greenwell's camp counselors tried it out during the summer and it's a lot of fun. Take part in this not-to-be-missed activity, or watch from the sidelines and cheer on the racers! Not sure what Monster Rockfish Drag Racing is? Well, you'll just have to come to the Festival to see it in action.

The 2nd Annual Monster Rockfish Festival offers something for everyone:

• Rockfish tastings and other seasonal culinary delights
• The People's Choice Award for best rockfish dish
• Beer and local wine
• Live music with Hydra FX
• Tours of historic Rosedale Manor
• Awards ceremony for Monster Rockfish Tournament (held the day prior on Saturday, October 29)
• Pony rides
• Horseback riding demos
• Kayaking demos and rides (weather permitting)
• Children's activities
• Artists and crafters and outdoor outfitter vendors

The Festival is also a designated safe Trick-Or-Treat zone. Greenwell will offer candy and other treats to children.

All proceeds benefit the Greenwell Foundation's inclusive programs including horseback riding lessons, kayaking, summer camps and Nature Time. Proceeds also help Greenwell serve as a host site for Southern Maryland Vacations for Vets, a respite program for our nation's wounded servicemen and women.
The Monster Rockfish Tournament takes place the day before on Saturday, October 29. It's the Chesapeake Bay's biggest open rockfish tournament with $130,000 in prizes. And, the Greenwell Foundation receives a portion of the proceeds from the tournament. Click here to learn more about participating in the tournament.

For more information, visit http://www.greenwellfoundation.org/ or call 301-373-9775.

"1878: After the Storm" - Take a Ghost Tour at Sotterley

This year’s Ghosts of Sotterley Tour will take guests back in time to the year 1878, when Sotterley was owned by Dr. Walter Hanson Stone Briscoe and his wife, Emeline. The family’s enjoyment of prosperity, good friends, county notoriety, and living the good life has been interrupted. A vicious hurricane has swept up the East Coast causing a shipwreck at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Dr. Briscoe has been called upon to treat the survivors. The plantation is reeling from the disaster and teeming with uninvited visitors - the restless spirits of the newly departed as well as the spirits of those long past who have been unsettled by the upheaval. Prepare to encounter both the earthly inhabitants of the time and those not of this earth on this historical and spooky walking tour!

New for 2011 – Additional Tour Nights! This year’s tours will run on October 13, 14, and 15th AND October 21 and 22nd.

Advance reservations are required. Sotterley Plantation cannot accommodate walk-ins. Tour times will begin at 7 p.m. and run every ten minutes. The tours may not be suitable for young children. Please dress appropriately for this spooky outdoor walking tour / production.

Tickets are $13 per person and may be purchased online at http://www.sotterley.org/. Group rates are available by calling Sotterley Plantation's office at 301-373-2280.

Web Design Firm Chosen for New Tourism Website

The web design firm CDF Web Solutions of Rockville, Maryland has been selected as the developer of the new St. Mary’s County Division of Tourism Web site.  The Web site will be developed as a partnership between the St. Mary’s County Division of Tourism, CDF Web Solutions and the St. Mary’s County Department of Information Technology.

CDF Web Solutions designed the Montgomery County Conference and Visitors Bureau Web site, which was the recipient of the Maryland Tourism Council’s 2010 Best Electronic Marketing Award.  The Division of Tourism is excited to be working with CDF and their project partner Enten Marketing.  Together, the firms bring impressive strategic and marketing capabilities that will help refine the county’s tourism message, attract more visitors and increase business within the industry.

The St. Mary’s County Division of Tourism website, www.visitstmarysmd.com, promotes St. Mary’s County as a visitor destination and tourism and hospitality-related businesses in St. Mary’s County. 

History Underground: Archaeology Weekend at HSMC

Get the scoop on what’s underground at Historic St. Mary’s City during Tidewater Archaeology Weekend, July 23 and 24! Discover what it’s like to be an archaeologist exploring one of the nation’s best-preserved colonial archaeology sites.

