Maryland Wine Month and Women’s History Month came together as Layton’s Chance Vineyard & Winery made a donation to the Harriet Tubman Visitor Center in Church Creek. Layton’s Chance is located in Vienna along the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Scenic Byway, and after taking part in OTD’s Harriet Tubman Certified Host program, made “Freedom,” a wine inspired by Harriet Tubman. Layton's has dedicated $5 from the sale of every bottle to the center. In advance of the center’s one-year anniversary, the winery presented a check for more than $5,000 from wine sales to support the center’s education efforts.

As part of the update of the Maryland Land Preservation and Recreation Plan, the Department of Natural Resources and GreenPlay LLC invite you to share your thoughts for improving outdoor recreation opportunities and experiences for residents and visitors across the state. Do you have ideas making public parks and natural areas better, or enhancing outdoor amenities, programs, or services like boating, hunting, camping, or trail sports? Let them know your thoughts by taking this easy online survey by May 1, and/or attending an in-person stakeholder workshop with other outdoor enthusiasts. There will be eight sessions, with two sessions held per day on the following dates: March 26 at Fort Frederick State Park; March 27 at the Talbot County Recreation Center; April 18 at Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum; and April 19 at Soldiers Delight NEA Auditorium. All are welcome, and RSVPs appreciated. To RSVP, email Adam Bossi, Project Manager, GreenPlay LLC at adamb@greenplayllc.com.

You’re invited to the Rural Small Business Lending Worskhop being held May 10 in Salisbury. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, USDA Rural Development, and the Rural Maryland Council will welcome you, as well as community bankers, community development experts, community development financial institutions (DCFIs), municipal government representatives, and community and economic development partners, to learn about credit enhancement and direct subordinate loan opportunities to assist businesses and community development projects. This half-day session will focus on the state of rural small business development, highlight the various lending products offered by each participating organization, and discuss how their respective lending products are leveraged to meet evolving small business development needs. There is no fee to attend the event, however advanced registration is required as seating is limited. Follow this link to register.

In order to build and develop programs between state agencies and other partners involved in arts and tourism, OTD is hosting a series of regional planning meetings to convene state, county, and local groups that are using tourism and arts to bring economic vitality to their jurisdictions. Ideas and programs that are generated from these sessions will be included in the Fiscal Year 2019 work plan and marketing efforts.

The meetings are held in each of the state's five regions and include Commerce’s regional representatives, agency partners, destination marketing organizations, arts councils, Arts and Entertainment District Managers, Main Street Managers, Scenic Byways Coordinators, Heritage Area Managers, and tourism-and-arts-related businesses.

The Regional meetings are being produced by the Maryland Office of Tourism and its sister agencies sponsored in part by AAA. There is a $20 registration fee for each workshop, and lunch is provided. All meetings are held from 9:00am – 3:00pm. The next meeting is April 10, 2018 at the Holiday Inn Solomons Conference Center and Marina, 155 Holiday Drive, Solomons MD 20688. Please R.S.V.P. by April 3, 2018 by clicking here.

Future meetings are:

May 3, 2018 – Central Region, Doubletree by Hilton Columbia 5485 Twin Knolls Road, Columbia, MD 21045. Please R.S.V.P. by April 17, 2018

May 15, 2018 – Western Region, Rocky Gap 16701 Lakeview Road NE, Flintstone, MD 21530. Please R.S.V.P. by May 1, 2018

The latest Maryland Tourism Monitor, with data through January of 2018, shows strong growth in Maryland’s social media platforms with a 20.3 percent growth in followers year-over-year, and digital referrals from our website to industry partners has grown 30 percent to 227,740. Welcome center visitation continues to grow as well, with more than a quarter-million visitors, a rise of 15.5 percent over 2017. These strong numbers correspond with a revenue increase from all tourism tax categories to more than $277 million, a 2.1 percent rise year-over-year. To see the Maryland Tourism Monitor in its entirety, follow this link.