72 HOURS Feb. 16, 2023

VOLTAGGIO VIBES: Showroom shows off comfort classics PAGE 5

SCIENCE OR ART … OR BOTH?

Stereotypically speaking, people tend to excel in the sciences or the arts — but not both. But former chemist-turned-artist Michal Gavish combines the two to create something truly remarkable. Her installation “Neuro Land,” which opened at the Hood College Hodson Gallery in January, was inspired by 3D models of nerve cells, aka neurons, in the brain. Giant sheets of fabric are covered in what appears to be abstract art but is a representation of the brain, allowing visitors to essentially step into and walk around an artist-interpreted rendition of the human brain and all its magic. Stop by for a visit before the show ends on Feb. 24.

SEED TO ROOTS CELEBRATES STUDENTS AND BLACK CULTURE

Now in its third year, the Seed to Roots Youth Arts Performance celebrates Black history through the talent of Frederick city and county students through dance, song, musical performances, artwork and poetry on the Weinberg stage. Ticket sales raise money for creative arts scholarships and other opportunities for kids to engage in the arts. Come on out to cheer on these students and support a great cause.

MONOCACY HOP MAKES ITS MARK IN THE CRAFT BEER WORLD

As you might have heard by now, retired veterinarian Dr. Ray Ediger had a massive hop plant growing on his property for decades and would later find out, after consulting local experts, that the hop variety is totally unique to Maryland. UnCapped podcast host Chris Sands brought together Milkhouse Brewery owner Tom Barse, who was initially called upon to check out the plant, and Bryan Butler from the University of Maryland Extension for an indepth conversation about what’s now called the Monocacy hop, which has already been brewed into beer (the first official release came last week by way of Milkhouse) and will likely be brewed to make many more in the years to come.

AND IN OTHER BEER NEWS …

The Hyper Local Brew Festival will hit the Frederick Fairgrounds this weekend with a slate of local brewers onsite to offer their latest blends. Stop by to sip on craft beer from Rockwell Beer, Olde Mother Brewing, Steinhardt Brewing, Smoketown Creekside, Idiom Brewing, Midnight Run Brewing and Monocacy Brewing Co., who will each be on hand with $6 pints.

Meet Bob & Freddie. When it comes to local businesses, businesspeople and organizations in Frederick, they know best. Here is a personal interview with a 2022 Best of the Best winner or finalist about why they love what they do, helping those they serve and working in Frederick.

Law Office of Lena A. Clark

2022 FINALIST FOR BEST LAW FIRM – ESTATE

129 W. Patrick St, #11, Frederick 301-696-0567 lenaclarklegal.com

Legal Tax Breaks for Older Couples Who Sell Their Homes

Consider Irene, who recently became a widow when her husband, Henry, died. Like many married couples, they held the title to their home as Tenants by the Entirety. As a surviving Tenant by the Entirety, Irene automatically acquires all ownership and needs to update the Deed with an Estate Planning attorney.

Irene is uncertain what to do with her highly appreciated home. However, Irene should go slowly when it comes to major decisions such as home sales.

Irene wants to know the tax consequences of selling or staying. First, she needs to understand the tax breaks for individuals who sell their principal residences. Exclusions. The law authorizes “exclusions” that allow home sellers to sidestep income taxes on most of their profits when they unload their principal residences. The profit exclusions are as much as $500,000 for couples filing joint returns and as much as $250,000 for single persons. Sellers are liable for taxes on gains greater than $500,000 or $250,000.

Irene decides to sell. Can she exclude $500,000 or $250,000? The answer depends on the sale date and whether she remarries. Though she’s no longer married, recently widowed Irene still qualifies for the higher amount – as long as she sells within two years of Henry’s death.

Irene remarries. If her new husband, Steve, then lives in the place as his principal residence for at least two years out of the five-year period that precedes the sale date, the profit exclusion will once again be $500,000 (with caveats).

Step-up in basis.

some good news that the government authorizes exceptional condolence gifts for Irene, the basis of inherited assets “steps up” from their original basis.

On Henry’s death, a step-up in basis for their home benefits Irene when she sells her dwelling. What happens if she never sells?

On Irene’s death, there’s a step-up of her adjusted basis. When the heirs sell the home, they’re liable for capital gains taxes only on post-inheritance appreciation.

The bottom line for Irene and her heirs: Whereas a sale by Irene of a home that has appreciated immensely can trigger sizable federal and state taxes, a sale by the heirs dramatically shrinks or even erases those taxes. Irene – and others in similar positions – should work with an Estate Planning lawyer and a CPA to ensure they’re making the best decisions for their long-term plans. Please call us at 301-696-0567 or self-schedule at lenaclarklegal.com if you would like help protecting your assets and loved ones in the event of death or disability.

Sign up for our monthly newsletter: https://join.industrynewsletters.com/signup/ LawOfficeofLenaAClarkLLC

The massive Monocacy Hop

In this episode of the UnCapped podcast, host Chris Sands talks with Tom Barse from Milkhouse Brewery and Bryan Butler from the University of Maryland Extension about the first hop that has been discovered to be unique to Maryland. They told the story of how it was discovered, the research that has been done and the grant they received to further study the hop. They also produced a video with the Brewers Association of Maryland about the hop, which can be viewed on YouTube. Here is an excerpt of their talk.

UnCapped: Today, I’m at Milkhouse Brewery. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to come out for the presentation of this new hop.

Bryan Butler: We like to refer to this as a new hop to us and an old hop to Maryland.

Tom Barse: I was at a conference, a memorial for a former Frederick County Farm Bureau president, at Linganore Winecellars. One of the attendees was Dr. Ray Ediger, a retired veterinarian who lives in Utica. He approached me and said, “You’re the hop guy, right?” I said, “Yeah, I guess I’m the hop guy.” He said, “I have hops, too.” We talked about them, and I [said] I would like to come out [to see them].-

So my brewer at the time and another hop grower and I went out to Ray’s farm off of Old Frederick Road, and we found this monster of a hop plant. It had taken over a fence and his chicken coop and other buildings and a tree. It was just everywhere. This was October 2013, and it still had

cones that had obviously recently ripened. We were flabbergasted at this hop plant. The stem that grows 18 feet up was huge, like an inch in diameter.

Typically, hops that grow [in Maryland] are about a quarter of an inch, but these were almost like tree trunks.

UnCapped: I’ve never been anywhere that hops grow really well, except the Pacific Northwest. Is that how a hop vine would typically be there, or is this unique to the Monocacy hop?

Butler: They are much larger and more vigorous there, but this surpasses them. The plant is just massive.

Those plants that were bred to

Hyper Local Brew Festival at Frederick Fairgrounds

The Hyper Local Brew Festival will be held from noon to 7 p.m. Feb. 18 at the Frederick Fairgrounds, featuring Frederick breweries, vendors, food trucks, music, games and a lounge area.

Admission is $5 in advance or $10 at the door for ages 21 and up, $4 and $8 for ages 18 to 20 and free for ages 17 and under.

Rockwell, Olde Mother, Steinhardt, Smoketown Creekside, Idiom,

Midnight Run and Monocacy will be onsite to sell $6 pints. Parking is free in sections C or D. The event will be held in Building 9 at 797 E. Patrick St., Frederick.

MILKHOUSE BREWERY

8253 Dollyhyde Road, Mount Airy milkhousebrewery.com

grow in the Pacific Northwest were bred to grow in a very high desert situation — high latitude, high altitude, no rainfall, 4% humidity, so they perform very well there. We bring them here to the Mid-Atlantic, and every insect, every disease is a huge problem.

UnCapped: And also the yields aren’t as high, and the quality isn’t as great.

Butler: We can hit a lot of the quality standards with very high inputs — we have to spray them very often and really baby them along — but we cannot get the yields. And we don’t get the longevity. The plants don’t live longer than three to five years — or less. We’re having to replant or inter-plant or change something. After a number of years working with those and looking at the economics of what they could yield versus the cost to grow them, they were just not working for us.

Barse: Although, we have three varieties that do reasonably well in Maryland: Chinook, Cascade and Brewer’s Gold — Chinook with less input than Cascade and Brewer’s Gold.

This excerpt has been edited for space and clarity. Listen to the full podcast at fnppodcasts.com/uncapped. Got UnCapped news? Email csands@ newspost.com.

from Rockwell Brewery. Rockwell Brewery

Beer

Chris Sand

From left, Bryan Butler and Tom Barse.

Manager Jordan

Call sits for a portrait with the fried chicken dish at Showroom on Feb. 2. The dish includes fried chicken, cheddar chive biscuits, pickled vegetables and hot honey.

