72 HOURS Dec. 26, 2024

DECE M BER 26

‘BODY’ of WORK

Ally Christmas shares her art of self-exploration

Ally Christmas shares her art of self-exploration

ICYMI

2024 in Frederick’s arts community

Well, 2024 was one for the books. Some of us witnessed the Great American Eclipse in April, we either celebrated or commiserated when Trump was re-elected into office, and Leap Day babies everywhere celebrated their once-in-four-years birthdays.

Frederick saw businesses come and go, as is the case every year, though one particular talk of the town has been Visitation Hotel, which opened its doors on Dec. 19, as well as the Brothers Voltaggio and their recent, if controversial, Wye Oak Tavern inside the hotel (we hear they serve hush puppies, so that’s always a plus). Bentztown also opened with a splash, bringing a Southern flare to Bentz Street with its Nashville-inspired menu (also includes hush puppies!), and Bloom Asian Haus opened on North Market Street and became known for its ornate, Instaworthy ambience.

We also wished a happy 50th birthday to Frederick’s co-op grocery store, The Common Market, which now bustles with two locations in Frederick and has come a long way since its early days — in a storage room inside a residential home.

We welcomed to town Stephanie Chaiken, who started her first season as the executive theater manager of the Weinberg Center for the Arts, while a new scholarship was established to honor retired theater manager John Healey (The John Healey Scholarship Fund will provide scholarships to Frederick County residents pursuing a degree in the performing arts).

The Frederick Book Arts Center moved to its new — and larger — location on South Carroll Street in Frederick, though it lost its founder and the visionary behind the project, Johnny Carrera, in the process (Carrera is still in the area and has moved on to pursue new ventures).

In related news, the Frederick Arts Council sold its East Second Street property, to the disappointment of local artists. The three-story church that was transformed into a stage, gallery and work space hosted several art exhibitions, concerts, film nights and workshops during its 2 1/2-year run. On the plus side, the Frederick Center is now renting the space and, when asked by 72 Hours, they said they would like to continue offering community programming in some capacity, once they get settled there.

Sky Stage continued to be, perhaps, the best venue in town — at least when the weather was warm enough to stage events there.

Could Be Better continued booking

great local shows at Olde Mother Brewing but announced they would no longer be handling booking there next year. Brain Dead Live, meanwhile, came seemingly out of no where and booked some of the best local shows of the year (thank you to Tony Gianni and Dylan Zingg, the brains behind Brain Dead). DJ Baspy also got something started at Delizia Cafe: a music series (and unofficial dance parties) that packed the room.

In other music venue news, the team behind The Derby in New Market announced their plans for the old Eagles Club building on East Patrick Street and began renovations for what will become, hopefully in 2025, a threestory bar, music venue, restaurant and event center.

Also: Frederick Recording Studio might be a hidden gem for concerts? The intimate yet airy space played host to a few remarkable local shows this year. And let’s not forget Hub City Vinyl in Hagerstown. Though owners Lloyd and Sheree Thoburn announced they want to sell the business, the venue has brought in some great national indie acts this year — Fantastic Cat, JP Harris — and continues to sell out shows.

Speaking of over the hill in Washington County, the new stadium, Meritus Park, opened in Hagerstown and the Flying Boxcars played their first season there, and a new midsize venue (mostly for music, sometimes screening films) opened in Boonsboro, Vanish Hall. A new National Road Museum opened in Boonsboro, telling the story of Route 40, and Toby Mendez’s statue of Clara Barton was unveiled during National Nurses Week in Hagerstown.

In film news, “Last Night at Terrace Lanes” premiered at Warehouse Cinemas (featuring Frederick’s iconic Terrace Lanes before they were torn down), along with Jordan Miller’s horror/thriller “The Only Ones.”

Maryland School for the Deaf graduate Gideon Firl played the lead role in the all-ASL feature film “Jesus,” which screened in theaters nationwide. “Jesus” was the first feature film created by deaf people that was shown in mainstream theaters, including at the Regal Theater in Frederick.

Also: The Blair Witch turned 25! And the creepy nighttime screening at Gambrill Park was one to remember, especially when an owl started hooting midway through the movie.

Also of note, Frederick’s 3 Roads Communications introduced America to Hagerstown by way of its documentary

(See

“I Do” at Hood

Your special day deserves a special place. Tie the knot in historic Coffman Chapel, one of Frederick’s renowned “Clustered Spires.”

Historic churches will be on holiday display in downtown Frederick

Annual tour celebrates its 38th year and the Twelve Days of Christmas

BY MARTI MOORE

Special to the News-Post

The sanctuaries of eight local churches will welcome visitors during a Candlelight Tour of Historic Houses of Worship on Dec. 26 throughout downtown Frederick.

For the 38th year, this event celebrates architecture, history and the holiday season in Frederick’s most popular open house of churches, most of which were built before the Civil War.

Event organizer John Lustrea of Visit Frederick believes it’s a unique opportunity so many historic churches are open “in a five-hour window.” Sightseers can experience the beauty of Christmas before and after sunset as they behold historic sanctuaries decorated for the holidays and listen to the sounds of choir, handbell, piano and organ music.

The self-guided tour starts at 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon and allows visitors to wander at their leisure. Admission is free, and the event ends at 8 p.m. Local stores and restaurants are open along the itinerary.

One starting point is the Information Center at 19 E. Church St., where sightseers can pick up a candlelight tour program and printed map of participating sites. An online version of this souvenir can be read online from a smartphone at visitfrederick.org for tourists who want to cover ground between their parking spot and the Information Center. Five parking garages in downtown Frederick are more cost-effective than parking meters along city streets, Lustrea notes.

The first of three outdoor recitals begins at 3 p.m. in Baker Park at N. Bentz and W. Church streets, where City Carillonneur John Widmann plays “Maryland’s largest musical instrument,” according to Visit Frederick spokesman Jake Wynn. The Carillon is a 70-foot granite bell tower built in 1941. Two more half-hour performances of holiday music take place at 4 and 5 p.m.

“It’s just as big a musical event as it is architectural,” Lustrea said. He said participants pull out all the stops for this annual candlelight tour, and the music is a big draw. Most of the

IF YOU GO

Call the Tourism County of Frederick County at 301-600-4047 for more information, or go to visitfrederick.org.

Calvary United Methodist Church at 131 W. Second St. is the newest structure, built in 1929 with a modern Gothic Revival style. Its sanctuary contains detailed wood carvings and Tiffany stained-glass windows.

Other houses of worship in the candlelight tour:

Evangelical Lutheran Church at 31 E. Church St. was built with twin towers in 1854. This Gothic Revival house of worship served as a makeshift military hospital during the Civil War after the battles of South Mountain and Antietam. The sanctuary is home to the largest pipe organ in Frederick County.

Evangelical Reformed UCC at 15 W. Church St. was built in 1848 with twin cupolas. Its architecture is Greek Revival style. Visitors can learn how the church received financial support through “pew rent.”

All Saints Episcopal Church at 106 W. Church St. was built in phases starting in 1813 with the Parish Hall and 1854, when a new sanctuary was added to the Gothic Revival structure. It features a distinctive ceiling with four styles of stained-glass artistry, according to the tour brochure.

Asbury United Methodist Church at W. All Saints and Court streets was formed in 1818 by a local African-American congregation. Its current home was completed by 1921 with aesthetic features highlighted by stained glass windows.

Frederick Presbyterian Church at 115 W. Second St. was built in 1825 and served as a military hospital during the Civil War. Features include a pipe organ from 1897 and stainedglass windows.

churches offer a variety of live performances for five hours. Details of each recital are listed online by hitting the numeric links to each venue on the program map.

Four of the churches will offer free refreshments from Roy Rogers, one of the event sponsors: Evangelical Lutheran Church, All Saints Episcopal Church, Evangelical Reformed UCC and St. John the Evangelist Catholic

Church.

Many of the churches formed their congregations in the late 1700s and transitioned from smaller buildings elsewhere to their current sites. The oldest building on tour is St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church at 118 E. Second St. It was built in 1800 in the style of Greek Revival architecture with the highest church spire in the city of Frederick.

Grace United Church of Christ at 25 E. Second St. was founded in 1898. Features include Gothic arches, wooden beams and Tiffany stained-glass windows.

Marti Moore is a freelance writer who previewed local entertainment in a “weekend’s best events” column on the Friday front page of the former Montgomery Journal daily newspaper. Reach her at marti.writes.moore.news@ gmail.com.

Staff file photo by Ric Dugan

People walk the aisle at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Frederick during the Historic Houses of Worship Tour in 2023.

Courtesy of Visit Frederick

Sanctuaries like this one pictured during Christmas 2007 will welcome visitors to the 38th annual Candlelight Tour of Historic Houses of Worship on Dec. 26 in downtown Frederick.

‘Tis

Maryland’s last model train repair shop prepares to close its doors

BY NANCY HERNANDEZ

Special to The News-Post

‘Tis the season for lots of fun scents and sights like gingerbread houses, mistletoe, candy canes and, of course, model trains.

Many businesses and fire companies delight visitors with elaborate model railroad displays in December. And in homes across the U.S., people pull out antique or new train sets when they begin decorating.

“It’s an American tradition to put a train around the tree,” said Jim Swinimer, co-owner of The Train Depot in Mount Airy. For several decades, Swinimer and three partners — Herbie Lee, Michael Reinke and Walt Baker — have been doing their part to keep the tradition of model trains alive. They said The Train Depot is the last shop in Maryland that exclusively sells and repairs model trains.

“If it wasn’t for me, nobody would have a train around their tree,” joked Lee. He runs the repair shop, while Swinimer manages the sales and display area. “It’s a labor of love to repair model trains.”

But this will be their last Christmas season working as Santa’s helpers. They have decided to hang up their tools on Dec. 28 and sell the business.

They had hoped a new buyer would be able to keep the shop at its current location next to the historic train station and caboose on Main Street. But that idea has hit some snags. The landlord has another tenant lined up for 2025, and their buyer is finding it difficult to locate affordable real estate in Mount Airy, Swinimer said.

They are retiring because they are getting older; both Lee and Swinimer turned 74 this year, and Reinke is 77. They want to spend more

the season ... for model trains

come from across the MidAtlantic region and beyond to get their beloved vintage trains back in working order. On a sunny afternoon several weeks ago, Dennis Maguire drove from his Annapolis home to bring in his American Flyer for repairs. “When I opened the door, I thought this is where I want to be,” Maguire said.

Everywhere you look, the magic of model trains beckons. The shop is stuffed from floor to ceiling. Engines in all sizes and colors line rows and rows of shelves. Tracks of varying gauges hang from hooks along one wall. Boxes with elaborate houses, water towers and other fun extras are stacked on racks four to five feet high. In the back room, Lee, Reinke and another repairman, Thomas Schwartz, hunch over a long desk overflowing with tiny nuts, bolts and screws. Hundreds of miniature boxes house more parts, sorted by size.

IF YOU GO

The Train Depot is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays until Dec. 28. For information, call 301-607-8155.

time with their families. And relax. Christmas is a particularly hectic time of year for them, with panicked customers rushing in with trains that need attention.

“There used to be four to five shops supporting. Now we’re the only ones,” Lee said.

On the bright side, a train shop is opening in Thurmont, Swinimer said. And he hopes the buyer of The Train Depot will be able to stay in Mount Airy. If not, it will be the end of a long model railroading history.

Like many communities in Maryland, Mount Airy’s origins are tied to the railroad. In the late 1830s, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) bought a right-of-

way through land owned by Henry Bussard. The B&O agreed to build a depot, and Bussard began encouraging development. With a designated stop, businesses and residents soon arrived and a town was formed in 1894.

