Annapolis opens a bit more for Maryland Day Weekend
Limited tours, masks and more virtual events
Funny thing about sailboats, they depend on the weather.
So the guest star of the annual Annapolis-area celebration of Maryland Day won’t make it to City Dock Friday as planned, delaying its departure until dawn Saturday because of time, tide and the potential for gale force winds out on the Chesapeake Bay. Arrival in Annapolis is sometime between 11 a.m. and noon.
“Ship watchers can expect to see PRIDE on the Patapsco between Fort McHenry & Fort Howard 7-8 a.m.; from Downs Park in Pasadena 8-10 a.m.; and south of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge 10 a.m.-noon. (Times subject to change based on the sailing conditions.),” the crew wrote.
The replica 19th-century topsail schooner makes the annual trip from its home port as the opening voyage of its travel season of goodwill visits.
And, with COVID-19 restrictions and the threat of infection easing, its arrival in Annapolis signals the start of Maryland Day Weekend — the first weekend featuring several in-person events in over a year. It coincides with the start of Annapolis Restaurant Week on Saturday.
Masks are still required at all locations, and social distance limits will keep crowd sizes small, but it’s a step back toward normal for an area famous for things to do.
Maryland Day is an official state holiday, celebrating the arrival of English colonists at what is now St. Clement’s Island in St. Mary’s County on March 25, 1632.
For the last 14 years, Four Rivers Heritage Area has organized events around Annapolis and into south county that mark the state’s founding and this area’s historic legacy.
This year, Maryland Day Weekend will be a “hybrid” of virtual and in-person events, with some participating groups reopening to visitors while others are not. Many of the events center around the theme of “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion,” focusing on stories that are less often told.
Here’s a look at some of the highlights Friday through Sunday. For a full listing of the dozens of events virtual and in person, visit marylandday.org.
Friday
In-person...
Maryland Day weekend opens at London Town Historic House & Gardens in Edgewater, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary with free admission all weekend.
Open for 30-minute walking tours of the gardens from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; the site also offers a range of virtual programs starting this month. The William Brown House remains closed.
Located at 839 Londontown Road in Edgewater, more information is at historiclondontown.org/events.
When Pride II sails into Annapolis, it won’t be open for deck tours because of COVID-19 restrictions. But there will be a shoreside educational display in the City Dock parking lot and virtual programming, and a chance to see one of most impressive sailing ships on the Chesapeake to examine at its berth at the end of Susan Campbell Park. The exhibits will be up Saturday and Sunday during the visit.
The Busch Annapolis Library will be offering Take & Make kits for elementary school-age students for curbside pickup Friday, Saturday and Sunday while supplies last. Each bag includes supplies for a patchwork quilt craft with instructions, supplies to make a button whirligig with instructions, a five-page Maryland coloring book, and a sheet with information about Maryland Day and children’s history book recommendations. For details, visit aacpl.net/ location/annapolis.
Virtual...
Heather Wheatley, director of education at Homestead Gardens, will join Rebecca Sherman, nursery manager at Homestead Gardens, to offer an introduction to Maryland EcoRegional Native Plants, shrubs and trees at 11 a.m. on Zoom. Register at zoom. us/webinar/register/WN_jKVgi8EZQfOZepFup451Tw
At noon, Kate Hardy, the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail manager, will talk about the trail, the National Park Service’s partnership with Pride of Baltimore, Inc., and where that partnership will take the ship this year. Virtual events related to the visit won’t be changed by the delayed arrival. Visit facebook.com/StarSpangledBannerNPS
Artist Comacell Brown, Blacks of the Chesapeake founder Vince Leggett and Corey Lewis of Maryland State Archives will talk at 5 p.m. about the history of Carr’s Beach, a resort for Black Americans in the era of segregation that drew nationally known music acts to Annapolis. Visit Mc3annapolis.org
Saturday
In-person...
The Annapolis Maritime Museum is back with a limited number of timed tours for small groups of the new exhibit “Our Changing Waterfront.” Tours are limited to 30 guests per hour, with 10 minutes between tours for cleaning. Tours are available at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and noon.
Tickets are $1. The museum also features a boat-building challenge in the Bay Room art gallery that requires no tickets. For more information, visit amaritime.org.
The Chesapeake Children’s Museum will open its grounds for an Indigenous Plant Walk, exploring the traditional lore and resources of indigenous people. Space is limited. Noon. $1. Visit theccm.networkforgood.com for tickets.
Virtual...
Coffee with the Captain — Pride of Baltimore Capt. Jan Miles and Kate Hardy will talk in a streamed chat starting at 9 a.m. about the ship and the Star-Spangled National Historic Trail. Visit facebook.com/prideII
Broadneck African American Heritage Project — Historian Elinor Thompson of Brewer Hill Cemetery will offer a virtual lecture on the cemetery, one of the first African American cemeteries in the United States.
She’ll talk about the famous and non-famous people buried in the quiet parcel off West Street in Annapolis. 10 to 11 a.m. on Zoom. Visit marylandday.org/eventscalendar for the link.
Verda Welcome: A Person of Principle — Janice the Griot presents a one-woman show based on the life and works of Verda Freeman, the first black woman elected to the Maryland state Senate. Elected in the early 1950s, Freeman championed laws to eradicate racism in schools, places of work, public accommodations and end laws banning interracial relationships. A virtual presentation from the Anne Arundel County Public Library and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum, the online performance takes t place at 2 p.m. For information, to register, visit aacpl.librarycalendar.com.
Women of the Chesapeake Campaign — The National Park Service will explore the stories of women during the Chesapeake campaign of the War of 1812. The 2 p.m. talk will explore women who witnessed the destruction of Washington, sewed the “Star-Spangled Banner,” and those who stood between their homes and the torches of the Royal Navy. Details of the Zoom talk are at bit.ly/WomenoftheChesapeake.
Pride and Centuries of Prejudice — Presented by the Anne Arundel County and Pride Annapolis at 4 p.m., the Zoom lecture will discuss the 300-year history of LGBTQ people in the Chesapeake Bay region. aacpl. librarycalendar.com
Sunday
In-Person...
The Charles Carroll House, Annapolis home of Charles Carroll the Settler, Charles Caroll of Annapolis and Charles Carroll of Carrollton, will reopen for self-guided tours from 10 a.m. to noon.
Want to take the tour virtually? You can watch the YouTube video. For details, visit facebook.com/charlescarrollhouseofannapolis.
Maryland Day Weekend wraps up with Artfest, the annual open house at Maryland Hall the Creative Arts.
This year’s free event features self-guided outdoor activities, including a community art project, a StoryWalk from Anne Arundel County Public Library, film screenings and gallery tours for “In Search of Meaning: Memory Becomes Us” by Patricia Moss-Vreeland.
The “Art of Activism” outdoor banner display will also return for the weekend. Artfest is open from 1 to 4 p.m. For more details, visit marylandhall.org
Need more?
Here are three more outdoor activities available all weekend long:
Anne Arundel County will open its regional parks for free all weekend. For details visit.aacounty.org
Smithsonian in Your Backyard offers a hiking tour of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center campus in Edgewater over more than sevens miles of trails. Visit the SERC webpage for Covid protocols and crowd limits, serc.si.edu
The Bacon Ridge Natural Area is open for self-guided tours with maps and other material provided by the Scenic Rivers Land Trust, the non-profit responsible for conserving the natural area, for helping explore the landscape. For details, visit srlt. org/