Concert Series Ends with Inna Faliks

The 58th season of the Washington College Concert Series concludes with a performance by pianist Inna Faliks in Decker Theatre on Sunday, March 28, at 4 p.m.

The young Ukrainian-born musician has established herself as one of the most passionately committed, exciting and deeply poetic pianists of her generation. Since her acclaimed debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at age 15, she has performed on many of the world’s great stages, with numerous orchestras, in solo appearances, and with conductors such as Leonard Slatkin and Keith Lockhart.

The Washington Post praised Falik’s “poetry and panoramic vision,” while the Baltimore Sun enthused about her “riveting passion and playfulness.” While her star has been in the ascendant, Falik also has been studing with Gilbert Kalish at Stony Brook University, where she recently received her Doctorate.

Tickets, available at the box office, are $15 for adults, $5 for youth 18 and under. Decker Theatre is located in Washington College’s new Daniel Z. Gibson Center for the Arts. For more information, call 410/778-7839.

Young Professionals to CONNECT! in Rock Hall March 24

The Kent County Chamber of Commerce’s young professionals organization, CONNECT!, kicks off the year with this spring mixer at the Rock Hall Yacht Club on March 24, 2010 from 5:00-7:00pm. Membership in CONNECT! is open to all local men and women under the age of 40, whose companies or organizations are members of the Kent County Chamber of Commerce.  Come check out this great facility with one of the best waterviews in the county. Free food and drink specials. RSVP to: Jen Davis: tourism@kentcounty.com or  the Chamber: kentchamber@verizon.net or on the chamber website at www.kentchamber.org

Author on Fall of Berlin Wall March 29

Author and journalist Michael Meyer will present a talk on his latest book, The Year That Changed the World: The Untold Story Behind the Fall of the Berlin Wall, at Washington College’s Hynson Lounge, Hodson Commons on Monday, March 29, at 7:30 pm. A book signing will follow.

Meyer will provide a riveting eyewitness account of the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe that rewrites our conventional understanding of how the Cold War came to an end and holds important lessons for America’s current geopolitical challenges. The Washington Post lauded Meyer’s book, published by Simon & Schuster in 2009, as “brilliant,” noting that “history is seldom written with such verve.”

But Meyer’s story is more than a history of the events of 1989; it is an eyewitness account of a period of tremendous social change. In 1989, Meyer was Newsweek’s bureau chief for Germany, Central Europe, and the Balkans. While writing on the fall of communism, German unification, and the disintegration of Yugoslavia, he had a bird’s-eye view of the reinvention of Eastern Europe.

Meyer worked at the Washington Post and Congressional Quarterly before joining Newsweek in 1988. In 1993, he became Newsweek’s general editor for business and technology, and the focus of his writing switched to the Internet revolution. From 1992 to 1993, he was the Los Angeles bureau chief, where he reported on a wide array of issues, including the politics of immigration and the Los Angeles riots. From 1999 to 2001, Meyer left Newsweek to join the UN mission in Kosovo, where he was a senior staff officer for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. In 2001, he returned to Newsweek as Europe Editor for Newsweek International.

Currently Meyer is Director of Communications and Speechwriting for the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and was an Inaugural Fellow at the American Academy in Berlin. He is the winner of two Overseas Press Club Awards, the 1995 Computer Press Award, and the 1993 National Magazine Award for General Excellence. In addition to The Year that Changed the World, Meyer is the author of The Alexander Complex, published by Times Books in 1989. He appears regularly as a commentator for MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, C-Span, NPR, and other broadcast networks.

Co-sponsored by the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience and the Goldstein Program in Public Affairs, Meyer’s lecture is free and open to the public.

Boston MFA Curator on Larrabee Photography

The Department of Art and Art History, Kohl Gallery, the Black Studies Program and the Gender Studies Program present, “The Photographer’s Eye: Constance Stuart Larrabee’s Images of the Ndebele Peoples (South Africa)”, a lecture by Christraud Geary, Teel Senior Curator of African and Oceanic Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, to be held on Thursday, March 25th, 5:30 p.m., in the Casey Academic Forum.  The event is free, and the public is invited to attend.  There will be a reception immediately following the Dr. Geary’s presentation, sponsored by Phi Beta Kappa, Theta of Maryland.

The lecture follows the exhibition in the Kohl Gallery of Larrabee’s early photos, including images of the Ndebele peoples, curated by Washington College Senior Riley Carbonneau (art and art history/sociology), which fell during both Black History Month and Women’s History Month.