Roughly 80 years later in 1976, Walt Dennison began selling model trains in a building mere steps away from the train tracks where his father worked. In the 1980s, he invited Lee to share space in the building. On one half, Dennison sold HO and G scale trains, while Lee and his partner, Ed Tolley, focused on Lionel and American Flyer designs.

Both Lee and Tolley still worked full-time, Lee as an electrician and Tolley as a meat-cutter. So they only operated their half of the shop part-time. When Lee retired in 2005, he began running the train store fulltime. He has moved locations twice but always stayed on

Main Street. The shop moved to its current location at 1 S. Main St. around 2010.

Lee has also seen several partners come and go. Dennison moved his half of the shop to Berlin, Md. in 1995. Tolley decided to leave several years later and Tom Gartner Sr. joined. Then, in 2016, Gartner sold his share and the current partnership was formed among the four friends.

Swinimer was Lee’s customer and was eagerly getting back into model trains after retiring as a captain from the Anne Arundel County Fire Department in 2007. He had been helping repair trains for a few years before signing on as a partner.

“Model trains is a passion,” he said.

They don’t take a salary. Instead, they put all their profits back into the business.

“I get paid in trains,” Lee said with a laugh.

Their love and dedication to trains is evident. People

Trains come in different sizes, referred to as scales. The scale of a model is its size in proportion to an actual train, according to Railroad Model Craftsman. Another measurement used in model trains is gauge, which is the distance between the rails.

Swinimer is partial to O gauge, a slightly larger scale that has its rails 2.125 inches apart. This size permits complicated track layouts without lots of electrical wiring. He got interested in model trains as a child when he received a Lionel O-gauge from his grandfather’s collection for Christmas. A few years later, his parents bought him a new Lionel as a gift.

Lee also fell in love with trains as a youth. He had been collecting stamps but found himself interested in his neighbor’s train sets. “So I traded my stamp collection for his train collection,” Lee said with a chuckle.

Reinke’s story is similar except he traded toy soldiers for trains. Both are happy with their childhood choices.

“It was a good trade, I think,” Lee said. “I’m still into trains.”

Nancy Hernandez

From left, Jim Swinimer, Herbie Lee and Michael Reinke.

By WASHINGTON POST EDITORS and REVIEWERS

FICTION

‘Colored Television’ by Danzy Senna

Senna’s shrewd comedy is about a biracial woman named Jane Gibson who is struggling to sell her ambitious second novel. So she holds her nose and turns to the glowing embrace of television, pitching a comedy about a “kooky but lovable” biracial family. Senna keeps her story from getting clotted with bits of didactic wisdom or social reproof. Even when Jane really wants to sell out and cash in, she never abandons her sense of irony or her determination to resist being the tragic star of somebody else’s tale. It’s an exceptionally assured novel about a culture constantly swirling between denigrating racial identity and fetishizing it.

‘James’ by Percival Everett Everett’s sly response to “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” both honors and interrogates Mark Twain’s classic, along with the nation that reveres it. Told from the perspective of the enslaved James, this is a book haunted by a little boy’s innocence but

The best books of 2024

no longer corralled by it. Instead of an ambling tale told drifting down a river, it’s the story of a man racing against chaos to retrieve his family. “James” leans in hard on its thriller elements and gathers speed and terror like a swelling storm. Its conclusion is equally shocking and exhilarating.

‘My Friends’ by Hisham Matar

On April 17, 1984, an angry demonstration swelled outside the Libyan Embassy in London. Outraged by Moammar Gaddafi’s murderous reign back home, dozens of Libyan students chanted slogans against the dictator. Suddenly, from the embassy’s windows, shots were fired into the crowd. A British police officer was killed, and 10 demonstrators were wounded. In “My Friends,” a Libyan man named Khaled who was present at that fateful moment describes how he came to spend his adult life in England, pining for home. Part historical fiction, part cultural reflection, this is a story about the way exile calcifies the heart into an organ of brittle longing.

‘Playground’ by Richard Powers

Powers delivers a mind-blowing reflection on what it means to live on a dying planet reconceived by artificial intelligence. Although “Playground”

is not as mammoth as his Pulitzerwinning opus, “The Overstory,” it follows a similarly fragmented structure. But any confusion on the reader’s part eventually melts into wonderment. The story, far too complex to summarize here, involves a world-famous tech genius, an estranged friendship, a pioneering oceanographer and the thinly populated island of Makatea, an atoll in French Polynesia. The Washington Post’s critic Ron Charles wrote, “I can’t think of another novel that treats the Earth’s plight with such an expansive and disorienting vision.”

‘This Strange Eventful History’ by Claire Messud

Messud’s latest novel was inspired by a 1,500-page memoir written by her paternal grandfather, who was born in what was once French Algeria. After a lifetime of reflection, Messud has imagined how three generations of a fictionalized family, the Cassars, rode the geopolitical waves from World War II into the 21st century. Regardless of how much it may draw from biographical details, the story grips our interest because of how expertly Messud shapes these incidents for dramatic effect. This is a novel of cavernous depth

and relentless exploration, making us realize how much we know and how little we confess about our own families.

NONFICTION

‘The Hidden Globe: How Wealth Hacks the World’ by Atossa Araxia Abrahamian

Abrahamian explores “special economic zones,” the “fractured atlas” of places that help the international rich bend globalization to their advantage, often by making it possible to do business within a country without being subjected to its laws. In the hands of a lesser writer, such material could be tedious. But Abrahamian populates her book with sharply drawn characters, engaging debates and briskly told history. We have created a form of globalization, she argues, that allows money to hop the globe seamlessly while keeping people stuck in place.

‘I Heard Her Call My Name: A Memoir of Transition’ by Lucy Sante Since childhood, the writer Lucy Sante — formerly Luc Sante — knew she was transgender. This memoir is a twotier narrative, bouncing between her experience of her transition in 2021

and the details of her entire life. An acclaimed writer of essays on art and culture as well as the cult classic “Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York,” Sante here writes about the sometimes paralyzing cost of trying to live two different lives: as a man or a woman, but also as a human being and a writer. This memoir, which also includes substantial sections about Sante’s upbringing and creative life, is a funny and warm joy to read.

‘Question 7’ by Richard Flanagan

Flanagan, a Booker Prize-winning novelist, has produced a kind of philosophical fantasia, a highly original weaving together of a halfdozen essayistic narratives about the sad, wondrous world we live in. From memories of the author’s childhood in a poor and extended Catholic family in Tasmania to an account of how Leo Szilard, father of the atomic bomb, discovered the kernel for his speculations about nuclear chain reactions in H.G. Wells’s novel “The World Set Free,” Flanagan keeps readers enchanted while boldly wrestling with the social, political and moral complexities of modern history.

‘V13: Chronicle of a Trial’ by Emmanuel Carrère, translated by John Lambert

Coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015 killed 130 people. Starting in September 2021, a trial weighed the guilt of 20 men accused of participating in those attacks. The inimitable French journalist, memoirist and novelist Emmanuel Carrère attended the proceedings nearly every day of their 10-month duration to write weekly dispatches for a magazine. This book-length account reveals the full convolutions of suffering. Carrère was left, he writes, with “a unique experience of horror, pity, proximity and presence.” So, too, is everyone fortunate enough to read his extraordinary and generous book.

‘When the Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked Up in the Early 1990s’ by John Ganz

Ganz revisits the era of Pat Buchanan and Ross Perot to find the roots of our current moment. He argues that the 1992 presidential election cycle was a circus — and a warning that the establishment ignored at its peril. Perhaps most recognizable, enduring and damning was a new political style, a brazen commitment to courting scandal and spectacle. Many of Ganz’s flashy subjects thrived in the spotlight: They were performers first and politicians second. This is a work of narrative history built with sharp character studies and deft exercises in political critique.

Top 10 things I learned turning 40 in 2024

Minimum wage was $3.35 an hour. A gallon of gas cost $1.27. Apple unveiled the first Mac personal computer, which sold for just about $2,000. Papa Johns opened for business. Mark Zuckerberg was born.

And, well, so was I.

The year was 1984. I’m not great at math, but I do keep track of birthdays and that meant earlier this year, I turned 40. The Big One. The Line Of Demarcation. The Placement Over The Hill. The Beginning Of The End. The Final Hallmark Birthday.

Or, at least that’s what some say. I don’t feel much different. Older? Sure. Fatter? Of course. Tireder? Naturally. Truth is, as 2024 winds down, I don’t feel like I’m not 21 years old anymore. Or 25. Or 30. Or 35. Or even 39. That’s probably an indictment on my lack of growth as a human being. Or maybe it’s just an unwillingness to admit that I’m currently as old as my mother was when I was 10 or so years old.

Looking back at the past 40 years, I thought it might not be a bad idea to reflect one last time on what it all means. And what better way to do that than to make a year-end list for a newspaper? And so here’s the top 10 things I learned during 40 years on this planet.

10. 1984 wasn’t all that bad. Prince released “Purple Rain.” Tetris was invented. There are even some websites that claim potato skins were the Food of the Year for 1984, and who doesn’t love a good potato skin? In terms of birth years, it could have been a lot worse: Just imagine being born in 2024 — there’s a good chance you will forever only know “Band Aid” as something you attach to your finger after a cut appears, and not Bob Geldof’s charity supergroup that concocted “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” And if you fall in that category, you’re missing out.

9. “1984” sure got 2024 right. There’s something spooky about George Orwell’s classic that resonates a bit too much these days.

8. The 1990s was a really

fun time to come of age. Kind of. Maybe. I don’t know. The grunge movement was either revolutionary or a downer (or both). Bill Clinton helped some of us ask some very awkward questions to our parents who absolutely did not want to go into detail with their answers about why his personal life was in shambles. “Going to the mall” was still a thing. And then, of course, TRL closed out that decade with a bunch of fun. It was a time never to be forgotten.

7. The internet ruined everything. No, but really. It did. It’s almost impossible to remember a time when we weren’t collectively glued to a cellphone or a laptop, but it did, in fact, occur, and my generation was one of the last ones to experience it. I don’t care about your pictures. Or your dinner. Or your preference in film. Or your opinions on politics. But The Internet? Oh, The Internet does.

6. Converse’s Chuck Taylors. Why? Because there is still only one cool shoe to wear, 1984 or 2024, and that is a pair of Chucky T’s, one of the most enduring fashion choices of nearly half a century now.

5. Nostalgia is king. At least these days, it is (just look at the impetus for this list!). It leads me to wonder: If you turned 40 in 1984, were you looking back at 1944 in the same way people like me look back at 1984 today? I mean, 1944 had D-Day and Anne Frank, so that’s a bummer. But it also was the year Danny DeVito was born and the average price of a house was about $4,700. My, how things change.

4. Technology is wild. Imagine having memories of heading to the dealership to buy a 1984 Honda Accord (in some people’s opinions, the year’s best car) and wasting a whole day testingdriving, negotiating, filling out paperwork and presumably smoking three packs of cigarettes before you finally get to drive that thing home. These days? Pull up Carvana on your phone and in less time than it takes to make a pizza, your dream vehicle magically

appears. What?

3. There are too many television channels. OK, this might be the most “Get off my lawn!” this list gets, but come on, guys. At best, we had a few dozen channels 40 years ago and we watched what we watched. There weren’t niche networks or streaming services or YouTube channels dedicated to footage of teenagers punching random old people in parking lots. Can’t we all agree that TV, above so many other things in popular culture, has gotten entirely out of hand?

2. The future is scary. I can’t even imagine what 2064 could look like, and considering my love for terrible food and bad life choices, I have a less than zero percent chance of making it there. Still, to see how much has changed in 40 years — and in reality, 40 years is kind of/sort of a tiny snapshot in the grand landscape known as time — makes the proposition of whatever four decades from now holds seems downright terrifying.

