Kent County Events Calendar - May 2012


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  • Garden Puppet Theatre Mini-Museum Exhibit
  • Tuesday, May 1   |  Mon-Fri: 9am-5pm, Sat-Sun: 10am-2pm
  • This event runs May 1-June 31
  • Location: Kent County Visitor Center, 122 N. Cross St. Chestertown
  • Contact: Patsy Hornaday
  • Phone: 410-778-5841
  • Email: tph203@verizon.net
  • URL:
  • Ongoing exhibit throughout the year. Promoting the arts of puppetry and gardening in Kent County, and the Martha Washington garden at the Visitor Center located in Chestertown, at Cross & Maple Streets.
  • Photo Show by Linda Walls
  • Tuesday, May 1   |  Heron Point
  • This event runs May 1st to 31
  • Location: Heron Point
  • Contact: Barbara Finneson
  • Phone: 410-778-3224
  • Email: finneson@verizon.net
  • URL:
  • This show will include the artist's most recent photographs. Linda is a local eastern shore resident and her photographs are of the landscape and wildlife of the region.
  • Nancy Thomas, new works, landscapes, still life in oil
  • Tuesday, May 1   |  Opening reception: 5-8pm
  • Location: The Artists' Gallery, 239 High St. Chestertown, MD
  • Contact: The Artists' Gallery
  • Phone: 410-778-2425
  • Email:
  • URL:
  • Nancy paints the light, skies and water that surround her at her home in Ridgely on the Eastern Shore. She also does beautiful abstract clay monoprints. This show will hang through May 27, 2012
  • Max's Mainstay All-Stars Reunion
  • Thursday, May 3   |  7:30pm
  • Location: The Mainstay, 5753 Main Street, Rock Hall, MD
  • Contact: The Mainstay
  • Phone: 410-639-9133
  • Email:
  • URL: www.mainstayrockhall.org
  • An All-Star evening of jazz standards as Max's Mainstay All-Stars reunite for an evening of spontaneous, highly improvisational jazz continuing the Café Mainstay series founded by the late Max Corzilius. Featuring Chuck Redd, vibes and drums; Robert Redd, piano; John Doughten, sax and clarinet; Steve Abshire guitar & Tom Anthony, bass; who will be joined by vocalist Sue Matthews and pianist Dick Durham. Call for reservations. Admission is $15.
  • Chestertown's 1st Fridays
  • Friday, May 4   |  5-8pm
  • Location: Downtown Chestertown
  • Contact:
  • Phone:
  • Email:
  • URL: www.kentcounty.com/artsentertainment
  • Meander the red-brick, tree-lined sidewalks of Historic Chestertown, while enjoying extended shop hours and arts and entertainment throughout Downtown. For a list of activities, please check this calendar for specific listings.
  • Zerbini Family Circus
  • Friday, May 4   |  5pm & 7pm
  • Location: Rock Hall Civic Center
  • Contact:
  • Phone: 410-639-7659
  • Email:
  • URL:
  • Sponsored by the Rock Hall Lions Club, the Zerbini Family Circus is a funfilled family event.
  • Featuring our new artist: Jim Rehak
  • Friday, May 4   |  Opening Reception; 5-8pm
  • Location: The Artists' Gallery at 239 High Street Chestertown
  • Contact: The Artists' Gallery
  • Phone: 410-778-2425
  • Email:
  • URL:
  • Jim is from Delaware. He paints realistic oil landscapes of his surroundings as well as being a court sketcher. He will be doing profile sketches of guests who wish them on opening night. His show will hang through June 30, 2012
  • Celebrate Chestertown!
  • Friday, May 4   |  5-8pm
  • Location: Artworks, 306 Park Row, Chestertown
  • Contact: Artworks
  • Phone: 410-778-6300
  • Email: artworkschestertown@verizon.net
  • URL: www.artworkschestertown.org
  • Returning to Artworks Gallery, this open show invites artists to share their representations of the vibrant, richly colored places, events and people that make Chestertown worth celebrating. Thru May 26, 2012
  • "Annual Juried Art Show" Art Show
  • Friday, May 4   |  5-8pm
  • This event runs May 4 to May 27
  • Location: Chestertown Arts League
  • Contact: Chestertown Arts League
  • Phone: 410-778-5789
  • Email: artsleague@verizon.net
  • URL: www.chestertownartsleague.org
  • The Annual Juried Art Show opens on First Friday, May 4 from 5 to 8 pm. Cash prizes will be awarded to the winners in multiple categories.