A leading scholar of African art, Geary received a DPhil in cultural anthropology and African studies from the University of Frankfurt, Germany, and has done extensive fieldwork in Africa–in Mali, Cameroon, Senegal and South Africa. Her trip to Ghana involved her inviting the King of the Asante to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Geary has lectured widely, and has published numerous, highly acclaimed books and exhibition catalogues, including Material Journeys: Collecting African and Oceanic Art, 1945-2000, In and Out of Focus: Images from Central Africa 1885-1960, and The Voyage of King Njaya’s Gift: A Beaded Sculpture from the Bamum Kingdom, Cameroon, in the National Museum of African Art

Geary’s two trips to South Africa were made in connection with her research on  Constance Stuart Larrabee, specifically the numerous photos the latter took of the Ndebele peoples, while living in nearby Pretoria. During Geary’s tenure as Curator of the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art, she accepted the gift of over 3000 photographs that Larrabee left to the archive; travelled to Chestertown on several occasions; and curated the exhibition “South African 1936-1949: Photography of Constance Stuart Larrabee.”

Lemony Sniket Kicks Off Sophie Kerr Weekend

Daniel Handler, author of the bestselling children’s book collection A Series of Unfortunate Events (under the pen name of Lemony Snicket), kicks off this year’s Sophie Kerr Weekend with a talk entitled “Why does Lemony Snicket Keep Following Me?” in Decker Theater on Friday, March 26, at 4 p.m.  A book signing will follow.

Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events have sold more than 60 million copies and were the basis for the feature film Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) starring Jim Carrey.  The 13-book series follows the grim adventures of the three clever Baudelaire orphans: Violet, Klaus, and Sunny.  In each book, the siblings face increasing misfortune as they are pursued by their distant relative, the evil Count Olaf, who schemes to swindle the Baudelaire inheritance.  Handler’s Snicket books are known for their witty, dark humor and appeal to all ages.

Handler is also the author of three works for adults: The Basic Eight (St. Martin’s Press/HarperCollins, 1998), Watch Your Mouth (St. Martin’s Press/HarperCollins, 2000), and most recently Adverbs (St. Martin’s Press/HarperCollins, 2006), a series of short stories about love.  His work has led author Michael Chabon to label him “One of our most dazzling literary conjurers.”  Handler’s musical collaborations include work with composer Nathaniel Stookey on a piece commissioned and recorded by the San Francisco Symphony, entitled “The Composer Is Dead,” which is now a book with CD.  He is also an adjunct accordionist for the music group The Magnetic Fields.

Other books written as Snicket include Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography, The Beatrice Letters, Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can’t Avoid, and two books for the holidays, The Lump of Coal and The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming: a Christmas Story.  Handler has written for The New York Times, Newsday, San Francisco Chronicle, The Believer, Chickfactor, and various anthologies, and he was chair of the judging panel for the National Book Awards in Young People’s Literature, 2008.  His current and upcoming projects include a fourth novel for adults, a children’s picture book titled 13 Words, in collaboration with Maira Kalman, and the script for the much-anticipated second Snicket movie.  He is also at work on a top-secret new Snicket series.

Held every March at Washington College, Sophie Kerr Weekend gives a group of high school-age writers a chance to experience the College’s renowned creative writing program hands-on through readings, seminars, and small workshops with visiting authors and faculty members.  Previous Sophie Kerr Weekend readers include Ted Kooser, Jane Smiley, and Mary Karr.

Sophie Kerr Weekend also honors the legacy of the late Sophie Kerr, a writer from Denton, Md., whose generosity has enriched Washington College’s literary culture. When she died in 1965, Kerr left the bulk of her estate to Washington College, specifying that one half of the income from her bequest be awarded every year to the senior showing the most “ability and promise for future fulfillment in the field of literary endeavor”—the famed Sophie Kerr Prize—and the other half be used to bring visiting writers to campus, to fund scholarships, and to help defray the costs of student publications.

Admission to Daniel Handler’s March 26 talk is free and open to the public. Decker Theatre is located in Washington College’s new Daniel Z. Gibson Center for the Arts. For more information, call 410/778-7899 or visit lithouse.washcoll.edu.