1. 40 years is quick. I guess we’re supposed to be reflective when we turn 40 and I guess it’s supposed to mark something in someone’s life. But, man, it feels like just yesterday, I was putting on a baby jean jacket, playing with toddler drumsticks and hoping for the best. At once, the distance between 1984 and 2024 feels both impossibly large and poignantly small. It’s all to say, I can’t be anything but thankful for these first 40 trips around the sun, be it the good, the bad, the ugly, the mistakes, the victories, the losses and the blessings. But, man. Can things slow down a bit?

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.

COLIN McGUIRE

Ring out, wild bells, and let the year die

Welcome to the Twilight Zone, otherwise known as the week between Christmas and New Year’s. With the big holiday over, the gray skies are no longer tempered with the warmth of Christmas morning anticipation, and the leafless trees make for a brown and scratchy landscape that looks for all the world to be dead.

That familiar melancholy, which lingers in the air of the season, will blanket the landscape as if to calm the hustle and bustle and invite subdued reflection of the past year. There is sadness, too, that comes from simply growing up, and relishing the strangely comforting ache of nostalgia for childhoods filled with awe and excitement in the dark of winter.

Yet, despite our assertive well wishes of Merry and Bright, we can’t escape this icy truth: the year is dying. The leaves have fallen, the sun has grown shy, and nature is finally ready to fold in on itself as it settles down for a long winter’s nap. I do wonder, sometimes, if all the cheerful window dressing this time of year isn’t just a thinly veiled attempt to keep the dreariness of the natural world at bay.

Personally, I like a little bitterness with my ambrosia and embrace the nostalgic heartache that tends to seep out amid the spirit of celebration. I don’t think I’m alone, either. Much of the musical canon for this time of year, for example, is often broody or anchored in a minor key. Contemplative hymns like “O Come O Come Emmanuel” or the sorrow-tinged attempt at reassurance that sings “next year all our troubles will be out of sight” have long been portals through which I like to hum myself into a lonely stupor.

Among them is one song saved exclusively for the week after Christmas — at least in the church where I grew up — that is as morose and melancholy as any, ready to directly gaze at all the seasonal dreariness of the outside world and give it a voice that insists it won’t distractingly be shoved to the side with another slice of fruit cake any longer.

Based on a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, composer Crawford Gates provides a fervent setting to accompany the poem’s immortal first stanza, “Ring Out, Wild Bells,” which begins the plea to embrace the death of the year, and all that ought to be buried with it.

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, The flying cloud, the frosty light: The year is dying in the night; Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. Death and renewal are indeed the themes of New Year’s, and though I’ve sung this song countless times, I’m not sure I’ve ever given much thought to death (of the old year, of the ego, of bad habits, painful memories) as the inherent prerequisite for renewal (of the new year, of resolutions, peace on Earth, new beginnings), nor of the notion to embrace the dying of the year, in all its somber wisdom. It’s a construct I’ve grown fond of contemplating, curious whether I can find in this metaphorical death a new hope for the coming year to be reborn as a slightly better

version of myself.

Ring out a slowly dying cause, And ancient forms of party strife; Ring in the nobler modes of life, With sweeter manners, purer laws. I’ve done a lot of dying with the years over the course of my life, as I suspect most of us do. We lose our faith, we lose a friend. We die and change and live again. I get the sense that welcoming the imminent burial of the year gives us the permission to be introspective about which aspects of our lives we wish to bury along with it. Faith can change, evolve. Perspectives can, too. The freedom to be wrong can be wonderfully liberating, as is taking the privilege to change one’s mind, or to not have to know, but to learn and to grow, each step with dead refuse that can be discarded in the bleak midwinter along with the old, dying year.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true. I don’t know what next year holds, and I’m still not sure what lessons from this year need to be culled or carried through. But I know there is a quiet peace in embracing the dying of the year, and along with it, the dying of things that have come to their end of use or meaning for me. What else might I bury along with it, I wonder. Tennyson’s list seems eternally relevant: Ring out false pride

The civic slander and the spite; Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring in the common love of good. And what can I hope will resurrect with the new year? Is the common love of good, as the poet writes, all that common, actually? Ah, there’s a wild bell. If I don’t believe it is, may that belief be one I ring out as well.

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.

JOSEPH PETERSON

Associatd Press file photo

Confetti and commemorative hats are strewn on the ground at the New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square in New York on Jan. 1.

The Frederick Mom’s recommendations for the weekend of Dec. 27

Activities to do with the kids this weekend, courtesy of The Frederick Mom.

Polar Bear Painting

2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Dec. 27

Urbana Regional Library, 9020 Amelung St., Frederick

Free

Frederick County Public Libraries is hosting a School’s Out event this Friday at Urbana Regional Library. Come out to learn about the incredible mammal, the polar bear, as kids create a painting using sponges, cardboard and Q-Tips. This fun polar bear art project is recommended for kids in kindergarten to fifth grade, but all ages are welcome. Advanced sign-up is not required. •••

Art Cart at the Delaplaine Delaplaine Arts Center, 40 S Carroll St. Frederick

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 27 and 28 and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 29

Free

There’s lots to see and do at the Delaplaine! Take the family to downtown Frederick along beautiful Carroll Creek to see the city’s leading art center, where kids and adults can experience art with hands-on activities at the Delaplaine’s two art carts. This month, check out the Francine Brady Art Carts, located on the first and second floors. Get creative together and create fabric art inspired by Clustered Spires Quilt Guild, or create a mosaic, inspired by Monir Farmanfarmaian. If you miss the chance to visit this weekend, come back soon. The Delaplaine features a newly themed craft station each month.

Victoria’s Community Christmas Town

5 to 9 p.m. Dec. 27, 28 and 29

708 Canal Town St., Brunswick

Free Christmas day may be over, but there’s still time to time to visit Victoria’s Community Christmas Town! Step into a beautiful Christmas wonderland, created by Victoria Ahinful of Brunswick and handcrafted from recycled materials. This magical town features walls and walls of mini houses, cars and festive paper people. Vicky opens her doors to the community in hopes to bring them joy and promote recycling and sustainability this winter season. Enjoy activities for all ages, delicious snacks, dance performances and crafts for the kids. Victoria’s Community Christmas Town is open daily from 5 to 9 p.m.

Ujima! A Kwanzaa Celebration

5 to 8 p.m. Dec. 28

Aya Cultural Arts Studio, 6907 Baltimore National Pike, Unit 15/16, Frederick

Free

Celebrate Kwanzaa with the community! This festive family event is free and open to all. Visit Aya Cultural Arts Studio at their new location this Saturday where you’ll get a first look before they officially reopen Jan. 10. All ages are welcome to join in on the fun! From 5 to 6:30 p.m., gather around for a rhythm jam, as well as arts and crafts. The celebration and music continues from 6 to 8 p.m. Registration is not required to attend. Visit ayaarts.com to learn more.

Urbana Park & Ride Clean Up

9 to 10 a.m. Dec. 28

Urbana Park and Ride, off I-270

Free

Families who are looking for volunteer opportunities to do together, this is a one-hour, simple but impactful event to attend. Roll up your sleeves and spend some time picking up litter found around Urbana’s Park and Ride. Please arrive between 8:45 and 9 a.m. Participants are asked to bring their own work gloves, while trash bags will be provided and trash disposal will be handled. High school and middle school FCPS students can earn volunteer hours with this act of community service (just bring your own form). Let’s enhance the beauty of Urbana by

joining the Rotary Club of Southern Frederick County and making a difference!

Chanukah Chocolate Land

3:30 p.m. Dec. 29

FSK Mall, 5500 Buckeystown Pike, Frederick Free

This Sunday, celebrate Chanukah with your entire family with sweets and good company! Presented by Chabad of Frederick County, Chanukah Chocolate Land is a free party for all ages. Gather around to see the grand community chocolate menorah lighting and a chocolate magic show. Enjoy hot latkes, donuts, chocolate coins and dreidels. Guests can also enter to win an electric LED menorah. A music presentation and Chanukah crafts will be offered, too. One Chanukah scarf is available for each child, while supplies last. The event is held inside the Francis Scott Key Mall, at the Value City Furniture Court. For more information, visit jewishfrederick.org.

Tiffany Mahaney is at least a fifth-generation native to Frederick County, and she now proudly raises her own family here. She is the owner of The Frederick Mom on Instagram. Follow her @thefrederickmom.

TIFFANY MAHANEY

Stop by the Delaplaine Arts Center for arts and crafts.

Photos by Tiffany Mahaney

Stop by the Delaplaine Arts Center for arts and crafts.

GETAWAYS

Lexington has history, natural beauty and culture

BY SHUAN BUTCHER

Special to The News-Post

Nestled near the Blue Ridge Parkway, Lexington, Virginia, is a vibrant town with well-preserved 19th-century buildings, a bustling culinary scene, and an array of locallyowned boutique shops to explore.

The city serves as the southern gateway to the Shenandoah Valley, with 100,000 acres of public forests, parks and recreation areas where people can connect with nature and enjoy the scenic beauty.

Downtown Lexington has plenty of amenities to enjoy. A unique way to explore downtown is with a horsedrawn carriage ride. Through a narrated one-hour tour, the Lexington Carriage Company highlights the historical points of interest and architecture. The city is also very walkable.

For history buffs, the Virginia Military Institute operates a museum on campus, as well as the Jackson House Museum. At the VMI Museum, you can explore how some of the school’s alumni have shaped the history of our country. Artifacts and memorabilia from notable VMI graduates, including FiveStar General George C. Marshall and Jonathan Myrick Daniels, who was killed in 1965 helping African Americans register to vote in the South. The Jackson House was the only home owned by Thomas Jackson, who purchased the existing home in 1858 as a residence for him and his second wife while he served as an instructor at VMI.

As far as accommodations, The Gin Hotel is a great option. Located on Main Street in the heart of downtown, this historic hotel showcases its art deco style with a very modern vibe. Make sure you check out the hand crank located in the original Otis elevator car that was installed in 1926. It was one of the oldest continuously operating, manually controlled elevators in the country. In fact, until seven years ago, it required an elevator operator to take guests from floor to floor!

You can grab a bite — or at least a drink — in the hotel’s main restaurant, Juniper Lounge. They likely have something on the menu to satisfy you. Pro tip: Start with the fried cheese ravioli.

In terms of other restaurant suggestions, one recommendation

is Niko’s Grille. For an appetizer, start with the saganaki, pan-seared asiago cheese that is flamed table-side in front of you. As your meal, you can’t go wrong with any of their other Greek specialties, such as Pastichio, Mousaka or Spanakopita. And if you can’t decide between them, the Greek combo includes them all. Also, you should plan on having dinner at Haywood’s at The Georges. The Extra Colossal Ecuadorian Shrimp are a sight to behold — and as enjoyable to eat. If you are

wondering what that dish entails, it consists of grilled extra jumbo shrimp with roasted cherry tomato risotto and cilantro cream. Plenty of other tempting choices await you there, too.

And finally, walk down to Pure Eats for breakfast one morning. Featured on the Food Network’s hit TV show “Donut Showdown,” they are known for their homemade donuts that are hot and made fresh daily. But if you don’t have a sweet tooth, they do have a full breakfast menu. The ambiance is as hip as their food, as the restaurant is located in a remodeled Pure Oil gas station that was originally built in 1937.

Lastly, stop into Sweet Things Ice Cream Shoppe for their homemade gourmet ice cream in one of their hand-rolled waffle cones.

There’s plenty to do outside of Lexington as well. Just south of the city is probably the region’s two biggest attractions, one being naturally made while the other is a made-made destination.

The first one is Natural Bridge State Park. The natural bridge is considered to be the largest limestone formation in North America. Once owned by Thomas Jefferson, this natural wonder and National Historic Landmark has been a tourist attraction for centuries. At 215 feet high, the limestone gorge is so tall, the Statue of Liberty could fit underneath it.

There are lots of things to see and do in the state park, including seven miles of hiking trails.

