To
view this newsletter online: click
here FREE at
the beach: ARTS
ALIVE! FREE FREE outdoor movies Village
Fair FREE Flag
Day FREE Juneteenth
Celebration FREE 32nd
Annual Grantsville Days FREE June 21 Anne Arundel Community College Arnold, Anne Arundel County 
|
What
better way to launch the summer than
by taking advantage of the many FREE things
to do in Maryland? Events in the left column – starting with
several in Ocean City – are
all FREE. And that’s
just a sampling. Of course, some things are always FREE:
relaxing by the edge of Deep
Creek Lake in scenic Mountain Maryland, hiking
on the C&O
Canal along
the Potomac, strolling City Dock in historic
Annapolis and biking
across Eastern Shore flatlands (six new
bike trails just in Talbot
County). Order
a copy of Destination Maryland – the
guidebook to Maryland travel. It has a “Maryland Welcome! Passport” – good
for up to $3,500 in savings at 250 attractions, restaurants, retailers
and places to stay. You’ll use it again and again because everything
in Maryland is Pretty. Close. (Inset
photo above courtesy of The
Blonde Photographer)
 |
Arts & Entertainment– Festival
season in full swing Frederick Festival of the Arts, June 6-7, is FREE for the first time. Features more than 110 professional artists from 20 states; live music (jazz, bluegrass, folk and rock); and ongoing performances by Maryland Shakespeare Festival actors. Westminster Art in the Park, June 6, is also FREE – 80 artists and live music. Columbia Festival of the Arts, June 12-27, kicks off with a weekend of FREE events at Columbia lakefront. River Artsfest, June 13, is another FREE arts festival – takes place in Southern Maryland’s Charles County. Also, the Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival, June 4-14 – a series of 11 concerts on the Eastern Shore. |
 |
Culinary
Corner – Celebrate regional bounty Ocean City Restaurant Week runs May 31 through June 7 at two dozen of the resort’s finest eateries. Prix-fixe meals offer opportunity to sample culinary innovation at a special price. Festivals that celebrate food – from haute cuisine to Maryland crabs – are also in the limelight this month. The Food and Wine Festival at National Harbor, June 6-7, is an extravaganza near the Potomac River featuring more than 100 exhibitors, demonstrations, celebrity-chef seminars and tastings. On June 14 in Southern Maryland, the St. Mary’s Crab Festival serves up the state’s favorite crustacean any way you could imagine. And, on June 27, the Tilghman Island Summer Seafood Festival offers a slice of life from Maryland’s seafood industry on the Eastern Shore. |
 |
Family
Fun – Step off the beaten path Get a glimpse of 19th-century rural life at the Carroll County Farm Museum in Westminster. Visit June 14 and you’ll experience the museum’s annual Fiddlers’ Convention – a day-long program of blue-grass and old-time music. Tour the Farmhouse, Living History Center, Broom Shop and General Store. On June 27, head to Pocomoke City – 50 minutes below Ocean City – for the Great Pocomoke Fair Trucks and Tractor Pull. Antique-tractor pull, demolition derby, harness racing, ATV jamboree, and “Little Miss and Mr. Great Pocomoke Fair” contest. First Great Pocomoke Fair was in 1901. |
 |
Great
Outdoors – Take a hike, go fishing Hit the trail June 6 in celebration of National Trails Days, an annual day of nationwide hiking and walking events. Maryland Forest Service, Historic St. Mary’s City, Rocky Gap State Park and others host trail events in Maryland. Select one and get some fresh air. Also on June 6, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge – 12 miles south of Cambridge on the Eastern Shore – hosts 7th annual Youth Fishing Derby . Fishing, FREE T-shirts, prizes, demonstations and fun. Frog-jumping contest at noon. Blackwater is known as the “Everglades of the North.” |
 |
History & Heritage – Victorian
era, Civil War recalled Immerse yourself in Historic Cumberland at 41st annual Heritage Days Festival, June 13-14. Lots of FREE things to do along Victorian Washington Street. Festival also offers historic tours, rides on steam-engine train, live music, arts & crafts and activities for kids. On June 26-28, get a taste of Carroll County’s Civil War heritage at the Battle of Westminster ‘Corbit’s Charge’ Commemorative Weekend, June 26-28. Westminster weekend includes living-history encampment, artisans, tours – preserves legacy of 1863 battle during Gettysburg Campaign. (Photo of Charles Corbit) |
 |
Maryland’s
375th – Tall
ships, concerts in St. Mary’s Celebrate June 19-20 the founding of Maryland where it all started – St. Mary’s County. River Concert Series at St. Mary’s College of Maryland presents FREE Friday and Saturday evening concerts, featuring the world premiere of Terrae Mariae: A Creation Story. Fireworks follow Saturday performance. During the day on Saturday, in and around Historic St. Mary’s City, visit tall ships, take a river cruise, enjoy colonial-style music and participate in a militia drill. |
 |
Women’s
Sports – Skill,
endurance on display Watch the world’s greatest women golfers compete for $2 million in prize money at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship , June 8-14 at Bulle Rock Golf Course in Havre de Grace. Named for the first Thoroughbred horse brought to America (in 1730), Bulle Rock is one of the top public courses in the region, close to the picturesque juncture of the Chesapeake Bay and Susquehanna River. On June 28, be on hand for the Baltimore Women’s Classic 5K, which starts and ends at the Baltimore Museum of Industry. |
 |
Hidden
Gem – Blues
at the top of the Bay Bask in the blues at Steppingstone Farm Museum’s Summertime Blues Festival, June 27 in Susquehanna State Park near Havre de Grace, 2-8 p.m. Local, regional and national blues groups perform outdoors, rain or shine. Kids, museum members FREE. Steppingstone preserves Harford County’s farming culture at the turn of the 20th century – when the blues emerged – with exhibits and demonstrations. |
| VisitMaryland.org | Things
to Do | Places
to Stay | Events | Itineraries |
Martin O'Malley, Governor Anthony G. Brown, Lt. Governor |
|
 |