Sign Up Now for the St. Mary's Century Bike Ride!

Patuxent Velo, Southern Maryland’s premiere Bicycle Racing Club, is proud to announce that the St. Mary’s Century, a challenging bicycle touring ride through scenic St. Mary’s County, will be held Saturday, September 25, 2010!

The St. Mary’s Century offers a wide range of courses that accommodate bicyclists of all skill levels including a traditional full century (100 Miles), as well as a metric century (62-miles) and 35-mile route. The ride begins and ends at the College of Southern Maryland Campus in Historic Leonardtown. The event begins at 7 a.m.
Participants will enjoy the quiet rural charm of St. Mary’s County, a region steeped in history and culture, with charming back roads and passages perfect for cycling! Scenic rest stops will be well-stocked with traditional refreshments, high energy foods, and sport drinks as well as local specialties, and will include St. Mary’s City, the Island Bar and Grill on St. George Island, and the St. Clement’s Island Museum in Colton’s Point. At the end of the ride take a refreshing shower at the College of Southern Maryland’s new Wellness and Aquatics Center. Then, grab a bite to eat at the free picnic while enjoying live entertainment.

Registration is available online at Bikereg.com and Active.com. Cyclists may also register in person between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. on the day of the event (cash or check only). The registration fee is $40 per cyclist and includes a technical t-shirt, refreshments along the routes, and the post-ride picnic. A portion of the registration will be used to support a local charity in St. Mary’s County. Additional information is available at http://www.paxvelo.com/.

Bring the whole family and make it a weekend of fun! There are lots of events and activities for the family to enjoy including the St. Mary’s County Fair in Leonardtown, RiverFest at Historic St. Mary’s City, and the Bowles Farms Corn Maze in Clements. For more information about these events, as well as lodging and dining options, visit http://www.visitstmarysmd.com/.

For more information about the St. Mary’s Century, please visit the Patuxent Velo website at http://www.paxvelo.com/ or email stmaryscentury@paxvelo.com.

Interactive Murder Mystery Dinner Tickets Now On Sale

The Friends of the St. Clement’s Island and Piney Point Museums announce that tickets are now on sale for their annual interactive murder mystery dinner, a fundraiser to benefit the St. Mary’s County Museum Division. The event will take place at Lenny’s Restaurant in California on Saturday, September 18. Tickets are $60 per person for Friends members and $65 per person for non members. Only 140 tickets will be sold.

The murder mystery is entitled “Murder at the Yacht Club” and attendees are encouraged to dress in their most stylish and flamboyant nautical outfits.

The event begins at 6 p.m. with a cash bar and silent auction and live auction at 6:45 p.m. conducted by local, and lively, auctioneer A.J. Bussler. A delicious buffet dinner will be served at 7:15 with the murder mystery performance.

Parts will be offered to amenable dinner guests who will then read from a provided script. All participants are encouraged to ham it up for a hilarious and unrehearsed “whodunit.” The evening will conclude with coffee, dessert, crime solving and announcement of silent auction winners.

Tickets can be purchased by calling the St. Clement’s Island Museum at 301-769-2222. Ticket reservations must be made in advance. No tickets will be sold at the door.

The Newtowne Players Present Laundry & Bourbon and Lone Star

The Newtowne Players will perform Lone Star and Laundry & Bourbon, two one-act comedies by James McLure, on Thursdays - Sundays, from August 6 - 22, 2010.


Lone Star is a hilarious study of a pair of Texas “good ole boys” on a Saturday night carouse. Roy cherishes three things above all: his country, his wife and his 1959 pink Thunderbird. As the evening wears on, the underpinnings of Roy’s world begin to collapse. Despite all, the high good humor of the play never lapses, and all ends as breezily and happily as it began.

Laundry & Bourbon was conceived as a companion piece to precede Lone Star. Here, the action centers on the discontent and very funny gossip of three small-town wives whose marriages have turned out to be less than hoped for.

Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances start at 8 p.m.; Sunday shows begin at 3:30 p.m. Performances are held at Three Notch Theatre on 21744 South Coral Drive in Lexington Park. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students, senior citizens and the military. Thursday shows are $10 general admission. Light refreshments and beverages are also available for purchase at the theatre.

Reservations are recommended. Please make reservations for the show by calling 301-737-5447 or visiting http://www.newtowneplayers.org/.