What is really cool is the park officially became an International Dark Sky Park a few years ago. During organized dark sky programs, you can either walk or take a wagon ride to the program location. Telescopes are often set up during those nights for you to get a closer look at the stars. It is also the first state park in the nation to offer “Right Here” for blind and visually impaired individuals.

Another amazing attraction is the Virginia Safari Park, which is the state’s only drive-through safari. Here, you can get up close and personal with hundreds of free-roaming animals at this 180-acre park. You’ll likely interact with several antlered animals, such as elk and different types of deer, but you might also encounter bison and water buffalo. You’ll be able to see rhinos, zebras, ostriches and much more. Make sure you invest in at least one feed bucket to get the full

Photos by Shuan Butcher

Built by Captain Joseph Kennedy circa 1750, Wade’s Mill is Virginia’s oldest operating commercial grist mill.

Virginia Safari Park is a drive-through safari.

experience.

In the safari village, take in the 30 exciting animal exhibits, including spider monkeys, tigers and kangaroos. A fan favorite is the giraffe feeding station. After you are done, you might need a good vehicle cleaning, inside and out, as some of the animals may leave streak marks from licking the outside.

Just down the road from there is Halcyon Days Cider Company. This small farm and cidery, which uses 100% Virginia-grown apples (including many heirloom varieties), welcomes you to return to simpler times. They grow, press and prepare small-batch ciders right on their property. They have some unique hard cider flavors, including those on the dryer and sweeter side. Check out the orchard labyrinth, a 1.7-mile path shaped from the 2,000 trees and 50 varieties with a rewarding view of the nearby mountains.

To the north of Lexington, you can

even popcorn, along with several other items. You can also stay along the creek in the former school teacher’s cabin.

Bels Bees, established in 2016, is advertised as a partnership in nature. Of course you can purchase some of their premium honey, beeswax candles and other products, but this place is much more than a retail outlet. You will likely leave with a true appreciation of the role bees play in our ecosystem, as well as a short education on what it takes to produce honey. Visitors are encouraged to spend some time here, either by picnicking on the grounds or checking out the butterfly house just down the hill.

trying their lavender ice cream. And if you want to splurge, you can’t go wrong with getting the lavender sugar cookie baking mix — or some lavender lemonade for the road.

drive The North Rockbridge Trail, a self-guided trail where you can take in the full countryside of the northern part of the county. But it is much more than bucolic rolling hills and rural roads; there are also historic sites to visit, places to stay and small, eclectic businesses for shopping.

One not-to-be-missed stop along the trail is Wade’s Mill. Built by Captain Joseph Kennedy circa 1750, Wade’s Mill is Virginia’s oldest operating commercial grist mill. On the National Register of Historic Places, there are three floors full of museum displays located inside, including a unique view above the waterwheel. One can definitely nerd out on the historic milling equipment, particularly if you get the chance to see them in operation. During season, the waterwheel and milling equipment run on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Here, you can purchase stone ground grains, grits, cornmeal and

There’s a lot to learn while you are onsite as well. Watching the bees work at their hives and hearing about the variety of honey bees and their respective differences is quite fascinating.

A real treat here is trying a honey flight. Just like a flight of wine or other craft beverages, this tastetesting opportunity allows you to experience the distinction between wildflower honey, buckwheat honey and sourwood honey.

Just down the road sits Lavender Fields at Tantivy Farm. Visiting here is like visiting a botanical garden, as there is much more than lavender to enjoy while strolling the grounds. This boutique farm highlights lavender varietals based on color and fragrance, with more than 1,000 lavender plants in the ground.

In their gift shop, you can buy harvested lavender, as well as bushes to plant yourself or keep in your house. However, don’t leave without

A great place to end your day on the trail is Ecco Adesso Vineyard, a beautiful vineyard and winery that consists of 20 acres of fruit, including 2,100 total plants and 56 varieties. Proprietors Cierra and Michael Weatherly describes themselves as hopeless romantics who fell in love with Italy. Mentored by the Jordan brothers, of Williamsburg Winery fame, their winery provides a connection to old-world traditions and new-world practices. Grab a map of the property and walk the grounds to see the types of grapes grown onsite before heading into the tasting room. Take in the moment. After all, ecco adesso translates to “here now.”

Inside the tasting room, they offer, among other things, four flight options, including an Old World/New World experience, as well as one featuring Williamsburg Winery offerings. Their New Word Chardonnay happens to be a 2024 Virginia Governor’s Cup Gold Medal Winner. What is also impressive is the couple started a nonprofit called Vet First Inc., which supports military veterans. Vet First does some programming on the farm and even has its own wine label.

With the history, agritourism, culinary scene and other recreational amenities, Lexington is a place well worth visiting. It is full of quaint towns and one big backyard to play in.

Shuan Butcher is a writer, nonprofit professional, event planner and avid traveler. He writes from Frederick.

Bels Bees is a fun and educational stop.

Halcyon Days Cider Co. uses 100% Virginia-grown apples.

”Impressions of Frederick: Reimagining Perception” — through Dec. 29, Delaplaine Arts Center, 40 S. Carroll St., Frederick. Ron Ames approach to photography attempts to use the camera like a brush to reimagine perception, to alter, not only what he sees, but how he sees it. Gallery hours 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. 301698-0656 or delaplaine.org.

”Waterworks” — through Dec. 29, Delaplaine Arts Center, 40 S. Carroll St., Frederick. Combining photography, wood, and ceramics, the work in this exhibition, by Linda Agar-Hendrix, explores water as a theme and hopes to express its varying aspects through the variety of techniques and materials. Hours 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. 301-698-0656 or delaplaine. org.

”/bodycrumbs” — through Dec. 29, Delaplaine Arts Center, 40 S. Carroll St., Frederick. Photography and mixed media. As a way to combat anxiety and chronic pain, Ally Christmas’s work focuses on repetition in production, simulating ritual. Her work vacillates between more traditional forms of photography and alternative and mixed-media methods including cyanotype printing and hand-embroidered images. Hours 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. 301698-0656 or delaplaine.org.

”ReMEMBERS”: NOMA Alumni Invitational Exhibit — through Dec. 29, NOMA Gallery, 437 N. Market St., Frederick. This eclectic group of artists will be showing work including jewelry, painting, ceramics, fabric art, printmaking and more. To view the list of participating artists, visit nomagallery/frederick.com. Gallery hours are noon to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. 240-367-9770.

Dowell Farm Paintings — through Dec. 29, Delaplaine Arts Center, 40 S. Carroll St., Frederick. Margaret Dowell collapses time and space in this series of paintings, using the tobacco fields of her family’s Southern Maryland farm as a way to think about the correlations between an artist’s labor in the studio and the labor of her ancestry. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. 301-698-0656 or delaplaine.org.

”Inspired by ...” — through Dec. 29, Delaplaine Arts Center, 40 S. Carroll St., Frederick. This exhibition features a wide range of quilting imagery, color and techniques. Clustered Spires Quilt Guild members were asked to make work that is a reflection on personal inspiration and to include imagery and words based on where that inspiration motivates their creative work. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. 301-698-0656 or delaplaine.org.

Baltimore Watercolor Society’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Exhibition — through Jan. 5 at Gaithersburg Arts Barn, 311 Kent Square Road, Gaithersburg. The annual regional juried exhibition featuring the work of more than 90 of the best watercol-

“Impressions of Frederick, Reimagining Perception” is on view at the Delaplaine Arts Center in Frederick through Dec. 29, featuring photographs by Ron Ames. Shown here, “Courtyard Evangelical Lutheran Church,” by Ames.

or artists. A variety of educational opportunities will be available during the exhibit. See gaithersburgmd.gov for details. gaithersburgmd.gov/recreation/visual-arts.

Community Art Show: The Best of Local Art — through Jan. 7, Washington County Arts Council, 34 S. Potomac St., Hagerstown. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. 301-791-3132 or washingtoncountyarts.com.

”Floating Beauty: Women and the Art of Ukiyo-e” — through Jan. 12, Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, 401 Museum Drive, Hagerstown. This exhibition examines historical perspectives on women and their depiction in art from Edo Period Japan (1615 – 1858). Organized and drawn from the collection of the Reading

(Pa.) Public Museum, this exhibition features over 50 woodblock prints, including works by ukiyo-e masters. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Free admission. 301-739-5727 or wcmfa.org.

”Unraveling Narratives: A Dialogue in Toile” — through Jan. 12, Gallery B, 7700 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda. The exhibition aims to foster a visual conversation that highlights the interplay between tearing, collaging and the rhythmic motion of needle and thread. Works by Kate Norris and Jennifer McBrien. Noon to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.

”Sunflowers & Snow” — through February, Garryowen Irish Pub, 126 Chambersburg St., Gettysburg, Pa. Paintings and

prints by Dorothea Barrick. Daily 11 a.m. to midnight. 240-674-9488 or 717-3372719.

Frederick County Art Association Members Exhibition — Jan. 4-26, Delaplaine Arts Center, 40 S. Carroll St., Frederick. Works in a variety of media by FCAA’s approximately 100 members. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. 301-698-0656 or delaplaine.org.

”Gash” — Jan. 4 through Feb. 23, Delaplaine Arts Center, 40 S. Carroll St., Frederick. Sculpture by Jin Lee. Provoked by recent political controversies surrounding women’s rights, Lee’s work focuses on conflict and responses to conflict’s power to result in transformation for the individual and society. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. 301-698-0656 or delaplaine.org.

”Time Is A Place” — Jan. 4 through Feb. 23, Delaplaine Arts Center, 40 S. Carroll St., Frederick. Noelani Jones’ work in this exhibition focuses on the accrual of thread in woven cloth and its metaphorical and actual connection to time and place. All of the textiles in the exhibition have been made with reciprocity with the land in mind, from the cultivation of plants for dyeing to the utilization of a foot-powered loom. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. 301-698-0656 or delaplaine.org. “Resting in Winter” — Jan. 7 to March 9 at the Arts Barn, 311 Kent Square Road, Gaithersburg. This solo exhibition by Gaithersburg photographer Timothy Lynch focuses mainly on close-up imagery of nature. “I named the exhibit ‘Resting in Winter’ because, like us, everything needs time to grow,” says Lynch. “I enjoy exploring artistic expression, particularly botanical photography in winter, showcasing wilting plants and fallen leaves that reveal the beauty of decay. In this process, while life diminishes, beauty endures.” Meet the photographer at a free reception from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Jan. 16. 301-258-6394.

Jennifer Hudson: Solo 2025 and Bonnie Zuckerman: Forest of Dreams Exhibits — Jan. 9 through Feb. 4, Washington County Arts Council, 34 S. Potomac St., Suite 100, Hagerstown. Opening reception 5 to 7 p.m. Jan. 9; virtual exhibit available Jan. 11. Hours 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays. 301-791-3132 or washingtoncountyarts.com.

Washington County Art Educators Exhibit — Feb. 6 through March 4, Washington County Arts Council, 34 S. Potomac St., Suite 100, Hagerstown. Opening reception 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 6. Virtual exhibit online Feb. 8. Gallery hours 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. 301-791-3132 or washingtoncountyarts.com.

Courtesy photo

After a painful 2024, let comforting pop culture be your balm

It’s been a tough year.

Whether you’ve been wearily watching all the ongoing wars and conflicts throughout the world or recovering from the election results from last month, a lot of us have been through it. And all this just shortly after we came out of a pandemic that had us all stay inside for months and make bread!

We’re still getting up each morning, though, ready to keep going, as if we were Wile E. Coyote clawing himself up out of that canyon again and again, bruised and disoriented.

