This week in St. Mary's County

St. Mary’s County has so many great ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day and everyday! Find out what’s happening this week in St. Mary’s County!

What’s Featured, What’s Fun - Discover wonderful reasons to visit St. Mary’s County!

Valentine’s Dinner Deals

Tequila Grill and Sixty-Six Beans Valentine's Dinner & Dessert

Don't miss these great deals in Charlotte Hall! Enjoy a mouthwatering Mexican dinner for two at Tequila Grill for under $30, followed up by decadent desserts and coffee for $10 at Sixty-Six Beans. Visit tequilagrillmd.com or http://www.66beans.com/ for more information.

The Willows Valentine's Day Dinner

Join the Willows in celebrating Valentine's Day with a 5-course dinner for two for $65 per couple. Add a bottle of wine from the Willows' collection to complete your romantic meal! To find out more, or to make reservations, call 301-690-2019.

Celebrate Valentine's Day with Wine and Chocolate
Treat your Valentine to local wines paired with gourmet European chocolates! Visit Port of Leonardtown Winery on February 11th and 12th to sample their wines and chocolate truffles from Chez Nous. For more information call 301-690-2192 or go to http://portofleonardtownwinery.com/.

Fine Dinning for Valentine’s
The Island Bar and Crab House will be offering their Valentine's Dinner on Saturday Feb 11 and Tuesday Feb 14. Treat your Valentine and yourself to a filet and lobster dinner, while enjoying the beautiful views of the Potomac. Special is $100 per couple. Call 301-994-1234 or visit www.stgeorgeislandinnandsuites.com for more information.

Savor the Season, Savor St. Mary’s - Taste the flavors of St. Mary’s County!

        Celebrate Valentine’s Day with a glass of local wine and some gourmet chocolates! St. Mary’s is home to two award winning wineries, Port of Leonardtown Winery and Slack Wines and Vineyards. Slack produces its grapes and wines with food in mind. Try Slack’s dessert wine, Danny Boy Danny, which makes “a perfectly sweet end to a perfectly sweet evening.” Port of Leonardtown Winery offers a great line up of reds, whites and rosés, to complement any meal. Sweeten up your Valentine’s Day with a glass of Autumn Frost, Port of Leonardtown’s Vidal Blanc dessert wine.

        Looking for the perfect companion for local dessert wines? How about some scrumptious sweets? Chez Nous, in downtown Leonardtown, has delectable, handcrafted chocolates that you can take home to share with your Valentine, if you can keep from eating them all yourself!

What’s New and of Note – Keep up-to-date on what’s up-and-coming in St. Mary’s!

        Visit Leonardtown's Chez Nous for ultimate indulgences! - Jeweler Balbina Meyer recently moved her shop "Art In Wire," from Park Avenue to Fenwick Street, reopening as Chez Nous. In addition to her line of fine custom jewelry, Chez Nous offers European-style chocolates produced by Baltimore-based chocolatier Albert Kirchmayr. 240-538-4571

 

Upcoming Events – Be a part of what’s happening in St. Mary’s County!

2nd Saturday at Sotterley
This Saturday, February 11, in honor of Black History Month and as part of the Second Saturday Series, Sotterley Plantation is offering specialty tours entitled, "To Live Enslaved." These specialty tours will run at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. Hear the voices of the past and visit the places where African Americans lived and labored. Call 301-373-2280 or visit http://www.sotterley.org/ for more information.

Dance, Dance, Dance!

Dance a Virginia Reel!
Contra Dance -The Southern MD Traditional Music and Dance Association will host a Contra Dance on Saturday, February 11, 2011, at the St. Andrews Episcopal Church Hall, 44078 St. Andrews Church Road, California, MD 20619. The dance will begin at 7:30. Contra is a fun, traditional American style of social dance. Beginners are more than welcome and are encouraged to come early for friendly instructions and advice. Admission is $8. For more information, go to www.smtmd.org.

Dance the Cha-cha!
Ballroom and Swing Dance Party - Hosts Donna and Brian Jordan welcome you to a special Valentine's Day Dance this Saturday, February 11th. Enjoy an evening of dancing the Foxtrot, Waltz, Tango, Cha-Cha, and more at The House of Dance at 24620 Three Notch Road in Hollywood! Dance lessons will be followed by an evening of open dancing. Doors open at 6:45p.m. with dancing until 11p.m. Admission is $12 per person in advance and $15 at the door. For more information call 301-373-6330 or visit www.thehouseofdance.org.

Dance for Relay for Life!
Valentine's Day Dance Fundraiser for Relay for Life - On Sunday, February 12, Always There Companion Care will be holding a Valentine’s Day Dance to support Relay for Life, from 2 p.m. until 6:00p.m at the Mechanicsville Firehouse Hall. Tickets are $15.00 a couple. There will a raffle and door prizes from local restaurants. For further information or tickets call Colleen Morgan 240-431-1902.

Dance for Vets!
Southern Maryland Vacations for Vets Sweetheart Dance - On Saturday, February 11, a Sweetheart Dance will be held at the Brass Rail in Great Mills from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. to benefit Southern Maryland Vacations for Vets. Admission is $7.00 per adult, children under 12 are free. Vacations for Vets provides free of charge weekend retreats for our recovering troops from military treatment centers. For more information, contact Connie Pennington at 301-904-0707.

