American Society of Marine Artists Exhibit Opening

Catch the opening of the American Society of Marine Artists exhibit on July 26th at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum! This exhibit will feature more than 100 of the best marine artists working today. It is the 30th Anniversary Exhibition of the American Society of Marine Artists (A.S.M.A) , and CBMM will be the only Maryland venue to host the exhibit.

A.S.M.A. has grown to become the nation's largest organziation of comtemporary marine artists, boasting over 600 members. The society encourages a wide search for artistic expression through various media depicting maritime subjects. Oils, water colors, pastels, scratchboard, pencil, sculpture, and scrimshaw will all be on display at the Museum in the Steamboat building.

The A.S.M.A. exhibit will open at CBMM on July 26, as part of the Chesapeake Bay Folk Festival. Admission to the exhibit is included in Museum and Folk Festival admission, $13 for adults, $10 for seniors, $6 for children ages 6-17, and children under 6 are free. CBMM members are admitted free of charge.

The marine exhibit will be on display through September 22, 2008. The next venue the exhibit will visit is at The Noyes Museum of Art in Oceanville, New Jersey.

CBMM will offer a number of special programs in conjunction with the exhibit. A 107 page full-color publication featuring the artwork of the show will be available for puchase at our Museum store.

This exhibition is funded in part by the Talbot County Arts Council.

See you on July 26 for the A.S.M.A. exhibit opening and the Folk Festival!

Mike Valliant, Director of Marketing & Media Relations

FOX 5 News Broadcasting at CBMM!

Tune in Tuesday morning to see Fox 5 News broadcast live from St. Michaels at CBMM! Fox 5 News from Washington, D.C., is featuring St. Michaels and CBMM as the 2nd stop on a week of "One Tank Trips!" The network is also visiting the Marriot Ranch, Luray Caverns, Hershey Park, and River Riders, all fun vacation destinations that can be reached roundtrip on less than one tank of gas.

Beginning Tuesday morning, July 15, at 6:45A.M., Fox will feature St. Michaels area businesses, restaurants, and accomodations. St. Michaels business owners Brad Fout and Ilene Morgan will discuss the shopping in the area, while Perry Cabin owner John Volponi and Tarr House B&B owner Jim Camarata will cover the hotels and inns in St. Michaels.

Michael Rork, the renowned chef of Town Dock Restaurant, will discuss the food of St. Michaels and prepare a delicious seafood dish live on television.

A visit to St. Michaels would not be complete without a visit to CBMM. Museum President Stuart Parnes will represent the Museum and discuss the different exhibits and events that the museum offers. Dan Sutherland, from the Apprentice for a Day program at CBMM, will conduct a live demo in the Working Boatyard. Finally, Ed Farley, Captain of H.M. Krentz, will discuss skipjacks and the tours he provides on them.

This should be a fun, interesting chance to see the St. Michaels area as a whole represented on television. Tune into Fox 5 News July 15th, from 6:45A.M. until 9:00A.M. to see for yourself!

-Katie Hennig, Advancement Intern

Chesapeake Bay Folk Festival

Find time on July 26, 2008, to make your way over to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum's 1st Annual Chesapeake Bay Folk Festival! Celebrate Bay history with exhibits, people, music, and food that honor the traditions of the Bay. Demonstrations by regional craftspeople, unique vendors, specialty area and organic foods, and live musical performances will all be offered.

Musical performances that the Festival will feature include the Zionaires, the New Gospelites, Three Penny Opera, and Irish traditional musicians. Enjoy a boat ride on the Miles River or dine on steam crabs, crab cakes, beer, or barbequed chicken provided by area caterers.

One special event featured is a "Shore Stories" stage, where community conversations will be shared on subjects including family fishing, crab talk, local eating, the Bellevue community, pound netting, and a performance by Smith Island's Janice Marshall. A special tribute remembering log canoe sailor Jimmy Wilson, who passed away in 2007, will also be celebrated.

