Celebrate the Earth with Woodlawn

Woodlawn Farm and Slack Winery invite you to join them in celebrating Earth Day 2011 on April 22 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Woodlawn Farm on Wynne Road in Ridge, Maryland.  Get into the spirit of Spring with the Blessing the Grapes in the Woodlawn vineyard, barrel sampling of young red wines from Slack Winery, egg coloring, an environmental scavenger hunt, a reading of the Lorax for children, and --- for adults only --- the release of Slack Tide Blanc.

Several friends from the local community of sustainable industries will also be on hand to share their knowledge and home-grown products.  Participants and vendors include:

• Dr. Stacey Dent from The Good Earth Natural Foods Company
• Shannon Schmidt from Solar Tech Inc.
• Dan Sweeney from BluHaven Piers
• Rich Pelz from Circle C Oyster Ranch
• Dan Shade from Dan Shade Custom Sawmill
• Christina Allen from Corn Crib Studio
• Elizabeth Ayres (writer)
• Tucker Grube-O'Brien from Slack Winery to offer barrel tastings
• Jim Grube, Master Gardener from Woodlawn Farm
• Terrapin Salad Boxes

Admission to the event is free!  For more information, call 301-872-5175.

The Newtowne Players to Fête Cast and Crew of woman: revised

To celebrate The Newtowne Players’ participation in the Eastern States Theatre Association Regional Festival this April, the theater is hosting a send-off for the cast and crew of woman: revised, winner of the 2011 Maryland Community Theatre Festival!

The Newtowne Players will perform woman: revised, an original one-act play by local author Trish Cole, on Thursday, April 14 at 7 p.m. The performance will be held at Three Notch Theatre on 21744 South Coral Drive in Lexington Park, followed by a wine and cheese reception. Woman: revised puts a comedic face on the mundane act of revising the dictionary definition of the word “woman.” Over the course of the play, the woman discovers she is no longer the classic feminine sweetheart she once was and learns to accept that her 21st century definition is more inclusive than she wanted.

Donations will be accepted at the door, and all funds will be used to help underwrite the expenses involved in taking the performance to the Eastern States Theatre Association Regional Festival, which will be held April 15-17 in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, where The Newtowne Players will represent the state of Maryland.

Cole also wrote Butterfly, which represented The Newtowne Players at the 2010 Maryland Community Theatre Festival.

For more information, call 301-737-5447 or visit http://www.newtowneplayers.org/.

Site Re-Interpretation Results in a NEW Guided Tour at Sotterley Plantation

Sotterley Plantation now has a NEW Guided Tour called “Discovering Sotterley” of the 1703 Plantation House, which will be ready for public viewing on Sunday, May 1st, the first day of the 2011 tour season.



Photo courtesy of Sara Fisher

 A team of people came together beginning in the summer of 2010 to collaborate on the creation of a new guided tour for Sotterley Plantation. The goal was to not only gain a consistent and strong tour that would better recount Sotterley’s 300 year history, but to ensure that the stories of all who lived and worked here, including those enslaved, were remembered and told. The end result produced a tour which offers far more than Sotterley’s original goal, however, and the new tour will stand out in its approach and the experience it offers to visitors.

The new guided tour will still examine the complex and rich three century history of Sotterley Plantation, but will now also look at the site and its people through the lens of the Colonial Revival movement. At the turn of the 20th century when there was a resurgence of patriotism in our nation, the site was purchased and painstakingly restored by Herbert and Louisa Satterlee. Their restoration efforts focused on portraying the ideals of our colonial past, yet in doing so both highlighted and masked different aspects of Sotterley’s history. The new tour will not only offer new glimpses and perspectives into this National Historic Landmark’s past, but will also showcase collections pieces not previously displayed, which help to tell Sotterley’s stories.

This tour was made possible when Sotterley was awarded an Institute of Museum and Library Services grant last summer due to the efforts of Board of Trustees member Merideth Taylor. The new tour was written by Ken Cohen, Professor of History at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and this summer Professor Cohen will also help create a Plantation Tour of the grounds which will then be made into an audio tour for visitors. Finally, the grant will produce an audio version of the guided tour, a 10-minute video about Sotterley Plantation, and help place streaming videos on the website.

Sotterley Plantation's tour hours and prices are below:

1703 Plantation House Guided Tour: May 1 - October 31. Check in at the Visitor Center.

Prices: $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $5 ages 6-12, 5 and under free.

Tuesday - Saturday: Tours at 10:30 & 11:30 am, 1, 2 and 3 pm. Sunday: Tours at Noon, 1, 2 and 3 pm.

For more information, call 301-373-2280 or visit http://www.sotterley.org/.

Lecture on "War of 1812: Chesapeake’s Forgotten War"

In recognition of the approaching bicentennial of the War of 1812, this year’s Chaney Visiting Scholar Public Lecture at St. Mary’s College of Maryland will describe what the war meant to Marylanders and its impact on the Chesapeake Bay region. Author David Healey’s lecture, “1812 in the Maryland Imagination: A star-spangled exploration,” will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 31, at Auerbach Auditorium of St. Mary’s Hall. Copies of his book, 1812: Rediscovering Chesapeake Bay's Forgotten War, will be for sale at the book-signing after the lecture.

Healey, an English professor at Cecil College, has written about the people of the Chesapeake Bay for a number of publications, including authoring three Civil War novels and two non-fiction books. “While it can be difficult to make a connection with those who lived and fought so long ago,” said Healey, “we will explore how imagination can play a role in understanding what our “Second War of Independence” meant to Marylanders of the era.”

