Leonardtown’s Special August “First Fridays” and "Beach Party on the Square"

MEDIA RELEASE:
Leonardtown’s Special August “First Fridays”
and “Beach Party on the Square” Event

A weekend of fun in Leonardtown will commence with a special “First Fridays” event on August 5th, to kick-off Leonardtown’s “Beach Party on the Square” event the next day This “First Fridays” will be a great evening of art, entertainment, food, and specials. Live music on the Square will feature the talented Yeh Jazz Trio performing from 5 PM – 7 PM, and the swinging Pax Rats performing from 7PM – 9PM. At 7:30 PM, a gift drawing will take place in the Town Square. First prize is a Fuji Crosstown 2.0 Comfort Bike and the second prize is a Longaberger Summer Lovin’ Village Basket filled with gifts and gift certificates donated by numerous Leonardtown businesses. Tickets for the drawings are free; just stop by any participating Leonardtown Business Association member’s place of business. Winners must be present to collect their prize. We hope you will enjoy the variety of specials offered by our Town businesses both in downtown and uptown Leonardtown, the new Leonardtown Arts Center, Port of Leonardtown Winery, the Maryland Antiques Center complex, the Shops at Breton Bay and Breton Marketplace. Each first Friday of the month, the Leonardtown Business Association offers “First Fridays” between the hours of 5PM – 8PM. For additional information and a list of participating businesses, visit www.leonardtownfirstfridays.com.

For great family fun, check out Leonardtown’s “BEACH PARTY on the Square" event on Saturday, August 6th from 4 PM – 9 PM. This action-packed event is sure to boast a good time for all! Highlights include the fantastic tunes of “The 25th Hour Band”, a performance by Xtreme Athletics, a magic show by Mr. Magic Reggie Rice, a line-dance demonstration with Pam Veitch, a Zumba dance demonstration with Robyn Butcher, the strolling minstrel David Norris, also the amazing ENF Kids Jam, who will tout the principles of our environment thru singing, acting and dancing!

Fun activities throughout the evening include window painting, tug-of-war and fitness games in the sand hosted by the College of Southern Maryland. There will also be Fire truck hose-downs, inflatable rock climbing wall, Velcro wall, moon bounce, waterslide, kids’ sand pit, hula hoop, jump rope and limbo contests, face painting, balloon twisting, crafts, informational displays, games, prizes, food and much more! Both for the young and the not so young, come see the classic cars, including a nice selection of beautiful corvettes. You can also take the Hillside Ride shuttle or stroll down to the Leonardtown Wharf Park to enjoy the picturesque scenery and kayaking on breathtaking Breton Bay. Admission to Leonardtown’s "Beach Party" is free! There is a cost for food and some attractions.

A new activity to the Beach Party this year is the Running of the Balls, presented as a cooperative effort between the Leonardtown Rotary Club and the Lexington Park Rotary Club. The balls are released at 7 PM on Fenwick Street Hill. Get your prepaid balls from any Leonardtown or Lexington Park Rotary member, at any businesses where you see the Running of the Balls signs, or at the Beach Party event.

On Beach Party day, Saturday, August 6th, several streets in the downtown Square area will be closed to thru traffic. You are encouraged to park at the College of Southern Maryland and take the free STS shuttle bus service provided by the St. Mary’s County Department of Public Works and Transportation into the downtown area. Leonardtown’s “Beach Party on the Square” is held in historic downtown Leonardtown in the Town Square, on Washington and Fenwick Streets. This event is sponsored by the Commissioners of Leonardtown and the Leonardtown Business Association.

A special thank you to our Beach Party financial sponsors: Quality Built Homes, Inc., Winegardner Auto Group, College of Southern Maryland, Loiderman Soltesz Associates, Inc., Cedar Point Federal Credit Union, and a grant from the St. Mary’s County Arts Council and the Maryland Arts Council.

For more information on Leonardtown’s “First Fridays” or the “Beach Party on the Square” events, contact the Office of the Commissioners of Leonardtown at 301-475-9791 or email us at leonardtown.commissioners@verizon.net. You can also visit “First Fridays” on the web at www.leonardtownfirstfridays.com and Leonardtown on the web at www.leonardtown.somd.com.

Saturday, July 23 - Downtown Tunes @ 6 PM.

Saturday, July 23 - Downtown Tunes @ 6 PM.

"Gary Rue and the Dance Hall Ghost" will perform old rock-n-roll and country mix in the Upper Town Square. Bring a lawn chair. Free! No street closures, but we will close off the parallel parking areas bordering the curbing around the Upper Square to allow for visibility and safety.

CSM’s Twilight Performances -Fitzmaurice Returns

Returning to the College of Southern Maryland’s fifth anniversary Twilight Performance Series will be local band, Fitzmaurice. Formed in 2006 by identical twins Maria and Sarah Fitzmaurice, Brandon Snelling and Mike Simms, Fitzmaurice has a unique style with influences from bluegrass, country, jazz, classical, international folk and classic rock.

In addition to providing vocals for the group, Maria Fitzmaurice plays the guitar and Sarah Fitzmaurice plays the bass. Snelling plays the mandolin, with Simms on the banjo and Aaron Malone on the fiddle. Newly added to the ensemble are drums played by multi-instrumentalist, producer, Grammy-nominated recording engineer, singer and song writer, Jeff Covert.