To keep with Chesapeake Bay traditional cuisine, seafood will be provided by Chesapeake Bay Seafood Company. The seasonal Chesapeake blue crab will be prepared a variety of ways, while barbeque chicken prepared by St. Luke Church in Bellevue, Maryland, will also be served. In addition, delicious homemade ice cream from the Scottish Highland Creamery, organic granola from Michelle's Granola, and organic coffee from Bluebird Coffee will all be sold.

Visual arts exhibitions by folk artists Bill Cummings, Joseph Keene, "Mama Girl" Mary Onley, Tom Burton, Waverly Evans, Jimmy Reynolds, Frank Bittner, and Charles & Linda Hutson will all be displayed. The artists will have their select, unique Chesapeake work available for sale.

You don't want to miss this summer festival at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. It is the first of its kind and one that will continue to grow year after year. This event is funded by Maryland Traditions and is sponsored by What's Up? Publishing.

-Mike Valliant, Director of Marketing

Maritime Model Expo, May 19-20

Participants navigate the custom-built 40' x 70' fresh water pond at the Maritime Model Expo at the Museum.

The Maritime Model Expo is unlike any other event at the Museum. You can tell that as soon as you approach the Steamboat Building and encounter the huge pond constructed for fresh-water model boat demonstrations.

Scale and detail are two words emblematic of the festival. When you examine the working, radio-controlled models, or the static displays, you can't imagine the fine details that are included and precisely executed on these boats.

After you have indulged your eye for detail, both under a large tent on Foggs Landing and inside the Steamboat Building with the Washington Ship Model Society, you can sit back and enjoy the radio-controlled boat demonstrations--with steam, electric, and sail-powered models. Some of the models prefer fresh water, and use the pond. Others are built for diverse conditions, and will sail on Foggs Cove. If you want to take in these fun demonstrations, the emphasis for Saturday will be on steam-powered models, while Sunday will emphasize the sailboats. On that note, some noteworthy groups will be sailing on the cove: The Museum's Model Sailing Club with their 5'-long skipjacks, The East Coast 12-meter group, and the Victoria sailing model club. We've never had more sailboats on the docket.

If you have kids, they may have a better time than you! Our 5-year old daughter asked about the model boat show out of the blue last week, because she wanted to know if she could build and paint another model sailboat. A great group of volunteers and educators will lead children through building their choice of a small wooden sail or paddleboat; kids then paint them, and let them dry before turning them loose on a smaller custom kids' pond . In addition, Robert Forloney and Rachel Dolhanczyk, of our Education Department, will be leading storytelling Saturday and Sunday at 10:30 a.m. The Maritime Model Expo is a wonderful, kid-friendly event.

All this activity is likely to make you hungry, and the St. Michaels Volunteer Fire Department will be on hand to "douse" (sorry, couldn't resist) your hunger. They will be serving up hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, clam strips, and more.

This festival in miniature might sound like an odd event to put together, but it doesn't surprise anyone who is around the Museum on Wednesday mornings. We have an active Model Guild group of volunteers who meet each week to build models, make kits to sell in our Museum Store, and who teach classes throughout the year. They all put a lot of work into creating such a great event, most notably volunteer Bob Mason, who has spear-headed the Model Boat Expo for each of its four years.

So how much will all this fun cost you? If you are a CBMM member, your admission to the Maritime Model Expo is free, as it is to the Museum throughout the year. If you are not a member (you should think about joining!), admission to the Museum is $13 for adults, $5 for children, and seniors and students receive discounts. Your paid admission is good for the entire day, and includes the entire Museum--10 exhibit buildings, working boat yard, the works. And if that wasn't enough, the Schooner Sultana will be dockside for the weekend, and the skipjack H.M. Krentz with Captain Ed Farley will be offering cruises, for an additional charge.

Make a point to come to the Maritime Model Expo this year, Saturday and Sunday May 19-20. Once you come once, you'll put it on your calendar every year.

--Mike Valliant, Director of Marketing