NEWS IN BRIEF
A&E district in Baltimore wins yearly DBED award
Station North Arts and Entertainment District was named winner of the 2011 Arts and Entertainment District Outstanding Achievement Award at the annual meeting of A&E managers, held March 30 in Frederick. An A&E district since 2002, Station North was the first area in Baltimore to receive that designation. David Bielenberg, Station North's executive director, received the award from Hannah Byron, assistant secretary, Maryland Division of Tourism, Film and the Arts, representing the Department of Business and Economic Development.
“The support and promotion of artists and arts organizations has helped rejuvenate existing properties and improve local business viability in the (Station North) District as part of the continuing development of the neighborhoods north of Penn Station in Baltimore," said Gov. Martin O'Malley.
Station North presents spring and fall music festivals, and a monthly Second Saturday event. It promotes district events and organizations through a weekly newsletter and on Baltimore's public radio station, WYPR. The district, which was featured in The New York Times, is also the site of significant activity during Artscape, the largest free arts festival in the U.S. The Maryland State Arts Council administers the A&E program.
Ocean City lands first stop on Dew Tour in July
In January, Chris Prybylo, general manager of the Dew Tour, called Terry Hasseltine, director of the Maryland Office of Sports Marketing, to inquire about Ocean City as one of the sites for the 2011 tour — a traveling competition that features skateboarding and other extreme sports. He worked with Hasseltine during the early days of the tour in 2005, when Hasseltine was at the Kentucky Sports Authority.
"Chris was interested in Ocean City as the first beachfront stop on the tour, but he was confusing Ocean City, N.J., with our Ocean City," Hasseltine says. "I suggested talking with Maryland's Ocean City folks to see what they could offer."
Before that happened, Hasseltine and Margot Amelia, executive director, Maryland Office of Tourism, spoke to Deb Turk, Ocean City's tourism director, and Greg Shockley, an Ocean City restaurateur and president of the Maryland Tourism Development Board, at Tourism Day in Annapolis. They suggested that Ocean City make a quick pitch to host the tour. Dew was also considering Virginia Beach as a possible site. A week later, Dew officials met with an Ocean City delegation.
"This is a made-for-TV event that has lots of exposure," Hasseltine says. "And by having it at Ocean City, new water-based competition — like boogie-boarding — will be added." Following the Ocean City event, July 21-24, this year's Dew Tour moves west to Portland, Ore., Salt Lake City and Las Vegas.
The Dew Tour should provide Ocean City with a boost of $11 million to $12 million, Hasseltine says. Baltimore's Camden Yards hosted the tour in 2007 and 2008. The estimated economic impact each year was about $10 million and attendance each year surpassed 50,000.
State's online events calendar adds access, content
The Maryland Office of Tourism recently launched an enhanced electronic calendar of events on VisitMaryland.org, the state's official tourism web site.
Representatives of venues, event organizers and destinations can now use an online system to enter event postings directly into the calendar. They can also purchase ads on the web site and upgrade their listings with images and preferred-placement options. The calendar also has the capacity to import additional content through searches of popular web sites for events.
"Our consumer research underscored that prospective visitors are looking for a variety of exciting things to do, and this new calendar is designed to highlight the breadth and depth of events statewide," said Margot A. Amelia, executive director of the tourism office. "The events calendar has always been the most popular section of our web site. Acquiring event information from multiple sources will help us achieve our goal — producing the state's most complete, accurate and timely online calendar of events."
New visitor center opens in downtown Frederick
The Tourism Council of Frederick County hosts a grand opening of the new Frederick Visitor Center in Frederick, Saturday, April 2 at 9:30 a.m. A dedication of the Frederick County History Bell follows the ribbon-cutting ceremony. At 10 a.m., the bell will ring for three minutes to mark the start of Bell and History Day. Hundreds of other bells across the city and county are expected to ring at the same time.
Located at 151 S. East St. with a 2,200-square-foot exhibit area, the new center provides improved access for bus groups. It's on the site of the former Frederick Spoke Factory, a company that made wooden spokes for carriage wheels during the early 1900s. The center offers an award-winning orientation film, A Turn of the Wheel, which introduces the area's outdoor recreation, heritage tourism, scenic byways, spiritual and religious sites, Civil War connections, agritourism, and the local arts and entertainment district.
"The site (of the center) capitalizes on Frederick's location at the hub of a network of highways that fan out like the spokes of a wheel, connecting many of Frederick County's attractions and natural and cultural resources," says John Fieseler, the council's executive director.
Advisory group sees 9/11 memorial design
Maryland State Arts Council's Susie Leong reviews the design of the Maryland 9/11 Memorial with John Wesley Milton, a relative of one of the Maryland victims, during a meeting of the project's advisory committee, March 22 at the World Trade Center in Baltimore. The memorial, which will stand on the plaza of the World Trade Center, will be unveiled on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks this fall.
