March 7, 2008
IN BRIEF: TOURISM, FILM AND THE ARTS NEWS

Maryland African-American celebration honors poet

Poet Lucille Clifton (center) was honored for her contributions to Maryland in a State House ceremony celebrating African American History Month last week, hosted by Governor Martin O’Malley and the Legislative Black Caucus.

Clifton is the author of Good Times, a collection of poetry -- the New York Times listed it as one of the year’s ten best books for 1969. In 1988, she became the first author to have two books of poetry chosen as finalists for a Pulitzer Prize.

Tourism official addresses Ocean City hospitality group

Margot Amelia, Executive Director at the Office of Tourism, shared industry news with more than 150 members of the Ocean City-Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association at a dinner meeting, February 21, at the Carousel Hotel in Ocean City. The association also honored its scholarship recipients at the meeting.

“We were so delighted that Margot traveled to address our association members,” said Susan L. Jones, executive director of the Ocean City group. “We are even more delighted to know how dedicated she is to bringing visitors to Ocean City and to our great state. Maryland is fortunate to have a hospitality leader like Margot.”

Investing in tourism pays off, expert says

“Imagine,” says Kathy Sher, Deputy Director of External Affairs for the National Aquarium in Baltimore, “what our economy would look like if an act of Nature, like a hurricane, wiped out our tourism industry. It would be devastating.”

Sher, a member of the Maryland Tourism Development Board, says, “sometimes, you have to visualize a catastrophe to realize just how important tourism is – if it suddenly disappeared -- and what it means for feeding the state’s economic engine. Investing in tourism clearly pays off – it’s a logical choice for our legislature.” continued

Artists, schools look for matches

About 70 school representatives and 38 artists and artist representatives met at a speed-dating style occasion, February 28 at the Howard County Center for the Arts in Ellicott City, to arrange artist residencies at the schools.

The Artists in Education Program’s annual Artists Selection Conference – a Maryland State Arts Council event -- attracted schools from across the state, Washington County to Worcester County. Both performing and visual artists were invited from the Council’s artist roster.

Caryl Henry-Alexander (right), a visual artist, meets a school representative.

Welcome Center staff convene for training

Maryland Welcome Center supervisors and staff received CPR and defibrillator training, as well as re-certification for the National Certification Training Program during a recent three-day conference in Baltimore County.

“We’re updating and revising our national certification program for roll-out late this year,” said Welcome Center Manager Jennifer Jones. Using guidelines from the national organization, the new program addresses “everything that a visitor might want to know about Maryland, such as heritage, symbols, economy and transportation,” Jones said.

Baltimore County Conference and Visitors Bureau helped put together the meeting and Crowne Plaza Hotel in Timonium and the Holiday Inn-Cromwell Bridge both hosted. The Marriott Hunt Valley Inn, Embassy Suites and Courtyard by Marriott in Hunt Valley provided accommodations.

Tourism Office giving boost to St. Mary’s celebration

Historic St. Mary’s City will celebrate its 375th anniversary in 2009. To help plan the occasion, Camila Clark and Connie Yingling from the Maryland Office of Tourism’s Public Relations Department went to the Southern Maryland town to meet with Susan Wilkinson, Director of Marketing and Communications at St. Mary’s City and Carolyn Laray, Tourism Manager at St. Mary’s County Department of Economic and Community Development.

English settlers aboard two small ships -- the Ark and the Dove -- landed in Historic St. Mary’s City in 1634, not long after the founding of Jamestown and Plymouth. It was Maryland’s first capital and is now considered to be one of the nation’s best-preserved archaeological sites. During peak tourist seasons, costumed interpreters at the 17th-century showcase mingle with visitors.

Carolyn Laray, Camila Clark, Susan Wilkinson and Connie Yingling (l to r) meet in Historic St. Mary’s City.

 

IN THE NEWS:

Sports tourism means big money to state, official says

Fred Puddester, chairman of the Maryland Stadium Authority, defended his group’s budget request for a sports marketing study in a March 5 letter to the Examiner. Maryland needs, he wrote, a strategy to compete for major sporting events.

Meyerhoff estate may become art museum

The Baltimore Sun reported March 4 that Robert E. Meyerhoff’s rural estate in northern Baltimore County can be turned into a museum to display the philanthropist’s contemporary collection, valued at more than $300 million.

WSJ reviews St. Michaels venues

The Wall Street Journal spotlighted St. Michaels in a travel piece, February 26, detailing what to do, where to eat and where to stay.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Hopkins concert honors memory of arts advocate and MSAC program director

The Hopkins Symphony Orchestra presents a Shakespeare-themed concert, Sunday, March 9, 3 p.m., at Shriver Hall on the Johns Hopkins University campus to honor the memory of Bonita Bush, a former grant officer at the Maryland State Arts Council.

“Bonita was a good friend … [she] was a supporter and advocate for our work for the arts in Western Maryland,” said Kevin Moriarty, Executive Director at the Washington County Arts Council. For information and complimentary tickets, call Edie Stern at 410-516-6542 or e-mail hso@jhu.edu.

Violinist Kai Gleusteen performs Tchaikovsky Sunday.

MSAC offers workshops for art-related nonprofits

Free workshops for small, emerging and mid-sized organizations that produce or present art activities are available through the Maryland State Arts Council’s Organizational Development Assistance program.

The Council plans 14 workshops throughout the state, March 13 to June 30. Workshops include: Boards A to Z; Marketing: Media Relations; Marketing: Special Events; Fundraising: Gifts; Fundraising: How to; Fundraising: Projects; Financial Management and Strategic Planning: Practical Implementation. For reservation, call Shirley Howard, 410-767-6555.

Walters kicks off map celebration

Maps: Finding Our Place in the World, an exhibition of the art of maps and mapping, opens at the Walters Art Museum, March 16. The show, which has spawned a Baltimore celebration of mapping, includes maps designed by Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and Hernan Cortes. 410-547-9000.

Illustration courtesy of Walters Art Museum.

MSAC presents artistic view of maps

A new map exhibit, coinciding with the Baltimore Map Festival, opens at the Maryland State Art Council’s James Backas Gallery, March 13. The exhibit – Look Now Look All Around -- features the interpretive works of a dozen artists. MSAC is located at 175 W. Ostend St. 410-767-6555.