Four Rivers: The Heritage Area of Annapolis, London Town and South County is sponsoring the third annual Maryland Day Celebration in Anne Arundel County from Friday, March 19, 2010 through Sunday, March 21, 2010. Throughout the weekend, historical and cultural institutions in Annapolis and southern Anne Arundel County will open their doors to the public offering special tours, events, and programming for $1.00 or less. Maryland Day Celebration 2010 will include historic sites not traditionally open to the public, special programs developed for Maryland Day, costumed re-enactors, exhibitions, and family activities. Events will occur throughout Annapolis and southern Anne Arundel County on a rolling basis throughout the weekend. Additionally, area businesses and restaurants are offering special packages and deals to commemorate the weekend.

New this year, due to overwhelming demand, the event has been expanded to an entire weekend of events, with more activities and opportunities to experience our area’s heritage with fun for the whole family. Maryland Day Celebration 2010 is a collaborative event sponsored by Four Rivers: The Heritage Area of Annapolis, London Town & South County. Activities for this weekend-long celebration include a “Heritage Stride” family tour of historic downtown Annapolis on the morning of Saturday, March 20, free and $1.00 activities at most historic and cultural institutions in Annapolis and Southern Anne Arundel County, and walking tours of historic neighborhoods. Here is the calendar of events:

Friday, March 19th:

• Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Foundation (www.kintehaley.org), with Sojourner-Douglass College, 135 Stepney Lane, Edgewater. Exploring Your Genealogy: Genealogists will be on hand to help solve your family tree mysteries. Children and adults will enjoy the opportunity to decipher old-fashioned handwriting and experience the fun of writing with old-style quill and ink pens. FREE, 3 – 7 p.m.

Saturday, March 20th:

In Annapolis:

• “Annapolis Heritage Stride” for family fun! A one-mile stride through downtown Annapolis with games and prizes, sponsored by the Four Rivers Heritage Area. Starts and ends at City Dock, FREE, 8 – 9 a.m.
   
• “Four Rivers Four-Mile Annapolis Heritage Run,” four-mile race at your own pace, prizes sponsored by local merchants, race packet pickup begins Friday at Fleet Feet Annapolis (318 Sixth Street). Saturday all day.
   
• AAACCVB Visitors Center (www.visitannapolis.org), 26 West Street, Annapolis (and City Dock Information Booth.) Plan activities for your weekend adventures with help from the Visitors Center’s trained Volunteer Information Specialists. We can help guide your itinerary and offer suggestions for restaurants, hotels, and other activities to fill out your day. FREE, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
   
• Annapolis Maritime Museum (www.amaritime.org), 723 Second Street & Creek View Drive, Eastport. We invite you to discover Eastport’s rich, diverse history through the 14 stops on a series of docent-guided tours of our unique maritime heritage, African-American heritage, Colonial history or other themes. Eastport Walking Tours, $1 per person (Note: space will be limited on certain tours, please call the museum for information): ECruiser electric car tour, 10 a.m.; Dog Walk, 11 a.m.; Bicycle tour, Noon; Walking tour, 1 p.m.
   
• Banneker-Douglass Museum (www.bdmuseum.com), 84 Franklin Street, Annapolis. Learn about life on the Chesapeake Bay from the perspective of Maryland's Black Watermen of the Chesapeake. Join us for a screening of a new documentary on the black watermen and then meet some of the people featured in the film for a panel discussion afterward. As a special treat for Maryland Day ONLY, Maryland fiber artist Dr. Joan M. E. Gaither's latest documentary story quilt, Black Watermen of the Chesapeake, will be on display in the museum's lobby. FREE, 1 - 3 p.m.
   
• Charles Carroll House (www.charlescarrollhouse.com), 107 Duke of Gloucester Street, Annapolis. Scavenger Hunt in the Garden: Brush up on your hunting skills at the Charles Carroll House and Gardens! Learn about the history of the Carroll family and revolutionary Annapolis while you search for clues throughout the garden and along the seawall. The house and garden will be open for free tours, Noon – 4 p.m.
   
• Hammond-Harwood House, (www.hammondharwoodhouse.org), 19 Maryland Avenue, Annapolis. Hammond-Harwood House's changing exhibit, the video "The Jewel of Annapolis," and the garden are open to the public for Maryland Day weekend, Noon – 5 p.m.
• Jonas Green House, 124 Charles Street, Annapolis. Tour the home of Jonas Green and his wife, Anne Catharine Hoof Green, colonial patriots and printers for the government and publishers of the Maryland Gazette beginning in 1745. This private home is still the home of Green family descendants. Not usually open to the public except by appointment! Open for tours both Saturday and Sunday, FREE, Noon to 6 p.m.
   