For more information on War of 1812 attractions, activities, and events in Southern Maryland (and throughout the state), visit http://starspangled200.org/Pages/Home.aspx.

Girl Scout Cookie Cook-Off

Girl Scout Troop 3702 is happy to present the 1st Annual Girl Scout Cookie Cook-Off on February 19th at 2:00 pm in the Great Mills High School Cafeteria! 
The event will feature a dessert competition where up to 10 local chefs will develop a unique dessert using a Girl Scout Cookie as an ingredient. Prizes in the form of volunteer hours to the chef’s favorite charity will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and People’s Choice. This event will also showcase how Girl Scouts works to empower girls to better the community.

The cost is $10 per person and all proceeds go to support Girl Scouts and the S.H.A.R.E (Share Her Annual Real Expenses) Program. Attendees are asked to bring a non-perishable food item for the local food bank.  Girl Scout Troop 3702 is a part of Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital.  For tickets or information on being a part of this event, please contact Girl Scout Troop 3702 at troop3702@gmail.com.

Girl Scout cookie season is in full gear. Cookie booths open February 18 through March 27. For more information or to locate a Girl Scout Cookie booth in your area visit our website at http://www.gscnc.org/.

Lexington Park Business and Community Association Unveils Community Logo and Naval Aviation Centennial Celebration Banner

The Lexington Park Business and Community Association has unveiled a new logo representing the community's proud and historic relationship to the United States Navy. The logo will be used to brand the Lexington Park community as the region's center of excellence for high-technology enterprises.



Lexington Park logo

 Images within the logo portray a shadowed outline of the U.S.S. Lexington, the WWII aircraft carrier for which the Park is named, and a soaring jet representing continued advancement in naval aviation, woven onto the backdrop of the community's name -- Lexington Park, the gateway community to NAS Patuxent River, the country's premier Acquisition, Research, Development, Test and Evaluation installation for the United States Navy.

 In celebration of this year's Centennial of Naval Aviation, the Association also unveiled a banner featuring the new Lexington Park logo and the logo of NAS Patuxent River. "This is fantastic," exclaimed Capt. Stephen Schmeiser, Commanding Officer, NAS Patuxent River. "The Business Association has taken the lead to create community-wide exposure for this year's Centennial of Naval Aviation," he said.

The logo and banner were designed by Jeff Hobrath, Chief USN (Ret.), CEO and founder of Jeff Hobrath Art Studio (JeffHobarth.com). Mr. Hobrath offered his assistance to the Business Association free-of-charge to support the group's initiative. True to this love of the United States Navy, Jeff summarized his thoughts about the project by saying, "I am so honored to be the artist for this project. Thanks for allowing me to contribute."


Banner



"This is what St. Mary's County is all about," stated Bob Schaller, Director, St. Mary's County Department of Economic and Community Development. "The Lexington Park Business and Community Association has created a perfect way to recognize NAS Patuxent River's accomplishments during this year's Centennial Anniversary. My hat's off to them."

The Business and Community Association meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday of the month at the Bay District Fire Department Social Hall located on South Shangri-La Drive. Individuals who are committed to the revitalization of Lexington Park are encouraged to attend.

Corporate sponsorships are needed to support the cost of producing the anniversary banners. The banners will be located throughout the community and are intended to be visible to the 22,000 members of the Pax River Team as they commute to work and to the many visitors to the military installation. Over 100,000 Lexington Park visitors will see the banners during the Air Expo in September. For anniversary banner and collateral material sponsorship information, contact Robin Finnacom at the Community Development Corporation at 301-863-7700.

Chanteys and Chowder at HSMC

Calico Jack will perform songs of the
 Chesapeake at St. Mary’s City

on February 4.

On February 4, Jane Meneely and Paul DiBlassi will perform together as Calico Jack in the State House at St. Mary’s City. From pirates to Point Lookout, the music of Calico Jack ranges from the raucous ruminations of ne’er-do-well sea captains to more thoughtful ballads about the people who make a living working the water.

Singer-songwriter Meneely has produced three albums of Bay-inspired tunes since 2001. She will be joined on stage by her real-life partner, singer and guitarist Paul DiBlasi. He adds his repertoire of classic work songs to Meneely’s portfolio of originals--along with a flair for harmony.

“We’re trying to preserve the traditions and stories of the watermen and their communities. So many people have moved to the Chesapeake region from faraway places,” says Maneely, “and they have no idea what a skipjack is. They don’t know any Bay history. They haven’t heard the stories told around the liar’s bench in an Eastern Shore country store.” Meneely tries to capture the essence of those moments in her songs, whether she’s retelling ghost stories or describing a workday aboard an oyster dredger, “‘freezin’ our butts off on Chesapeake Bay.” Sometimes saucy, sometimes serious Calico Jack offers audiences a glimpse of a rapidly disappearing way of life and invites them to join in on the chorus.

Doors to the State House will open at 7:00 p.m. and the concert will begin at 7:30. Clam chowder, vegetarian chili, barbeque sandwiches, cole slaw, cookies, wine, and beer will be on sale. Plan to come early, and give yourself time to enjoy the company of friends, down-home fare, and the unique State House ambiance before the show begins. Admission to the concert is $15. Purchase tickets in advance by contacting the HSMC Visitor Center (240-895-4990, 800-SMC-1634, or info@stmaryscity.org) or at the door, subject to availability.  For more information, visit http://www.stmaryscity.org/.