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Arts organizations can now apply for funding of projects that focus on the preservation of jobs in the arts industry. The grants will be distributed by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The NEA received $50 million through the new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Eligible organizations in Maryland may apply to one of three places – the NEA, the Maryland State Arts Council or the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation. Organizations can receive awards from only one source. To apply to the NEA, an applicant must be a previous NEA award recipient. In order to accelerate the process, the NEA has set April 2 as the deadline for applications. Grants will be awarded as early as July 1 of this year. Check the MSAC web site for more information. Gov. O'Malley coming to St. Mary's City for state's 375th anniversary Maryland celebrates the 375th anniversary of its founding this year. Gov. Martin O'Malley will be the guest speaker at birthday festivities in Historic Historic St. Mary's City, March 29. Established in 1634, St. Mary's is Maryland's first city and first capital. The National Park Service refers to it as "probably the most intact 17th-century English town surviving in our nation … represented entirely by archaeological resources." On March 25, the traditional Maryland Day, St. Clement's Island Museum will also mark the occasion with a birthday cake created by Baltimore's Charm City Cakes (regularly featured on the Food Network's Ace of Cakes show). Dr. Julia King, associate professor of anthropology at St. Mary's College of Maryland will be the keynote speaker. Activities include an outdoor wreath-laying ceremony at the St. Clement's Island historical marker. St. Clement's is where the first English settlers landed in Maryland aboard their two small wooden ships – the Ark and the Dove. Chesapeake Bay guide coming out with new web site A newly revised third edition of Charms of the Chesapeake – a digest-size guide to towns, recreation, lodging, dining and lighthouses in the Chesapeake Bay region – will be released this summer. Developed by the Maryland Office of Tourism in partnership with Media Two, the publication presents advertising and editorial opportunities for local tourism offices. Additionally, a companion web site with updated event information – www.charmsofthechesapeake.com – will be launched. To advertise in the new guide and on the web site, contact Randel McDowell, 443-909-7859, at Media Two. For editorial inquiries, contact Media Two's Blaise Willig, 443-909-7839. Film Office awards first-time grants to film festivalsFour film festivals have been selected to receive funding awards from the newly created Maryland Film Festival Grant Program. Administered by the Maryland Film Office, the program is intended to support both established and emerging festivals, and inspire new ones. The four selected festivals and their awards are: Frederick Film Festival in Frederick County ($5,000); Baltimore Jewish Film Festival in Baltimore County ($5,000); Civic Frame Film Festival in Baltimore City ($5,000); and Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington Film Festival in Montgomery County ($3,000). A review panel of leaders in the tourism, film and arts communities determined the winning festivals according to such criteria as: quality and quantity of programming, educational aspects, community support and growth potential. Inauguration prompted tourism surge, Tourism Office reports The latest issue of the Maryland Tourism Monitor – the Tourism Office's monthly report measuring visitor activity, advertising response and state travel trends – is now available online. This issue highlights January 2009 activity. During January, the state's tourism industry received a boost from the spike in travel to Washington, D.C., for the presidential inauguration. Welcome Center traffic increased by more than 15 percent compared to January 2008. Also, the report shows how the online marketing efforts of the Tourism Office continue to have a positive impact. Subterranean exhibit of students' artwork at State House An exhibit of artwork by Maryland students (grades K-12) is on display in the tunnel of the Maryland State House Building in Annapolis until April 1. The Maryland Art Education Association sponsors a student artist exhibit every year at different venues across the state. Crain Welcome Center provides gateway into Southern Maryland Take U.S. 301 South into Southern Maryland's Charles County and you enter a region that's filled with history. Southern Maryland is where Maryland began. Go through Waldorf, then LaPlata, and eventually you'll approach the Gov. Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge – a two-lane structure that spans the Potomac River into Virginia. However, a short distance before you get to the bridge, you'll see a few blue Maryland Welcome Center signs.
St. Mary's welcomes visitors, plans free lectures Historic St. Mary's City – which has just opened its exhibits and reconstructed sites for this year's tourist season – will host two lecture programs in honor of the 375th anniversary of Maryland's founding this month. Both are open to the public and free. On March 21, at 2 p.m., an expert from the National Museum of Natural History presents Written in Bone: Tales from 17th-century Graves. On March 28, 1-5 p.m., historians and archaeologists discuss the early years of Historic St. Mary's City in a program entitled Maryland at the Beginning. Both programs will be at St. Mary's Hall, 47458 Trinity Church Rd. Historic St. Mary's City is located off Route 5 in Southern Maryland. Maryland State Arts Council grants: Application deadline for Arts & Entertainment Districts Technical Assistance Grant, March 19. Application deadlines for Maryland Traditions program, a partnership of the Arts Council and the Maryland Historical Trust, March 20. Attention stewards of Maryland cultural heritage resources: Maryland Historical Trust Preserve America Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network Save America's Treasures Correction:
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