• HistoryQuest (HAF) (www.annapolis.org), 99 Main Street, Annapolis. HistoryQuest opens for the season on Maryland Day weekend, with a debut of its newest exhibition!
   
• Sands House (www.sandshouse.org) with the Lost Towns Project (www.losttownsproject.org), 130 Prince George Street, Annapolis. Centuries of History: Archaeology!: Explore the origins of life—in early Annapolis, that is— at the Sands House, home of one family for nearly 240 years. Learn about archaeological discoveries that date to early colonists and even earlier Native Americans. Discover the stories this old house and its contents can tell about the changes in a family, a neighborhood, and a town from colonial days to the present. Admission is $1.00 per person, 1 - 3 p.m.
   
• United States Naval Academy, Armel-Leftwich Visitor Center (www.navyonline.com), 52 King George Street, Annapolis. Come into the Armel-Leftwich Visitor Center and ask for your FREE copy of the booklet, The Reincarnation of John Paul Jones: The Navy Discovers its Professional Roots (a Naval Historical Foundation publication). Enjoy a 10% Maryland Day Weekend discount in the Naval Academy Gift Shop, where the shopping is tax-free!
   
• William Paca House and Garden (HAF) (www.annapolis.org), 186 Prince George Street, Annapolis (and the Barracks at 43 Pickney Street). Back by Popular demand! The Paca House opens for the season and will present Living History performances and tours.

In Southern Anne Arundel County:

• Galesville Heritage Museum (www.galesvilleheritagesociety.org), 988 Main Street, Galesville. Nineteenth-Century Woman: Get together with “Susan Mathiot Gale” and gain insight in the life of a young woman's daily activities in the late 1850's. Talk with Susan about her life as a young widowed mother and her views on plantation living, religion and slavery. FREE, 1 - 4 pm.
   
• Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (www.serc.si.edu), 647 Contees Wharf Road, Edgewater. Join Outreach Coordinator Karen McDonald for a hands-on program for the whole family! Blue Crab talk with live blue crabs, 10 – 11 a.m.; Jellyfish talk with live Jellies, 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Each talk limited to 40, reservations are suggested. The Java History Trail will be open for hikers on Saturday as well! SERC is open to the public for FREE from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Sunday, March 21st:

In Annapolis:

• AAACCVB Visitors Center (www.visitannapolis.org), 26 West Street, Annapolis (and City Dock Information Booth). See Saturday’s listing.
   
• Charles Carroll House (www.charlescarrollhouse.com), 107 Duke of Gloucester Street, Annapolis. See Saturday’s listing.
   
• Hammond-Harwood House, (www.hammondharwoodhouse.org), 19 Maryland Avenue, Annapolis. See Saturday’s listing.
   
• HistoryQuest (HAF) (www.annapolis.org), 99 Main Street, Annapolis. See Saturday’s listing.
   
• Jonas Green House, 124 Charles Street, Annapolis. See Saturday’s listing.
   
• Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts (www.marylandhall.org), 801 Chase Street, Annapolis. Discover all that Maryland Hall has to offer at Artfest! Bring the entire family out for a day of artistic creativity, fun and exploration. The day will include hands-on art projects, art demonstrations, open studios by Maryland Hall Artists-in-Residence, artist lectures and more. FREE.
   
• Sands House (www.sandshouse.org), 130 Prince George Street, Annapolis. See Saturday’s listing.
   
• United States Naval Academy, Armel-Leftwich Visitor Center (www.navyonline.com), 52 King George Street, Annapolis. See Saturday’s listing.

In Southern Anne Arundel County:

• Captain Salem Avery Museum (www.shadysidemuseum.org), 1418 East West Shady Side Road, Shady Side. Tour and Tea: Guided tours of the historic Avery House, followed by an afternoon tea. The FREE house tour will include a presentation by costumed docents on the history of tea and a demonstration of proper tea service. FREE tours will occur at 12:30 and 2:30. (Note: A Mother-Daughter Tea will also take place in the Museum at 1:00 and 3:00; regular fee applies, call museum for details.)
   
