Event to include expanded festival weekend in Partnership with Historic Leonardtown
The Potomac Jazz & Seafood Festival, one of the Mid-Atlantic's signature jazz events, held along the shores of the beautiful Potomac River in St. Mary's County, Maryland, is set to feature a fantastic lineup of jazz artists in celebration of the festival's 20th anniversary this July. For the first time, the Festival will be expanded from a one day event to a three day jazz weekend.
This popular, annual Festival, known for showcasing local culinary delicacies of Maryland's Mother County and spotlighting renowned, national jazz talent, draws close to 1,000 jazz enthusiasts every year. The 20th anniversary weekend, billed as "A Soulful Summer Serenade," is anticipated to be even bigger, as the Festival will now include a series of jazz-themed events throughout Leonardtown. These will include jazz brunches, after parties, art shows and more.
The festivities kick-off with an intimate jazz concert on the Square in downtown Historic Leonardtown on Friday, July 12, featuring contemporary jazz trio "Higher Standards". The evening will also include after parties and jazz-themed events throughout the town. The event is also part of the Leonardtown Summer Music Festival series.
On Saturday, July 13, the festival's main event takes place on the grounds of the St. Clement's Island Museum in Colton's Point. The lineup includes three nationally-acclaimed jazz acts, beginning with Art Sherrod, Jr. at 3 p.m., followed by Brian Simpson and Paula Atherton at 5 p.m. and concluding with headliner Mike Phillips at 7 p.m. A plethora of local food vendors offering a wide variety of seafood and other Southern Maryland fare will be available throughout the day. Free water taxi rides around picturesque St. Clement's Island, the first landing of English settlers in Maryland in 1634, will be offered to all event-goers, as well as free admission to the museum. Special memorabilia commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Festival, including the ever-popular music poster with this year's design, will be available for purchase.
The weekend wraps up on Sunday, July 14, where the Town of Leonardtown will host several jazz-themed activities, including jazz brunches at several in-town restaurants, a cocktail movie screening party of a classic jazz-age/themed film at the in-town coffee shop, Social Coffeehouse and Speakeasy, jazz classes at a local, in-town fitness studio, jazz events at Port of Leonardtown Winery Cooperative tasting room, and an afternoon jazz event featuring local jazz artists and other activities at Shepherds Old Field Market, an historic warehouse and hardware store rehabbed into an indoor marketplace and community gathering space containing shops, a deli, coffee shop, beer garden, winery and more.
Tickets are now available on the festival's new website, www.PotomacJazzandSeafoodFestival.com, as well as on the event's Facebook page. There, additional information about the weekend's events can be found. The public is encouraged to check the website and Facebook page often as new information is updated weekly.
Out of town visitors are encouraged to stay the entire weekend to enjoy all the festivities by purchasing special discount festival hotel packages, which will include such amenities like hotel room stays, festival tickets, brunch and other dining tickets and wine tastings. Additional details to come.
Proceeds from the event go towards funding the non-profit Friends of St. Clement's Island & Piney Point Museums' mission of supporting the museums and historic sites under the care of the St. Mary's County Museum Division. The event's major partners include the Friends of St. Clement's Island & Piney Point Museums, St. Mary's County Museum Division, Town of Leonardtown and Visit St. Mary's MD.
For more information regarding the festival, view promotional videos, purchase tickets or packages, please visit www.PotomacJazzandSeafoodFestival.com.
Friends of St. Clement's Island & Piney Point Museums Will Offer Revamped Membership Levels
Move will benefit historic sites and museums managed by St. Mary's County Museum Division
Beginning this year, the Friends of the St. Clement's Island & Piney Point Museums will offer revamped membership levels to members of the public who wish to support the mission and historic sites in the care of the St. Mary's County Museum Division.
Each membership level will provide patrons a variety of benefits depending on level. Each membership level will include free admission to the museums, a commemorative membership pin, 10% discount at each of the Museum Stores, discounted member rates to special events, quarterly "Finer Points" newsletter and enrollment in the e-newsletter, where members are kept up to date of everything happening at the museums.
Memberships include benefits previously mentioned, plus other benefits included in the lower tiers. The "Individual" membership level ($40 per year) includes all the benefits mentioned above; the "Family" membership level ($60 per year) includes the benefits mentioned above, plus admission for two adults and all children and grandchildren under the age of 21 and a total of two membership pins; the "Heritage" membership level ($125 per year) includes all the benefits mentioned above, plus two water taxi passes and four guest passes; the "Patron" membership level ($250 per year) includes all the benefits mentioned above, plus a total of four water taxi passes and four guest passes. The "Benefactor" membership level ($500 per year) includes all the benefits mentioned above, plus two tickets to the annual Potomac Jazz and Seafood Festival.
Membership fees help to support the Friends' mission to raise funds to support historical interpretation, education programs and special needs of the sites managed by the Museum Division of St. Mary's County Department of Recreation and Parks. The Friends organization is a 501(c) 3 organization sponsoring events, assisting with acquisitions and supporting efforts to broaden the understanding of our culture and community's heritage. For more information, please visit www.Facebook.com/FriendsSCI
The St. Mary's County Museum Division was created by the Commissioners of St. Mary's County to collect, preserve, research and interpret the historic sites and artifacts which illustrate the natural, cultural, and social histories of St. Clement's Island, the Potomac River, Piney Point Lighthouse, the Chesapeake Bay and the Drayden African American and Charlotte Hall schoolhouses. With this appointed purpose, the Museum Division goes on to serve as a resource, liaison and community advocate for all St. Mary's County public and private cultural assets.
