Celebrates Year-Round - Leisure Group Travel

on location: northeast ❖
T
ucked along the East Coast,
Maryland offers group travelers a
boatload of cultural opportunities
and lessons in national history. And
what better way to experience the state’s
heritage and personality than including
one of its countless events and festivals
in your next mid-Atlantic itinerary.
Many of these local events have been
in existence for decades, attesting to their
worth as trip enhancers. Whether you’ve
got Maryland on your radar for winter
or warmer months, the state has countless fairs and festivals that will keep your
groups entertained.
Jousting, the state sport
of Maryland, takes center
stage at the Maryland
Renaissance Festival
in Annapolis.
kari kamin
WINTER
The North American Craft Show,
a longstanding staple in Ocean City,
marks its 25th year on Jan. 14-15,
2012. Admission gets you into its sister
show, the Nautical & Wildlife Art
Festival, conveniently located in the
same building. The art and craft mediums are extensive and attract artists
from many different states and nearly
6,000 people. (410-524-9177)
The 11th annual World of Pets
Expo will be taking place Jan. 27-29 at
the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, near Baltimore. Whether
they own a pet or enjoy offering a
good head scratch, animals lovers of all
kinds gather to watch performances,
attend seminars, or browse merchandise for their favorite pet or pet owner.
Well-trained pets are welcome (if kept
on a leash), but not required. (410374-5964, worldofpets.org)
The Maryland Home and Garden
Show comes to the Maryland State
Fairgrounds on March 3-4 and 10-11.
Look for home improvement ideas in
the show’s 400-some exhibits and learn
about the latest products. (410-8631180, mdhomeandgarden.com/spring)
Maryland
Celebrates
Year-Round
Crafts, music,
seafood and
history flavor
group-friendly
annual events
in Baltimore,
Annapolis and
beyond
42 December 2011
Das Best Oktoberfest in National Harbor brings out the German in everyone.
SPRING
The Maryland Film Festival will
be held in Baltimore during the weekend of May 3-6. This noncompetitive
film festival screens international films
in various locations, encouraging filmgoers to view movies as both art and
entertainment. Filmmakers often attend,
so bring your autograph books. (410752-8083, md-filmfest.com)
Your groups can view some of the
most elegant and impressive yachts
when United States Yacht Shows presents the Bay Bridge Boat Show April
19-22 in Annapolis. The event will feature seminars and demonstrations as
well as a “guess the fish’s weight” competition. (410-268-8828, usboat.com)
Ever wondered how to use a medieval crossbow? Find out safely at Steppingstone Museum’s Medieval Days
Encampment on May 12-13 in Havre
de Grace. There will be arts and crafts,
period dance and music, and equestrian
games. (410-939-2299, steppingstonemuseum.org)
The 17th annual Western Maryland Blues Fest takes place May 31June 4 in downtown Hagerstown and
City Park. Be a part of the festivities as
Hagerstown celebrates this distinctly
LeisureGroupTravel.com
American style of music as performed
by nationally known blues artists. (301739-8577, blues-fest.org)
SUMMER
Kick off your summer with the StarSpangled Spectacular 2012 from June
13-19 in Baltimore. The weeklong event,
sponsored by the U.S. Navy and Operation Sail, observes the 200th anniversary of the U.S. declaration of war
against Great Britain. The event’s
theme—“Our Flag Was Still There”—
commemorates the struggles and triumph of the War of 1812 and Francis
Scott Key’s writing of the Star-Spangled
Banner while Baltimore’s harbor was
under attack. Explore tall ships and a
vast, international fleet of war ships from
over 25 countries and mingle with the
sailors. This group-friendly, once-in-alifetime event will feature an air show by
the Blue Angels, musical performances
and other landside festivities, plus fireworks on Flag Day ( June 14). Water
taxis will be available so your group can
travel from one area of the harbor to the
other. One- to three-hour boat cruises
will coincide with special events like the
ships’ arrival and departure, Blue Angels
show and fireworks. Ships will be staged
in Baltimore’s famed Inner Harbor, Fell’s
Point, Canton and Locust Point. (410767-6974, starspangled200.org)
The Dundalk Heritage Fair boasts
the largest parade in Maryland. The festival will take place June 29-July 1, with
a special fireworks celebration on July 4.
