Patuxent Voices Performs A Spring Medley Enjoying the tight harmonies and energetic renditions of the a cappella group Patuxent Voices is a rare treat in Southern Maryland. Comprised of nine women from Calvert and St. Mary’s counties, Patuxent Voices has been entertaining local audiences since 2004. The group performs two concerts a year, in December and May, as well as performing at local events throughout the year. The annual spring concert, A Spring Medley, offers an eclectic mix of spirituals, popular tunes, madrigals, sacred, and traditional music – something to please every ear. Where else can you be swept away by the powerful “Every Time I Feel the Spirit” one minute and laughing at the classic 1950s pop tune “Lollipop” the next? Other timeless favorites on the spring program include “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” “When the Red, Red, Robin,” “Old Joe Clark” - complete with jug band, and “Boogie, Woogie Bugle Boy.” You can hear Patuxent Voices in concert at Middleham Chapel’s Parish Great
By Jean McDougall
Hall, Lusby, on Saturday, May 15, at 7:30 p.m., and at Trinity Church, St. Mary’s City, on Sunday, May 16, at 3 p.m. The concerts are free; however a donation is encouraged. You can also hear Patuxent Voices at the Calvert Marine Museum on Friday, May 7, from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. during the museum’s monthly First Free Friday event. Mark your calendar and celebrate spring with one of our local treasures, Patuxent Voices. Check www.patuxentvoices.org for program, directions, and additional information.
Artists Await The Return of Quick Draw Create a masterpiece at Quick Draw on Saturday, May 15 from 10 a.m. to noon on the grounds of the Calvert Marine Museum. All artists are welcome at the second annual Quick Draw event as part of Solomons Paint the Town, a plein air event sponsored by the Solomons Business Association. Quick Draw collapses the artistic process into two intense hours of frenzied creativity. Artists who wish to participate should register between 9 – 10 a.m. at the museum. The only requirement is that the work be done within the time limit, and that it be done on museum property. At 10 a.m. sharp, the ship’s bell sounds the begin-
Calvert Groups Plan a Bumper Crop of Plant Sales
ning of the contest. When it sounds again two hours later, all paint brushes must be sheathed. There is no fee to register, but artists must provide all materials. The works will be judged at 1:00 p.m. and a first, second, and third prize awarded. After judging, artists may sell their works to spectators on the spot. Younger artists are welcome to get in on the action as the Color and Light Society will oversee the painting of a mural on the museum grounds. There is no cost to be on the grounds during the Quick Draw, but access to the exhibition building and Drum Point Lighthouse require museum admission. For more information, visit the museum’s Web site: www.calvertmarinemuseum.com. To learn about activities throughout the weekend, visit the Solomons Business Association Web site: www.solomonsmaryland.com/solomonspaint-the-town.html.
Just in time for Southern Maryland spring flower, shrub and vegetable planting, two local groups are hosting plant sales. The upcoming events offer gardeners an unusual assortment of healthy, reasonably priced plants while proceeds from the sales benefit local education and charitable works. Gardeners should mark their calendars for the second Saturday in May: both Calvert County Master Gardeners and Middleham Chapel are hosting plant sales. The Master Gardener plant sale is Saturday, May 8 from 8 am to noon at the Community Resources Building at 30 Duke Street in Prince Frederick, across the street from the Post Office. “The plant sale has blossomed into a fair this year,” says event coordinator and longtime Master Gardener Judy Kay. In preparation for the expanded sale, the local volunteer gardening group has been dividing and potting perennials (many native to the area), ferns, ornamental grasses and shrubs, raising vegetables and herbs from seed, building salad boxes and polishing presentations. A limited number of native shrubs and perennials will be available, including Sweet Pepperbush, Buttonbush, Virginia Sweetspire, and Sweetbay Magnolia. Along with fellow Master Gardeners Nancy Radcliffe has been nurturing vegetable and herb seedlings since the winter. “We will have red, purple, yellow, white, and black tomatoes as well as other heirloom and hybrid vegetables and herbs,” reports Radcliffe. Beyond an interesting variety of plants, reasonable prices are another reason to attend the local plant sales. Repeat customer and Lusby gardener Sandy Leitner says “You get a lot of bang for your buck at the Master Gardener plant sale.” The Master Gardeners have expanded
the annual plant sale into a Garden Fair this year with presentations, a raffle and other garden items for sale. There will be 9:00 am talk on Salad Boxes (a compact vegetable growing system), a 10:00 talk on Vegetable Gardening called “Grow It, Eat It” and a Backyard Composting Demonstration at 11:00. There will also be information on Woodland Stewardship, a raffle for a compost bin, and the Calvert Lion’s Club will sell rain barrels. Proceeds from the sale will go to further the educational outreach of the Master Gardener Program in Calvert County. Also on Saturday May 8th, Middleham and St. Peter’s Episcopal Parish at10210 H.G. Trueman Road in Lusby (next to SMILE) is hosting its popular Mayfest from 6:30 am to noon. Mayfest includes sales plants, antiques, collectibles, books, sporting goods, baked goods plus breakfast and lunch. Mayfest Plant Sale Committee member Kay McClellan reports that Middleham volunteers started preparing plants for the sale last fall, dividing and potting healthy perennials and shrubs which have flourished under winter cover and close care into vibrant specimens.
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Thursday, April-2010
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