Letter to Editor: More FASTC Issues

First the Queen Anne County Commissioners vote unanimously ‘for’ the FASTC Project.  After being run over by a group of activists, they pulled back their support “pending more complete information”.  A public information and forum process began, courtesy of higher level prodding from leaders like Senator Mikulski and Congressman Kratovil.  The County Commissioners dropped out of sight.  But in recent local front-page news accounts, these commissioners tell us they have no role to play (Ransom) and don’t know what else they can do (Wargotz)?  Immediately after these clear statements, they approve motion after motion sending letters to most everyone at every level asking them to weigh in?  They send one to the GSA & State Department requesting a full Environmental Impact Statement?  Why wouldn’t we wait on the findings of the preliminary NEPA process now underway?  Seems once that’s completed, we’ll know whether the additional time & cost of an EIS is warranted?  Certainly this makes sense, especially for the pig balloon toting ‘Anti-Pork’ folks? I’m not clear what role our commissioners want, but certainly their action or lack of action is being observed.

Then Letters to the Editor started arriving.  One stated FASTC supporters “forced the Playa’s NM video off air because it showed the truth?” Conveniently missing was this taxpayer funded local government channel should only air balanced, non-political information, something not found in the Playa’s video. Every (GSA & State department) official asked noted the most comparable existing facility was the Federal Law Enforcement Training center in Georgia, not New Mexico? Could it be the Georgia facility enjoys support from local residents and the business community (it does)?  Another letter said, “Congressman Kratovil won’t meet with us?” Conveniently omitted are the earlier few times the opposition aggressively and un-announced stormed his office, disrupting the workday?  They couldn’t set an appointment?  I suppose I’d hesitate to take a call or meeting too, they’ve made their own bed.

The same group overtook each of the public forums at Queen Anne’s high school creating an uncomfortable environment that kept some citizens from attending.  The opposition either forgets, or ignores, that many here still seek information and have a right to their opinion?  In fact, a majority of our residents, beginning in Centreville and moving co-centrically outward into the county and region are in FAVOR of the FASTC project and this same study shows when more information is provided, favorability increases.  This was reported recently in a poll conducted by Hart Research Associates, Inc. (http://www.hartresearch.com/about/), a nationally known polling organization.  Come to think of it, perhaps the opposition has read this study?

Congressman Kratovil, Senator Mikulski and Senator Cardin work for all residents, not simply a handful.  I’m happy to see the tide has turned as I see, hear and read more and more from average citizens across our region finally weighing in, many in support of FASTC.  Like every challenging contentious issue over time, the opposition always comes out fast, hard and first.  The rest of us, busy with life, families and work assume our leaders have the pulse of everyone they are supposed to represent.  My hope is more people will join this important conversation and become engaged, contact leaders from local to State to Federal levels.  Ask questions, provide observations, and offer ideas and solutions and not simply emotional rhetoric from either side or opinion.

High emotions with clever ‘save farms’ signs look neat in newspapers & on television, but they aren’t so nice for our daily scenery, or the environment. Here’s a question: aren’t the diehard environmentalists the same ones who’ve battled farming for damages they cause the Bay?  How’d this one single “For Sale” farm move over to the ‘Save’ category anyway?

Steve Donovan
Centreville, MD

Volunteer, Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission
Member Queen Anne’s County Chamber of Commerce

Washington College Returns to the Smithsonian

A trio of Pulitzer Prize winning authors are set for the 2010 “American Pictures” series.  Civil War historian James M. McPherson; cartoonist, author and illustrator Jules Feiffer; and cultural historian David Hackett Fischer will bring their unique perspectives to three iconic images in this spring’s series.

The “American Pictures” series – a joint program of Washington College, the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum – offers a highly original approach to art, pairing great works with leading figures of contemporary American culture. Each talk features an eminent writer, artist, critic or historian who chooses a single, powerful image and investigates its meanings, revealing how artworks reflect American identity and inspire creativity in many different fields. The series director is historian and essayist Adam Goodheart, Hodson Trust-Griswold Director of the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience at Washington College.

The series begins Saturday, April 10, when James McPherson will speak on Alexander Gardner’s photograph “Confederate Dead by a Fence on the Hagerstown Road, Antietam” (1862), which the speaker will use to explore the experiences of ordinary soldiers in the Civil War.  McPherson, a renowned expert on the Civil War, won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Battle Cry of Freedom, which is widely acclaimed as the best single-volume history of the Civil War ever published.

Saturday, April 17, will bring us Jules Feiffer, the well-loved cartoonist, playwright, screenwriter, and children’s book author and illustrator.  Feiffer will explore Bob Landry’s visually thrilling photograph “Fred Astaire in ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz,’” (1945), and draw on his forthcoming autobiography to discuss his life’s work as an artist in many different media.  He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning in 1986 and an Academy Award for his animated short, Munro, in 1961.