Md. Historical Society plans major Civil War exhibit
The state's largest and most comprehensive Civil War exhibit opens at the Maryland Historical Society's museum, April 16. Divided Voices: Maryland in the Civil War will occupy more than 5,000 square feet and depict the conflict as a trilogy: the romantic war, the real war and the long reunion.
A "time tunnel" with 3-D videos will allow patrons to visit Maryland in 1861. The exhibit also includes interactive displays and storyteller guides in period costumes. On weekends, the Maryland Historical Society Players will perform vignettes related to major events that occurred in the state during the Civil War era.
Founded in 1844, the Society is located in Baltimore's Mount Vernon district. It's the home of the original manuscript of the Star-Spangled Banner. The Society is open Wednesday through Sunday. The museum offers free admission on the first Thursday of each month.
Fort McHenry's Vietzke takes new NPS role
Gay E. Vietzke, superintendent, Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine,
takes a new job as deputy regional director for park operations in the Philadelphia-based Northeast Regional Office of the National Park Service, starting April 11. Among other duties, she will be the supervisor of Fort McHenry's next superintendent.
Vietzke came to Fort McHenry in June 2005 after serving as superintendent at Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay, N.Y. — the former home of Theodore Roosevelt from 1885 to 1919. She joined the Park Service in 1992. She has also worked at Freedom Trail in Boston and in historic downtown Philadelphia. Her position at Fort McHenry included the superintendent's job at Hampton National Historic Site in Baltimore County.
During her tenure at Fort McHenry, a conceptual plan for a new visitor center evolved into the building that officially opened March 3. The Fort McHenry Visitor and Education Center is a 17,000-square-foot facility — triple the size of the previous center — that can accommodate 750,000 annual visitors.
Free financial seminar offered for creative enterprises
Learn how to navigate budgets, cash flow, copyright, insurance and other business matters at a free symposium, Monday, April 4, 12:30 -5 at the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) in Baltimore. Money matters! Profiting from and protecting your art, craft or other creative business is presented by PNC Bank, Maryland Lawyers for the Arts and AVAM. Register by e-mail or by calling 410-244-1900, ext. 247.
Hear details of state's growth plan at public sessions
Maryland Department of Planning has scheduled eight regional open houses across the state in April and May as part of a public-outreach phase for PlanMaryland, a state growth plan. The first session is Wednesday, April 6 at the University of Maryland in College Park. A week later, on April 13, Harford Community College hosts the next session. All open houses run from 5-8 p.m. For more information, or to register, visit the PlanMaryland web site.
New Germany welcomes volunteers for clean-up
Western Maryland's New Germany State Park invites volunteers of all ages to participate in its annual Spring Clean-up Day, April 9, 9-noon. The Friends of New Germany will provide a free pizza lunch. To register, call or e-mail Ranger Luke Mongrain, 301-895-5453. For information about the park, call the Ranger Station, 301-895-5453.
Visit Baltimore coordinates Civil War tribute
 Baltimore, in April 1861, was a divided city — in a divided state in a divided nation. Civil War 150: The Baltimore Commemoration, April 15-17, is a collection of events and exhibitions that mark the 150-year anniversary of the start of that turbulent era. It includes a Maryland's Civil War Trails Expo at the Inner Harbor on April 16. Other events include: a daytime Civil War Encampment and candlelight tours at Fort McHenry; Riots, Railroads and the Coming of Mr. Lincoln at Sports Legends Museum at Camden Station; and a theatrical depiction of the Pratt Street Riot at the Inner Harbor Amphitheater.
Rail museum plans Civil War exhibit
B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore opens a Civil War-related exhibit, April 15. The War Came By Train features the world's predominant collection of Civil War railroad equipment, including locomotives and rail cars, along with military and personal artifacts. Visitors can also take a narrated train ride to the site of Camp Carroll, the largest Union encampment in Baltimore. The exhibit honors the sesquicentennial of the Civil War and runs to May 30, 2015. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 10-4, and Sunday, 11-4.
New event offers day of wine and racing
Maryland Wineries Association, Maryland Jockey Club and Maryland Horse Council present Decanter, a day of wine and racing at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, April 16. Event is sponsored by The Equiery, an independently owned publication for Maryland's equestrian community. Tickets start at $30. Visitors get infield viewing of all races, samples of Maryland wines and access to local artisans, specialty foods, and equine goods and services. The three host organizations have a common interest in land preservation and the promotion of the state's local economy. Purchase tickets online.
Send 'Tweetable' deals for re-Tweeting
Maryland hotels, restaurants and attractions can send news about their specials or packages to the Maryland Office of Tourism for broadcast on Twitter. Messages must adhere to Twitter's standard for length: no more than 140 characters in total. A web address that offers more information should be a part of each message.
Notice of “Tweetable” deals will go to the more than 3,000 followers of the tourism office's Twitter account, TravelMD. Send tweets for specials to Liz Fitzsimmons. |
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