Showroom shows off comfort classics

Showroom, with its large, picture windows, open kitchen and bar, offers Mid-Atlantic comfort foods from celebrity chef and Frederick native Bryan Voltaggio. The restaurant opened years ago under the name Family Meal. In 2021, it adopted the name Showroom, after an old Buick dealership that used to be on the same street, said assistant manager Jordan Call. Showroom’s daily brunch menu includes the Chicken & Waffle, with pickled peppers, smoked honey, fried chicken thigh; Biscuits & Gravy; the Nashville Chicken Sandwich, with a fried chicken thigh, pepperjack cheese, and bread and butter pickles; and Smoked Salmon on a New York bagel from Orwashers with tzatziki cream cheese, feta, kalamata olives, cucumber, capers and avocado. The restaurant has a Late Night Happy Hour that includes burgers, fries and beers for a discounted price from 8 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 9 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

— Jack Hogan

SHOWROOM

882 N. East St., Frederick info@showroomfrederick. com

301-835-7628

showroomfrederick.com

Instagram: @showroom frederick

Facebook: facebook.com/ Showroom21701

Twitter: @showroom21701

Hours: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Price: Brunch and entrees on the 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. menu range from $13 to $30. Sandwiches and supper on the dinner menu range from $14 to $38.

Staff photos by Katina Zentz

Assistant Manager Jordan Call recommends: The fried half chicken, which includes a leg, breast, wing and thigh, two cheddar chive biscuits, hot honey and pickled vegetables. It’s been a restaurant staple since the Family Meal days, he said.

Grammy Fever was alive and well this year

“I’m making a pact with you, the fabulous reader, that I’m going to get myself out of the rut by the time February rolls and around and this ceremony takes place. I’m going to make a conscious effort to find out what a Doja Cat is and I’m going to finally listen to that Harry Styles record (which has to be overrated, right?). For the first time in more than a decade, I’m going to try to catch Grammy Fever, all streaming services be damned.”

Those were words that I wrote all the way back in November in 72 Hours, in the wake of 2023’s Grammy nominees being announced. The impetus for the rant was the fact that ABBA was up for Record of the Year. From there, I somehow talked myself into making a pledge to actually pay attention to this year’s Grammys for the first time

Jazz Journey continues at Beans in the Belfry

Drummer Jeff Cosgrove’s ever-changing musical lineups continue in the fourth concert of his Jazz Journey series, created as part of a Maryland State Arts Council creativity grant.

The band will feature Cosgrove on drums, Tedd Baker on saxophone and Will Yager on bass.

The series is a community invitation to be part of the music and explore jazz, while helping local charity organizations. It will feature new compositions from Cosgrove, and the group will expand on their places within the sonic landscape.

The concert runs from 7 to 9 p.m. Feb. 17 at Beans in the Belfry, 122 W. Potomac St., Brunswick, and is open to all ages. There is a $10 suggested donation for adults, and kids are admitted free.

All proceeds will go to the Stream-Link Education, a local nonprofit working to help reforest Frederick County with native tree and shrub species. Representatives from Stream-Link Education will be onsite to answer any questions about the organization. Learn more about Cosgrove at jeff cosgrovemusic.com.

in what felt like forever. My thirst for Grammy Fever needed quenched. And, well, I’m happy to report to you that it is, indeed, quenched.

The ceremony took place on Feb. 5. I watched it. Intently, even. After a blisteringly cold weekend, the only way to warm up, I felt, was sitting down in front of the television with a glass of wine, a laptop and an open Google doc that I shared with my friend Pete. In that doc, we traded musings about the evening in real time.

“I don’t like nice hosts of award shows” is an example of mine.

“Does LL Cool J live at the Grammys? He’s like Punxsutawney Phil for music” is an example of his.

We came up with seven or so pages of (not really) witticisms that will most likely never see the light of day, but if nothing else, the exercise did bring me right back into the thick of Grammy

World, which is a place I did promise you guys I’d go, after all. And if I can’t keep promises in 72 Hours, where, exactly can I keep promises?

As for what I learned … well, I learned that the Grammys have seemingly returned to that sweet spot between “outrageous duet that makes so little sense, it ruins everyone involved,” and “oh, that was kind of cool.” Case in point: Stevie Wonder bringing the house down with an inspired version of “Higher Ground,” only to have Chris Stapleton grace the stage and look entirely uncomfortable as he took to his guitar for a solo or two during the latter half of the performance.

Hey. You win some. You lose some. The biggest winner, of course, was Beyonce. Or, was it? I ask only because while she got to the show late and eclipsed the mark for total Grammys won by anyone ever, she then lost the Album of the Year race to Harry Styles, which raised eyebrows because A) this felt like the year she should win it for once, and B) it provided Styles

a platform to say something that was either innocuous or ignorant (or both) when he proclaimed that such wins typically don’t happen for people like him.

Boom went the dynamite, and if I tried to break down all the elements of why the world wide internet went nuts about this, I’d most likely stumble over words. So, I’ll leave that to the experts. In the meantime, it’s worth noting that if you remember correctly, these are awards shows, and awards shows are subjective, and awards shows never get anything 100% right. In sports, competitions are won and lost on a field of play; in awards shows, competitions are won and lost on human arbitration. One seems more fair than the other, but what do I know?

Anyway, my biggest takeaway from the night was that despite what many would like us to believe, music isn’t dead. And, if nothing else, it reaffirmed my suspicion about people who don’t watch the show or claim they have to turn it off after 15 minutes because they “don’t recognize any of these

Joe Crocetta

Jeff Cosgrove

COLIN MCGUIRE

people.” That suspicion? If those are the things you think, you’re more lazy than you are entitled (but rest assured, you’re both). Maybe you checked out of music for a bit, sure, but if you really like music, there were more than enough things you could find on a show like this to satisfy your music award show needs.

Take the sprawling hip-hop tribute that served as the night’s best moment and covered way more ground than I thought it would (thanks mostly, I’d guess, to Questlove appearing to curate the thing). Or if hip-hop isn’t what you like, there was the beautiful tribute that Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow and Mick Fleetwood threw together for Christine McVie. Shoot, even Brandi Carlile stepped up early in the show to take names and make sure everyone was awake.

My point is that we can debate the winners and losers of things like this, but the true core of the Grammys ceremony has always been a celebration of music. The trophies are secondary to the notion that even if you fell behind or you feel your passion for music has waned over the years, this is that one night you can drop in to see what’s going on, take in some unique performances and maybe even

reignite that flame for the art that you felt burned out long ago.

That’s why, in the case of my crotchety old brain, watching this year’s Grammys ceremony proved to be both fruitful and fulfilling. I’m glad I did it. Rather than sit back and whine about not understanding why Bad Bunny is the second coming of Elvis, I at least gave him a shot, and I feel more enlightened for it. Have I confirmed whether that Harry Styles record is actually overrated? Not really. But I did find that catching Grammy Fever is way more fun than I cynically thought (or didn’t think) it would be back in November. And because of as much, the night was a win.

Now, if only I could find out what, in fact, a Doja Cat really is.

Colin McGuire has been in and out of bands for more than 20 years and also helps produce concerts in and around Frederick. His work has appeared in Alternative Press magazine, PopMatters and 72 Hours, among other outlets. He is convinced that the difference between being in a band and being in a romantic relationship is less than minimal. Contact him at mcguire.colin@gmail. com.

District5 Quintet

“Invitation to the Dance”

dance for wind quintet. This award-winning ensemble comprised of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and French horn has a unique repertoire that showcases the virtuosity, colors, and endless possibilities of these beloved instruments.

Imagination Stage premieres ‘The Hula-Hoopin’ Queen’

Imagination Stage, the region’s largest professional theater for children, will debut its latest new play commission, “The Hula-Hoopin’ Queen,” adapted for the stage by Gloria Bond Clunie from the book by Thelma Lynne Godin, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton, with Angelisa Gillyard directing.

Set in Harlem, this intergenerational story is a charming celebration of family and community ties.

The show runs Feb. 18 through April 8 at Imagination Stage in Bethesda and is best suited for ages 5 to 11.

“The Hula-Hoopin’ Queen” tells the story of Kameeka, who is confident that she will finally beat her rival, Jamara, and become the HulaHoopin’ Queen of 139th Street. But Mama reminds her that today is their neighbor Miz Adeline’s birthday, and Kameeka has important chores to do to prepare for the party. Kameeka is so preoccupied with thoughts of victory that she accidentally ruins Miz Adeline’s birthday cake and has to own up that there won’t be a cake for her special day. Disappointment dissipates quickly when Miz Adeline confesses that she’s also got the hula-hoopin’ itch. The young and the young at heart spill into the street to celebrate with timeless fun.

