Performances, demonstrations: It's all art, all the time

NEWS OF NOTE

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

The festival is sponsored by the Charles County Arts Alliance and the town of Indian Head. Last year River Artsfest attracted more than 2,000 people and organizers expect more this year, according to a press release.

Among artists scheduled to exhibit their work for sale are Mentok Photography, Angel Herrera, Laconte Saunders, Healing Sounds, CarryAlls by Carolyn and Pat Biles. There will be art activities for children while folks of all ages can visit Lorina Griffioen-Harris and paint along with her.

A silent auction will also be held.

This year's festival will feature 13 performers on two stages.

Indoor pavilion

10-10:45 a.m. Southern Maryland Concert Band

11 a.m.-noon The Fabulous Flutes of Waldorf

12:30-1 p.m. Encore Kids

1-2 p.m. Judy's Studio of Dance

2-2:45 p.m. Hope You Dance

2:45- 3:45 p.m. The Brothers Harris

3:45-4:45 p.m. Chesapeake Choral Arts Society

Gazebo/green

10:30-11:15 a.m. Raptor conservation program

11:30 a.m.-noon Book reading by author Christian Davenport

Noon-1 p.m. Port Tobacco Picking Fingers Society

1-2 p.m. Jon Robert

2-3 p.m. God's Inspiration

3-4 p.m. Naked

4-5 p.m. The Wise Guys

Food will be available from vendors including TK Grill, Rita's Concessions and Chef Hogate 85.

Admission to the event is free. The Village Green is at 100 Walter Thomas Road.

Search for the lost courthouse

At 7 p.m. June 11, Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum will host Julia King, an associate professor of anthropology at St. Mary's College of Maryland, who will speak about the discovery last year of the 1674 Charles County courthouse.

Once declared "impossible to locate," it was finally discovered last year in a plowed field near a tributary of the Zekiah Swamp.

Teams of archaeologists from St. Mary's College and Jefferson Patterson Park spent last summer exploring 700 acres of woods and wheat fields, searching for buried evidence of one of Maryland's oldest county courthouses.

More than 700 shovel test pits, six sunburns and countless tick bites later, the team finally found the remains of the building. King's talk will focus on the multifaceted efforts of the team of genealogists, surveyors, historians and archaeologists who solved the mystery.

The site of Charles County's first courthouse disappeared first from the landscape in the early 18th century and then from public memory. Evidence of its existence was a 1697 plat map that showed the courthouse, jail and a tavern that had been built nearby to slake the thirsts of citizens conducting business at the courthouse.

King's presentation is free and open to the public. It will be in the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum. Light refreshments will be served.

For more information, go to www.jefpat.org/.

Kidgits Club plans kids' cooking event

Kids can have some hands-on fun with food during the Simon Kidgits Club Super Duper Mini Chefs event from 10 a.m. to noon June 13 at St. Charles Towne Center mall.

The Kidgits Club will transform a section of the mall into a kitchen where kids can roll up their sleeves for a funky food-art experience, according to a mall press release. The event is free and open to kids of all ages and their parents.

"We're proud to tell kids that this time, at the Simon Kidgits Club Super Duper Mini Chefs event, it's OK to play with your food — in fact, we encourage it," Kristine Winternitz, area director of mall marketing, said in the release. "Where else can our youngest chefs have fun expressing themselves with food, while Mom and Dad enjoy an entertaining family moment?"

The fun will begin with the chance to create lollipop flowers, make sweet cereal necklaces and decorate an apron they can take home to use in their own kitchens. Kids can also enjoy an ice cream cone filled with more-healthy trail mix.

Kids and their parents are also encouraged to bring a nonperishable food item for the Southern Maryland Food Bank.

Families can sign up for the club during mall hours at guest services or online at www.simon.com/kidgits. Membership includes a Kidgits Club membership card and T-shirt, scheduled entertainment and activities for families and a birthday club.

Dems holding food drive

The Northern Democratic Club of Charles County is collecting nonperishable items for local shelters and food pantries.

Three drop-off locations have been named and items can be dropped off from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. June 25 through 28 at Gene Davies' County Services Office at 6335 Crain Highway in La Plata, 1760 Red Oak Lane in Waldorf and 7490 Serenity Drive in Hughesville.

For more information, call Kathy Kazimer, club president, at 301-932-8864 or Debbie Bowlus at 301-870-7364.

Central committee looking to fill vacancy

The Charles County Democratic Central Committee is seeking someone to fill a vacancy.

Interested candidates must be registered Democrats residing in Charles County and must demonstrate skills and experience in one or more of the following areas: accounting and bookkeeping and/or campaign finance and treasurer, Web development and maintenance, desktop publishing and word processing, public relations and advertising or fundraising.

Those interested should submit a resume and letter of interest to Lee Platt, in care of CCDCC, P.O. Box 2710, La Plata, MD 20646 or to lee@charlesdems.org. Qualified candidates might be invited to interview between 6 and 9 p.m. June 30.

Port Tobacco Players hosts Camp Mockabee

Camp Mockabee is the Port Tobacco Players' summer theater camp planned for June 22 to 26 for kids 6 to 12 and June 29 to July 3 for 13 to 17.

The troupe will offer workshops in acting, singing, dancing, directing, producing, stage managing, costume design, makeup design, lighting design, sound design, painting techniques, auditioning skills and resume building, according to a PTP press release.

Camp Mockabee is a one-week program designed to build and hone theater arts skills. All experience levels are welcome. Go to ptplayers.com/encore/TheaterCamp2009.htm.

Robertson joins MEDA board

The Maryland Economic Development Association recently elected a new board of directors, including George L. Robertson, director of the Charles County Economic Development Department, who will serve as co-chairman of the organization's program development committee.

The officers of the new board are President Kwasi G. Holman, president and CEO of the Prince George's County Economic Development Corporation; Vice President David S. Iannucci, executive director of the Baltimore County Department of Economic Development; Secretary Laurie M. Boyer, executive director of the Frederick County Office of Economic Development; Treasurer Sean M. Looney, senior director of government affairs for Comcast; and Immediate Past President J. Thomas Sadowski, president of the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore.

MEDA enhances the knowledge and skills of its members and encourages partnerships and networking among people committed to bringing jobs and capital investment to Maryland, according to a press release. Go to www.medamd.com or call 410-575-6027 for more information.

Artists wanted to teach at day camp

The St. Charles Children's Learning Center at the College of Southern Maryland's La Plata campus invites artists of all media to teach at its summer day camp the week of June 22 to 26.

Teachers can specify the length of time for which they'd be interested in hosting a class. Interested artists should contact the Children's Learning Center at 301-934-7871 to schedule a class time and to inform the center of any supplies they will require for the session.

The La Plata campus is at 8730 Mitchell Road.

Estate planning offered for farmers

The Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission will host an estate planning workshop June 15 that is specifically designed to benefit the region's agricultural community.

The workshop will stress the importance of estate planning to protect the family farm and financial assets from excessive taxation.

The workshop is free and will take place at 6 p.m. in the SMECO auditorium at 15035 Burnt Store Road in Hughesville. Advance registration is required by June 12.

RSVP to 301-274-1922. For more information, go to www.somarylandsogood.com.

Boating club meets

Southern Maryland Boating Club's Patuxent River Sail and Power Squadron will meet June 11 at the Mixing Bowl Restaurant in Lexington Park.

Members meet for dinner at 5:30 p.m. Retired Coast Guard Adm. Bob Duncan, who was the commander of the 8th Coast Guard District during Hurricane Katrina, will speak at 7 p.m. about the experiences of Coast Guard sailors during the storm.

Call 301 475-3883 for more information.