And with the end-of-the-year holidays here, it would be more than appropriate for us to take a little breather. The holidays are not always the best times for some; while it’s often a period of togetherness and family, it’s also full of loneliness and bitterness for many. And what do we do when we’re lonely and bitter? We usually go online and yell at strangers on social media, which truly has become a real cesspool lately. Twitter (I’m not calling it X, sorry) has essentially become the technological equivalent of that pie-eating contest scene in “Stand By Me” where everyone starts barfing in each other’s face. Just nasty.

So if you’re feeling exhausted and need a break from the despair all around you, here’s some truly simple advice: relax and watch a movie or TV show that makes you feel better. It’s as simple as that: Just find something to watch that makes you happy. And probably nothing too overly dramatic or emotionally draining — find something nice and soothing to put your mind at ease. Think more “Sister Act” than “The Sopranos.”

The world is hard enough right now, and for the sake of your mental health, don’t be afraid of taking some time for yourself. As someone who has faced a number of difficult periods over the past five years, I can’t tell you how beneficial it can be to watch a TV show or movie that has no emotional stakes in it or any aspirations for cultural prestige; it is just there to entertain me or make me laugh at some broadly written fart jokes.

During the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, when I was separated from all my family and stuck inside my tiny apartment, my brain, like many others, was just barely keeping it together, what with the catastrophic news hitting me every day,

coupled with doomscrolling on social media. I tried watching a serious movie or TV drama, but my mind couldn’t handle that. So that’s when I moved over to less high-brow offerings and started watching something that dulled my senses and transported me away from my sufferings on a wave of canned laughter: “Fuller House.”

Netflix’s reboot of the classic family sitcom “Full House” was exactly what I needed during that time. Were the plots and jokes cloying and predictable? Yes. Was the show any good? You know it wasn’t. Did it relax me and make me happy for the first time in weeks? Absolutely. I allowed its mediocrity to pour over me, shielding me from the harsh troubles happening around me, wrapping me up in a cocoon made up of comforting nostalgia and John Stamos’ hair.

This is something I suggest for everyone right now if you’re feeling down and crestfallen — instead of scrolling through your social media feeds and looking at all the depressing news and bad AI-generated art posts, immerse yourself in your favorite mindless reality show that really gets the serotonin pumping in your brain. And instead of getting in an argument on Twitter with someone who is most likely a Russian bot, log out of your account and binge old seasons of “Sister, Sister” instead. Let Jackée Harry’s comedic genius release you from your anger.

In such an ideologically divided world, rarely does anything good come from screaming at each other in the social media void, and it especially doesn’t do anyone’s mental health any good. Pop culture is a wonderful way to escape from life’s worries and stick your brain in neutral for several hours. And nothing does that quite like old episodes of “My Cat from Hell.”

But don’t think of this as a call to just give up completely. We can’t always turn a blind eye to what’s happening in the world, and it’s important to fight against what we believe is injustice in a constructive, healthy manner. And the best way to achieve that is through making sure you yourself are in a good headspace.

So take care of yourself as 2024 finishes, and remember: You take the good, and you take the bad, and you take them both, so there you have ... “The Facts of Life” streaming on the Roku Channel.

Michael Hunley is a copy editor at POLITICO’s E&E News in D.C. He previously worked as a copy editor for The Frederick News-Post. Contact him at mr85mt@gmail. com.

Exec. Producer Jeff Franklin, John Stamos, Lori Loughlin, Jodie Sweetin, Andrea Barber, Michael Campion, Candace Cameron Bure, Elias Harger, Soni Bringas, Bob Saget, Dave Coulier and Juan Pablo Di Pace seen at Netflix Premiere of “Fuller House” at The Grove — Pacific Theatres on Tuesday, February 16, 2016, in Los Angeles, CA.

MICHAEL HUNLEY

Eric Charbonneau

Follow the ‘body crumbs’

BY ERIN JONES Special to The News-Post

Greek mythology contains the story of Ariadne’s thread, a ball of thread used to escape the perilous labyrinth of King Minos. A red thread appears throughout Ally Christmas’ “/bodycrumbs” exhibition at the Delaplaine Arts Center, too, and like Ariadne’s thread, the “body crumbs” are a way for Christmas to follow the traces of herself to find her way through difficult spaces.

Instead of facing a Minotaur, Christmas began creating this series while battling chronic pain and anxiety. Instead of a physical labyrinth, she explored a labyrinth of internal selfhood, “tracing how all the intersecting, overlapping, conflicting parts of myself coexist together,” as she writes in her artist statement.

Like the intersecting, overlapping parts of the artist, her work plays in an intersection of media. Some pieces contain photographs that were taken and manipulated digitally but printed on cotton satin, and some are on handwoven cotton. There is rich blue created through cyanotype and even quilting: a mixture of digital and traditional artforms reflecting the complexity of the artist’s journey of exploration.

“I like the work to come out and interact with the viewer in such a way that it [evokes] a physical feeling that a regular print can’t necessarily [evoke] in the same way,” Christmas said.

Even the woven material that provides the canvas for several of the pieces are Christmas’ own creations, a reflection of her evolution as an artist. She took a weaving workshop two years ago to learn the craft.

“I immediately fell in love with that process because it’s so extremely physical,” Christmas said. “You can’t help but feel very present in your body. It’s not just your hands — it’s also your posture, the way that you’re leaning, and you’re using your feet to manipulate the treadles. It’s a fullbody experience of art-making.”

A photographer since high school, Christmas majored in studio art with a photography concentration for her undergraduate studies at the University of Virginia. She recalls that all of the photography instruction was analog, not digital, an approach she considers quite valuable.

“I think that really shaped the way that I approach image-making …

making an image rather than taking an image.” Christmas said. “There is just something slower and more thoughtful about the process that you have to contend with when you’re shooting film.”

She did not begin to explore digital photography until graduate school, when she got her MFA from the University of Georgia, a program that included both photography and video arts.

“I really found my voice after grad school in this way of combining older, historical, more physical processes of making with the digital stuff that I got really into when I was in grad school.”

The origins of the “/bodycrumbs” series began to form during a difficult period of her life.

“I was living in Iowa at the time in a very small town, very isolated, and it

was more of an exploration of internal selfhood,” Christmas said. “I was dealing with a lot of chronic pain and anxiety at the time.”

Christmas moved to West Virginia in the fall of 2020 to teach at Shepherd University, where she is an assistant professor, teaching lens-based media, and she also coordinates the BFA program for photography. Living in her West Virginia home on two acres of land, she found a deeper connection with nature.

“Having access to that kind of nature right outside my door has also played a role in shaping where this project has gone; thinking about how my body and nature can connect.”

Getting pregnant with her now-8month old also played an influential role in her exploration of self.

“My body didn’t feel like my own, which in a way was very scary but also was really amazing at the same time,” Christmas said. “Human bodies are absolutely bonkers in what we can do, especially women’s bodies. So I think that made the project shift more towards thinking about selfhood.”

Another motif she explored in this series is that of labor. Certainly that flows naturally from having given birth, but she was also interested in exploring the kinds of labor that have been traditionally deemed domestic. “All pieces in the show are created through what is traditionally known as women’s work or domestic labor,” Christmas said. “Weaving, quilting, embroidering, mending, stitching … I’ve been really interested in trying to unpack that term. Why is this something that is traditionally relegated to women?”

While Christmas has now found successful treatment and experienced relief from the pain that prompted much of this exploration, the artwork remains as relics forged in the struggle. Anxiety, chronic pain and the transition to new parenthood are themes relatable to many. While Christmas hopes her viewers bring their own subjective experiences to the art, she recalls a conversation with a man at the opening reception who told her he found the exhibition relatable.

“There’s a lot of instances in the work of puncturing or rupturing through different kinds of surfaces, like the needle pulling the thread through,” Christmas said. “People can see and have this sort of visceral connection of that sort of puncturing feeling that that chronic pain can literally bring.”

Christmas anticipates this project will grow and expand as she continues to follow the “body crumbs” in the years ahead. For now though, there is a new little muse inspiring her artwork.

“As my baby continues to grow astronomically fast, I’m trying to do everything I can to document that through art-making,” she said.

Erin Jones is a freelance writer, former humanities teacher and owner of Galvanize & Grow Copywriting. She holds a BA in English from Hood College and an MA in English from the Bread Loaf School of English, through which she studied literature at Middlebury College and Oxford University. Learn more at erinjoneswriter.com, or follow her on Instagram @ErinJonesWriter.

Courtesy photos

Work by Ally Christmas in “/bodycrumbs.”

crumbs’

IF YOU GO

Ally Christmas’ “/bodycrumbs” runs through Dec. 29 at the Delaplaine Arts Center, 40 S. Carroll St., Frederick. Hours 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. 301-698-0656 or delaplaine.org. Learn more about the artist and view her work at allychristmas.com.

EAT & DRINK

Voltaggio brothers say new Frederick chophouse is their ‘missing piece’

BY WARREN ROJAS

The Washington Post

In the 15 years since they rocketed to reality TV stardom as the winner and runner-up on Season 6 of “Top Chef,” celebrity chefs and tight-knit brothers Michael and Bryan Voltaggio have cooked up hospitality projects galore.

The Frederick natives, who both got their start feeding guests at the local Holiday Inn, have created more than a dozen restaurants, from longrunning solo ventures including Bryan’s Frederick-based Volt (20082020) and Michael’s Los Angeles flagship Ink (2011-2017) to shortlived experiments like Lunchbox (2011-2013) and Ink Well (20172018). They’ve also partnered on ventures like Voltaggio Brothers Steak House (2016-present) at MGM National Harbor and Vulcania (2023-present) in Mammoth Lakes, California. And while they’ve mostly remained bicoastal, Middle America can get a hint of the Voltaggios’ cooking style — and affinity for Martin’s potato rolls — at the nearly four dozen Volt Burger stands sprinkled across participating Live Nation venues like the Dos Equis Pavilion in Dallas and Ruoff Music Center in Noblesville, Indiana.

The telegenic pair have also regularly appeared on, guest judged and co-hosted a slew of cookingrelated shows on Bravo and the Food Network.

Still, both men feel compelled to juice up their old stomping grounds.

Which is why they’re excited to show off everything they’ve learned at the new Wye Oak Tavern in Frederick.

“I feel like I went to work 16 years ago and I’m finally coming home,” Michael Voltaggio, 46, said of the Mid-Atlantic chophouse that he and

craving a quick bite.

“This,” Bryan said, “is the missing piece.”

Dave Ziedelis, executive director of Frederick’s tourism council, says local dining is a major driver of the small city’s economy. He said the brothers’ dramatic battle on reality TV, coupled with the unveiling of Volt, had an “explosive” impact on the hospitality scene.

The brothers hope Wye Oak and Visitation will extend that impact and, perhaps more importantly, serve as a love letter to their hometown.

The duo will have at their disposal a former auditorium that’s been transformed into a ballroom with a full-service bar, where up to 190 people can mix and mingle, as well as an attached bridal suite and a separate area where 40 to 50 guests could gather for business or pleasure.

A decommissioned chapel will anchor Wye Oak’s main seating area. “This is not fine dining. This is detailed dining,” Bryan said of his current focus.

Which is not to say occupants of the roughly 170 seats spread across the restaurant — including those lucky enough to score a bird’s-eye view from the choir balcony that’s home to an antique pipe organ — shouldn’t expect a few culinary flourishes here and there.

Bryan opened in a historic downtown property on Dec. 19.

Bryan, 48, is also keen on correcting an oversight that’s bugged him for years.

“When we started seeing people come from different parts of the country to dine in the restaurant [Volt], the one thing that was underserved was the full experience. Like a place to stay,” Bryan said.

He’s remedied that this time around by surrounding Wye Oak with a 65-room boutique hotel named Visitation housed in a renovated Catholic girls’ school and convent founded in 1846. The property’s dedicated private event spaces will allow the brothers to host everything from weddings to Super Bowl parties, and an all-day cafe (Acorn Provisions) caters to anyone

But Bryan says he’s more interested in cultivating “an everyday gathering place for great food” that friends and families feel comfortable patronizing several times a week.