Not only does Oprah Winfrey recommend the book “The HulaHoopin’ Queen,” she reads it on YouTube. This is a wonderful way to become acquainted with the story and also to see how

much depth Clunie adds to the characters and their relationships in bringing the story to the stage. These relationships are at the heart of the story, as mothers, aunties and neighbors lovingly dole out advice. And, of course, the hulahooping becomes delightfully real, incorporating choreography, rhyme and music into its own hip-hop adjacent art form.

Playwright Clunie says that the hula hoop is “an embodiment of the freedom and joy of childhood. A bright, sparkly neon circle of hope, and desire, and energy that we pick up and spin around with every ounce of our being. Children, and the child in all of us, need that kind of joy! Circles connecting a community.”

Director Gillyard loves that in the play “kids are just being kids. In my opinion, too often kids, particularly Black kids, just don’t get a chance to really enjoy their childhood. They are bombarded with adult situations and realities and are forced to make adult decisions. The children in this play get to spend time being carefree and doing what they love.” Gilyard hopes that children will leave the theater realizing that “forgiveness and love are real. Without giving too much away, true friendship can survive the mistakes we all occasionally make, but we have to also learn to forgive ourselves.”

Tickets are $12 to $36 and available at imaginationstage.org or by phone at 301-280-1660.

Student artists will return for Seed to Roots show

The third annual Seed to Roots Youth Arts Performance will highlight Frederick city and county student artists and performers in grades K-12. Participation requires that each performance be in celebration of Black artists and Black history and culture.

This year’s performance will take place at 6 p.m. Feb. 20 at the Weinberg Center for the Arts.

Tickets are $10 and available at weinbergcenter.org. Admission for children under 10 is free.

“This program … recognizes and celebrates Black history as American history and creates an engaging venue for residents to share their life stories,” Frederick City Mayor Michael O’Conner said. “We are excited to once again be a partner in this event and see these stories shared with our community.”

The goal of Seed to Roots is to establish a diverse creative opportunity for local youth to showcase their artistic talents and allowing the community at large to enjoy and celebrate their art.

Last year, ticket sales for the live performance raised nearly $1,200 in dance class scholarship donations for 24/7 Dance Studio in Frederick. This year, applications to participate doubled, and the planning committee hopes to raise even more money to benefit several arts scholarship programs across Frederick.

“Seed to Roots is a program built upon diversity and inclusion, which are core values of Frederick County Gov-

ernment,” said County Executive Jessica Fitzwater. “I am deeply committed to arts opportunities for our young people, not only because of my years as a music educator, but because the performing arts are essential for our students to express themselves and their ideas.”

For the first time, cash prizes will be awarded by the Alpha Lambda Lambda chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, whose members will also serve as judges. One high school grand prize winner will be selected to travel to the regional Omega Psi Phi Talent Hunt competition for an all-expenses-paid trip to Pittsburgh in April.

Planning committee members Tricia Kennedy, Tarolyn Mckinney, Andrea Thompson, Kia Tisdale and Desiree Tucker are excited to offer this opportunity for the third year to all student artists, including those with talent who have a desire to perform but may not have the access to formal artistic training. Donations from ticket sales go back into the community to support student artist training.

To donate purchased tickets (whole or in part) to students or community members, contact the box office at 301600-2828 so the Weinberg can make these tickets available to the community for free. Tickets may be purchased and donated as such up to one day prior to the event.

For more information, email Desiree Tucker at desiree.tucker@womensolve.org.

Staff file photo by Bill Green

Members of the 24/7 Dance Studio PRIDE Company perform during the 2022 Seed to Roots show.

Tips for navigating Australian beaches this summer

BY RILEY WILSON The Washington Post

By the time the sun rises like a bright mango cheek, Australia’s surf lifesavers are already preparing for a day on the sand. Cyril Baldock knows the routine well; he’s been a member of the surf club at Bondi Beach in Sydney’s eastern suburbs since 1958. At 79, he’s the longest-living life member of Bondi Surf Bathers’ Surf Life Saving Club, which started in 1907 and is internationally recognized as the first surf-lifesaving club in the world.

“Surf lifesaving originated in Bondi,” he says. “It’s developed all around the world since, in the 314 clubs in Australia, but it was started on Bondi Beach in Australia.”

Volunteer surf lifesavers, as opposed to paid lifeguards, are trained to patrol Australian beaches. Dressed in their iconic yellow and red, the volunteers work weekends in patrol groups between four and 20 people. They undergo 10 weeks of training, earn a Bronze Medallion and a Surf Rescue Certificate, and renew their qualifications — including fitness tests, skills maintenance and first aid — annually. Patrols are often on the beach by 8 a.m., assessing the water and planting the red-and-yellow flags.

Baldock earned his stripes at Bondi SLSC, winning 17 Australian titles and two world titles in surf competitions, and the titles of president, captain, life member and — now — patron. He goes for a swim in the morning, and in the afternoon. He’s one of millions of Australians who do that daily.

There are 12,000 beaches dotting the Australian coast, and they tend to top the bucket lists of most visitors. But Baldock’s the first to tell you that the period of time between a safe swim and a potentially dangerous swim is a matter of seconds.

“The biggest thing that [tourists] don’t understand is the old thing about ‘swim between the flags.’ What they’ll see is that that’s where it’s

rough. A lot of tourists ... they’ll want to go where it looks calm. And it’s calm where it’s dangerous,” says Baldock.

In doing so, people unwittingly head toward a rip current, the deadliest threat on Australian beaches. The currents are strong and unpredictable, energized by rapidly changing ocean motions.

But the clubs — and their 190,000 volunteers — have it covered. Before there was the Australian reality show “Bondi Rescue,” there were Bondi rescues. Australia’s volunteer surf lifesavers have long conquered switching swell, shark alerts and incompetent swimmers with determination and unwavering patience.

Navigating the beach and understanding beach safety is key, says Shane Daw, 58, the general manag. If you are heading to Australia’s beaches this summer, here are tips from the lifesavers to keep you safe.

STAY BETWEEN THE FLAGS, AND PAY ATTENTION TO RIPS

The area of the surf between the

red-and-yellow flags has been designated safe by the patrolling surf lifesavers. Always swim between the flags.

Rip currents are strong, narrow channels of water that flow past the surf breaks. They’re the number one risk on Australian beaches. To identify a rip, look for where waves are breaking constantly, then look to where the water is calmer on either side. It may be darker and have a rippled surface. These are rips. If you are caught in a rip, remain calm and raise your hand to attract the attention of lifesavers. Do not panic. You can also swim parallel to the beach to try to swim out of a rip current.

MITIGATE SUNBURN, SUNSTROKE AND DEHYDRATION

Australian kids are raised on a jingle of “slip, slop, slap”: Slip on a longsleeved shirt, slop on some sunscreen and slap on a hat.

Patrols attend to sunstroke and sunburn victims daily. Mitigate this haz-

Baldock and clubmates run “ins and outs,” an exercise where the volunteers run into the water, through the shallows or under the waves, and then swim out to a point not far from shore.

ard by regularly applying sunscreen, drinking plenty of water, finding shade whenever possible, and recognizing when you’ve had enough.

CHECK FOR STINGERS AND OTHER SEA LIFE

Unpatrolled and secluded beaches can be home to plenty of nonhuman visitors, including crocodiles or breeding sharks.

Sharks are not the most dangerous things in Australian waters. A shark attack on Feb. 16, 2022, at Sydney’s Little Bay, was the first fatality of its kind in the area since 1963.

Stingers, including bluebottles and potentially lethal box jellyfish, are also important to keep an eye out for. You may also see bluebottles washed up on the beach. They sting. Look out for signs that indicate these hazards.

If you’re not sure about what’s in the water, how it’s behaving, or what you should keep an eye out for, ask. Clearly marked signs also provide information each day; be attentive, and request help if you need it.

Photo for The Washington Post by Matthew Abbott

‘EYES and EARS

Downtown Ambassadors are keeping Frederick postcard perfect

BY JOSEPH PETERSON Special to The News-Post

It’s no secret, downtown Frederick has a look and feel straight out of central casting for a Hallmark holiday movie.

The state tourism promoter, Visit Maryland, describes it as “a thriving 50-block historic district for shopping, dining, art, architecture, and entertainment.”

And it’s one of those charming historic districts that not only attracts visitors from the wider region but hums with the ebb and flow of local daily life.

On a typical day, the sidewalks are bustling, the shops are inviting, and the aromas from busy restaurants and bistros entice passersby to come in and satisfy their appetites.