The series will conclude on Saturday, May 1, when David Hackett Fischer will take a close look at Emanuel Leutze’s famous “Washington Crossing the Delaware” (1851), a painting that helped inspire his 2005 Pulitzer-winning book, Washington’s Crossing.  Fischer is among the foremost scholars of American history and culture whose other books include Liberty and Freedom: A Visual History of America’s Founding Ideas; Paul Revere’s Ride; Albion’s Seed and, most recently, Champlain’s Dream.

“The idea behind ‘American Pictures’ is to have some of the most brilliant thinkers and writers and creators of the present day step inside some of the most powerful images from the past,” said Goodheart, the series director. “The most exciting thing is that each talk is, in effect, a brand-new work that premieres here for the first time.”

This is the third year for the “American Pictures” series, which has drawn large audiences for such speakers as historian Garry Wills, art-rock pioneer Laurie Anderson, actress/playwright Anna Deavere Smith, and filmmaker John Waters.  Support for “American Pictures” comes from the Starr Foundation, the Hodson Trust, the Hedgelawn Foundation, the Washington College Department of Art and Art History and others.

All “American Pictures” events take place at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery, located at 8th and F Streets, N.W., in Washington, D.C.  These Saturday talks, held in the Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium, will all begin at 4:30 p.m. Free tickets are available beginning at 3:30 p.m. at the G Street lobby information desk on a first-come, first-served basis.  For more information, visit www.starrcenter.washcoll.edu

Fabulous Fiber at Artworks

The Artworks Gallery at 306 Park Row in Chestertown features its eighth annual Fiber Show in April, with a champagne and chocolate reception on Friday, April 2, from 5-8 p.m.

Sheep wool spun into fiber art. Stitching and crewel work. Needlework.  Invited artists will surprise and impress. Over a dozen local experts will participate, with a colorful panoply of woven, knitted, hooked, felted, and basket-woven items.

Artworks also has expanded its non-profit gift shop with many new unique, hand-made gifts. Proceeds support local classes and programs for children and adults and foster arts on the Upper Eastern Shore.

Regular hours for Artworks’ gift shop, office, and gallery are Wednesday through Friday, 12-3 and Saturday, 9-3. For information on classes, memberships, or shows, call 410-778-6300 or visit www.artworkschestertown.org.

Director of National Gallery to Lecture on April 5

The Washington College Department of Art and Art History and Kohl Gallery present the Janson-La Palme Annual Distinguished Lecture in European Art History, “The National Gallery in the New Century,” a talk by Earl A. Powell III, Director of the National Gallery of Art, to be held Monday, April 5, 5:30 p.m., in the Hotchkiss Recital Hall, Daniel Z. Gibson Center for the Arts.  The event is free, and the public is invited to attend.

In 1992, Earl A. Powell III, known as “Rusty,” became only the fourth director of the National Gallery of Art, which opened to the public in 1941. This world-renowned collection has more than 107,000 European and American paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, books, and decorative arts dating from the 13th century to the present. Five to six million people a year view the Gallery’s masterpieces of Western art, including one of the world’s finest collections of French impressionism and the only painting by Leonardo da Vinci in the Western Hemisphere.

Born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Powell graduated with honors from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and received an A.M. and a Ph.D. from the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, where he specialized in 19th- and 20th-century European and American art. He served as an officer in the U.S. Navy from 1966 to 1969 and in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1976 to 1980 as a commander.

Powell served as curator of the Michener Collection and assistant professor of art history at the University of Texas at Austin from 1974 to 1976. During the next four years, while he held curatorial posts at the National Gallery of Art, he was deeply involved in the installation and opening of the East Building. From 1980 to 1992, Powell was director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which he transformed, according to Art in America magazine, “from a local institution to a museum of international stature.”

Powell’s book on the American landscape painter Thomas Cole was published in 1990. Under Powell’s leadership, the National Gallery of Art, which represents a partnership of federal and private resources, has added more than 12,000 works of art to its collection, established an award-winning web site and a visitor-friendly interactive Micro Gallery, created innovative programs for children and families, opened a 6.1-acre sculpture garden and a 25,000-square-foot suite of sculpture galleries featuring 900 works of art, and presented some 150 exhibitions, including international blockbusters such as Johannes Vermeer, Van Gogh’s Van Goghs, and The Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt. The Gallery is constantly exploring new ways of utilizing technology to further its mission of making the collection accessible to the citizens of the United States. According to Powell, “Technology offers phenomenal potential for the Gallery to be helpful in the area of public education and cultural awareness for all ages.”

The Janson-La Palme Annual Distinguished Lecture in European Art History was established by Washington College Professor Emeritus Robert J. H. Janson-La Palme and his wife, Bayly, to bring internationally known scholars on European art to campus for public lectures and presentations.