“Now that I’m in my late 40s, I’m cooking more for my guests and, you know, less for myself,” he said.

Michael echoed the benefits of maturity, stressing that Wye Oak is about much more than legacy

Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post

Bryan, left, and Michael Voltaggio at their Voltaggio Brothers Steak House, designed after the house they grew up in, at MGM National Harbor in 2016.

VOLTAGGIOS

(Continued from 16)

building. “This particular project is emotional for both of us, and I think that that emotion is going to come through in everything that we do,” he said.

The brothers are seeding the opening menu with a network of local purveyors including Roseda Farm for beef, Ovoka Farm for Wagyu beef, Smoke in Chimneys for smoked trout and Moon Valley Farm for produce. They’re also enlisting the help of beverage producers, including Frederick’s Attaboy Beer, Olde Mother Brewing Co. and McClintock Distilling.

While some carryover is inevitable on Wye Oak’s carte — “there’s a ravioli, famously, that I can’t get off my menus,” Bryan said of a crowd favorite that Volt fans refused to let go of — the brothers insist they’re looking forward, not back.

Menu items developed specifically for Wye Oak include a blue crab tostada featuring blue masa shaped to mimic the Old Line State’s official crustacean; a beef rib-eye, aged in-house for 45 days and spiced up with housemade

Bryan Voltaggio jokes around with his son, Thacher, 4, as the two make pasta at home in Frederick in 2012.

tiger sauce; and a granola-studded, cinnamon-ice-cream-topped dessert commemorating Visitation Academy’s annual apple dumpling day.

The brothers have tasked longtime bar manager Josh Cross, a Volt alumnus who also lent his talents to the Retro pop-up the Voltaggio brothers staged at Mandalay Bay

Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, with designing Wye Oak’s beverage program.

Cross said the restaurant will field a house cocktail menu (10 drinks), but he’s also developing five specialty martinis to complement the chophouse vibe. Some tentative flavor profiles for the martini lineup include a garden-style pour featuring tomato, basil and black pepper and a mirepoix-like mix of carrot-infused vodka, celery bitters and red pearl cocktail onions.

Now that the brothers have reached middle age, they’re focused as much on things like work-life balance as they are on TV appearances. (Though Michael insists hustling is nonnegotiable. “I am not going to slow down until my body tells me I have to,” he said.)

Wye Oak is a reflection of those shifting priorities.

“We’re not going to open up a whole bunch more,” said Bryan. “Now we’re honing in and refining the things that we have.”

And the professional goals, he added, have shifted. “I’m not looking for awards or accolades. I just want to put smiles on people’s faces.”

Katherine Frey/The Washington Post

The Main Cup

The Main Cup

The Main Cup

Main

14

Wondering what restaurants will be open on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day?

Here are a few options in Frederick and beyond

BY ESTHER FRANCES efrances@newspost.com

The information was provided to 72 Hours by the restaurants mentioned in the story.

NEW YEAR’S EVE

1.) Dutch’s Daughter, 581 Himes Ave., Frederick. $$$ Seafood and steaks. Open 3 to 9 p.m.

Dutch’s Daughter New Year’s Eve Gala. Tickets are $175 per person, $1,500 for a table of 10. Open bar, hors d’oeuvres, surf and turf buffet, silent auction. Buy tickets at dutchsdaughter.com or call 301-6689500.

2.) The Tasting Room, 101 N. Market St., Frederick. $$$

Upscale New American cuisine. Dining room open 4 to 10 p.m. Bar open late.

3.) Black Hog BBQ, 118 S. Market St., Frederick. $$ Barbecue. Open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

4.) Brewer’s Alley, 124 N. Market St., Frederick. $$ Gastropub. Open 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m.

5.) Bushwaller’s, 209 N. Market St., Frederick. $$ Irish pub fare. Open 3 to 7 p.m.

6.) Cacique, 26 N. Market St., Frederick. $$ Spanish/Mexican. Winter cocktails. Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

7.) Callahan’s Seafood Bar & Grill, 1808 Rosemont Ave., Frederick. $$ Seafood and steaks. The kitchen is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Karaoke at the bar until 2 a.m.

8.) Carriage House Inn, 200 S. Seton Ave., Emmitsburg. $$ American. Open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

9.) Il Porto, 200 S. Market St., Frederick. $$

Italian. Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Specials will be updated online.

10.) Isabella’s Taverna, 44 N. Market St., Frederick. $$ Spanish tapas. Open 11:30 a.m. to midnight.

Specials will be updated at isabellas-tavern.com/menus.

11.) JB Seafood, 308 Main St., Myersville. $$

Seafood. Open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

12.) Lazy Fish, 10 E. Patrick St., Frederick. $$

Allie Hammond, manager and part owner of Dutch’s Daughter, stands in the new Dutch’s Dungeon dining area at the restaurant in September 2024. The Frederick restaurant will be open on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

Sushi/Japanese. Open 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 to 9 p.m.

13.) Liberty Road Seafood & Steak, 10524 Liberty Road, Frederick. $$

Seafood and steak. Open noon to 10 p.m.

Reservations highly recommended. 14.) The Main Cup, 14 W. Main St., Middletown. $$

Upscale cafe with sandwiches and American fare. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

15.) Manalù Italian Restaurant, 5227 Presidents Ct., Frederick. $$ Italian. Open noon to 8 p.m.

Last seating at 6 p.m.

16.) Mariachi Restaurant, 5854 Urbana Pike, Frederick. $$ Latin American. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

17.) Mayta’s Peruvian Cuisine, 5010 Buckeystown Pike #120, Frederick. $$ Peruvian. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

18.) Mexicali Cantina, 467 W. Patrick St., Frederick. $$ Mexican. Open 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

19.) Mount Airy Inn, 1401 S. Main St., Mount Airy. $$ Gastropub. Open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

20.) Oscar’s Alehouse, 906 N. East St., Frederick. $$ Pub with lengthy draft list. Open

11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

21.) Pistarro’s, 221 N. East St., Frederick. $$ Gourmet pizzeria. Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

NEW YEAR’S DAY

1.) Dutch’s Daughter, 581 Himes Ave., Frederick. $$$ Seafood and steaks. Open 3 to 9 p.m.

2.) Black Hog BBQ, 118 S. Market St., Frederick. $$ Barbecue. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

3.) Brewer’s Alley, 124 N. Market St., Frederick. $$ Gastropub. Open 11:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

4.) Bushwaller’s, 209 N. Market St., Frederick. $$ Irish pub fare. Open 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m.

5.) Cacique, 26 N. Market St., Frederick. $$ Spanish/Mexican. Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

6.) Callahan’s Seafood Bar & Grill, 1808 Rosemont Ave., Frederick. $$ Seafood and steaks. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

7.) Carriage House Inn, 200 S. Seton Ave., Emmitsburg. $$

American. Open noon to 8 p.m.

8.) Il Porto, 200 S. Market St., Frederick. $$ Italian. Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

9.) Isabella’s Taverna, 44 N. Market St., Frederick. $$ Spanish tapas. Open 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

10.) Lazy Fish, 10 E. Patrick St., Frederick. $$

Sushi/Japanese. Open 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

11.) Liberty Road Seafood & Steak, 10524 Liberty Road, Frederick. $$

Seafood and steak. Open noon to 9 p.m.

Reservations highly recommended.

12.) Mariachi Restaurant, 5854 Urbana Pike, Frederick. $$ Latin American. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

13.) Mexicali Cantina, 467 W. Patrick St., Frederick. $$ Mexican. Open 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

14.) Mount Airy Inn, 1401 S. Main St., Mount Airy. $$ Gastropub. Open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

15.) Oscar’s Alehouse, 906 N. East St., Frederick. $$ Pub with lengthy draft list. Open noon to 11 p.m.

Staff file photo by Ric Dugan

CATOCTIN MOUNTAIN ORCHARDS

Available in our Market: Empire, Evercrisp, GoldRush, Granny Smith, Fuji Golden Delicious, Pink Lady, Jonathan & Gala Apples Seckel & Bosc Pears Kale, White & Sweet Potatoes

Fresh Baked Fruit Pies, Apple Cider Donuts, Fresh Apple Cider, Jams & Jellies

Gift Cards Available 301-271-2737

Open Daily 9am-5pm 15036 North Franklinville Rd Thurmont MD

www catoctinmountain orchard com

COUNTRY BUTCHERING

Burkittsville Ruritan Club

500 E Main St, Burkittsville MD

Fresh Pork on Sale

Fri Jan 10 (8am-5pm)

Sat Jan 11 (8am-12pm)

Pre-order by Sat Jan 4

Call 301-371-7795

COUNTRY BREAKFAST

Sat, Jan 11 (6-10am)

Adults $10; Children -$5

HILLSIDE

TURKEY FARMS

Turkey, Chicken, Duck, Pork, Beef, Smoked Meats, Deli Meats & Cheeses, Seafood & More

Hillsideturkey com

301-271-2728

30 Elm St

Thurmont, MD 21788

Thursday 8-7

Friday 8-3

Saturday 8-12

HILLSIDE

TURKEY FARMS

Turkey, Chicken, Duck, Pork, Beef, Smoked Meats, Deli Meats & Cheeses, Seafood & More

Hillsideturkey com

301-271-2728

30 Elm St

Thurmont, MD 21788

Thursday 8-7

Friday 8-3

Saturday 8-12

New Market Grange No 362 SOUP & SANDWICH TAKE OUT

14 South Alley New Market, MD

Saturday, January 25, 2025

Pick Up 11:00 am – 2:00 pm

Soups-By the Quart - $9 00 Vegetable Beef

Chicken Corn Bean

Sloppy Joe - By the Quart - $14 00

Country Ham Sandwich - $5 00

Advance Orders by Saturday, January 18, 2025

Place orders by email at newmarketgrangemd @gmail.com or call Vicki at 301-799-9168

Please indicate quantity, name, and phone number Cash, Check or Credit

SOUP SALE by the quartstock your freezers!

Chicken Corn Soup Vegetable Beef $9 00/ quart Cash or check only

Orders due by Monday, January 13,2025 Call Karen at 410-775-7627

Baked table available Pick-up on Monday, January 20 from 1-3pm Johnsville UMC Parish Hall 11106 Green Valley Road (RT 75), Union Bridge MD 21791

VIGILANT HOSE COMPANY

NEW YEAR'S EVE BINGO

17701 Creamery Road, Emmitsburg, MD Tuesday, 12/31/Doors Open @ 5pm/Games @ 8pm

All Inclusive 9 pk/$50 for 30 games, 2 Jackpots @ $2000 each

5 SPECIALS @ $500 each/All other games $300/Incl Dinner Platter! Reserved seating if tickets purchased by 12/13 Tickets purchased after 12/13 will be $60

No checks mailed after 11/22 For info: Pam @ 240-472-3484 or @ Marylou @ 240-285-3184

Reserve right to change payouts if 200 are not sold

Weekly BINGO

Every Friday Night Doors open @ 5 p m , Bingo starts @ 7 p m Bonanza, Early Bird, Regular, Specials, Jackpot! Small Jackpot-$500 Big Jackpot-$1500 Great Food!