Chances are, if you’re reading this, none of this comes as news to you. But consider this: 50 blocks. That is a large area for a small city to keep up that level of charm week in and week out, year after year. Vibrant downtowns don’t just happen by accident, after all. And while maintaining and operating Frederick’s historic district is the work of many, there is a crack team of just a few workers who are taking on some of the heavy lifting to keep it postcard perfect.

“We’re out here walking the streets, we’re meeting people, we’re greeting them and talking to them, making them feel welcome,” said Dwayne Brooks, a supervisor of that team known as the Downtown Ambassadors.

Since late 2021, the Downtown Frederick Partnership has managed the city’s contract with Block by Block, a hospitality service provider in more than 200 cities across the country, to run the Downtown Ambassador Program in Frederick.

What started in 2018 as a downtown safety and services initiative by the city and the Ausherman Family Foundation led to the creation of a

committee tasked with investigating the feasibility of an ambassador program here.

DFP executive director Kara Norman, who chaired the committee at the time, said DFP had been hoping to have an ambassador program for years. While a fully staffed cleaning and hospitality program doesn’t come cheap, she said, “It was that initiative that really got the momentum going to help us get the funding necessary.”

Now a fully realized team of four in the winter and six in the summer, these ambassadors are tasked with making downtown Frederick cleaner, safer and welcoming from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. every Wednesday through Sunday. Brooks’ role centers around hospitality, a broad term for myriad services that require hefty doses of local knowledge, social skills, resource training and a fair amount of tact.

“We get a lot of compliments,” Brooks says, noting that several times a day people thank him for what he and his team do. “We talk to everybody — visitors, residents that live in the area, the homeless population. We know a lot of them by first name, and they know us.”

The hospitality team spends most of its time giving directions, fulfilling requests to accompany solo guests to their cars at night, orienting visitors to parking facilities and, in a manner of speaking, making sure folks know where the sidewalk ends when they’ve enjoyed a few too many.

Luckily, Brooks was on duty when a man in a nice suit, who had evidently knocked back a few too many, started stumbling into the street, trying to remember where he parked his car. The man was able to get assistance not only to get out of the immediate

danger of the street but to find a better way home than driving a car in his condition.

“We don’t know the impact of what could have happened, had Dwayne not happened to meet him and get him on a better path,” Norman said, “so to me, it’s really impactful to think about. ... There’ve been great stories,” Norman added,

Dwayne Brooks, a greeter with the Downtown Frederick

Bryan Dixon, program operations manager for the Downtown Frederick Ambassador Program, works in the streets of Frederick to help keep the city clean.

of the STREET’

recalling an incident where an older woman, at lunch with her friends, was unable to physically make it back to her car. “The ambassadors connected with her, got her a chair, got her some water and stayed with her until her friends were able to go get the car and bring it to her.” The ambassador team later received a thank-you note from the woman’s

daughter, saying “how appreciative she was that people took such good care of her mother,” Norman recalled.

As of September 2022, about a year into the Downtown Frederick Ambassador Program, Block by Block recorded 730 instances where hospitality assistance was fulfilled, including 151 times when a hospitality escort was provided. In that same

time period, the cleaning crew ambassadors saw to the removal of biohazard material 549 times, as well as the collection of hundreds of cigarette butts. Well, 602 to be precise — and Block by Block builds its reputation on being precise. Checking in with businesses in the historic district is another function of hospitality the ambassadors provide.

They see whether there’s any way they can support business owners and staff with any public needs, as well as restock the contact cards usually displayed inside the shops that feature information on how to reach an ambassador, should the need arise.

“We are the eyes and ears of the street,” said Bryan Dixon, Block by Block’s operations manager for the Downtown Frederick Ambassador Program. Per their September 2022 report, the ambassadors made contact with local businesses 486 times, in addition to removing graffiti, stickers and more than 500 bags of trash.

“It’s been great. The business owners love us here,” said Dixon, who previously worked with an ambassador program in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor neighborhood. “The ambassadors in Frederick are great. They’ve built a great relationship with the business owners and guests before I even got here. I’m just helping to keep it going, keep them motivated.”

Joseph Peterson can usually be found reading the weathered plaques of obscure monuments he sees while wandering the city. He counts public libraries, public lands and places where local community is fostered among his favorite kinds of places.

Staff photos by Bill Green Frederick Ambassador Program, hands out maps of the town to area businesses people like Gillian Berluti, manager of Firestone’s Market on North Market Street.

Scientist-turned-artist creates a field guide to neurons in ‘Neuro Land’ at Hood College

BY DAWN MORGAN NEARY Special to The News-Post

When seeking artists to exhibit work at the Hood College Hodson Gallery, gallery director Bonnie Kern had asked artist Michal Gavish whether she would be able to fill the 50-foot walls in the space.

Gavish succeeded, despite having started on a microscopic level.

“Neuro Land,” which opened at the Hodson on Jan. 17, was inspired by 3D models of nerve cells, also known as neurons, in the brain. Students stop in to look and take selfies amid the images Gavish painted on fabric and paper, which delights Kern, who said her goal is to intermingle the arts with other college departments.

“It’s very engaging,” Kern said of Gavish’s installations, which will be on exhibit and open to the public through Feb. 24. “The students can interact with it. Every time the doors open, the panels move. That was unexpected, which just made it cooler.”

Gavish described the end result as a “diorama with neurons in a little forest, which is how I imagine it.” She said her goal was to bring “the viewer into the brain.”

Throughout the pandemic, the galleries at Hood were without a gallery director. Then about a year ago, Bonnie Kern, a visual artist and arts educator, stepped into the role. Kern said that since she started, she has been working to bring in new artists who work in various mediums.

Gavish, who lives and works in Washington, D.C., and New York City, was a chemist for decades before she pursued an MFA in painting. Ultimately, she left the chem lab behind, but not the curiosity or analytical skills she had cultivated years earlier while earning a PhD.

“I just want to understand everything,” she said recently from her home in D.C. “What is the structure, what is it made of?”

When asked if she still does her own research, Gavish responded, “It’s impossible; you can’t do both.”

She logs long hours creating art professionally, as well as teaching art and design. Instead of researching the science herself, she collaborates “with people whose subject is interesting to me. I visit their lab, read and

study their subject and look at their data and imagery, sketch, and think, until I find a visual idea of how to approach their data.”

Some Hood instructors wove a visit to “Neuro Land” into their class curriculum, including Katie Huy and the Rev. Beth O’Malley from a new major at the school, Sustainability Studies, which was added in 2020. While that program focuses on the intersection of water, energy and food, it

“NEURO LAND”

When: Daily daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Feb. 24

Where: Hodson Gallery, located in the Tatem Arts Center at Hood College, 401 Rosemont Ave., Frederick Tickets: Free Info: hood.edu/academics/departments/ department-art-archaeology/art-galleries/ exhibitions

regardless of majors. There’s a big gamut of the types of students who go in [to the gallery].”

Sustainability student Majorie Lemus was among those who made the connection to Gavish’s forest imagery.

“I really enjoyed when Bonnie explained how our brain will receive signals about certain pain, either blocking it out to keep us alive or activating our fight or flight system,” Lemus said. “It made me think about different times my body has taken signals and processed it to better protect me. It was a really cool concept to see visually.”

For student Ann Ofoegbu, the exhibition connected with her science background. “Many of the neurons I draw in my science classes have the same structure as the ones illustrated in the gallery, but it isn’t realistic,” Ofoegbu said. “The piece makes me feel curious about what my brain and neurons do throughout a day, seeing as it is my control center.”

“In the beginning I was a chemist, and I still am, in many ways,” Gavish said. “[Science] completes the picture of the world for me. I know most people don’t see it.”

Courtesy of Hood College

also offers “students space to look at the systems that connect, or separate, people and places,” Huy said.

Kern guided the sustainability classes through “Neuro Land” and, working from notes Gavish provided for each piece, talked about how nerves work in the body. Kern said Gavish has a knack for breaking down the information for those with little or no background in hard science. “She put it into a visual realm,

But thanks to Kern and her colleagues, the young scholars at Hood are seeing that complete world, while also learning to appreciate (or, at the very, least not fear) art and science, despite what they might be majoring in.

Dawn Morgan Neary is a freelance journalist from Tampa, Florida, and currently resides in Mount Airy with her large blended family. She holds an MFA in film and electronic media from American University and teaches in the GED/ESL programs at Frederick Community College.

Michal Gavish with her installation at Hood College.

”Natural Selection: Experiencing Change” — through Feb. 26, Delaplaine Arts Center, 40 S. Carroll St., Frederick. Paintings by S. Manya Stoumen–Tolino. The idea of natural selection belongs to human ideas about how organic forms evolve and endure, or not. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. 301-698-0656 or delaplaine.org.

