Linda's Cafe Named Winner of 1st Annual Holiday Window Display Contest

The Lexington Park Business and Community Association announced Linda's Cafe the winner of the 1st Annual Holiday Window Display Contest!  Competitors for the $500 prize included the winner, Linda’s Café along with Hair in the Square (which earned the second highest number of votes), The Lexington Restaurant and Lounge, The Grapevine Antiques and Collectibles, Sake Japanese Steakhouse, Mattress Corner, P. J’ Auto Body, Donut Connection and Hope Place of Walden. The competitors encouraged patrons to vote with personal appeals and direct solicitations such as Hope Place of Walden’s mass e-mail featuring its holiday window display.

Linda’s Café garnered a whopping 63% of the vote. “We are so excited to win. Every time we looked at the blog, it appeared that we were trailing behind in second place,” stated Linda Palchinsky, owner of Linda’s Café. “This was so much fun for us and great for Lexington Park and now, my staff can have a holiday party with the winnings from the competition.” In the spirit of giving, Linda and her staff decided to hold their holiday party at the newly opened Lexington Restaurant and Lounge.

This competition was developed by Dorothy Andrews, owner/operator of Endless Summer Tanning, to be the first marketing initiative of the newly formed Business Association. The competition proved to be a resounding success with over 1,000 votes cast over a 10-day period. “I wanted the light up Lexington Park to show the holiday spirit of our many merchants,” said Ms. Andrews. Endless Summer Tanning created a blog site for the competition and the nine merchants elected to join in on the fun.

The Lexington Park Business and Community Association meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Bay District Fire Station Social Hall. The meetings are open to anyone who is committed to the betterment of Lexington Park. For more information, contact the Community Development Corporation, the host agency for the Business Association, at 240-725-5786.  6ST5ETJWM4QP

Oyster Festival Poster Contest Deadline is Approaching

The deadline for the 2009 St. Mary's County Oyster Festival & US National Oyster Shucking Championship Contest Poster Contest is only 15 days away! The winner of the contest will receive a $500 prize, free tickets to the 2009 St. Mary's County Oyster Festival, and recognition during the Oyster Festival.

If you intend to submit an entry, please remember that:

• Text limited to "2009 St. Mary's County Oyster Festival & US National Oyster Shucking Contest Championship Contest" and must include "Celebrating Maryland's 375th Birthday" logo and Rotary Club logo (Click here to go to the Enter Giveaways and Contests page to download the logos.)
• Entry must be professional quality artwork (Finished size of Poster will be 18" x 24")
• Must be on a CD, 300 dpi, and reproducible by conventional 4-color printing process
• Include a 4" x 6" index card with the entry with:
  Your name
  Your complete mailing address
  Your home and work phone numbers
• Do not place your name in any form on the face of the artwork image

For more information, please visit the Enter Giveaways and Contests page by clicking here.

All entries must be submitted to the address below by 5 p.m. on September 15.

Rebecca Deprey, Tourism Coordinator
P.O. Box 653
Leonardtown, MD 20650

If you have any questions, please call Rebecca Deprey at 301-475-4200 ext. 1404.

Get ready to celebrate!

This weekend is Maryland's 375th Birthday Celebration Weekend!

Starting tonight at 7 PM, come out to St. Mary's College of Maryland and enjoy the season opener of the River Concert Series. In honor of Maryland's 375th, Nathan Lincoln-DeCusatis has written a special symphonic work entitled "In Terrae Mariae: A Creation Song," which makes its debut tonight and features spoken texts culled from early writings on Maryland's founding prepared by Jennifer Cognard-Black, Associate Professor of English at St. Mary's College of Maryland. Visit http://www.riverconcertseries.com/ or call 240-895-4107 for more information.

Tomorrow, Saturday, June 20, the celebration continues at Historic St. Mary's City from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. with a birthday extravaganza. Tour tall ships such as the Kalmar Nyckel, the Maryland Dove, the dory boat Potomac, and the Sultana, a reproduction 1768 schooner. Tap your feet to the music of Calico Jack, David Norris, David Hildebrand, and Ship's Company Chanteyman in the Town Center. Explore the Woodland Indian Hamlet, the Brick Chapel, and the Godiah Spray Tobacco Plantation and experience what life was like back when St. Mary's City was Maryland's capital. The event is free and there will also be plenty of vendors, children's acitvities, and 17th-century style entertainment to help you celebrate Maryland's 375th birthday. Don't miss another River Concert Series at St. Mary's College of Maryland at 7 PM. There will be fireworks after the concert! Visit http://www.stmaryscity.org/ or call 800-762-1634 for more information.

On Saturday, June 20, the Juneteenth Celebration African American Heritage Festival is being held at Freedom Park in Lexington Park from noon until 8 p.m. The festival is held annually as a celebration of cultural diversity and freedom! There will be an early evening jazz concert featuring Saxophonist Phillip Martin, Jazz and R&B Vocalist Shang, Gospel Singing with Rev. James Flowers, Jr., and African dance and drumming. You'll also enjoy exhibits, a Minority Outreach Coalition Mini Health Fair, games, vendors, and food. It's a great way to continue the celebration! Visit http://www.ucaconline.org/ or call 301-862-4868 for more information.

For all of you race fans, don't miss Pinks All Out on Saturday, June 20 at Maryland International Raceway! Speed TV will be filming an episode of Pinks All Out, where hundreds of the best drag racers in the country will bring their game to MIR in search of glory and their share of $18,000 in cold hard cash. Host Rich Christensen hosts the all-day shootout that pits egos and cars against one another on the quarter mile! This is a ticketed event. Please visit http://www.mirdrag.com/ or call 301-884-9833 for more information.

Then, on Sunday, celebrate Maryland's 375th (and Father's Day too!) with the College of Southern Maryland in Leonardtown at the Celebrate Family, Fun and Fitness event! From 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., enjoy fitness demos, fun lawn games, a 3.75-mile walk through historic downtown Leonardtown and more. Visit www.csmd.edu/familyfun or call 301-934-7703 or 240-725-5312 for more information.

So this weekend, come down to St. Mary's County and celebrate Maryland's 375th!