For hours of operation, programs, admission prices and more, visit the St. Mary's County Museum Division's Facebook pages at www.facebook.com/SCIMuseum or www.facebook.com/1836Light or on Twitter at @StClemIsMuseum or @PineyPtLHMuseum.
Notice of Public Hearing: St. Mary's County NEXB (New and Expanding Business) Tax Credit
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Commissioners of St. Mary's County will conduct a Public Hearing in the Commissioners' Hearing Room of the Chesapeake Building, located at 41770 Baldridge Street, Leonardtown, Maryland, on Tuesday, March 19, 2019, beginning at 9:10 a.m., for the purpose of receiving public testimony on proposed amendments to the New and Expanding Business (NEXB) Tax Credit application process.
Amendments to be considered include the following:
1) Simplifying how the tax credit is calculated.
• The credit will be provided for a number of years based on the number of jobs created:
Note that as a result of the evidence and comments made at the public hearing, changes may be made to the proposed amendments.
Copies of the simplified NEXB application are available in the Department of Economic Development, Potomac Building, 2rd floor, 23115 Leonard Hall Drive, Leonardtown, MD 20650, www.yesstmarysmd.com.
Department of Aging & Human Services Presents Second Annual Keys to Senior Independence Workshop Series
What are your plans for retirement? Do you know how to access Medicare, Medicaid, or other programs and services? Are you seeking volunteer opportunities within the St. Mary's County Community? Find all that and more with the Department of Aging & Human Services!
This free community workshop series is hosted by the St. Mary's County Department of Aging & Human Services and the College of Southern Maryland on Tuesdays, April 9, 16, 23, and 30 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The workshop will be held at the College of Southern Maryland's Leonardtown Campus in Building C—Room 304.
Topics will include:
Introduction to the Department of Aging & Human Services (Tuesday, April 9)
The Department of Aging & Human Services provides a wide variety of programs and services to the county's senior residents, as well as other segments of the population in need. Join Community Programs & Outreach Manager Sarah Miller, to learn about home and community-based services, social and recreational programs, community outreach, volunteer opportunities, supportive services to families and children, Christmas Caring, Teen Court and much more.
Music and Memory (Tuesday, April 16)
Spend an evening with Program Specialist Kathy Creswell from the Department of Aging & Human Services' Garvey Senior Activity Center, learning about the effect of music on memory, health, and wellbeing. Participate in an interactive demonstration of Drums Alive, using rhythm as the source of inspiration to discover a new group fitness experience.
Mobility & Independence (Tuesday, April 23)
Join College of Southern Maryland and Department of Aging & Human Services staff to learn about mobility aids and how they can be utilized successfully. Also learn how physical fitness classes offered at the Department of Aging & Human Services' Senior Activity Centers can assist in promoting improved mobility.
Scams, Frauds, and Elder Abuse Prevention (Tuesday, April 30)
Corporal Kristi Nelson and Sargent Shawn L. Moses will teach community members about scams that are directed toward the aging population and how to detect, avoid, and report them. Also learn how the Department of Aging & Human Services may provide additional advocacy in the community and in long-term care.
For more information, or to sign up, contact Community Programs & Outreach Manager Sarah Miller at 301-475-4200, ext. 71073, or Sarah.Miller@stmarysmd.com. Registration is required, space is limited.
Celebrate Maryland's Birth on Maryland Day at St. Clement's Island Museum
The public is encouraged to celebrate the founding of Maryland on March 25 at the state's birthplace, St. Clement's Island Museum. A ceremony will be held from 2 p.m. to 3p.m. featuring guest speakers and dignitaries from around the state.
Free admission to the St. Clement's Island Museum and free water taxi rides will be available for visitors on March 25 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Starting on Maryland Day, the museum officially kicks off its summer hours, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., daily. Daily Operations for the water taxi to St. Clement's Island State Park will also begin.
Maryland Day commemorates the first landing of English colonists on St. Clement's Island on March 25, 1634—a significant part of St. Mary's County's and the State of Maryland's story. The St. Clement's Island Museum, which sits just a half-mile from the island from which it takes its name, is under the care of the St. Mary's County Museum Division and interprets the fascinating stories of the island and surrounding Colton's Point from colonial times until the present.
"Maryland Day is the most important event in our program year, since it marks the beginning of the state of Maryland in 1634," says Karen Stone, Manager of the St. Mary's County Museum Division. "On this day, we honor the meeting of two cultures—the newly-arrived English and the native Piscataway—and the friendship and collaboration that ensued. It is also a day on which we celebrate Maryland's religious history and its place in the development of the statutes of religious freedom that are so pivotal in this country's history."
To commemorate this momentous day in Maryland history, the museum will also be hosting award-winning local author Amy Schisler, who will be signing her new book "The Devil's Fortune" from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the museum building. The Museum Store also carries Amy's children's book, "Crabbing With Granddad," among a variety of other great local gifts, which will be available for purchase. To learn more about Amy, visit amyschislerauthor.com.
For those looking for more Maryland Day fun in St. Mary's County, head down the Potomac to Maryland's first capital and settlement at Maryland Day at Historic St. Mary's City on Saturday, March 23 for a program at 1 p.m. Explore the living history site from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit hsmcdigshistory.org.
For more information regarding Maryland Day at St. Clement's Island Museum, please call the Museum at 301-769-2222. For hours of operation, programs, admission prices and more, visit the St. Mary's County Museum Division's Facebook pages at www.facebook.com/SCIMuseum or www.facebook.com/1836Light or on Twitter at @StClemIsMuseum or @PineyPtLHMuseum.
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