”Drifting Through Deep Time” — through Feb. 26, Delaplaine Arts Center, 40 S. Carroll St., Frederick. Photography by Keith Kozloff. A reflection on “deep time,” a term applied to how we conceive of geological timescales. Constructing a photographic narrative loosely based on the protocontinent Avalonia, his work is a reflection on human attention and humanity’s capacity to understand Earth’s life support systems. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. 301-698-0656 or delaplaine.org.

”Diversity, Equity and Inclusion”

— through Feb. 26, Blanche Ames Gallery, 4880 Elmer Derr Road, Frederick. Features nine artists from the Gaithersburg Fine Arts Association. Call 301-473-7680 for gallery hours or visit frederickuu.org.

“Community Threads: Connectivity through Creativity” — through Feb. 26. A vignette showcase that reflects the array of creativity within the Frederick County Art Association, with work by 16 members. DISTRICT Arts, 15 N. Market St., Frederick. Districtarts. com.

”Natural Selections” — through Feb. 26, NOMA Gallery, 437 N. Market St., Frederick. Works by artists Melissa Penley Cormier and Caitlin Gill investigate the natural world as metaphor. Cormier uses photography and installations to document and explore how we mark time. Gill uses printmaking, sculpting, drawing, collage, painting and fiber to create artwork that explores ideas of identity,

femininity and domesticity. Cormier’s projects center around looking closely and carefully. Gill’s work examines the patriarchy the male gaze and gender through animal and insect portraits. Artists’ talk 7 to 9 p.m. Feb. 16. Hours are noon to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. 240367-9770.

Brad Blair: “Divergent Entities”

— through Feb. 26, Delaplaine Arts Center, 40 S. Carroll St., Frederick. Artist talk on Feb. 4. Blair’s curiosity of the unknown, paired with a strong imagination and an inquisitive mindset, leads him to create art what provides wonder and examination. His ceramic work in this exhibition are obscure oddities that help convey a message regarding this mysterious life we live, in a universe yet to be explored fully. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. 301-698-0656 or delaplaine. org.

“When A Tree Falls” — through

Feb. 26, Delaplaine Arts Center, 40 S. Carroll St., Frederick. Selected woodturners from throughout Maryland join artistic forces with local Frederick artists for a treethemed exhibition of handcrafted woodturnings, presented alongside paintings, carvings and prints. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. 301-6980656 or delaplaine.org.

”Home Free: A Farewell to California” — through Feb. 26, Delaplaine Arts Center, 40 S. Carroll St., Frederick. The photographs in this exhibition are a part of Brandon Oleksy’s final farewell to the state he called home for as long as he can remember. The collection comprises scenes that he and others residents passed a thousand times, and are both a remembrance of place and the start of calling a new place “home.” 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. 301-6980656 or delaplaine.org.

THE LONG BOX ‘Understanding Comics’ then and now

The comic art form — that magical merging of words and images in graceful counterpoint — opens almost infinite pathways to understanding ourselves and the world.

One of the most definitive texts about the medium is Scott McCloud’s “Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art.” First published in 1993, the book is in a comic form itself and delves into the history, vocabulary and theory of the form.

Those involved in the industry will be rolling their eyes right now, as mentioning “Understanding Comics” is almost as cliched a conversation starter as asking, “Have you read ‘Watchmen,’” at a comic convention.

The book has been around for three decades, so it’s accrued some cultural baggage over time, as many originally eye-opening essays do. Yet it remains one of the first and only detailed intellectual landmarks to discuss, at length, comics in the context of a visual language. In many cases, McCloud’s work is prescient.

“Understanding Comics” was revelatory for me as a young man who’d spent his formative years scratching pencil onto bits of paper. Here was someone, much brighter than I, expounding a theory that comics could be more than giant muscled men in spandex, slapping each other around for 24 pages. Here, finally, was an academic analysis that brought structure to the field I loved.

Looking back, the publication of “Understanding Comics” was a high-water mark in the field before the tides receded and a digital tsunami engulfed everything.

No, I’m not being melodramatic.

OK, maybe a bit, but I’m still harboring a throbbing ache from The Crash of the late ‘90s, which flooded a promising field of art with so much dreck, and led to the form’s burgeoning reputation as “more than for kids,” so explosively driven by the creativity of the late ‘80s, being washed away entirely.

Lots of water metaphors there. Insert your own for the disruptive impact of the internet. I’m all out.

Thirty years on from “Understanding Comics,” and the artistic spectrum of the medium is still looked at askance in the greater field of art, as we do that weird cousin who only shows up at Thanksgiv-

ing and eats nothing but mashed potatoes.

Works that rise to a sufficiently intellectual level, enough to draw art critics’ attention, are curios, greeted with the sardonic wonder a Shakespearean sonnet would if it came off a chimpanzee’s typewriter. (New York Times critics, I’m giving you a hard stare right now.)

In truth, there’s a quiet explosion happening, most of it beyond view, if you don’t know where to look.

Much of it is reigniting around societal edges, particularly in what we old, middle-age normies would have once deemed fringe or “othered” groups. They are using the medium, in the digital space, for self-expression and transgression and political advocacy to challenge culture’s ingrained normativity. In doing so, they are radically reinventing the medium and portraying comics’ innate cultural reflectivity through new filters.

I challenge you to find an artistic field that is more diverse in its subject matter.

Hence, I think we need to take a second (or, in the case of my comics colleagues, third to 20th) look at McCloud’s treatise, and revisit and review it through the lens of the 21st century. Whereas McCloud didn’t predict the technology we have today, he was eerily accurate about the global growth of visual language: “Comics artists have a universe of icons to choose from! … And it’s expanding all the time! Society is inventing new symbols regularly, just as comics artists do. … Ours is an increasingly symbol-oriented culture. … As the twenty-first century approaches, visual iconography may finally help us realize a form of universal communication.”

Er, memes, anyone? Emojis? Avatars? GIFs? The currency of the digital world is icons, and icons are at the heart of visual storytelling.

RECOMMENDATION … I ran across Bad Ink Studios while perusing TikTok. Under the Bad Ink banner, co-creator Evan Schultz’s pitches for “Interdimensional” one and two were so compelling, I picked up copies. Turns out, he’s not selling snake oil. Both are gloriously rendered and lushly colored scifi anthologies with delightfully cliché free stories, any of which could be developed into their own arcs. Find them at badinkstudios.com.

Head to the FA CA rt Ce nt er • 5E2 nd St or visit www.fr eder ic ka rt sco uncil .or g>shop to or der some mer ch and sup por tt he ar ts!

CLIFF CUMBER

‘Sharper’: A pleasurable if predictable puzzle box

BY MICHAEL O’SULLIVAN The Washington Post

The con-game thriller is a cerebral movie genre, as opposed to an emotional or psychological one. Not to minimize its pleasures, but as with the heist flick, the fun typically lies in the design and construction of the elaborate puzzle box at its center: How will the sting be delivered, and to whom?

In the case of “Sharper,” we’re treated to puzzle boxes within puzzle boxes, each one delivered in sequential chapters — titled after the film’s main characters, Tom, Sandra, Max and Madeline — and unpacked, initially in reverse chronological order, with satisfying, if somewhat predictable, style and suspense. If you’re seeking substance, look elsewhere.

Who are these characters? Tom (Justice Smith) is the owner of a quaintly impractical Manhattan book shop; Sandra (Briana Middleton) is a grad student, bookworm and his customer-

turned-girlfriend; Max (Sebastian Stan) is a con man, or sharper; and Madeline (Julianne Moore) is his mother and the soon-to-be-trophy-wife of Richard (John Lithgow), a billionaire who drops the film’s mantra, disguised as a piece of financial advice to Max, after a small, incidental con goes awry:

“All that work for $1,000? If you’re going to steal, steal a lot.” It’s advice that is soon put into practice.

By the way, the descriptions above pertain to the characters as we initially encounter them. But their true identities, relationships and motives slip, slide, morph and migrate every which way as the action unspools.

Richard’s philosophy — another version of “be good, or be good at it” — is the ethos of a film in which nearly everyone is on the grift, at least eventually. That doesn’t mean there aren’t good guys and bad guys here, despite these words of cynical wisdom from Max: “You can’t cheat an honest man. That’s why we never feel sorry for the mark.” Among the marks and

sharpers — and sometimes one person is both — there are heroes and villains. It just takes awhile to identify who’s who.