Children’s Day Offers Fun, Food, and Festivity

The Museum Division of St. Mary’s County Department of Recreation and Parks is proud to present its annual Children’s Day event at the St. Clement’s Island Museum in Colton’s Point on Saturday, August 7 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.


Museum staff and volunteers will provide kids with heritage games, face painting, crafts and free sno-cones. Enjoy music and magic by Reggie Rice, known as the SuperMagicMan, throughout the event. The museum’s water taxi to St. Clement’s Island will begin at 11 a.m., weather permitting, with the fee for children waived for this special event. Adults are $7 each. This is a great opportunity to take your kids to see the replica of the Blackistone Lighthouse!

Representatives from the St. Mary’s County Library will offer story time and the St. Mary’s Hospital Health Connections van will offer a Teddy Bear Clinic. Kids are encouraged to bring in their teddy bears for some expert care and parents can get screenings for high blood pressure. Ladies from The Delicados will give away free balloons! The Optimist Club of the 7th District will offer a boy’s and girl’s bike giveaway (need not be present to win), a kiddie tractor pull, and 50-cent per item lunch menu! Bring your camera for pictures with Pinch, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs baseball mascot from noon to 1 p.m.

Free t-shirts will be available for the first 100 kids thanks to the following generous event sponsors: Chesapeake Custom Embroidery, Cullins Pool Water, Combs Drury Reeves Insurance Agency, Avenue Flags & Flagpoles, Delegate John F. Wood, Jr., Tidewater Dental Associates, Checkers Restaurant, Colton’s Point Marina, GTMR, Inc., and PNC Bank.

The St. Clement’s Island Museum is located in Colton’s Point at the end of Route 242, nine miles south of Clements intersection at Routes 234 and 242. The museum and grounds are handicap accessible. For more information, please call 301-769-2222 or log onto the Museum Division website at www.stmarysmd.com/recreate/museums.

St. Mary’s County Water Trail Brochure Now Available!

A new Water Trails guide is now available for residents and visitors to explore St. Mary’s County.

“Water Trails in St. Mary’s County” is a wonderful resource for people who wish to learn more about St. Mary’s County’s rich natural resources,” said Francis Jack Russell, President, Board of County Commissioners for St. Mary’s County. “The guide also offers information about historic and cultural places that can be found on and nearby the trails.”

Project coordination, design and technical assistance was provided by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Boating Services Unit with support from the Town of Leonardtown and a committee of local paddling enthusiasts. Funds to print the brochure were provided through grants from the Southern Maryland Heritage Area Consortium, the National Recreational Trails Program, via the State Highway Administration, and St. Mary’s County Government. The guide will promote water trails on the St. Mary’s peninsula and will be distributed by the Division of Tourism and the Department of Recreation and Parks. To receive a free copy, call 800-327-9023 or download it at www.visitstmarysmd.com/requestbrochures.asp.

“A major element of the St. Mary’s County Division of Tourism’s marketing strategy for 2010 is a focus on outdoor recreation and features our valuable assets of pristine waterways,” said Carolyn Laray, manager, Tourism. “This guide will complement our other tourism marketing efforts and will help residents and visitors discover our county by water.”

The water trails map and guide will lead paddlers along several water trail adventures in St. Mary’s County. The colorful guide, printed on waterproof and tear-proof paper, was designed primarily for those touring by kayak and canoe but also includes information on public boating access points and amenities managed by St. Mary’s County Recreation and Parks and others.

“This new water trails guide will help novice and experienced paddlers enjoy and explore the waterways of St. Mary’s County,” said DNR Secretary John R. Griffin.

Water Trails in St. Mary’s County, MD, is one of a series of water trail maps developed by DNR and contributes to the statewide network of water trails and public access points that DNR has promoted for decades. For more information about Maryland’s water trails, visit www.dnr.state.md.us/boating/mdwatertrails.

Fish in the Monster Rockfish Tournament!

BAMM Enterprises in association with The Greenwell Foundation, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and 98Rock/WBAL Baltimore are proud to announce the first annual Monster Rockfish Tournament and Festival to be held on October 30th and 31st respectively. This is Maryland’s largest celebration of the esteemed Maryland state fish, the striped bass.