Thurmont Event Complex 13716 Strafford Drive Thurmont, Maryland Thurmont Community Ambulance Service, Inc

Farm Items & Equipment

CUB CADET 2X26” HP SNOWBLOWER, new, never used, $1050 00, 301-401-8460

2

BURIAL

PLOTS

in the Prayer Section at RestHaven Cemetery, $6,000 ea , pls call (540) 9403802, LM

Pets & Supplies

RAGDOLL KITTENS, 8 wks old, vetchecked, $300, 443-547-7312

• Trash/Junk/Yard Waste Removal

• Appliance Removal

• Bed and Mattress Removal

• Mulch Delivery

• Lawnmower & Equipment Removal

• Light Demo

• Welding repairs and fabrication

• Hauling needs

• Dump trailer available for rent GREAT PRICES! 20% Off 1st Job! Please call to enquire Talkinscrap@yahoo com

Thursday Dec. 26

ETCETERA

Duplicate Bridge Games — noon to 4 p.m. at Church of the Transfiguration, 6909 Maryland Ave., Frederick. Looking for a competitive mind sport? Frederick Bridge Club duplicate games allow you to hone your skills. No membership requirements. If you need a partner, call 240-344-4041 or email lffutrell@yahoo.com. $8. 301-676-5656. sdobran@comcast.net. bridgewebs.com/frederick.

Candlelight Tour of Historic Houses of Worship — 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Downtown, Frederick. Celebrates Frederick’s stunning architecture, local history, and the holiday season. Map available at Information Center, 19 E. Church St. Tour includes Evangelical Lutheran, Evangelical Reformed UCC, All Saints’ Episcopal, Asbury UMC, carillon recitals, Calvary UMC, Frederick Presbyterian, Grace UCC and St. John the Evangelist Catholic churches. celebratefrederick.com.

Historic Houses of Worship Tour — 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Downtown, Hagerstown . See the interiors of historic downtown Hagerstown houses of worship. Learn about the architecture and ecumenical heritage from docents and guides.  Music, refreshments and local art will be featured at some locations. Self-guided walking/driving tour. 240-382-0520. lcarroll@hagerstownmd.org. harccoalition.org.

Shepherdstown Historic Houses of Worship Tour — 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at War Memorial Building to pick up walking tour maps, 102 East German Street, Shepherdstown, W.Va. The self-guided tour features several downtown historic churches as old as the late 18th century and one as recent as the early 21st century. Free metered parking will be available. Walking tour brochures will be available at the War Memorial Building at the corner of German and King streets or at the Historic Shepherdstown Museum at the corner of East German and Princess streets. 301-502-9711. gregac1863@gmail.com. historicshepherdstown.com.

Teen Time: Sonic Party for Teens! (ages 11-18) — 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Brunswick Branch Library, 915 N. Maple Ave., Brunswick. Come celebrate the new movie with some fun Sonic the Hedgehog-themed activities at the library! This program is for teens in 6th through 12th grades (ages 11-18). 301-600-7250. frederick.librarycalendar.com.

FAMILY

School’s Out: “Wild Robot Party” — 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Emmitsburg Branch Library, 300 S. Seton Ave., Emmitsburg. Watch the movie and make your own “wild’ robot out of recycled materials as we celebrate Peter’s Brown’s “Wild Robot” series! Ages up to 5, elementary. 301-600-6329. cdillman@frederickcountymd.gov. frederick.librarycalendar.com.

MUSIC

Live Jazz at the Cocktail Lab — 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Tenth Ward Distilling Co., 55 E. Patrick St., Frederick. Get swanky with us every Thursday night for live jazz and your favorite craft cocktails. 21 and older. 301-233-4817. monica@tenthwarddistilling.com. tenthwarddistilling.com.

Friday Dec. 27

FAMILY

Art Carts at the Delaplaine — 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Delaplaine Arts Center, 40 S. Carroll St., Frederick. Also 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 28 and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 29. This month, check out the Francine Brady Art Carts, located on the 1st & 2nd floors. Get creative together and create fabric art inspired by Clustered Spires Quilt Guild or create a mosaic, inspired by Monir Farmanfarmaian. 301-698-0656. delaplaine.org.

Polar Bear Painting — 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Urbana Regional Library, 9020 Amelung St., Frederick. Learn about the polar bear as kids create a painting using sponges, cardboard and Q-Tips. This fun project is recommended for kids in kindergarten to fifth grade, but all ages are welcome. Advanced sign-up is not required. 301-600-7000.

Victoria’s Community Christmas Town — 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at 708 Canal St., 708 Canal St., Brunswick. Also Dec. 28 and 29. Step into a beautiful Christmas wonderland, created by Victoria Ahinful of Brunswick and handcrafted from recycled materials. This magical town features walls and walls of mini houses, cars, and festive paper people. Vicky opens her doors to the community in hopes to bring them joy and promote recycling and sustainability this winter season. Enjoy activities for all ages, delicious snacks, dance performances, and crafts for the kids.

FESTIVALS

Winter Lights Drive-Through Display — 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Seneca Creek State Park, 11950 Clopper Road, Gaithersburg. Also 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, through Dec. 31. A 3 1/2-mile drive through a winter wonderland featuring more than 400 displays and beautifully lit park trees. Advance ticket sales only (no ticket sales at the gate). $15 per car Monday through Thursday, $25 per car Friday through Sunday.  301-258-6350. gaithersburgmd.gov.

MUSIC

’80s Rewind a Salute to Service w/ Weird Science Live Concert — 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Rockwell Brewery Riverside, 8411 Broadband Drive, Frederick. Salute to Service: A night to honor and give back, celebrates our heroes and supports amazing causes like the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund, Carroll County Veterans Independence Project, and Happy Hubz. 301-372-4880. matt@rockwellbrewery.com. Live Music at the Cocktail Lab — 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Tenth Ward Distilling Co., 55 E. Patrick St., Frederick. Every Friday in the Cocktail Lab we’ll be servin’ up our deliciously wild concoctions and some sweet tunes to get your weekend started off right. 21 and older.

301-233-4817. monica@tenthwarddistilling.com. tenthwarddistilling.com.

Saturday Dec. 28

CLASSES

Shri Yoga: Flex, Fix, Fun! — 10 a.m. to noon at Urbana Regional Library, 9020 Amelung St., Frederick. Shri Yoga is a calming but challenging style practiced in an informal environment. Classes include various asanas, breathing exercises, chakra vibration, mantras and relaxation techniques. Attendees are welcome to bring their own mat.

301-600-7000. bbrannen@frederickcountymd.gov. frederick.librarycalendar.com.

ETCETERA

McPhersons and Lafayette — 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Rose Hill Manor Park & Museum, 1611 N. Market St., Frederick. Celebrate the 200th anniversary of Gen. Lafayette’s visit to Frederick by learning more about one of his hosts, the McPhersons. Be sure

to stop by for a special tour all about Fanny Johnson McPherson and her life as a child and young woman at Rose Hill and her husband John McPherson’s role in early American history with Thomas Johnson and John Grahame. With special exhibits and hands-on activities. All ages. 301-600-2936. recreater.com.

Ghost Tours of Historic Frederick — 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Brewer’s Alley Restaurant and Brewery, 124 N. Market St., Frederick. Journey through Frederick’s gruesome and bloody past — nearly 300 years of war, executions and revenge. True documented stories of the paranormal with Maryland’s oldest operating ghost tour. Uncover political savvy and defiant citizens, patriots from the Revolutionary War and beckoning soldiers from the Civil War. Reservations recommended. $17 adults. 301-668-8922. info@marylandghosttours.com. marylandghosttours.com.

Salsa Night Holiday Dance Party — 8:30 p.m. to 11:55 p.m. at Rockwell Brewery Riverside, 8411 Broadband Drive, Frederick. Treat this night like New Year’s Eve! 360 photo booth for all those glam shots! Start the night out with a quick intro to salsa lesson by Frederick Salsa. No partner needed. No experience needed. Music and dancing! Salsa, bachata, and Latin. Music by DJ Willie. $10 cash cover.

301-372-4880. matt@rockwellbrewery.com.

FAMILY

Urbana Park & Ride Clean Up — 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Urbana Park & Ride, off I-270, Urbana. Families who are looking for volunteer opportunities to do together, this is a one-hour simple, but impactful event to attend. Roll up your sleeves and spend some time picking up litter found around Urbana’s Park & Ride. Arrive between 8:45 and 9 a.m. Bring your own work gloves, trash bags will be provided and trash disposal will be handled. High school and middle school FCPS students can earn Volunteer Hours with this act of community service (just bring your own form). Let’s enhance the beauty of our town by joining the Rotary Club of Southern Frederick County and make a difference!

Read with a Dog — 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Brunswick Branch Library, 915 N. Maple Ave., Brunswick. Practice reading to a furry friend! For ages up to 10. 301-600-7250. frederick.librarycalendar.com.

(Continued from 3)

“The House on Jonathan Street,” which aired in homes nationwide through public television. The company is also putting together the finishing touches of a documentary about Frederick called “InSpired,” forthcoming in 2025.

Meanwhile, TJ High grad and former Maryland Ensemble Theatre actor Brent Comer made his Broadway debut in the new musical “The Outsiders,” which won several Tonys, including Best Musical. David Bengali, who graduated from Frederick High, was nominated for a Tony for Best Lighting Design of a Musical for his work in “Water for Elephants.”

In other honors, Frederick actor Jordan Stocksdale won a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Supporting Performer for his role in “Something Rotten” at Toby’s Dinner Theatre; composer Soon Hee Newbold, who grew up in Frederick, was inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame; and former Frederick School of Classical Ballet student Jarod Curley was promoted to become an American Ballet Theatre soloist.

We saw new material from Frederick favorites Sunniva and Mr. Husband, while longtime staple in the local music scene Hard Swimmin’ Fish played its final show here on Aug. 31, after 22 years of playing the local circuit.

A slice of Frederick’s Carroll Creek was on display at the Smithsonian, courtesy of encaustic artist Lori Niland Rounds, whose painting of Carroll Creek waterlilies was featured there. And on that note, the Smithsonian came to Frederick — via Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, who presented the “Legacy of Max Roach” concert at FCC in February.

FCC literary and visual arts magazine earned its ninth-consecutive first-place award, and Frederick native Matt Lee released his new memoir, “The Backwards Hand.”

The likes of Monica Lewinsky, Shannon Bream, Shawn Colvin and Cheryl Strayed came through town, and Kate Cosentino played a secret show for FC Frederick, introducing a new club anthem.

In sad news, we lost Geraldine Lloyd and John Holly this year, both of whom were longtime Frederick residents and visionary artists whose contributions to our community were treasured and will be remembered fondly. We also continue to hope for the best for Crystal Schelle, a 72 Hours writer, FCC journalism instructor, and the director of communications at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, who was in a severe car accident on Dec. 9 in Hagerstown and remains in critical condition.

In 2024, we also learned Frederick has its own pro whip cracker, Brunswick took it upon themselves to start its own Arts Council, Maryland Double Deckers brought double-decker buses from the U.K. to Frederick for downtown tours, and the FNP old-timers watched in dismay as the former News-Post building began its slow death by excavator, to make room for a new hotel in town.

That’s our 2024 year in summary. At this rate, it’s anybody’s guess what 2025 will bring, but in any case: Happy New Year!

Family Storytime — 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Thurmont Regional Library, 76 E. Moser Road, Thurmont. Stories, movement, music and fun for the entire family. Designed for kids, with a caregiver.   301-600-7200. frederick.librarycalendar.com.

Annual Train Garden Display — noon to 5 p.m. at Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Co., 702 N. Main St., Mount Airy. Visit the Fire Company’s Train Garden. More information at www.mavfc.org. Parking and entry is in the lower level of the fire station. Donations accepted.

301-829-0100. info@mavfc.org. mavfc.org.

Ujama! A Kwanzaa Celebration — 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Aya Cultural Arts Studio, 6907 Baltimore National Pike, Unit 15/16, Frederick. This festive family event is free and open to all. Visit Aya Cultural Arts Studio at their new location where you’ll get a first look before they officially reopen Jan. 10. All ages are welcome to join in on the fun! From 5 to 6:30 p.m., gather around for rhythm jam and arts and crafts. The celebration and music continues from 6 to 8 p.m. Registration is not required to attend. ayaarts.com.