Locals Work to Hit New York Stage in May

A musical comedy written and produced by two Eastern Shore men will have its New York debut May 13 in New York City’s The Tank theater at 354 West 45th St.

“Celluloid”, with book and lyrics by Earl Lewin of Chestertown, and music by Dick Durham of Church Hill, premiered in 2006 to critical acclaim at Church Hill Theatre. It is currently in final weeks of rehearsal with a professional cast in New York.

Lewin and Durham decided to bring the play to New York after review by respected Broadway professionals, including director Mark Bramble, and George White, founder of the Eugene O’Neill Memorial Theatre.

Evening performances will be at 7 p.m. May 13 through 16, with matinees scheduled at 3 p.m. on May 15 and 16.

A bus trip from Chestertown to New York has been arranged for the May 15 matinee.  The bus will depart Chestertown at 9:30 a.m., and return around 8 p.m. that evening.  Cost of the trip, $75, includes a theater ticket, bus fare, and return meal. Betsy Sener Durham at 410-758-8178 can provide information on the bus trip.

Through its story, music and song, “Celluloid” traces a filmmaker in the 1970s pursuing his dream of securing a major contract, but film production is being threatened by new technologies. Humorous setbacks ranging from employees’ romances, personal dilemmas to unusual schemes for raising necessary finances provide laughs and platforms for the songs. Durham’s music with Lewin’s lyrics ties it all together in this shortened version of the 2006 Church Hill Theatre production.

Lewin and Durham are familiar presences in the Eastern Shore theater community.  Lewin, the author and director of a number of dinner theater musicals has also directed and acted in productions. He is a  published playwright and was presented in 2003 at the New York Rash Theatre Company’s One Act Play Festival.

He wrote and directed film for GE for many years and started his own company that produced film and video for major businesses and the government. He holds degrees in theater, radio, film and communications from Temple University, and has been an adjunct professor of film at Rowan University.

Durham, pianist, composer and arranger, has been playing standard jazz for 45 years, first throughout the nation, before returning more than 30 years ago to his East Coast roots. He has performed or worked in conjunction with such notables as Count Basie, Grover Washington and Stefan Scaggiari.  He holds advanced degrees in music, and his many recordings are available on cdbaby.com.  He was awarded the Maryland Governor’s Citation for Artistic Merit for his scores of “Celluloid” and an earlier Lewin-Durham musical comedy collaboration, “She Stoops to Conquer.”

The 2006 production of “Celluloid” drew critical praise, including such comments as, “good pacing, catchy tunes, clever lyrics and extraordinarily disciplined rhyme schemes,” to “a helluva diverting evening,” to  ”reaches out to a more reflective level of human feeling.”

It was the local success of both collaborations, and the critics’ praise and acceptance that led Lewin and Durham to follow the suggestion of the New York theater professionals to edit, prepare and produce a New York debut of “Celluloid”.

The Tank theater, located in midtown Manhattan near Times Square and the theater district, emphasizes new works in the performing arts by writers, directors, producers, designers and emerging players.  Its website is www.thetanknyc.org.

St. Patrick’s Starts Early at Library

The Kent County Public Library started St. Patrick’s Day early in Chestertown today.  The Library is offering two opportunities to enjoy of traditional Celtic music (10:30 am and 2 pm) with Ben Bennington (Guitar), Meredith Davies Hadaway (Harp & Concertina)and Bob Ortiz (Drums). No green beer will be served.

The Spy caught the 10:30 performance:

Former Wash Post Editor on Journalism Careers March 25

Bob Thompson, former editor of The Washington Post Magazine, will offer a presentation on “Careers in Journalism” at Washington College’s Rose O’Neill Literary House on Thursday, March 25, at 4:30 p.m.

Thompson spent 24 years as an award-winning writer and editor of magazine and newspaper feature stories at the Washington Post. He wrote 20 cover stories for the Washington Post Magazine and served as its editor for six years, working with writers such as David Finkel, Steve Coll, David Maraniss, Bob Woodward, and Marjorie Williams, as well as Robert Day, adjunct professor at Washington College.

Mr. Thompson also wrote and edited for the Post’s Style section, where from 2005 to 2009 he wrote author profiles and covered the publishing industry. Born in Seattle, Thompson grew up near Boston and graduated from Stanford University with a degree in history in 1972. He served as managing editor of three now-defunct publications before becoming a senior editor at the still-surviving Inc. Magazine in 1984. Thompson took the job at the Post in 1985. In 1992, he returned to Stanford for a year on a John S. Knight journalism fellowship.

