Wine, Art, and Music - May Leonardtown First Friday

Tonight, the streets of Leonardtown will come to life during the May First Friday!  Shops and restaurants in uptown and downtown Leonardtown will be open from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m., and many of them will offer specials and fun events!

Wine

The Port of Leonardtown Winery will be holding its soft opening today from 12 p.m. until 9 p.m.!  Stop by for a tour of the winery, sample the wines, and buy some to take home with you.  Tours of the winery will run every half hour until 8:30 p.m.  The spring wine line-up includes Vidal Blanc, Chardonnay, McIntosh Run (semi-sweet apple wine), Breton Bay Breeze (semi-sweet white blend), Breton Bay Shoals (semi-sweet red blend), and Autumn Frost (sweet dessert-style wine from Vidal Blanc grapes).  For more information on the Port of Leonardtown Winery, visit their website at http://www.portofleonardtown.com/ or read their blog at portofleonardtownwinery.blogspot.com.

Make it a night of wine samplings by heading over to Quality Street Kitchen & Catering, located on Fenwick Street in downtown Leonardtown, for a wine tasting with "big red" wines from 5:30 p.m. until 8 p.m.  Tastings are $5 per person.

The Good Earth Natural Foods Company, located on Park Avenue in downtown Leonardtown, will have Melissa from Bacchus Imports in the store to sample a selection of Sustainable Wines.

Art
The North End Gallery, located on Fenwick Street in downtown Leonardtown, will be holding the Opening Reception for the exhibit "Coastal Colors," which will run from May 4 though May 30.  The show features the artwork of Tom and Kathleen Ball.  Tom is a photographer and Kathleen works with watercolors.  Visit the North End Gallery from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. during First Friday for the reception featuring these two local artists.  For more information, visit http://www.northendgallery.org/.

Continuing with the art theme, visit the Maryland Antiques Center complex, located along Route 5 in uptown Leonardtown next to the Port of Leonardtown Winery.  From 4 p.m. until 8 p.m., the Leonardtown Galleria (located inside the Maryland Antiques Center) will be holding a Pyrography (Woodburning) demonstration by Rose Beitzell.  Creek Side Gallery (also located in the Maryland Antiques Center) will be holding an art show entitled "Local Treasures," featuring the art of Calvert artist Sue Stevenson.

In the Maryland Antiques Center Building 2, the Craft Guild Shop is hosting their "Celebrate the Grape in style" exhibit, which will feature artisan Nancy Wiehe's collection of dazzling beaded stemware and wineglass markers.  Treadles Studio (located in the Craft Guild Shop) will be showing how wool becomes yarn and demonstrating the techniques of needle feathering.  Guests will be offered the opportunity to create their own coaster.

Music

Add some music to your evening at Fenwick Street Used Books & Music in downtown Leonardtown!  Yumi, whose musical talents span from funk and rock to traditional West African rhythms, will be performing.  Yumi has worked in various music capacities touring across the U.S. with many well-known R&B and Rap artists such as Morris Day, The Barkays, Atlantic Star, and Doug E. Fresh.  Peruse the shop's wide selection of books and music while enjoying the music of Yumi.  All purchases will be 10% off.

Then, enjoy fine French dining at Cafe Des Artistes, located on the corner of Fenwick Street and Washington Street in downtown Leonardtown.  Randy Richie will be performing on piano from 6:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m., and the special is Bouillabaisse, a celebrate seafood stew with shrimp, mussels, scallops, Seabass, clams and Hawaiian Marlin in a rich seafood broth.

For more information on all of the festivities going on during the May Leonardtown First Friday, visit http://www.leonardtownfirstfridays.com/!