While this year’s festivities are still
pending, last year’s events included live
music, pig races and a magician. (410284-4022, dundalkheritagefair.com)
Seafood fans head to Havre de Grace
Seafood Festival from Aug. 10-12 in
Havre de Grace, a city located on Chesapeake Bay. Besides crab cakes, shrimp,
scallops and other fruits of the sea, the
Artscape, set for July 20-22, is one of Baltimore’s biggest summer events.
December 2011 43
on location: northeast ❖
An experience worth sharing.
Ocean City, Maryland Group Tours.
Plan a group trip everyone will love. Explore nature
or enjoy a historic Heritage Tour. Indulge in our
unique shops and outlets. Offering entertainment
and dining choices as vast as our 10 miles of
award-winning beaches, you can’t help but have
a great time.
ococean.com
For planning materials and assistance,
contact the Group Tour & Travel Coordinator
at 800-626-2326 or www.ococean.com.
44 December 2011
festival offers live entertainment and arts
and crafts. (hdgseafoodfestival.org)
Billing itself as the largest free arts
festival in America, the 31st annual
Artscape will take place in Baltimore on
July 20-22. Whether you prefer paintings or sculpture, performance art or
street art, theater or opera, there will be
something for everyone at Artscape with
nearly 175 exhibitors on 12 city blocks.
(877-225-8466, artscape.org)
The 45th Maryland Seafood Festival at Sandy Point State Park, on the
northwestern shore of Chesapeake Bay
near Annapolis, takes place at the end of
the summer and offers an extensive
menu as well as chef demonstrations, a
crab soup cook-off and crab cake eating
contest. Not a fan of crab, shrimp, oysters, clams or rockfish? There are other
food options available. Live music and
arts and crafts also are featured. (443926-1464, mdseafoodfestival.com)
One of the state’s most popular
events, the Maryland State Fair in Timonium, comes around in late August
and early September, offering livestock,
crafts, farm and garden exhibits and
midway rides, not to mention Thoroughbred horse racing and jousting, the
official state sport of Maryland. (410252-0200, marylandstatefair.com)
The 65th National Hard Crab
Derby in Crisfield takes place next
Labor Day weekend. Festivities kick off
on Thursday night with a carnival, but
be sure and get plenty of rest for the
early morning crab cooking contest.
Other events include a street parade, live
music, a crab picking contest, and of
Obtain Maryland
visitor guides
and itineraries –
and contact groupfriendly suppliers
directly – at
leisuregrouptravel.com/instant-info
LeisureGroupTravel.com
pah bands and classic German food like
potato pancakes, schnitzel and sausages.
Maryland Brewer’s Oktoberfest, the
largest beer fest in Baltimore, offers similar festivities Oct. 13 at the Maryland
State Fairgrounds in Timonium, with
Best Beer Belly and Carry Your Wife
contests thrown in for good measure. (dasbestoktoberfest.com, mdoktoberfest.com)
Enjoy apple fritters, apple cider, apple
cake and candy apples at the annual
Darlington Apple Festival, always on
the first Saturday in October in the
quaint village of Darlington in Northeast Maryland. This harvest fest also includes stage entertainment and
hundreds of crafters. (410-457-4189,
darlingtonapplefest.org) LGT
The Maryland Film Festival in May
draws movie buffs to Baltimore.
course, the crab derby itself. The upstairs of Tawes Museum will shine a
spotlight on photographs of crab races
from past derbies. Close out the weekend with a fireworks show. (410-9682500, crisfieldchamber.com/crab-derby)
FALL
Step back in time at the Maryland
Renaissance Festival in Annapolis.
Next year’s edition begins Aug. 24 and
runs for nine weeks every weekend, ending in October. There will be plenty to
do and see with stage and street acts,
vendors, jousts and musicians to swell
your Renaissance spirit. Willing festivalgoers are encouraged to partake in the
fun and wear family-friendly costumes.
(800-296.7304, rennfest.com)
There’s no better place to celebrate
Oktoberfest than Maryland. At Das
Best Oktoberfest (Sept. 22-23 in National Harbor) you’ll feel like you’re in
Germany with over 80 different beers, 15
of which come straight from breweries in
Maryland. The festival will feature oom-
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
See the article on Fort McHenry
National Monument in Baltimore.
Log on to http://leisuregrouptravel.com
/?p=25806.
LeisureGroupTravel.com
December 2011 45