The cast, unsurprisingly, is the film’s ace up its sleeve, especially Moore and Middleton, each of whom is riveting to watch, in different ways, as their characters negotiate hairpin plot turns and twists of fate. Each actress is at her best when manipulating the men in the film, or each other.

There may be, as Max says, no honest character in this story, co-written by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka (creators of the uncategorizable “Comrade Detective” comedy series on Prime Video) and capably directed by Benjamin Caron, a veteran of British TV making his feature debut. But there is honor among these thieves and cheats — at least one or two of them — and the film’s gratification comes from figuring out where it’s been hidden.

Rated R. Available Feb. 17 on Apple TV Plus. Contains strong language throughout and some sexual references. 116 minutes.

TWO FREE MOVIE PASSES TO WAREHOUSE CINEMAS

WAREHOUSE CINEMAS NEWS AND EVENTS:

$7 TUESDAYS

Any movie, including Dolby Atmos. All day. Anytime.

TAPPY HOUR WEDNESDAYS

50% OFF all beers and ciders on the self-serve beer wall. All Day.

FILM LEAGUE PRESENTS

"Crazy Rich Asians"

Wednesday, February 22nd @ 7 PM

BRUNCH CLUB PRESENTS

"Dreamgirls"

Sunday, February 26th @ 11:30am & 12:30pm

UPCOMING FILMS THIS WEEKEND:

Ant-man and The Wasp: Quantumania

Warehouse Cinemas is an independently owned cinema that offers a unique, premium movie going experience by providing first-run movies + retro films, leather recliner seating w/ seat warmers, high-quality picture and sound, including Dolby Atmos, a modern-industrial décor, and premium food and drink options, including movie themed cocktails, wine and a 28-tap self-serve beer wall. Visit us at warehouscinemas.com or scan the QR Code for this week’s feature films.

Apple TV Plus/A24

From left, Julianne Moore, John Lithgow and Sebastian Stan in “Sharper.”

Local Mentions

Buckeystown United Methodist Church is hosting its ANNUAL PANCAKE SUPPER

on Tuesday February 21st from 5:00 - 7:00 PM Come enjoy plain and blueberry pancakes, country sausage, bacon, biscuits & gravy, eggs and drinks We will accept donations that will support our building maintenance and missions https://buckeystownumc org/ 3440 Buckeystown Pike, Buckeystown, MD 21217

CASH BINGO

Woodsboro American Legion Auxiliary

Sunday, March 19

Doors open 12 pm; games @ 1:30 pm

$40 for 25 games, includes 3 specials @ $150 & 2 jackpots @ $500; Reserve early and receive free special game-call 301-514-7164;

Bring in canned food for local food bank and receive a free special game

King tuts, bingo balls, holder jars and door prizes; Food, drinks, baked goods available

March 19,

Local Mentions

SLIPPERY POT PIE SALE

Chicken & Country Ham

$8 00 per quart Bake Table Contact St Johns Church, Creagerstown, MD Leave message on church phone at 301-898-5290 or call Carmi Sayler at 301-401-0633

Orders due by Sun , Feb 19th Pick-up orders Sat , Feb 25th, 10am-1pm

SPORTSMAN’S BINGO

Sat March 11, 2023

New Midway Vol Fire Co

10 Games for Guns

10 Games for $200 Cash

Doors open: 5:00 pm

Buffet Dinner: 6:00 pm

Games Start: 7:30 pm

Guns Include:

Ruger American 22 LR, Savage Axis w/Scope 243, Winchester SPX 12ga , Stevens Model 320

Thumbhole 20ga , Heritage Roughrider Mdl 22 Revolver, Charles Daly Walnut/Blued

O/U 410, Iver Johnson Pump Shotgun 12ga , Hi Point MKS 380 Cal, Taurus GX 4 9MM Pistol

Weatherby Vanguard II

300 Win Mag

Beer and Wine Coolers on Sale: No outside alcohol

$40/Person Includes Buffet Dinner

Only 250 Tickets Sold (Advanced Tickets Only) Call 301-898-7985 or 301-271-4650

Benefits: New Midway Vol Fire Co

Local Mentions

Sat March 25, 2023 & Sun. March 26, 2023

9 a m to 3 p m

Thurmont Event Complex

13716 Strafford Drive

Thurmont, Maryland

Food available for purchase

Vendor Information: Contact Jennifer at jensgems2018@yahoo com Or 301-800-3336

General Information: Contact Joyce at 301-748-4344

Proceeds benefit Thurmont Community Ambulance Company

Yard Sales

INDOOR/OUTDOOR YARD SALE

Lewistown Fire Dept 11101 Hessong Bridge Road

Saturday April 1, 2023

8a m - 1 p m

For reservations call Beth 240-674-4688

Pets & Supplies

STANDARD POODLE PUPS

10 weeks old, 1 black male, 1 black and white parti female, $600, call 717-359-0411

Services

THE REAGAN YEARS

February 18, 2023

Doors open at 6 p m

DJ Music: 7-8:15 p m

Reagan Years: 8:15 p m to 12 a m

Tickets: $10 per person at door or Friday Night Bingo or at www eventbrite com Cash Bar / Food - No Coolers/Alcohol

ATM Available / Holders

Must be 18

Be prepared to Show ID

Benefits Thurmont Ambulance Co 13716 Strafford Dr Thurmont, MD 21788

Wolfsville Ruritan FRESH PORK BUTCHERING

Ham, Ponhaus, Pork Chops, Puddin', Ribs, Roast, Sausage, Tenderloin, etc

ASPHALT MILLINGS

$15 00 per ton 301-524-8954

!!FATHER AND SONS!!! HANDYMAN HANDYMAN

Home Repair & Improvements

301-694-9630

LIC #74117

Serving Frederick for 34 Years!

HAVING TROUBLE CLEARING AN ESTATE?

FInal Game - $1,000 00

Thurmont Event Complex 13716 Strafford Dr Thurmont, MD 21788

Tickets: Avail at Door or Call: Tammy or Jim Wolf at 717-642-5075 or 717-420-0209 or at www eventbrite com

This is a Non-Profit Event to Benefit the Thurmont Community Ambulance Company

FRESH PORK SALE

Burkittsville Ruritan Club

Sausage, pork chops, sliced bacon, bean soup, and country ham sandwiches

Preorder 2/25

Pick up 3/4 (8am-12noon) Call 301-371-7795

COUNTRY BREAKFAST

Sat, March 4 (6-10am)

Adults $9; Children -$5

Spring EGG-stravaganza

Craft, Yard Sale & Vendor Event Sat March 25, 2023 & Sun. March 26, 2023

9 a m to 3 p m

Thurmont Event Complex

13716 Strafford Drive Thurmont, Maryland

Food available for purchase

Vendor Information: Contact Jennifer at jensgems2018@yahoo com

Orders can be picked up March 3 (5-7pm) or March 4 (8-11am) at Ruritan Park, 12708 Brandenburg Hollow Rd, Myersville Contact RuritanClubMD@aol.com (preferred) or 301-293-2426 to place your order

Order cutoff is Feb 18th

Farm Items & Equipment

WANTED CROP LAND TO RENT Call: 301-798-2206

Check

Can't get anyone to help? We can! Full range of services from clean-outs to buyouts Express service avail Mcdonald's Auctions & Estate Liquidation Service 301707-8401

Thursday Feb. 16

CLASSES

Spirits Sensory Class — 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at McClintock Distilling, 35S Carroll St., Frederick. Learn how the pros nose, taste and evaluate spirits. Students will be taught how to taste and smell whiskies, gins and other liquors. Learn tricks and techniques to determine faults and know what makes a good bottle of spirit. Participate in a sensory analysis of two spirits and get to take home proprietary flavor wheels and evaluation techniques developed by some of the top experts in the industry. Must be 21 to register. $34. 301-624-2727. lifelonglearning@ frederick.edu.

ETCETERA

Music Major for a Day — 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Frederick Community College Jack B. Kussmaul Theater, 7932 Opossumtown Pike, Frederick. Experience life as a music major at FCC. Meet faculty, students and staff, tour the Visual and Performing Arts Center, ask questions, explore program options and more.

301-846-2566. mgersten@frederick.edu. FCCMusicMajor2023.eventbrite.com.

Frederick County Civil War Roundtable Meeting — 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at National Museum of Civil War Medicine, 48 E. Patrick St., Frederick. Chris Bryan will present “Cedar Mountain to Antietam: A Civil War Campaign History of the Union XII Corps, July toSeptember 1862.”

Free for members, $5 suggested fee for nonmembers. gldyson@comcast.net. frederickcountycivilwarrt.org.