  • Rock Hall Garden Club Perennial Plant Sale
  • Saturday, May 5   |  9am–12noon
  • Location: The corner of Rt. 20 and Main St. in Rock Hall
  • Contact: Bernie Nealis
  • Phone: 410-639-2043
  • Email: bernin2@aol.com
  • URL:
  • Select from a large variety of locally grown perennials, herbs. Bake sale, "Garden Treasures" table. There will be a raffle for a handmade piece of fine furniture. Proceeds will benefit the community of Rock Hall.
  • Eastern Neck National Wildife Refuge Youth Turkey Hunt
  • Saturday, May 5   |  6:03am-12noon
  • Location: 1730 Eastern Neck Road Rock Hall, MD 21661
  • Contact: Colby Hawkinson, Visitor Services Specialist
  • Phone: 410-639-7056
  • Email: colby_hawkinson@fws.gov
  • URL: www.fws.gov/northeast/easternneck/
  • Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge, in cooperation with the National Wild Turkey Federation, will conduct a spring youth turkey hunt. A limited number of permits will be issued to ensure a safe, high-quality hunting experience. Three youth hunters between the ages of 10 and 15 will be randomly selected for each hunt day. Only youths ages 10 through 15 who were not chosen for past turkey hunts at Eastern Neck NWR will be eligible.
  • Refuge Closure - Youth Turkey Hunt
  • Saturday, May 5   |  6am-Noon
  • Location: Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge, 1730 Eastern Neck Road, Rock Hall, M
  • Contact: Colby Hawkinson
  • Phone: 410-639-7056
  • Email: colby_hawkinson@fws.gov
  • URL: www.fws.gov/northeast/easternneck/
  • REFUGE CLOSURE: All of Eastern Neck NWR will be closed to the general public until 12:00 noon while the Youth Turkey Hunt is held. Access to the county boat ramp at Bogles Wharf will remain open during the hunt. To apply for the hunt please go to ENNWR website.
  • Texas Hold'em - "Saving the Ta*Ta's One Hand at a Time!"
  • Saturday, May 5   |  7pm
  • Location: Frank M. Jarman American Legion Post 36 - Chestertown
  • Contact: Maryann Ruehrmund
  • Phone: 410-810-5661
  • Email: foundation@chesterriverhealth.org
  • URL: www.chesterriverhealth.org
  • Texas Hold'Em Poker Tournament! Help us "attack" the incidence of breast cancer here, which is more than 25% higher than the national average! (Men get breast cancer too!) Proceeds will help purchase a state-of-the-art, 3-D digital mammography system for Chester River Hospital! This equipment will be the first of its kind on the Delmarva Penninsula! $75 entry fee = $20,000 in chips! Side games galore! Tournament Director is Joey Clayton. Table sponsors welcome, too!
  • Rock Hall Bikefest
  • Sunday, May 6   |  1-5pm
  • Location: Rock Hall Bayside Landing & Park
  • Contact:
  • Phone: 410-639-7636
  • Email:
  • URL: www.rockhallbikefest.blogspot.com
  • Motorcycle enthusiasts return for a day of fun, food, cold beverages, live music, slow ride games, and contests at Rock Hall Bayside Landing & Park, located in Rock Hall Harbor on the Chesapeake Bay. $3/bike. Classes: Stock, Modified, HD Sportsters, Imports, Ladies Bikes, People's Choice, Vintage, and Customized. 1-5pm. Awards given at 3:30pm. Proceeds benefit the Rock Hall Fire Company.
    www.rockhallbikefest.blogspot.com or www.rockhallmd.com
  • HomePorts Day in Rock Hall
  • Sunday, May 6   |  12noon-4pm
  • Location: MainStay and Restaurants
  • Contact: HomePorts
  • Phone: 443-480-0940
  • Email: info@homeports.org
  • URL: www.homeports.org
  • Join friends for brunch and an entertaining afternoon at the Mainstay to benefit HomePorts, Kent County's non-profit aging-in-place organization.