The Free State – Enjoy St. Mary’s without spending a dime!

Poetry Open Mic Night
Wednesday, February 08, 2012, 6:30 p.m.
Share a favorite poem or one of your own, or just come to listen! Call 301-475-2846 or visit www.stmalib.org for more information.

Artist Opening Reception
Thursday, February 09, 5p.m.-8p.m.
The public invited to meet artist Willy Yowiski, at the Lexington Park Library Art Gallery. His work, which includes acrylic on canvas, collage, and spray paint on glass and canvas, will be on display. Call 301-863-8188 or visit www.stmalib.org for more information.

Nature Walk at Myrtle Point Park
Sunday, February 12, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Celebrate Valentine’s Day early with a heart healthy hike around the park! Join Bob Boxwell, Sunday afternoon in front of the gates at Myrtle Point Park. Look for signs of winter activities, including the return of the great blue herons to their rookery. For more information call Bob at 410-394-1300 or Dudley at 301-475-1858 E-mail: dlindsley@verizon.net

The Patuxent Wine Trail Goes Local - Features Two St. Mary's County Wineries

The Patuxent Wine Trail is proud to announce their first wine trail event: The Patuxent Wine Trail Goes Local! Wineries along the Patuxent Wine Trail will host a local product vendor from 12 – 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 23 and Sunday, October 24 at each of the wineries.

Port of Leonardtown Winery will host:

Saturday: Café des Artistes

Sunday: Thompson’s Corner Café

Slack Winery in Ridge will host:

Ruddy Duck Brewery

Blue Wind Gourmet
Just in Time Antiques

While there is no charge for this event, wineries may charge for tastings according to their normal tasting fees. Some wineries (indicated in product description) are offering special tastings of reserve wines or barrel
tastings.

For more information about the Patuxent Wine Trail, visit http://www.patuxentwinetrail.com/ or find them on Facebook. For industry information, please visit http://www.marylandwine.com/ or email
regina@marylandwine.com.

FREE WineFest Pre-Event at Blue Wind Gourmet

FREE to the public: To kick off the Riverside WineFest at Sotterley 2010 event season, the public is invited on September 14 to a free Pre-Event Party hosted by Blue Wind Gourmet and owner Rob Plant, featuring savory gastronomic delights and wine tastings from two local wineries: Running Hare Vineyard and Port of Leonardtown Winery.


Running Hare Vineyard, located in Prince Frederick, offers a little bit of Tuscany and Napa in Southern Maryland, with regional and International award winners. Port of Leonardtown Winery, the newest winery on the local scene, made its first bottling run in April and is ready to introduce to its taste sensations!

Blue Wind Gourmet is located at 22803 Gunston Drive in California, MD.

Riverside WineFest at Sotterley 2010 will take place on October 2nd & 3rd from Noon-6 p.m. at Sotterley Plantation, so don’t forget to mark your calendars! Discounted tickets are available through September 24th at http://www.sotterley.org/ or by phone: 301-373-2280 or 800-681-0850.

Port of Leonardtown Winery Opens May 21!

The official ribbon cutting of the Port of Leonardtown Winery will be held on Friday, May 21 at 2 p.m.!  The public is invited to the ribbon cutting and to enjoy the events planned during Winery Weekend—May 21-23. Guided tours of the Winery will begin following the ribbon cutting.

A collaborative project led by the Southern Maryland Wine Growers Cooperative, the Winery is housed in a former State Highway Administration Building in Leonardtown on McIntosh Run off Route 5.  The Winery’s grounds will be transformed into a park with a kayak/canoe launch on the McIntosh Run.

The building was renovated and equipment was installed in 2009. The Board of County Commissioners and the Town of Leonardtown both funded the project, the Maryland Agricultural and Resources-Based Industry Development Corporation (MARBIDCO) provided a $25,000 grant and the Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission granted the project $65,000.

“This Winery represents an investment in our community’s agricultural economy and will become a tourism destination,” said Francis Jack Russell, President, Board of County Commissioners for St. Mary’s County.

“And the Port of Leonardtown Winery will become the southern tip of the Patuxent Wine Trail that includes wineries in Calvert and St. Mary’s Counties and will promote tourism in our entire region,” added Mayor J. Harry Norris, Town of Leonardtown.

The Wine Growers Cooperative is proud of the new wines and the winery. “This winery is a result of much hard work and focus on quality," said Caroline Baldwin, President, Wine Growers Cooperative.  “Our members have sought out expert consultants and contributed many hours to produce our first production of wines and open the doors of the Port of Leonardtown Winery.”

The Winery supports Southern Maryland’s grape growers. By purchasing locally grown grapes, the winery provides an economic incentive for farmers to continue using their land for agriculture.

The Port of Leonardtown Winery features a tasting room, picnic area and is located near shopping, restaurants, kayak/canoe launch and a wildlife sanctuary. The Winery will be open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 6 pm. It will also be open until 9 p.m. on the first Friday of each month during Leonardtown’s First Friday events.

Contact the Wine Growers Cooperative at http://www.portofleonardtown.com/ or visit their blog at
http://portofleonardtownwinery.blogspot.com/ for more information.