TFA NEWS IN BRIEF
  Get Ready for Preakness Week

OTD Hosts Annual Travel Information Workshop at Six Flags America

Maryland Rolls Out the Red Carpet for This Season’s Film Festivals

Maryland Traditions Folklife Festival Returns to Creative Alliance June 10

Sponsorship and New Volunteer Opportunities Still Available for IPW 2017 in Washington, D.C.

Register Now for “On the Edge of Freedom” Harriet Tubman Network to Freedom Conference

The February Maryland Tourism Monitor is Here

IN THE NEWS
UPCOMING EVENTS
 
 
Get Ready for Preakness Week
 
The 142nd annual Preakness Stakes is just 10 days away. Always Dreaming, winner of the Kentucky Derby, will be looking to add to his legacy with a run at the Triple Crown, but there’s more to Preakness Week than just the race. On Friday May 19, the fastest fillies will gather for the annual Black-Eyed Susan Stakes. The three-day Preakness Celebration Balloon Festival comes to the Howard County Fairgrounds May 18-20 with illuminated hot air balloons and “balloon glow” by night. On race day, this year’s Budweiser Infield Fest features country star Sam Hunt; two bands with local roots: Waldorf’s Good Charlotte and LOCASH featuring Baltimore native Chris Lucas; the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team; and a B-2 Stealth Bomber flyover. For more details, visit our Preakness page.
 
 
  TFA NEWS IN BRIEF
 
 
 
OTD Hosts Annual Travel Information Workshop
at Six Flags America
 
 
   
More than 60 front-line staff members from across Maryland attended the sixth annual Travel Information Center Workshop on May 3 at Six Flags America in Prince George's County.

These tourism professionals joined the Maryland Office of Tourism to learn about new initiatives, events and programs that OTD will be concentrating on in the next year. Guest speaker Mark Powell of the Maryland Department of Agriculture discussed farmers' markets within the state, farm-to-table initiatives and the Ice Cream Trail.

Six Flags America hosted the program for the second time, and generously donated guest passes to the park as door prizes.

 
 
 
Maryland Rolls Out the Red Carpet for This Season’s Film Festivals
 
 
   
Spring brings Maryland a trifecta of exciting film festivals, all produced in conjunction with the Maryland Film Office. This past weekend, the 19th Maryland Film Festival opened in its new home in the beautifully renovated 102-year-old Parkway Theatre. Sell-outs included the John Waters' pick Roar, and Barry Levinson’s premiere of his Wizard of Lies. In April, the Annapolis Film Festival had a record attendance of more than 14,000 in just its fifth year, with a standing-room-only crowd of 1,000 on opening night. And in June, AFI DOCS, one of the most prestigious documentary film fests in the country, kicks off at the AFI Theater in Silver Spring. For more information on these and other great Maryland film festivals, visit marylandfilm.org.
 
 
 
Maryland Traditions Folklife Festival Returns to Creative Alliance June 10
 
  Performers from the Maryland Traditions Folklife Festival
   
The seventh annual Maryland Traditions Folklife Festival will occur on Saturday, June 10, from noon to 7 p.m. at the Creative Alliance at the Patterson in Highlandtown. This free, family-friendly festival celebrates folk and traditional arts from across Maryland. Come to participate in Native American, Brazilian, West African, and Irish dance; make your own paper quilts, piñatas, drums, and beaded jewelry; and experience jazz, blues, bluegrass, cumbia, hip-hop, and Chinese opera traditions. Keep your energy up with multicultural food offerings, and learn about maritime culture from the watermen of the Chesapeake Bay. Find out more about the festival and Maryland’s folk traditions at MSAC.org.
Photo by Edwin Remsberg Photographs.
 
 
 
Sponsorship and New Volunteer Opportunities Still Available for IPW 2017 in Washington, D.C.
 
 
   
IPW, the largest generator of travel to the U.S., is coming to Washington, D.C. and bringing more than 7,000 attendees, including domestic and international travel buyers. This rare opportunity to have the tourism industry’s premier event in Maryland’s backyard doesn’t come often, so register now and benefit from one-on-one appointments with buyers, meet with travel supplier organizations from every region in the U.S., and representatives from more than 75 countries, generating more than $4.7 billion in future travel.

In addition to registering for IPW, you and your colleagues may also volunteer to work at special events throughout the duration of the convention. To become a volunteer, log on to washington.org\ipw2017 and click on the triple bar download icon in the page header. All volunteers will receive training, passes, shirts, and the opportunity to participate in the country's most exciting international tourism event.

 
 
 
Register Now for “On the Edge of Freedom” Harriet Tubman Network to Freedom Conference
 
  Harriet Tubman Network to Freedom Logo
   
The National Park Service, National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom (NTF) Program and the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Conference are co-hosting a conference in honor of the opening of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center in Church Creek, Maryland, marking the first time Maryland has hosted the event. The conference, “On the Edge of Freedom: Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad in the Borderlands,” will be held in Cambridge, May 18-21, 2017. The conference will explore all aspects of the Underground Railroad in borderlands—both literally and figuratively. The conference brings together scholars, site stewards, researchers, student artists, and enthusiasts from across the nation for four days of renowned speakers, panel discussions, workshops, an exhibit hall, and tours. “The Network to Freedom program is excited to bring the annual Underground Railroad conference to Dorchester County in recognition of the opening of the new Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center, so that attendees will get an opportunity to experience this marvelous new facility,” says Diane Miller, Acting Superintendent, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park.

Attendees may choose from four great pre-conference workshops or take a tour of Harriet Tubman's birthplace. Sessions start on Friday morning and last through Saturday afternoon. For information and to register, click here.

 
 
 
The February Maryland Tourism Monitor is Here
 
 
   
The latest Maryland Tourism Monitor shows continuing gains from OTD's outreach efforts. Print and broadcast leads for fiscal 2017 are outperforming 2016 with broadcast leads showing 24.8 percent growth, and web travel kit requests increasing 27.4 percent. Traffic to OTD websites has seen an increase of nearly 57 percent, with unique traffic to VisitMaryland.org generating more than 190,560 outbound links to our partners. Maryland Welcome Center visitation has increased 16 percent compared to fiscal year 2016. These efforts have coincided with a 5.1 percent increase in Tourism Tax Code revenues, doubling the increase from all other categories, which rose 2.2 percent. To read the full monitor, visit our website.
 
 
 
 
 
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  IN THE NEWS
 
 
   
 
 
Maryland Minute
 
Each week, the Maryland Minute provides highlights and insights on this weekend’s events around the state. Maryland Minute is featured on CBS radio stations in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. and on Baltimore’s WBAL-AM 1090.
 
 
 
 
 
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  UPCOMING EVENTS
 
 
MAY
13
 
Maryland Craft Beer Festival, Frederick
This outdoor festival will feature tastings from more than 40 Maryland breweries from all across the state as well as live music, food and local art. For more information, visit our website.
 
 
MAY
13-20
 
Grantsville National Road Festival
Celebrate the rich history of Grantsville and the National Road during this week-long festival. For all of the details, go to our website.
 
MAY
19-20
 
St. Michael’s Running Festival
Half-Marathon, 5k, 1k Kids Fun Run, and waves of runners at all levels of experience. Visit Friday's Running Expo to pick up bib, shirt and visit the race store. Saturday offers an after-race fun village. Find out more at our website.
 
 
 
 
 
 
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