  • Gershwin on the Fly
  • Sunday, May 6   |  4-6pm
  • Location: The Mainstay, 5753 Main St., Rock Hall
  • Contact: Homeports, Ms. Karen Wright
  • Phone: 443-480-0940
  • Email: nfo@homeports.org
  • URL: www.homeports.org
  • Join local musicians Joe Holt on piano and Tom Anthony on bass for a celebration of a fabulous by-gone era in American music. This event supports the Scholarship Program of HomePorts, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help Kent County senior citizens live comfortably and independently in their own homes by providing practical and meaningful solutions for everyday needs. The cost of this gala event, which will feature a cocktail buffet, is $50 per person. Proceeds will give some of Kent County's most vulnerable senior citizens free access to the benefits of HomePorts.
  • Live Playwright's Society
  • Monday, May 7   |  7:30pm
  • Location: The Garfield Center For the Arts ar the Prince Theatre
  • Contact:
  • Phone: 410-810-2060
  • Email: boxoffice@garfieldcenter.org
  • URL: www.liveplaywrightssociety.org/
  • Join us on the first Monday of every month at the Garfield as we support our local play writers. All all welcome, whether you are a writer, reader, critic, or observer.
  • Ramblin' Jack Elliott
  • Thursday, May 10   |  7:30pm
  • Location: The Mainstay, 5753 Main Street, Rock Hall, MD
  • Contact: The Mainstay
  • Phone: 410-639-9133
  • Email:
  • URL: www.mainstayrockhall.org
  • Ramblin' Jack traveled with Woody Guthrie in the 50s, influenced Bob Dylan in the 60s, and has travelled ever since, singing American folk songs, cowboy songs, blues, and more. He's won Grammies for Best Traditional Folk and Best Traditional Blues. His National Medal of the Arts citation said, "In giving new life to our most valuable musical traditions, Ramblin' Jack has himself become an American treasure."
    Call for reservations. Admission is $20
  • Rock Hall Cruise Night
  • Friday, May 11   |  5–8pm
  • Location: Main Street, Rock Hall
  • Contact: Smilin' Jake's
  • Phone: 410-639-7280
  • Email: smilinjake@verizon.net
  • URL: www.rockhallcruisenightsbysmilinjakes.blogspot.com
  • 2nd Cruise Night for 2012. So...clean up that rod and cruise on down. Don't have one, then just come and join in the fun and check out the cars, music, and relive the 60's.
  • Galena Dogwood Festival
  • Saturday, May 12   |  9am-5pm
  • Location: Galena
  • Contact: Don Othoson
  • Phone: 410-708-8314
  • Email: donaldo2@verizon.net
  • URL: www.galenamd.com/dogwoodfestival/index.html
  • The annual Galena Dogwood Festival is set for Saturday, May 12, 2012. Hours are 9am to 5pm. Parade at 10:00 A.M. The parade has many new attractions. There will be a Baby Contest, Crafts, Demonstrations, Exhibits and an Amusement Park. Family Oriented Magic, Mime, Story Telling, Song and Dance, Juggling and ‘Monkey Business’. Plenty of Eastern Shore Food. From the North County Branch of the Library storybook characters will jump out of books to walk in the parade. Uncle Pete’s “Got To Be Kidding” is back to rock the crowd at the library with music, song and dance.
  • May Bird Count
  • Saturday, May 12   |  Please call Walter or Nancy for specific times.
  • Location: All of Kent County including Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge
  • Contact: Kent County Bird Club
  • Phone: 410-778-9568
  • Email: rossgull@baybroadband.net
  • URL: www.fws.gov/northeast/easternneck/
  • Bird counting teams will cover all of Kent County including Eastern Neck NWR. To sign up, contact Walter Ellison and Nancy Martin. See above.