Take a tour of excavations at the home of Maryland’s first governor site and discover what stains in the soil reveal about Maryland’s history. Work alongside the pros as they recover artifacts, bits of Maryland’s past, by screening excavated soil. An exhibit of artifacts recovered from the site will be on display. Those who follow the chief archaeologist’s blog about this year’s findings may see some of the pieces they’ve been reading about. Check out the blog at (www.stmaryscity.org/Archaeology/Dispatch.html).

Sign up for a tour of the Archaeology Laboratory when you arrive at the Visitor Center (18751 Hogaboom Lane), and discover what happens to artifacts after they are recovered. This is the only time the lab is open to the public and space is limited. Tours begin at 11:00, 1:00, 2:30, or 4:00.

At 2 p.m., meet Historic St. Mary's City’s director of research, Dr. Henry Miller, at the Margaret Brent Gazebo for a one-hour walking tour. Find out how Historic St. Mary’s City has reconstructed buildings that stood some 375 years ago using scant clues assembled by archaeologists and historians.

This summer’s excavations focus on the back yard of the Calvert House, built by Maryland’s first governor, Leonard Calvert, in the first few years of the settlement. The Calvert House served as the first state house and the largest inn in St. Mary’s. In 1645, the house was the headquarters for a rebellion against Lord Baltimore and a fort, named “Mr. Pope’s Fort,” was built around it. When Governor Calvert retook the colony in 1646, he regained the house and filled in the fort ditch. Calvert died in the house in 1647.

The site is open between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on each day of the event. Special activities are included in museum admission ($10 adults; $9 seniors; and $6 youth. Children 5 years and under visit free.) Food and beverages will be available for purchase from vendors.

For more information about the museum, archaeology, or this event, visit http://www.stmaryscity.org/ or call 240-895-4990 or 800-SMC-1634.

Fitzmaurice to Perform at CSM's Twilight Performance Series

Returning to the College of Southern Maryland’s fifth anniversary Twilight Performance Series will be local band, Fitzmaurice! Formed in 2006 by identical twins Maria and Sarah Fitzmaurice, Brandon Snelling and Mike Simms, Fitzmaurice has a unique style with influences from bluegrass, country, jazz, classical, international folk and classic rock.


In addition to providing vocals for the group, Maria Fitzmaurice plays the guitar and Sarah Fitzmaurice plays the bass. Snelling plays the mandolin, with Simms on the banjo and Aaron Malone on the fiddle. Newly added to the ensemble are drums played by multi-instrumentalist, producer, Grammy-nominated recording engineer, singer and song writer, Jeff Covert.

Fitzmaurice is currently No. 29 on the Roots Music Report nationwide for bluegrass and No. 2 in the state of Maryland for all genres. They recently signed with Infindel Records, a record label based in Hoboken, NJ.

For the College of Southern Maryland’s fifth Twilight Performance Series, Fitzmaurice performs July 12 at the Leonardtown Campus. For more information on Fitzmaurice visit their website at http://www.reverbnation.com/fitzmauriceband or their facebook fanpage at http://www.facebook.com/fitzmaurice.band.

Other bands to perform in July at Twilight will be Adrian Duke’s Jazztet and Another Level. Performances take place at the Leonardtown Campus on Tuesdays, July 12, 19 and 26. All performances will begin at 6:45 p.m.

In the event of inclement weather, performances will move indoors. On the Leonardtown Campus, performances will move to Building A in the Auditorium.

Food and beverages will be available to purchase from Chick-fil-A on the Leonardtown campus. For menu and pricing visit www.csmd.edu/arts/TwilightSeries.

In its fifth season the Twilight Performance Series is a free, family-friendly evening of entertainment held on each campus. For information on the Twilight Performance Series, call 301-934-7703 or visit www.csmd.edu/arts.