Pour House Trivia — 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Champion Billiards Sports Bar, 5205 Buckeystown Pike, Frederick. Come on out with the team and play some Pour House Trivia. 7 p.m. start. Extended Happy Hour from 4 to 8 p.m.  301-846-0089.

frederickchampions.com/weekly-specials/.

The Frederick Speaker Series: Dr. Temple Grandin — 7:30 p.m. at Weinberg Center for the Arts, 20 W. Patrick St., Frederick. Diagnosed with autism as a child, Dr. Temple Grandin did not speak until she was nearly 4 years old. Today, half of the cattle in the United States are handled in facilities she designed, and she has authored multiple bestselling books.

$30-$40. 301-600-2828. bhiller@ cityoffrederick.com.

weinbergcenter.org/shows/temple-grandin/.

Civil War Meeting and Talk: “Faces of Union Soldiers at Fredericksburg” — 7:30

p.m. to 9 p.m. at Homewood Suites, 1650 Pullman Lane, Hagerstown. The Hagerstown Civil War Round Table features this talk by Joseph W. Stahl, the latest in a series of books he has co-authored on soldier identification discs. Dinner at 6:30 p.m., open to non-members as well as members, is $30 (reservations required by Feb. 9) and the talk at 7:30 p.m. is $5 for non-members, both payable at the meeting. $5 for non-members. Payable at the talk. 240625-4216. hagerstowncwrt1956@gmail.com. sites.google.com/view/hagerstowncwrt/ home.

MUSIC

Shepherd University School of Music

Salon Series: “Paris, Berlin and Beyond” — 7:30 p.m. at Shepherd University, 301 S. King St., Shepherdstown, W.Va. In the Frank Arts Center W.H. Shipley Recital Hall. Baritone Robert Tudor and pianist Erica Rumbley will present a program featuring music sung in the salons of Europe, including Berlin and Paris, in the late-19th and early 20th centuries. They will perform compositions by Richard Strauss, Maurice Ravel and Ralph Vaughan Williams. shepherd.edu/music.

PERFORMER

Nationally Touring Comedian Franqi French — 8 p.m. at Carroll Arts Center, 91 W. Main St., Westminster. French’s authentic comedic voice holds nothing back when telling the vibrant true stories from her life. She’s the winner of NBC’s national standup competition, one of Variety Magazine’s Comics to Watch, and has been seen on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Pause with Sam Jay.” For ages 21 and up only. Pre-show happy hour from Pipe the Side Brewing starts at 6:45 p.m. $15 for show. 410-848-7272. carrollcountyartscouncil.org.

THEATER

“Angels in America Part 1: Millennium Approaches” — 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Maryand Ensemble Theatre, 31 W. Patrick St., Frederick. By Tony Kushner. Directed by Tad Janes. In the mid-1980s, amid the AIDS crisis and a conservative Reagan administration, New Yorkers grapple with life and death, love and sex, heaven and hell in this Pulitzer Prizewinning play. 18 and older.

$32. 301-694-4744. zcallis@ marylandensemble.org.

Friday Feb. 17

FILM

Foreign Film Festival: “The Duke” (United

Kingdom, 2020, R) — 7:30 p.m. at Carroll Arts Center, 91 W. Main St., Westminster. Also at 1 p.m. In 1961, Kempton Bunton, a 60-year-old taxi driver, stole Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. It was the first (and remains the only) theft in the Gallery’s history. Kempton sent ransom notes saying that he would return the painting on condition that the government agreed to provide television for free to the elderly. What happened next became the stuff of legend. Starring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren. $7 adults, $6 ages 25 and under and ages 60 and up. 410-848-7272. carrollcountyartscouncil.org.

MUSIC

Morgan’s Coffeehouse Bluegrass Concert — 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Morgan Chapel United Methodist Church, 6750 Woodbine Road, Woodbine. With the Salem Bottom Boys Bluegrass Band. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., music begins at 7 p.m. Free admission, donations encouraged. Food and beverages will be for sale throughout the evening. 410-970-2485. revjim@morganchapel. church.

morganchapel.church/coffeehouse.html.

TUSK— Fleetwood Mac Tribute — 7:30 p.m. at The Maryland Theatre, 21 S. Potomac St., Hagerstown. Tusk covers all the great hits of Fleetwood Mac, which has featured the talents of Mick Fleetwood, Christine and John McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks and others over the years. $39 and up. 301-790-3500. mdtheatre.org.

PERFORMER

MET Comedy Night: Oh Crit! ‘22-’23 — 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Maryland Ensemble Theatre, 31 W. Patrick St., Frederick. Celebrate with this D & D inspired improv comedy crew at Maryland Ensemble Theatre for their 5th anniversary! 18 and older. $15. 301-694-4744. zcallis@ marylandensemble.org.

THEATER

Lerner & Loewe’s “Camelot” — 6 p.m. at Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre, 5 Willowdale Drive, Frederick. An idealistic young King Arthur hopes to create a kingdom built on honor and dignity, embodied by his Knights of The Round Table. His ideals, however, are tested when his lovely queen, Guinevere, falls in love with the young Knight, Lancelot. See website for prices; doors open at 6 p.m. for dinner, shows at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; doors open at 12:30 p.m. for buffet, shows 2:15 p.m. Sundays through Feb. 15.

301-662-6600. wayoffbroadway.com.

“Grease” — 6 p.m. at Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theatre, 44 N. Potomac St., Hagerstown. Here is Rydell High’s senior class of 1959: duck-tailed, hot-rodding “Burger Palace Boys” and their gum-snapping, hip-shaking “Pink Ladies” in bobby sox and pedal pushers, evoking the look and sound of the 1950s in this rollicking musical. Dinner precedes show. Cash bar available. $63 adults, $57 active military and first responders, includes dinner and show. 301739-7469. washingtoncountyplayhouse.com.

“Angels in America Part 1: Millennium Approaches” — 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Maryand Ensemble Theatre, 31 W. Patrick St., Frederick. By Tony Kushner. Directed by Tad Janes. In the mid-1980s, amid the AIDS crisis and a conservative Reagan administration, New Yorkers grapple with life and death, love and sex, heaven and hell in this Pulitzer Prizewinning play. 18 and older.

$32. 301-694-4744. zcallis@ marylandensemble.org.

Saturday Feb. 18 CLASSES

Welcome to the Wilderness Series — 9 a.m. to noon at Fox Haven Farm, Retreat & Learning Center, 3630 Poffenberger Road, Jefferson. In partnership with Jason Drevenak, this winter series will explore the concept of how to build a healthy, fulfilling and ethical relationship with the world outdoors. Participants will become intimately familiar with the Fundamental 5: shelter, fire, water & food, navigation/ signaling. Monthly, through May.

$160. 240-490-5484. alecks@foxhavenfarm. org. foxhavenfarm.org.

Frederick County Master Gardeners Seminar: Elements of Pollinator Garden — 10 a.m. to noon at UME Extension Office, 330 Montevue Lane, Frederick. Learn the four elements that are essential to creating a garden that attracts and sustains pollinators year-round. Get advice on building your own pollinator-friendly habitat, including lists of plants. Register online. bit.ly/FCMG23Seeds-Transplanting.

Zumba Saturdays at the Library — 10:15 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Urbana Regional Library, 9020 Amelung St., Frederick. Ready to exercise! Ready to dance! Ready to shake off the pounds? Come on in for Zumba at the Library on Saturday mornings through May 27. Ages 18 and older. 301-600-7004.

marchange-desir@frederickcountymd.gov.

frederick.librarycalendar.com/event/ zumba-saturdays-library-8.

Mindfulness Amongst the Vines —

10:30 a.m. to noon at Hidden Hills Farm and Vineyard, 7550 Green Valley Road, Frederick. Practice mindfulness in the cozy, welcoming environment of Hidden Hills Farm & Vineyard. Enjoy a glass of wine as part of your registration. Pre-registration required, 21 and older. Come early to settle in. Class begins at 6 p.m. and is 90 minutes. Registration is required.  $55. 703-625-1239. cassidywellnesscoaching@gmail.com.

FAMILY

“The Snowy Day” — 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Maryland Ensemble Theatre, 31 W. Patrick St., Frederick. Follow Peter and his friends as they set out to celebrate the first snowfall of the year with snowball fights, by making snow angels, and playing in the snow. Based on the Caldecott Award-winning book by Ezra Jack Keats. This story, packed with humor and fun, is a celebration of childhood joys and the wonder of imagination. $15. 301-694-4744. zcallis@marylandensemble.org.

FESTIVALS

Hyper Local Brew Fest — noon to 7 p.m. at Frederick Fairgrounds, Building 9, 797 E. Patrick St., Frederick. Showcasing city

breweries. $5 admission and attendees will be able to go around and purchase a $6 pint from each brewery. Free.