  • Second Saturdays in Galena
  • Saturday, May 12   |  5-9pm
  • Location: North Main Street Business District in Galena
  • Contact: John Carroll
  • Phone: 410-708-0247
  • Email: john@villageagents.com
  • URL: srbcinc.org
  • Sponsored by The Sassafras River Business Council. Shops and Businesses in Galena will be open, offering refreshments and special promotions. Bring chairs and enjoy a live music performance next to Scoop de Ville Ice Cream Shop.
  • Véronneau: The Jazz Samba Project
  • Saturday, May 12   |  8pm
  • Location: The Mainstay, 5753 Main Street, Rock Hall, MD
  • Contact: The Mainstay
  • Phone: 410-639-9133
  • Email:
  • URL: www.mainstayrockhall.org
  • French Canadian vocalist Lynn Véronneau has a warm, compelling voice, love of powerful melodies, sophisticated phrasing and heartfelt focus on the story. Her quartet has a sparkling jazz-pop sound with elements of bossa nova, samba, swing and gypsy jazz. This is a pre-release celebration of their new samba and bossa nova recording 'The Jazz Samba Project'.
    Call for reservations. Admission is $15.
  • Spring Jazz Concert
  • Saturday, May 12   |  7-10:30pm
  • Location: The Garfield For The Arts At The Prince Theatre
  • Contact: Larry Wilson
  • Phone: 443-623-9523
  • Email: lrwillie52@live.com
  • URL:
  • Come and enjoy a night of jazz featuring "The Bratcher Project". Tickets on sale now $12.00 per person.
    Sponsors: Larry Wilson, in part with the Kent County Arts Council.
  • All You Can Eat Breakfast Buffet
  • Sunday, May 13   |  7:30–11am
  • Location: Galena Fire Co. Hall
  • Contact: Ann Dwyer
  • Phone: 410-648-5104
  • Email: ahdwyer@verizon.net
  • URL:
  • Buffet Menu: eggs, sausage, scrapple, bacon, French toast, chipped beef, biscuits, home fries, fruit, coffee, tea & milk. Other 2012 dates: April 29, May 27, June 17, July 1, 15, 29, August 12, September 2, 16, 30, October 14, 28, December 9
  • Sultana All-Day Transit Sail
  • Sunday, May 13   |  8-5pm
  • Location: St. Michaels to Annapolis
  • Contact: Sultana Projects, Inc.
  • Phone: Sultana Projects, Inc.
  • Email: sburritt@sultanaprojects.org
  • URL: www.sultanaprojects.org
  • For those interested in a more prolonged sailing experience on the open waters of the Chesapeake Bay, Sultana offers Public Day Sails throughout the season that give you the opportunity to accompany Sultana on one of her port-to-port transits. These sails generally last from 5 to 8 hours in length, beginning in one port and ending in another. Day Sails give the captain and crew a chance to unfurl more of Sultana's canvas and sail somewhat harder than is usually possible during our two-hour sails. Day Sails are limited to 12 passengers, no children under 12. Passengers are expected to pack their own lunch and provide their own land transportation. Please note that sailing time is very much dependent upon the wind and weather conditions on the day of the sail. $50 per person
  • Wood Regatta & Show
  • Friday, May 18   |  10am-5pm
  • This event runs May 18 to 20
  • Location: Rock Hall Yacht Club
  • Contact: Cindy Genther
  • Phone: 443-480-1953
  • Email: cindy@rockhallproperties.com
  • URL: www.rockhallyachtclub.org
  • 2nd Annual WOOD Regatta sponsored by Wooden Boat Magazine features classic wood sailboat races and new this year - on land wood boat display.
  • Sultana All-Day Transit Sail
  • Friday, May 18   |  8am-5pm
  • Location: Annapolis to Chestertown
  • Contact: Sultana Projects, Inc.
  • Phone: 410-778-5954
  • Email: sburritt@sultanaprojects.org
  • URL: www.sultanaprojects.org
  • For those interested in a more prolonged sailing experience on the open waters of the Chesapeake Bay, Sultana offers Public Day Sails throughout the season that give you the opportunity to accompany Sultana on one of her port-to-port transits. These sails generally last from 5 to 8 hours in length, beginning in one port and ending in another. Day Sails give the captain and crew a chance to unfurl more of Sultana's canvas and sail somewhat harder than is usually possible during our two-hour sails. Day Sails are limited to 12 passengers, no children under 12. Passengers are expected to pack their own lunch and provide their own land transportation. Please note that sailing time is very much dependent upon the wind and weather conditions on the day of the sail. $50 per person.