CSM’s campuses are accessible to patrons with disabilities. Audio description for the visually impaired and sign language interpretation for the hearing impaired are available with a minimum two week advanced notice. If you are interested in these services, please contact the academic support/ADA coordinator at 301-934-7614.

Joseph McGill to Speak at Sotterley Plantation - "Slave Cabin Project"



Historian Joseph McGill, Program
Officer for the National Trust for
Historic Preservation, adds Sotterley
Plantation's original 1830's Slave
Cabin to his "Slave Cabin Project",
as he continues his journey
throughout the Southeast.



Sotterley Plantation is presenting Joseph McGill's "Slave Cabin Project" on Sunday, July 10, 2011 at 1:00 p.m., as part of the 2011 Speaker Series at Sotterley.

The night prior to Joseph McGill's Sunday presentation, he will spend the evening in our original 1830's Slave Cabin. For the last year, he has been making his way throughout the Southeast sleeping in these historic structures in order to honor the memory of all the people who lived in these cabins and to bring much-needed attention and resources to slave cabin restoration. In a recent interview with NPR, McGill said, "You get inside these walls and you think about that time of slavery and wonder what went through these people's minds, because within these walls was probably the easiest time of their lives. We know that beyond those walls there was a lot of hard work and toil."

The Sotterley Speaker Series events are free to the public. Please call for reservations, as seating is limited: 301-373-2280. 

For more information, visit the links below:

http://mtairy.patch.com/articles/cliveden-opens-its-servants-quarters-for-the-first-time-in-its-history

http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20110514/ARTICLES/110519748/1005/sports?Title=-No-heading-
http://articles.boston.com/2011-05-26/travel/29587103_1_slave-quarters-urban-slave-property-owners

http://www.fox8live.com/content/news/heartoflouisiana/story/Heart-of-Louisiana-Evergreen-Plantation/y2Z0NCfdtkeWfzK06l0GDw.cspx

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129281290

http://www.presnc.org/Preservation-News-Roundup/Slave-Cabin-Project

http://www.visitlexingtonmo.com/images/file/SlaveCabinProject.pdf

http://www.wvpubcast.org/newsarticle.aspx?id=18850

4th of July Festivities in St. Mary's County

St. Mary's County has a number of events over the 4th of July weekend where you can enjoy live music, fireworks, and time with family and friends.

Independence Day Weekend: Thomas Jefferson in his own words - River Concert Series

The Chesapeake Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Jeffrey Silberschlag will offer readings from Thomas Jefferson set to music and lots of festive, patriotic music, plus a salute to Naval Aviation's 100th Anniversary during the River Concert Series on July 1!  There will also be fireworks at the end of the concert.  The concert begins at 7 p.m. at St. Mary's College of Maryland on the lawn of the Townhouse Green.  Food and beverages will be available for purchase.  For more information, call 240-895-4107 or visit http://www.riverconcertseries.org/.  

Independence Day Celebration - Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department

On July 2, the Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department will be holding it's Independence Day Celebration from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.!  There will be a variety of food vendors; a car, truck and bike show; kids games; live music by The Craze and HydraFX; and fireworks.  The cost is $5 per vehicle for spectators parking all day.  For more information, call 301-373-2900 or click here to view the flyer.

An Independence Day Celebration Concert - Sotterley Plantation

Sotterley Plantation is holding its annual Independence Day Celebration Concert on July 3 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.!  The event features the patriotic music renditions of the Chesapeake Orchestra Brass Quintet led by Maestro Jeffrey Silberschlag of St. Mary's College of Maryland.  Guests are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch, lawn chairs and blankets to enjoy a wonderful afternoon of music on the Portico amidst the breathtaking view of the Patuxent River.  Bruster's Real Ice Cream, "On A Roll," and Sir Pops A Lots will be selling concessions.  There will also be a brown bag raffle, silent auction, and childrens activities.  All those with Military ID and their families are invited to celebrate this event free of charge.  General admission is $10 per vehicle.  For more information, call 301-373-2280 or visit http://www.sotterley.org/.