His Post Magazine pieces ranged from a profile of legendary investigative reporter Seymour Hersh, to a portrait of a young woman graduating from college in the year 2000, to a close look at what was then America’s hottest computer game, “The Sims.”

Thompson’s presentation is sponsored by the Maureen Jacoby Endowment for Editing and Publishing.  Admission is free and open to the public.

Gabriel Design Opens Doors in Chestertown

Gabriel Design has come to Chestertown.  After years of operating in Rock Hall and Galena, owners Joyce and Marty Hale have brought their very popular gift store to Cross Street. The new store, located at 207 Cross where Sam Martin Reality was headquartered, had a “soft” opening last week for friends and supporters.

Gabriel Design will continue to stock unique gift items that will change with the season. Joyce Hale, who had a career as a wholesale buyer for speciality gifts on the Western Shore, moved to Kent County with her husband Marty to enjoy a less hectic pace and fulfill her own plans to start a business of their own.

The Spy was there for opening night.

Civil Rights Attorney to Discuss Race & Judicial Judgment March 18

The 2009 confirmation hearings of the first Latina Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor, rekindled an intense debate about the role of race in judicial decision-making. Noted civil rights attorney Sherrilyn Ifill will explore this topic when she presents “Wise Latinas, Black Raconteurs, and White Umpires: Conceptions of Race and Judging in Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings, 1955-2009,” at Washington College’s Litrenta Lecture Hall on Thursday, March 18, at 7:30 p.m.

Since 1955, when John Marshall Harlan was nominated to the Supreme Court just after the Brown v. Board of Education decision, questions about race have played a central role in Supreme Court confirmation hearings. The contention surrounding Justice Sotomayor’s nomination is only the latest chapter in a much longer story.

Ifill, one of the strongest voices advocating greater diversity on the Court, will be in residence at Washington College from March 15-19 as this year’s Frederick Douglass Visiting Fellow at the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience. Professor of Law at the University of Maryland School of Law, Ifill is a nationally recognized advocate for civil rights, voting rights, and judicial diversity. She offers commentary on race and the law on CNN, NBC Nightly News, and C-Span, and is a regular op-ed contributor to the Baltimore Sun and the Afro-American.

In her current project on the judicial selection process, Ifill argues that all judges – not just minorities – are affected by their own background and life experiences, and that diversity on the bench is key to creating a Court that can wisely interpret the law. If this is true, she maintains, it follows that the popular perception of white male judges as impartial “umpires” and female and minority judges as inherently biased is fundamentally flawed.

Prior to joining the University of Maryland faculty, Ifill litigated voting rights cases for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. An advocate of restorative justice for past racial wrongs, Ifill is the author of On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the 21st Century (Beacon Books, 2007), which explores the lingering effects of lynching here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Established through a generous gift from Maurice Meslans and Margaret Holyfield of St. Louis, the annual Frederick Douglass Visiting Fellowship brings to campus an individual engaged in the study or interpretation of African-American history and related fields. Besides providing the recipient an opportunity for a week of focused writing, the fellowship also offers Washington College students exposure to some of today’s leading interpreters of African-American culture. During her week in Chestertown, Ifill will speak with students and faculty about her research, and her experiences with restorative justice processes.

Litrenta Lecture Hall is located in the John S. Toll Science Center. Ifill’s talk, which is co-sponsored by the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, the Black Studies Program, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, and the Pre-Law Program, is free and open to the public.

African American Council Events Spring Series Announced

Come join us to honor the memory of the African American Civil War veterans from Kent County MD who fought for freedom!  Two films, ‘Glory’ and ‘Black Soldiers in Blue’, and the African American Civil War History Chats at the public library are free and open to the public

March 13th ‘Glory’
Fundraiser for the Charles Sumner Post #25 G.A.R. Building
7 p.m. Norman James Theater, Washington College

Spotlighting the courageous efforts of the 54th Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. This film provides insight into the lives of the men who built the Sumner Post # 25 Grand Army Republic in Chestertown, one of whom, Oscar Crozier was a member of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. This showing is made possible with generous support from Washington College Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), and the Washington College ‘Film Series’

March 27th – ‘Black Soldiers in Blue’
7 p.m. Kent County High School Auditorium

This documentary film on Camp William Penn takes us through the historic site in PA, the federal training ground for black troops during the Civil War. Learn about the recruitment of black volunteers, their training, and hardships, their heroism, and their enormous contribution to Union victory. Re-enactor Tom Davis, 3rd Regiment Infantry will give a living history presentation after the film – Directed by Warren Bass, produced by Zilan Munas and narrated by Dr. James Paradis.