  • Rock Hall Garden Club: Garden Tour,
  • Saturday, May 19   |  10am-4pm, Rain or Shine
  • Location: In and around Rock Hall
  • Contact: Shirley Messina, Chair
  • Phone: 410-639-2027
  • Email: shirley.messina@gmail.com
  • URL:
  • The Rock Hall Garden Club, as part of its 50th Anniversary celebration, is sponsoring its first-ever Rock Hall area garden tour. Among the gardens that will be open are a Bay-Wise environmentally certified garden, several rock gardens with water elements, and gardens featuring native Maryland plants. Ticket holders can attend the garden related art show and sale at the MainStay. Lunch can be purchased at restaurants throughout town. Tickets: $15.
  • Schooner Sultana Two Hour Public Sail
  • Saturday, May 19   |  11am–1pm, 2–4pm
  • Location: Chestertown, MD
  • Contact: Sultana Projects, Inc.
  • Phone: 410-778-5954
  • Email: sburritt@sultanaprojects.org
  • URL: www.sultanaprojects.org
  • Departing and returning from Sultana's home port of historic Chestertown (and occasionally other ports around the Chesapeake), Sultana's two-hour public sails are a great way to sail the Chester River onboard a traditional schooner. Passengers are encouraged to help raise the sails, steer using Sultana's seven-foot long tiller and explore the authentically reproduced crew's quarters below-decks.
    $30 Adult/$15 under 12, no children under 5.
  • Sultana Blue Heron Kayak Paddle
  • Saturday, May 19   |  10am-12:30pm
  • Location: Sassafras River Watershed
  • Contact: Sultana Projects, Inc.
  • Phone: 410-778-5954
  • Email: sburritt@sultanaprojects.org
  • URL: www.sultanaprojects.org
  • Join Sultana Projects' staff naturalists for one (or more!) of eight unique kayak paddles on Maryland's Upper Eastern Shore. Kayaks for these trips are provided so all you need to bring is water, a snack, and your binoculars!
    $25 per person / no children under 12.
  • Is This A Weed?
  • Sunday, May 20   |  1-4pm
  • Location: Artworks Clay Studio
  • Contact: Artworks
  • Phone: 410-778-6300
  • Email: artworkschestertown@verizon.net
  • URL: www.artworkschestertown.org
  • Karen Douglas will teach monthly hand-building workshops. In this class students will learn various slab techniques while making weed pots and wall hangers. The fee for each class is $35; tools and clay will be supplied. Expect to come back to the studio after each workshop for about one hour for a lesson in glazing your bisqued pieces and then coming back to pick the pieces up after the glaze firing.
    comments:
  • Band Concert by Eastern Shore Wind Ensemble
  • Sunday, May 20   |  4pm
  • Location: Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Cross & High Streets, Chestertown
  • Contact:
  • Phone: 410-778-2829 or 410-810-1
  • Email:
  • URL:
  • This free band concert's theme will be "Rhythms of Life." The ensemble is an all-ages community concert band under the direction of Dr. Keith Wharton. New members are always welcome, without audition or fee. Call for more information about joining.
  • Chestertown Tea Party Festival
  • Friday, May 25   |  10am–7pm
  • This event runs May 25–27, 2012
  • Location: Chestertown, Md.
  • Contact: Bill Arrowood
  • Phone:
  • Email: pr@chestertownteaparty.com
  • URL: www.chestertownteaparty.com
  • Once again the gem of the Eastern Shore opens its doors and welcomes celebrants to its annual Tea Party Festival. In an era that has seen so many radical tea party‚ political movements, the historic pageant in the tiny hamlet stands apart as a genuine slice of Americana, whose only aspiration is to remind its community of its storied past and celebrate being good neighbors.
