IN BRIEF: TOURISM, FILM AND THE ARTS NEWS
First Transportation Secretary and Governor Harry Hughes
Honored
The Maryland State Highway Administration is beginning its centennial
celebration of Modern Road Building in Maryland and its inaugural
event honored Governor
Hughes for his accomplishments as the first Secretary of Transportation. Governor
Hughes led the way in establishing Maryland’s system of Welcome Centers.
The dedication of the I-95 South Rest Area between Baltimore and Washington,
D.C. took place on Monday, January 7.
Tourism Industry Unites on January
21 for Legislative Reception
The Taste of Maryland kicks off the upcoming legislative session
to showcase the tourism and hospitality industry and its positive
impact on the State’s economy. The reception features food
provided by more than 25 restaurants from across the state and
provides a relaxing and convivial atmosphere for the tourism industry
to talk directly to their elected officials on tourism’s
positive effect on the state.
For
registration information on the January 21, 2008 event at the Loews
Annapolis Hotel
The Wire begins its Curtain Call with Senator Premier
The fifth
and final season premier episode of The Wire took to the big screen
at the Senator on Sunday, January 6. The highly
acclaimed HBO series’ forty cast members were in attendance
as was Maryland’s film community including Hannah Byron,
Assistant Secretary of Tourism, Film and the Arts; Jack Gerbes,
Director, The Maryland Film Office; Jed Dietz, Founder, Maryland
Film Festival and the more than 100 people that have worked on
The Wire during its run.
Pairing Artists and Education
The Maryland State Arts Council provides
matching grants to bring artists into state schools to showcase
and teach performing arts,
playwriting, poetry, and visual arts. All schools interested in
having an artist-in-residence for the 2008- 2009 school year
are invited to attend the Artist Selection
Conference on February 28, 2008 at the Howard County Center for
the Arts. Registration is required. To register e-mail the arts
council at msac@msac.org,
and please type Artist Selection Conference in the subject line.
New Executive Director for the Maryland Citizens of the Arts Named
Theresa
Cameron, Chair of the Board of Trustees for Maryland Citizens for
the Arts, announced the appointment of Philana Karakusis Quick
as the new Executive Director. Ms. Quick brings a wealth of experience,
as well as an abiding passion for the arts to this position, having
enjoyed a diverse, 25-year career in arts and education that has
included program management, arts advocacy, community liaison work,
teaching, and performing, both in the United States and abroad
in Argentina, Mexico, Spain, and the U.K. For full profile on Ms.
Quick, Click
Here.
Baltimore
Restaurant Week Returns for Winter
The
weather outside may be frightful the last week in January, but
the food is so delightful
during Baltimore Restaurant Week. After
two successful summer restaurant week promotions, restaurants throughout
Baltimore are inviting customers to taste their fare with special
pricing. Enjoy specially selected three-course dinner menus for
just $30.08. Some restaurants also offer a three-course lunch for
$20.08.
IN THE NEWS
Two
of tourism's leaders, Hannah Byron and Margot Amelia, are profiled
in Baltimore Smart Woman
The state has it all,
from beaches to mountains, cities to small towns, nightlife to
wildlife, all located in the East Coast power corridor. But does
the rest of America know this? If it doesn’t, it should soon,
thanks to the two women leading Maryland’s tourism and development
efforts.
The
Road Less Traveled
The Byways program has always promoted the
Roads Less Traveled and now that appeal is making its way across
the pond. A major
travel retailer in the United Kingdom has joined forces with the
Capital Region USA, Hertz Rental Car and the U.S. Federal Highway
Administration to promote the area’s America’s byways
including the Historic National Road and Skyline Drive.
Art
Means Business
Two city arts districts are injecting new life into neighborhoods that have long
needed it.
The
Wire opens final season on home turf
Green
Ridge State Forest becomes part of the Great Eastern Trail
EVENTS CALENDAR
Body
Worlds 2 & The Brain: Our Three Pound Gem
Opening February 2, 2008 through Labor Day
This will be the Mid-Atlantic’s first appearance for this
blockbuster exhibit of real human bodies and of our various internal
organs, muscle groups and vascular system. The exhibit aims to
educate the public about the inner workings of the human body
and to show the effects of lifestyle choices on our overall health.
It is hoped that it will stimulate curiosity about the science
of anatomy. The bodies on exhibit have been preserved through
a process called “plastination”; the process was
invented by scientist and anatomist Dr. Gunther von Hagens in
1977. For
more info.
St.
Johns and Van Sweringen Exhibits, Historic St. Mary's City
Opening 2008
In the 17th-century the first Provincial Secretary of Maryland,
John Lewger, built his house overlooking the St. Mary’s
River. This house witnessed the rise and fall of Maryland’s
first capital and the awakening of new ideas about government,
religious freedom, individuality and class. Visitors
will learn these stories and more through state-of-the-art audio, video and
hands-on exhibits at his recreated home.