Fitzmaurice is currently No. 29 on the Roots Music Report nationwide for bluegrass and No. 2 in the state of Maryland for all genres. They recently signed with Infindel Records, a record label based in Hoboken, NJ.

For CSM’s fifth Twilight Performance Series, Fitzmaurice performs July 12 at the Leonardtown Campus, July 13 at the La Plata Campus and July 14 at the Prince Frederick Campus. For more information on Fitzmaurice visit their website at http://www.reverbnation.com/fitzmauriceband or their facebook fanpage at http://www.facebook.com/fitzmaurice.band.

Other bands to perform in July at Twilight will be Adrian Duke’s Jazztet and Another Level. Performances take place at the Leonardtown Campus on Tuesdays, July 12, 19 and 26; at the La Plata Campus on Wednesdays, July 13, 20 and 27; and at the Prince Frederick Campus on Thursdays, July 14, 21 and 28. All performances will begin at 6:45 p.m.

In the event of inclement weather, performances will move indoors. On the La Plata Campus performances will move to the Fine Arts Center, on the Leonardtown Campus to the Building A, Auditorium, and on the Prince Frederick Campus to Room 119.
In its fifth season the Twilight Performance Series is a free, family-friendly evening of entertainment held on each campus. Current support for the series is being made available through a partnership with the Maryland Humanities Council and is made possible in part by a grant from the Charles County Arts Alliance, Arts Council of Calvert County, St. Mary’s Arts Council and the Maryland State Arts Council. Sponsorships include contributions from Bayside Toyota; Comcast Bay Shore Group; Computer Science Corporation; Murray, Wamsley and Schrader, LLC; Wildes-Spirit Design and Printing and Research and Engineering Development, LLC.
Food and beverages will be available to purchase from Chick-fil-A on the La Plata and Leonardtown campuses and Maryland Country Caterers on the Prince Frederick Campus. For menu and pricing visit www.csmd.edu/arts/TwilightSeries.
For information on the Twilight Performance Series call 301-934-7703 or visit www.csmd.edu/arts.

CSM’s campuses are accessible to patrons with disabilities. Audio description for the visually impaired and sign language interpretation for the hearing impaired are available with a minimum two week advanced notice. If you are interested in these services, please contact the academic support/ADA coordinator at 301-934-7614.

Calendar Listings
Calvert County
CSM Twilight Performance Series: Fitzmaurice. 6:45 p.m., July 14, College of Southern Maryland, Prince Frederick Campus, 115 J.W. Williams Road, Prince Frederick. Fitzmaurice will perform as part of CSM’s Twilight Performance Series. The band plays original compositions influenced by a variety of musical genres such as country, folk and jazz. Each week the series features a different performance on each campus. Bring a picnic with a lawn chair or blanket (no alcoholic beverages permitted.) Free. Food and beverages available for purchase from Maryland Country Caterers. Menu and information at 301-934-7703 or www.csmd.edu/Arts.

Charles County
CSM Twilight Performance Series: Fitzmaurice. 6:45 p.m., July 13, College of Southern Maryland, La Plata Campus, 8730 Mitchell Road, La Plata. Fitzmaurice will perform as part of CSM’s Twilight Performance Series. The band plays original compositions influenced by a variety of musical genres such as country, folk and jazz. Each week the series features a different performance on each campus. Bring a picnic with a lawn chair or blanket (no alcoholic beverages permitted.) Free. Food and beverages available for purchase from Chick-fil-A. Menu and information at 301-934-7703 or www.csmd.edu/Arts.

St. Mary’s County
CSM Twilight Performance Series: Fitzmaurice. 6:45 p.m., July 12, College of Southern Maryland, Leonardtown Campus, 22950 Hollywood Road, Leonardtown. Fitzmaurice will perform as part of CSM’s Twilight Performance Series. The band plays original compositions influenced by a variety of musical genres such as country, folk and jazz. Each week the series features a different performance on each campus. Bring a picnic with a lawn chair or blanket (no alcoholic beverages permitted.) Free. Food and beverages available for purchase from Chick-fil-A. Menu and information at 301-934-7703 or www.csmd.edu/Arts.

Captions
Twilight_logo.jpg
CSM’s 2011 Twilight Performance Series will feature weekly performances on each campus July 5-28. Chautauquan performances will take place on the La Plata Campus July 5-7 and Twilight Musical Performances will be on the Leonardtown Campus on Tuesdays, La Plata Campus on Wednesdays and the Prince Frederick Campus on Thursdays, July 12-28. Performances start at 6:45 p.m. Free. 301-934-7703 or visit www.csmd.edu/Arts.

Fitzmaurice.jpg
As part of the College of Southern Maryland’s Twilight Performance Series, Fitzmaurice returns this year to perform at all three campuses. Performances will begin at 6:45 p.m., July 12 at the Leonardtown Campus, July 13 at the La Plata Campus and July 14 at the Prince Frederick Campus. Fitzmaurice plays original compositions influenced by a variety of musical genres such as country, folk and jazz. Each week the series features a different performance on each campus. Bring a picnic with a lawn chair or blanket (no alcoholic beverages permitted.) Free. 301-934-7703 or www.csmd.edu/Arts.