The tournament will be held from 5:00AM – 3:30PM on October 30th in the Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. There will be eight weigh stations throughout the bay to ensure accessibility to all anglers across the mid-Atlantic region.  One of the weigh stations is Point Lookout Marina in Ridge.

The tournament is divided into two regions, North and South with prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each region. Two first place prizes of $10,000 will be awarded as will two second place - $3,500 prizes and two third place awards of $1,500. Awards are based on heaviest fish. A Maryland State Rockfish Record will land the lucky angler $100,000.

BAMM Enterprises will award participants of the tournaments within tournaments (TWTs) for largest bluefish per boat by region, largest rockfish per angler by weigh station, and a Maryland State Record Bluefish. These prizes are based on total number of entries.

An initial entry fee of $350, before September 1st ($400 thereafter) will grant access to the tournament for one boat with up to four anglers. Each additional angler will have to pay $100. A portion of the entry fees is designated to help support the Greenwell Foundation and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Team captains will receive a free tee shirt and cap with entry. To find out more information about entering the tournament, go to http://www.monsterrockfishtournament.com/. This tournament is an “open” event, meaning anyone may enter the tournament. It is not limited to any memberships, affiliations, skill levels, etc. The use of a professional charter boat and crew is encouraged, as well as recreational boat owner entries.

The fun doesn’t stop when the fishing ends. Each marina will have a fish filleting completion for professional captains and mates, to see who has the fastest knife skills! The next day, the first annual Monster Rockfish Festival, will be a day full of events for the whole family. Spend the day at the fully accessible Greenwell State Park on the scenic Patuxent River in St. Mary’s County. The first annual Rockfish Cook-off will be held, where Restaurants from the greater Maryland area have the opportunity to compete to see who has the best Rockfish dish. There will be a tasting tent where the People’s Choice will be decided.

The Festival is on Halloween! What would the event be if it didn’t have CANDY. The Monster Rockfish Festival is a designated SAFE TRICK OR TREATING ZONE. Each of the dozens of vendors will be supplying candy and other treats to all the children who come to the festival in costume. Other Halloween events will include pumpkin painting, a carved pumpkin contest, costume contests, hay rides, and more.
The park will also feature seasonal culinary favorites such as stuffed ham, oysters, and crab cakes to name a few. The park will feature live music, vendors, crafts people and other entertainment options including park tours. Weather permitting there will be kayaking demonstrations, fishing demonstrations, boat tours, horseback riding demos and the award ceremony for the Rockfish tournament.

This absolutely FREE event is open to the general public.

For more information, visit http://www.monsterrockfishtournament.com/ or call 877-390-2266.

Take the Buy Local Challenge!

Every pledge counts! The Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission (SMADC) invites you to take the pledge again this year and join the thousands across Maryland supporting Maryland's family farms during Buy Local Challenge Week, July 17-25, 2010. Register your pledge now at http://www.buy-local-challenge.com/.

Your pledge to "eat at least one item from a local farm every day during Buy Local Challenge Week" immediately puts your $'s to work in your neighborhood, ensuring that farms survive for future generations. Plus you're doing your part to maintain a cleaner, greener planet and provide safe, nutritious food for you and your family.

If you have already registered your pledge - take the next step: starting today make your first purchase at a local farm, farm stand, farmers' market or winery; stock up at a grocer that offers genuine local products; or treat yourself to a meal at a restaurant that serves local farm food. Discover the bounty of Maryland's farms, and we hope you'll decide to shop local year round!

Need help finding Local? Visit http://www.buy-local-challenge.com/ for statewide directories to locate farm fresh products, meats, wines and more.

Share your favorite Buy Local experience with your friends. The Buy Local Challenge website also hosts the BLC Online Community. This site allows you to upload information about BLC events, submit your photos, tips or recipes, to chat, or generally interact with other users in Maryland and around the nation.

The Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission (SMADC) was established to promote diverse, market-driven agricultural enterprises, which coupled with agricultural land preservation, will preserve Southern Maryland's environmental resources and rural character while keeping the region's farmland productive and the agricultural economy vibrant. To learn more about additional programs and resources, contact SMADC, P. O. Box 745, Hughesville, MD 20637; phone: 301-274-1922; fax: 301-274-1924; email cbergmark@smadc.com; or visit http://www.smadc.com/.