    In response to British Parliament's closing of the port of Boston, the citizens of Chestertown, met in May of 1774 and set forth "Resolves" forbidding importing, selling, or consuming tea, according to local legend, residents then gathered at the town center, marched down High Street to the brigantine Geddes, and tossed her cargo of tea overboard. The Saturday reenactment of that patriotic act is the centerpiece of the celebration. Beginning in 1975 and continuing each Memorial Day Weekend since, the festival has blossomed from a small local event to a major regional draw.
    A parade down main street, a classic distance run for early risers, an amazingly creative raft race, live demonstrations of colonial life, a dramatic historic reenactment, over 100 vendors of colonial craftsmanship and local musicians and food galore are all among the reasons that crowds are regularly estimated between 7,000-10,000 people attending the three day event. Now in its 36th continuous year, recent new additions include, tours onboard the Schooner Sultana, regional wine tastings, tossing of local celebrity (Tories‚ into the river and historic colonial theater at the newly refurbished Prince Theatre. With each year, the festival has grown in popularity as a destination for Eastern Shore natives as well as history and Americana enthusiasts from the entire Eastern Seaboard.
    All Festival events take place along the Chester River and in the historic district of 18th-century Chestertown, MD. There is no admission charge to the Festival.
  • Chester River Chorale Concert-"Independence Forever!"
  • Friday, May 25   |  8pm
  • Location: Garfield Center for the Arts at Prince Theatre
  • Contact: John Ames
  • Phone: 410-810-1438
  • Email:
  • URL: www.chesterriverchorale.org
  • The Chester River Chorale inaugurates the annual Chestertown Tea Party weekend with ìIndependence Forever!,î a concert celebrating the blessings of liberty in song. Accompanied by fife and drum, with special appearances by noted American patriot, Samuel Adams, and local song stylist, Karen Somerville, the 85-voice Chorale will perform music of our national heritage: patriotic classics, protest songs, political satire, and a memorial to those who have fallen in service to our country.
  • The Honey Dewdrops
  • Saturday, May 26   |  8pm
  • Location: The Mainstay, 5753 Main Street, Rock Hall, MD
  • Contact: The Mainstay
  • Phone: 410-639-9133
  • Email:
  • URL: www.mainstayrockhall.org
  • The Honey Dewdrops write and sing with the inspiration of folk and old country music ñ high lonesome duet harmonies and tight instrumentation - crafting new songs from the southern mountains that ring with originality. Their glorious pitch-perfect harmonies, rock-solid runs on guitar and mandolin, affable stage charisma and their devotion to their craft and to each other create an undeniable magic on stage.
    Call for reservations. Admission is $15.
  • All You Can Eat Breakfast Buffet
  • Sunday, May 27   |  7:30–11am
  • Location: Galena Fire Co. Hall
  • Contact: Ann Dwyer
  • Phone: 410-648-5104
  • Email: ahdwyer@verizon.net
  • URL:
  • Buffet Menu: eggs, sausage, scrapple, bacon, French toast, chipped beef, biscuits, home fries, fruit, coffee, tea & milk
  • Schooner Sultana Two Hour Public Sail
  • Sunday, May 27   |  11am–1pm, 2–4pm, and 5–7pm
  • Location: Chestertown, MD
  • Contact: Sultana Projects, Inc.
  • Phone: 410-778-5954
  • Email: sburritt@sultanaprojects.org
  • URL: www.sutanaprojects.org
  • Departing and returning from Sultana's home port of historic Chestertown (and occasionally other ports around the Chesapeake), Sultana's two-hour public sails are a great way to sail the Chester River onboard a traditional schooner. Passengers are encouraged to help raise the sails, steer using Sultana's seven-foot long tiller and explore the authentically reproduced crew's quarters below-decks.
    $30 Adult/$15 under 12, no children under 5.
  • Open Mic Night
  • Wednesday, May 30   |  7:30pm
  • Location: The Garfield Center for the Arts at the Prince Theatre
  • Contact: Ford Schumann
  • Phone:
  • Email: ford01@aol.com
  • URL: www.garfieldcenter.org
  • Open Mic Night is priceless, so please join us. Contact Ford Schumann for more information or to reserve a spot.