April 7th and May 12th – African American Civil War History Chats

6 p.m. Kent County Public Library – Light refreshments served.  Join these informal gatherings with free reading materials provided.

These events are made possible with support of the Kent County Arts Council, and by Alternate ROOTS, Community/Artist Partnership Program whose funding is provided by the Nathan Cummings Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

Eastern Neck Refuge Announces Youth Turkey Hunt

Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in cooperation with the National Wild Turkey Federation will once again conduct a gobbler-only spring youth turkey hunt on the refuge. The Youth Turkey Hunt will include two Saturdays during the state season, May 8 and May 22, 2010. A refuge hunt permit is required. A limited number of permits will be issued to ensure a high-quality and safe hunting experience. Three youth hunters between the ages of 10 and 15 will be randomly selected for each hunt day. Only youths ages 10 through 15 who were not chosen for past hunts will be eligible. Applications for permits may be obtained by contacting Visitor Services Specialist Michele Whitbeck at 410-639-7056 ext. 222, online at www.fws.gov/northeast/easternneck, or by writing to Eastern Neck NWR, 1730 Eastern Neck Road, Rock Hall, MD 21661. There is no application fee.

Completed applications must be received by the refuge no later than 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 8, 2010. The drawing will be held on Friday, April 9, 2010. All successful applicants will be notified by telephone following the drawing.

All youths selected for the hunt must attend a safety briefing the day before their scheduled hunt. This mandatory safety briefing will be held at the refuge at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, May 7 or Friday, May 21 at the Tundra Swan Boardwalk parking lot. Youth hunters must present their valid hunting license at this time. Hunt permits will be issued at the briefing.

Members of the local chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will be guiding each of the youths selected for the hunt. The youths may be accompanied by a non-gun carrying parent or guardian. The bag limit will be one bearded turkey per youth.

All Maryland rules and regulations related to the State’s spring turkey season are applicable and will be enforced during the special hunt on Eastern Neck NWR. Detailed refuge-specific hunt regulations will be provided to the successful applicants.

The Prince’s Evening of Reconciliation

The Prince Theatre, known as the Lyceum during much of the 20th Century, has had a painful history of racial segregation. It is remembered — first-hand by many older residents in local black communities, and in accounts passed on to younger ones  – for  requiring them to sit only in the upper balcony and for banning them from seats on the first floor, for most of its existence.

No more. The Prince is, as it has been now for decades, open for everyone of every hue. And yet, as any regular patron of events there could and did observe, it has not become a place where very many people of color are comfortable. Some reaching out seemed in order.

On Saturday night, The Reverend Robert Brown Jr, pastor of Bethel A.M.E. Church,  and Philip Dutton, president of the board of the Prince Theatre Foundation, kicked off an evening of acknowledgment and healing at the Prince.

As the Reverend Brown noted in his opening remarks, “This building is still here as a theater, and for many people it remains a symbol, a painful reminder, of times when they were treated unjustly and unfairly, when segregation existed right here in our community.

“We know that one event, although conducted with the very best intentions and no matter how carefully planned, will not instantly erase all the painful memories of those times for the people who were harmed.  We do hope, however, that tonight we will begin a process.”

Mr. Dutton, in his role as president of the Prince, began the process on behalf of the board by saying, “The Prince Theatre Foundation hereby acknowledges that in this building in years past African American citizens were required to use a separate entrance and to take a separate staircase leading to a segregated seating area in the upper balcony.

“This was wrong.  For this injustice, we express our profound regret and apologize for the hurt done to you and to your ancestors, to those who felt inferior or unequal by these acts. May we all be prepared to commit ourselves to putting the past behind us, and work together for a new future unified in our humanity and in our spirits.”

Other presenters included African American Heritage Council leader Karen Somerville, County Commisioner William Pickrum, Chestertown Mayor Margo Bailey, and Acting Prince Theatre Director Lucia Foster.

Those participating with performances during the second part of the program included  Karen Somerville, Lester Barrett, Jerome McKinney, Bob Ortiz, Pam Ortiz, Mary Ashley, Debbie Campbell, Philip Dutton, Dannette Boyer, Irene Moore, William Pickrum, Alina Thomas, Lamontte Henry, Sunny Fassett, Bonita Harris, Peter Heck, Hope Clark, Joe Holt and The New Gospelites.