Game Night at Chanukah Wonderland — 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Simcha Educational Center, 15021 DuFief Mill Road, Gaithersburg. Chanukah Wonderland is Chanukah experience for the whole family. Admission is free, as are all of the activities. Tonight is Game Night! The event is free; however, RSVP is required.

301-926-3632. info@OurShul.org. OurShul.org/CWL.

FESTIVALS

Winter Lights Drive-Through Display — 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Seneca Creek State Park, 11950 Clopper Road, Gaithersburg. Also 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, through Dec. 31. A 3 1/2-mile drive through a winter wonderland featuring more than 400 displays and beautifully lit park trees. Advance ticket sales only (no ticket sales at the gate). $15 per car Monday through Thursday, $25 per car Friday through Sunday.  301-258-6350. gaithersburgmd.gov.

MUSIC

ACMF: Holiday Highlights — 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Camp Hill-Wesley United Methodist Church, 601 Washington St., Harpers Ferry, W.Va. Appalachian Chamber Music Festival’s annual Winter Residency Chamber Music Concert Series is a one-hour, family-friendly concert that will feature selections of uplifting music to celebrate the yuletide season, performed by a string quartet. Musical works to include inspired arrangements of some

beloved holiday classic tunes, delightful moments from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker,” inspiring works by Bach, and a special tribute to American composer Charles Ives to celebrate the 150th anniversary of his birth.  $28, free for under age 18. info@appalachianchamber.org. tickettailor.com/events/acmf.

Sunday Dec. 29

ETCETERA

Lessons and Carols in Urbana — 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at Natelli Family YMCA, 3481 Campus Drive, Ijamsville. Join Living Grace Church in Urbana for a service of Lessons and Carols. The service includes nine Bible lessons each followed by a carol or song and a prayer. The lessons tell the story of the birth of Jesus as the promised Messiah. 240-285-9758. pastor@livinggraceurbana.org. livinggraceurbana.org.

Hymn Sing — 10:30 a.m. to noon at Buckeystown United Methodist Church, 3440 Buckeystown Pike, Buckeystown. Each fifth Sunday of the month, Buckeystown UMC holds a “Hymn Sing” during its 10:30 a.m. worship service. While in service, those attending can ask the music director to play and lead the congregational singing of a United Methodist Hymnal or The Faith We Sing piece. buckeystownumc.org.

FAMILY

Weekly Carillon Recitals in Baker Park — 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. at Joseph D. Baker Tower and Carillon, Dulaney Ave. and Second St., Frederick. Featuring City Carillonneur John Widmann playing the carillon of 49 bells from a mechanical keyboard with fists and feet.  301-788-2806. jwidmann@yahoo.com.

Chanukah Chocolate Land — 3:30 p.m. at FSK Mall, 5500 Buckeystown Pike, Frederick. Celebrate Chanukah with your entire family with sweets and good company! Presented by Chabad of Frederick County, Chanukah Chocolate Land is a free party for all ages to attend! Gather around to see the grand community chocolate menorah lighting, a chocolate magic show, and enjoy hot latkes, donuts, chocolate coins and dreidels. Guests can enter to win an electric LED menorah. A music presentation and Chanukah crafts will be offered too. One Chanukah scarf is available for each child, while supplies last. The event is held inside the Francis Scott Key Mall, at the Value City Furniture Court. jewishfrederick.org..

MUSIC

ACMF: Festive Celebration — 3 p.m.

to 4 p.m. at Zion Episcopal Church, 300 E. Congress St., Charles Town, W.Va. Warm your heart in the golden acoustics of historic Zion Episcopal Church during this one-hour performance featuring pianist Ellen Hwangbo in the heroic piano quintet by Robert Schumann, Vivaldi’s “La Follia,” and the U.S. premiere of lauded Irish film composer Liam Bates’ “Dolmen (Joy)” for string trio. $10-$28. info@appalachianchamber.org. tickettailor.com/events/acmf.

Monday Dec. 30

ETCETERA

Duplicate Bridge Games — noon to 4 p.m. at Church of the Transfiguration, 6909 Maryland Ave., Frederick. Looking for a competitive mind sport? Frederick Bridge Club duplicate games allow you to hone your skills. No membership requirements. If you need a partner, call 240-344-4041 or email lffutrell@yahoo.com. $8. 301-676-5656. sdobran@comcast.net. bridgewebs.com/frederick. Bar Bingo — 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Frederick Eagles, 207 W. Patriick St., Frederick. Get your packets for $12, which includes 7 games. 301-663-6281. FrederickAerie1067@gmail.com.

FAMILY

School’s Out: De-Stress December — 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Emmitsburg Branch Library, 300 S. Seton Ave., Emmitsburg. Join us for an hour of hands-on fun! Play with kinetic sand, Play-Doh and other wonderfully tactile substances as we relax and wind down after the excitement of the holidays. Ages up to 5, elementary. 301-600-6329. cdillman@frederickcountymd.gov. frederick.librarycalendar.com.

FESTIVALS

Chanukah Fire Truck Parade — 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Simcha Educational Center, 15021 DuFief Mill Road, Gaithersburg. Chabad of Upper Montgomery County’s annual Chanukah Fire Truck Parade. The parade will leave from Rockville Fire Station and will consist of a number of fire trucks — graciously provided by the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department. The lead truck will be have a giant Menorah on it. The parade will make several stops in Potomac, Rockville and Gaithersburg neighborhoods. The parade’s terminus will be at Chanukah Wonderland at the Simcha Educational Center, where the crowd will participate in the lighting of our Community Menorah, and enjoy entertainment and Chanukah treats. 301-926-3632. info@OurShul.org. OurShul.org/ChanukahParade.

ACMF Duo Delights: Festive Treats — 11 a.m. to noon at The Station at Shepherdstown, 111 Audrey Egle Drive, Shepherdstown, W.Va. String musicians will perform in a round robin of pairings, offering musical “treats and morsels” in this intimate venue. Enjoy a cup of coffee and tasty sweet treat with your ticket.  $10-$28. info@appalachianchamber.org. tickettailor.com/events/acmf.

Tuesday Dec. 31

ETCETERA

New Year’s Eve Bingo — 5 p.m. at Vigilant Hose Activity Building, 17701 Creamery Road, Emmitsburg. Doors open at 5 p.m., games start at 8 p.m. All-inclusive 9-pack includes 23 games at $300, 5 games at $500, 2 games at $2,000. Tickets, includes dinner, $50 advance, $60 after Dec. 13. (Host reserves the right to lower payouts if 200 tickets are not sold.)  240-285-3184 or 240-472-3484. vhc6.com.

NYE at Steinhardt Brewing Co — 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Steinhardt Brewing Company, 5710 Jefferson Blvd., Frederick. Put on your most glamorous mask and join us for music, food, drinks and fun. Dance the night away with live music from Frederick bands The Dirty Middle from 6-9 p.m. then Rays of Violet 9:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Craft beers at the open bar, eat heavy hors’ d’oeuvres, enter to win door prizes and capture the evening at the photo booth. Ticketed event. 240-367-6277.

Jim.Steinhardt@SteinhardtBrewing.com.

New Years Eve Party with Bad Influence — 9 p.m. at Jojo’s Restaurant And Tap House, 16 E. Patrick St., Frederick. Celebrate New Year’s Eve in style with the region’s premier blues band, Bad Influence (9 p.m.). Known for their dynamic performances blending traditional blues, rock, and a touch of funk, this award-winning group has captivated audiences for decades. Food, craft beers, signature cocktails. 21 and older.

301-910-8551. jr@badinfluenceband.com.

New Year’s Masquerade Ball — 10 p.m. at Ceresville Mansion, 8529 Liberty Road, Frederick. Put on your fanciest mask and dance the night away as we ring in the New Year in style. Indulge in delicious food, sip

on festive drinks, and enjoy live music in a stunning venue. This is your chance to dress to impress and kick off the new year with a bang! $150. 301-694-5111. darina@ceresville.com.

FAMILY

Mew-Year’s Eve Party — 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Emmitsburg Branch Library, 300 S. Seton Ave., Emmitsburg. Just for the kids! Ring in 2025 with a special kids’ cat-centered celebration to welcome the New Year.  301-600-6329. cdillman@frederickcountymd.gov. frederick.librarycalendar.com.

Elementary Explorers: New Year’s Eve Techno-Glow Dance Party — 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Brunswick Branch Library, 915 N. Maple Ave., Brunswick. Ring in the new year with a fun dance party at the library and an early countdown to 2025!  This program is for children in kindergarten through 5th grades (ages 5-10). 301-600-7250. frederick.librarycalendar.com.

New Year’s Eve Party — 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Tom’s Creek United Methodist Church, 10926 Simmons Road, Emmitsburg. The party will be held in the Fellowship Hall. Contact the Church office for more details, 301-447-3171. tomscreekumc.com.

FESTIVALS

Middletown Valley Bank Krumpe’s Donut Drop — 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Meritus Park , 50 W. Baltimore St., Hagerstown . The MVB Krumpe’s Donut Drop is moving to Hagerstown. Kick off 2025 with all your Krumpe’s Donut Drop faves: Free Krumpe’s Donuts to the first 5,000 people, free AC&T coffee and hot chocolate, live music from DJ Sidekick and grand finale fireworks!  240-382-0520. lcarroll@hagerstownmd.org.

MUSIC

ACMF NYE: Nordic Celebration — 3 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. at The War Memorial Building, 102 E. German St., Shepherdstown, W.Va. A Nordic celebration of works from the northernmost countries in Europe, where long dark winter nights lead to indoor dancing and introspection. This 70-minute concert will feature masterpieces by Estonian composer Avro Pärt and Norweigan great

Edward Greig, as well as works from ACMF fan favorite the Danish String Quartet. $10-$35. info@appalachianchamber.org. tickettailor.com/events/acmf.

Wednesday Jan. 1

CLASSES

Gentle Yoga for All! — 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at The Common Market, 927 W. Seventh St., Frederick. This class is the perfect intro for a new student or an experienced yogi. There will be plenty of modifications offered to meet various levels so that ALL can enjoy the benefits of yoga. By donation.

301-663-3416. aharmon@commonmarket.coop. commonmarket.coop/classes-events.

Thursday Jan. 2

ETCETERA

Teen Time: Tile Coasters — 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Brunswick Branch Library, 915 N. Maple Ave., Brunswick. Make a drink coaster out of a ceramic tile! This program is for teens in 6th through 12th grades (ages 11-18).

301-600-7250. frederick.librarycalendar.com.

MUSIC

Live Jazz at the Cocktail Lab — 7 p.m. to

9 p.m. at Tenth Ward Distilling Co., 55 E. Patrick St., Frederick. Get swanky with us every Thursday night for live jazz and your favorite craft cocktails. 21 and older. 301-233-4817. monica@tenthwarddistilling.com. tenthwarddistilling.com.

Friday Jan. 3 CLASSES

Fridays are for Fun and Crafting — 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Brook Hill United Methodist Church, 8946 Indian Springs Road, Frederick. Use the time for scrapbooking, card making or whatever kind of craft you may do and enjoy. The cost is $20 to get your space, room for the day. BYO lunch or snacks. Pre-register. 18 and older. $20 entrance fee. 301-712-6759. shelleysscrapshack@gmail.com. meetup.com/Shelleys-Scrap-Shack/.

Line Dancing in Frederick — 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Bernard W. Brown Community Center, 629 N. Market St., Frederick. This two-hour class includes learning line dancing terminology, showing participants steps and full line dances (even some higher level line dances) and tons of fun! Request your favorite songs. Line Dancing in Frederick is presented by FIBE Dance Line Dance class with instructor Carissa Barth. This event is cash only. Snacks and non-alcoholic drinks will be available for purchase. $10 adults, $5 child 11 and under.

s e Season To Save!!