Mardi Gras Fundraiser-Frederick Civic Women’s Club — 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Holly Hills Country Club, 5502 Mussetter Road, Ijamsville. Celebrate the Frederick Civic Women’s Club’s 61st annual Mardi Gras fundraiser for a fun-filled night of live jazz, dancing and hors d’oeuvres. Proceeds will go towards local student scholarships, to help the homeless, local domestic violence programs, educational needs, after school programs, and preservation of the Historic Steiner House.

$65 person. 301-694-9660. fwcc@fwccinc.org. fwccinc.org.

MUSIC

The “It’s 5 O’clock Somewhere” Show — 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at New Spire Arts, 15 W. Patrick St., Frederick. Enjoy the songs you want to hear when the whistle blows at 5 p.m. Featuring the music of Jimmy Buffett, The Eagles, Kenny Chesney, Doobie Brothers and many more. This show was a near sell-out when last performed at the Key West Theater in downtown Key West, Florida. $25. 301-600-2828. bhiller@ cityoffrederickmd.gov. weinbergcenter.org/shows/its-the-5-o-clock-

Lafayette Gilchrist plays Herbie Nichols & Lafayette Gilchrist

somewhere-show/.

U.S. Army Blues Jazz Ensemble Concert

— 7:30 p.m. at Shepherd University, 301 S. King St., Shepherdstown, W.Va. Part of the Shepherd Jazz Festival. 18-piece ensemble became an official element of the Army Band in 1972. In the Frank Arts Center Theater. shepherd.edu.

Lafayette Gilchrist plays Herbie Nichols & Lafayette Gilchrist — 8 p.m. at Weinberg Center for the Arts, 20 W. Patrick St., Frederick. Internationally known for his music heard on the iconic television series, The Wire, pianist-composer Lafayette Gilchrist draws on the span of jazz history, as well as funk and go-go. $25. 301-600-2828. bhiller@ cityoffrederickmd.gov. weinbergcenter.org/shows/ lafayette-gilchrist.

THEATER

“Grease” — 6 p.m. at Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theatre, 44 N. Potomac St., Hagerstown. Here is Rydell High’s senior class of 1959: duck-tailed, hot-rodding “Burger Palace Boys” and their gum-snapping, hip-shaking “Pink Ladies” in bobby sox and pedal pushers, evoking the look and sound of the 1950s in this rollicking musical. Dinner precedes show. Cash bar available.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18 | 8:00 PM

Skerryvore

THURSDAY, MARCH 2 | 7:30 PM

Teelin Irish Dance Company Celtic Journey

SATURDAY, MARCH 11 | 7:00 PM

Classic Albums Live Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon

SUNDAY, MARCH 12 | 7:30 PM

Loudon Wainwright III & Tom Rush with Matt Nakoa

FRIDAY, MARCH 17 | 8:00 PM

An Evening with David Sedaris

FRIDAY, MARCH 30 | 7:30 PM

$63 adults, $57 active military and first responders, includes dinner and show. 301739-7469. washingtoncountyplayhouse.com.

Lerner & Loewe’s “Camelot” — 6 p.m. at Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre, 5 Willowdale Drive, Frederick . An idealistic young King Arthur hopes to create a kingdom built on honor and dignity, embodied by his Knights of The Round Table. His ideals, however, are tested when his lovely queen, Guinevere, falls in love with the young Knight, Lancelot. See website for prices; doors open at 6 p.m. for dinner, shows at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; doors open at 12:30 p.m. for buffet, shows 2:15 p.m. Sundays through Feb. 15. 301-662-6600.

wayoffbroadway.com.

The Complete History of Comedy

(Abridged) (Rated PG-13) — 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Majestic Theater, 25 Carlisle St., Gettysburg, Pa. Presented by The Reduced Shakespeare Company. From the high-brow to the low, “The Complete History of Comedy (abridged)” covers comedy through the ages, from Aristophanes and Shakespeare and Moliere (Is Moliere funny? Why not?) to Vaudeville and Charlie Chaplin to “The Daily Show” and Anthony Weiner. $38 to $49. 717-337-8200. majestictheater@ gettysburg.edu. gettysburgmajestic.org.

THURSDAY, MARCH 9 | 7:30 PM

Lafayette Gilchrist

Irish Dance

“Love Stories” — 7:30 p.m. at Carroll Arts Center, 91 W. Main St., Westminster. CACC’s resident playback theater troupe Memory Lane presents this improv evening. The troupe will take stories from the audience’s romantic pasts and enact them on the spot through music, movement and dialogue that embodies the heart of the story. $10 adult, $8 ages 25 and under or 60 and up. 410-848-7272. carrollcountyartscouncil.org.

“Angels in America Part 1: Millennium Approaches” — 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Maryand Ensemble Theatre, 31 W. Patrick St., Frederick. By Tony Kushner. Directed by Tad Janes. In the mid-1980s, amid the AIDS crisis and a conservative Reagan administration, New Yorkers grapple with life and death, love and sex, heaven and hell in this Pulitzer Prizewinning play. 18 and older. $32. 301-694-4744. zcallis@ marylandensemble.org.

Sunday Feb. 19

CLASSES

Relax & Restore Community Yoga Retreat

— 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Fox Haven Farm, Retreat & Learning Center, 3630 Poffenberger Road, Jefferson. In this half-day workshop, treat yourself to a deep stretch, mindset recalibration, and a nourishing plant-based

brunch.The celebration includes: $67. 240-490-5484. alecks@foxhavenfarm. org. foxhavenfarm.org.

ETCETERA

Lovettsville Historical Society Lecture: “I am persuaded they will do great Execution”: The Maryland and Virginia Rifle Companies of 1775” — 2 p.m. at St. James United Church of Christ, 10 E. Broad Way, Lovettsville, Va. Presented by Travis Shawn. Hear the story of one of the most important events at the beginning of the Revolutionary War: the creation of the frontier Rifle Companies and the Continental Army. Admission is free, but donations are welcome. 540-822-9194 or 703-727-9758. events@lovettsvillehistoricalsociety.org. lovettsvillehistoricalsociety.org.

FESTIVALS

Stop, Swap and Save — 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Carroll County Ag Center, 706 Agricultural Center Drive, Westminster. The East Coast’s largest indoor bicycle swap meet and consumer bike expo. Whether you’re looking for road bikes, mountain bikes, triathlon bikes, BMX bikes, clothing, bike parts, cycling accessories, vintage, new or used, there’s something for everyone — all for sale at

discounted prices! $10. info@stopswapandsave.com. stopswapandsave.com/home.

Frederick Wedding Show — noon to 4 p.m. at Tenth Ward Distilling, 55 E. Patrick St., Frederick. 50+ local vendors showing off their wedding offerings, advice and inspiration at four locations in downtown Frederick with a free shuttle in between. 301-233-4817. monica@tenthwarddistilling.com. fb.me/e/47F68mX8f.

MUSIC

Rock the Rink — 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Bush Tabernacle, 250 S. Nursery Ave., Purcellville, Va. Live concert at the Bush Tabernacle Skating Rink featuring local and regional music for all ages. Beer, wine and food will be available for purchase. Bands include Sheltered, Sidetracked and The Darby Brothers.

$12 in advance, $15 at the door. 540-2093449. events@purcellvilleva.gov. 2023RocktheRinkConcert.eventbrite.com.

Monday Feb. 20 CLASSES

Restorative Yoga with Soundbath — 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at FAC Art Center, 5 E. Second St., Frederick. Join a gentle flow yoga

2023 Golfer Loyalty Program

session on the main level while enjoying art work that adorn the walls of this historic space. All levels which includes beginners. Some yoga mats available. $15. 301-662-4190. wiegand@ frederickartscouncil.org. yogamour.org/public-yoga-classes.

FAMILY

“The Great Zucchini” — 11 a.m. at The Arts Barn, 311 Kent Square Road, Gaithersburg. Second show at 1 p.m. Silly and imaginative games, magic and illusions. Hands-on, interactive magic show. Recommended for ages 3 to 8. $10, $3 for ages 10 and under. 301-258-6394. gaithersburgmd.gov.

MUSIC

Seed to Roots Youth Arts Performance — 6 p.m. at Weinberg Center for the Arts, 20 W. Patrick St., Frederick. Highlights Frederick City and county student artists and performers in grades K-12. Participation requires that each performance be in celebration of Black artists and Black history and culture.  $10, under age 10 free. 301-600-2828. weinbergcenter.org.

Find more calendar listings at newspost.com/calendar.

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