July 9, 2008
IN BRIEF: TOURISM, FILM AND THE ARTS NEWS

PBS documentary will feature Maryland in War of 1812

Representatives of Florentine Films – co-founded by documentary filmmaker Ken Burns – and WNED-TV Buffalo visited Maryland in late June to scout locations with staff from the state’s Film Office for an upcoming Public Broadcasting Service documentary about the War of 1812.

Filming of the PBS production will start with the Grand Tactical – a re-enactment of battles that occurred during the War of 1812’s Chesapeake Campaign – at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum in St. Leonard, Sept. 20-21. The 560-acre park is located where the Battle of St. Leonard’s Creek took place.

Pictured: Members of the Canadian-based 41st Foot Re-enactment Unit at a War of 1812 re-enactment this spring.

Continued...
Also, an initial round of stakeholder meetings for the Maryland War of 1812 bicentennial celebration are ending this month. Meetings are scheduled for Annapolis (July 14) and Perryville (July 15). More than 200 Marylanders have participated at meetings in Riverdale, St. Leonard, Baltimore, Edgemere, Germantown, and this week, in Queenstown.

A revised bicentennial action plan will be posted online, beginning July 21. The Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission will submit a final plan of action to the governor and General Assembly by Sept. 1. Gov. Martin O’Malley created the commission last September. The panel will plan and coordinate a multi-year cultural tourism and educational campaign to commemorate Maryland’s unique contributions to the nation’s defense and heritage during the War of 1812.