• Deale Area Historical Society (www.dahs.us), Historic Village at Herrington Harbour North, Tracey’s Landing. Life in Historic Deale: Visit with village residents as they go about their daily chores. Take a turn at the butter churn, crank the ice cream maker, talk with a tobacco farmer, or set a spell with Miss Ida as she does her crocheting. Children, attend class at the one room school or make a cornhusk doll. FREE, Noon - 5 p.m.
   
• Historic London Town and Gardens (www.historiclondontown.org), 839 Londontown Road, Edgewater. Come to Historic London Town and Gardens on Sunday, 21 March, from 12-4. Tours of the historic area, the William Brown House, gardens, and live demonstrations of hearth cooking. FREE, Noon – 4 p.m.
   
• Southern Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce (www.southcounty.org), 5503 Muddy Creek Road, Churchton. Come to an Open House at the Chamber Building in Churchton for refreshments and pick up your coupon book for South County specials! FREE, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Four Rivers Heritage Area has partnered with regional businesses to showcase the area’s local history in commemoration of Maryland Day. Restaurants including Rams Head Tavern and Reynolds Tavern in Annapolis will offer special menus for Maryland Day attendees. Packages at the Westin Hotel in Annapolis, Holiday Inn Express & Suites, the Inn at Herrington Harbour, the Inn at Horn Point, and the Taylor House are on offer to encourage overnight visits for participants wanting to extend their Maryland Day celebration through the weekend. These are the special offers:

• The Inn at Herrington Harbour South is offering rooms as low as $99 (plus tax) a night, Friday and Saturday, March 19th and 20th, 2010. Availability is limited. Deluxe and Hot Tub Rooms are available at additional cost.
   
• The Westin Annapolis, is offering $119.00 sleeping room rate includes breakfast buffet for 2 ($30 value) and $12 valet parking (discounted from $23). This package is available for the nights of March 19th and 20th, 2010 and subject to availability.
   
• Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites Annapolis: March 19th to 21st, 2010, come stay with us and make this a weekend getaway. For the special rate of $122 per night plus tax, you can enjoy the festivities all day in Annapolis and relax by spending the night at the Holiday Inn Express and Suites.
   
• The Inn at Horn Point is offering a Maryland Day Spring Promotion, valid March 14-21, 2010. Included is a queen bedded guest room, full Breakfast daily, free parking.  Available daily.  Includes: Couples Massage with Even Keel. Wine upon arrival from Wine Cellars of Annapolis. $75 dinner certificate at O'Leary's Seafood Restaurant. All taxes and gratuity. $289 per night, 2-night minimum stay required.  
   
• The Taylor House, a spacious and elegant Bed & Breakfast located only minutes from downtown Annapolis, is offering a 10% discount for a 3-night stay (Thursday, March 18 through Saturday, March 20 only).
   
• The William Page Inn: Special rates available for stays 3/19/10 – 3/21/10 only; receive a 15% discount on your stay. All accommodations include complimentary wireless, full breakfast and on-site off-street parking.
   
• Rams Head Tavern - Annapolis has prepared a special Maryland-themed menu for Maryland Day weekend.
   
• Reynolds Tavern at Church Circle in downtown Annapolis will be offering a special menu for Maryland Day Weekend.
   
• Wimsey Cove Framing & Art in Edgewater will be offering a 20% off all reproductions of historical maps and gift ware from March 19-25.

Additional participating partners include: Maryland Welcome Centers, Watermark Tours, Archaeology in Annapolis, City of Annapolis and Downtown Annapolis Partnership. Visitors can learn about Maryland Day Celebration events, get behind-the-scenes glimpses into preparations and check the most recent updated information at the official event website at www.marylandday.org.

Maryland Day commemorates the formal founding of the colony of Maryland, when the newly-arrived colonists erected a cross on St. Clement’s Island, offered prayers, and took “possession of this Countrey for our Saviour and for our soveraigne Lord the King of England.” In 1916, the Maryland General Assembly authorized March 25th as Maryland Day, a legal holiday devoted to Maryland history.

Four Rivers, one of Maryland’s state heritage areas, is a nonprofit organization operating in partnership with the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority, Anne Arundel County, the City of Annapolis, the Town of Highland Beach, and heritage-related organizations and businesses. Its mission is to stimulate preservation and economic development of the region by supporting and promoting its natural, historic, and cultural resources. For more information on the state’s award-winning heritage areas program, please visit our website, www.fourriversheritage.org, or call Carol Benson at 410-222-1805.