Photography by Leslie Raimond

The Feast of Reason Turns off the Lights

The Feast of Reason, which had been one of downtown Chestertown’s top lunch spots for many years, has formally closed. Kathleen Jones, one of the founders of the original restaurant, and who now owns the building with the brother Patrick, confirmed that Jen Friedman, who had run the Feast for the last six years, decided to close sometime last week.

Wind Ensemble Back with Concerts Beginning Next Sunday

On Sunday, March 14, the Eastern Shore Wind Ensemble, with a concert theme of “Cityscapes,” will take its audience on a musical tour of various cities. The program will begin at 4 p.m. at Christ U.M. Church, 401 High St., Chestertown. Admission is free. Directed by Keith Wharton since its founding in 2001, the ensemble is a community concert band based in Chestertown.

Not surprisingly, vibrant and diverse New York City, long the cultural capital of the United States, has been the topic or setting for much music over the years. Opening the program, contemporary composer Gary Gilroy’s “Heart of the City” is alive with the spirit and sounds of New York, evoking busy (and sometimes noisy) street life as well as more laid-back nightlife, represented by a middle bluesy section.

Jack Bullock’s “Salute to New York City” is a medley of well-known 20th-century tunes that showcases the city as the entertainment capital of the musical stage: “Give My regards to Broadway,” “Forty-Second Street,” “The Sidewalks of New York (East Side, West Side),” and two with the title “New York, New York.”

The band will also play a medley of tunes from “West Side Story,” a latter-day Romeo and Juliet story that is set in mid-1950s New York. With music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreography by Jerome Robbins, the work is known for its extraordinary dance sequences, melodic characterization and continuity, excellent orchestration, and cohesive plot. The musical opened on Broadway in 1957 and was adapted for film in 1961.

Sometimes called the Second City, Chicago was honored by Fred Fisher in his 1922 song about his adopted town, “Chicago (That Toddlin’ Town). Very popular in the 1920s, it was revived by Frank Sinatra in the 1957 movie “The Joker Is Wild,” and then recorded by numerous other singers as well.

“Nightflight: Scenes of a City from Above,” with its three sections (Street Carnival, A Heavenly View, and Fireworks Galore!) resulted from what contemporary composer James Swearingen saw from a plane as it left Miami, Florida.

On the other side of the pond, the city of Paris is evoked by Andrew Watkin’s 1997 piece “City of Lights,” which seems at least partly inspired by the 19th-century music of Jacques Offenbach.

One of the highlights of the program will be “Flight of Fancy,” a lively 2005 piece written by Timothy Johnson for solo flute and band, in which the composer invites listeners’ imaginations to take flight and soar. Aaron Richmond of Port Republic, a Calvert High School senior and student of Keith Wharton for four years at the Summer Center for the Arts held at Washington College, will be the soloist. Besides participating in school ensembles, Aaron has been selected for all-county and regional bands and for participation in solo and ensemble festivals at the county, regional, and state levels, where he earned high scores. He has also been in talent shows at his school and at a camp hosted by the National Federation of the Blind.

The program will conclude with a familiar, well-written march, “Queen City,” that a little-known composer (W. H. Boorn) wrote in the early 20th century to honor the city of Cincinnati.

The Eastern Shore Wind Ensemble offers area wind and percussion musicians an opportunity to continue or return to the pleasures of playing quality music in a large ensemble. New members are always welcome, without audition or fee. For further information, call 410-778-2829 or 410-810-1834. The ensemble is supported by grants from the Kent County Arts Council and community donations.

Spy Op-Ed: Sykesville Vs Ruthsburg – Similar? by Sherry Adam

As the cold rain falls at 7:45 in the morning and the frigid air blows mercilessly in the Ruthsburg Community center parking lot, we wait for the GSA/Dept of State people to arrive to take us on what is supposed to be a tour of a ’similar’ facility to the proposed FASTC – The MD Public Safety Education and Training Center (PSETC) in Sykesville, Md.  Before we leave the parking lot we are told that there will be NO explosions demonstrated today and handed yet another white, glossy, embossed folder with premium pages of “info” about the Sykesville Academy.  Yet another waste of taxpayer’s dollars.

As the bus we are on climbs the huge hill to get there, you can hear the engine lugging and I laugh as I think of The Little Engine That Could.  We pull in and my first thought is this is nothing like Ruthsburg.  The hills, valleys and natural terrain are so far from that of home – similar?

We get off the bus and go into a classroom where two instructors give us a rundown of what they do there as far as training and tell us that they receive few phone calls in reference to the noise.  We ask questions and find that they set off maybe two explosions per year less than 3 pounds, there are NO armored vehicles, there is NO mock urban warfare zone and they have maybe 18 employees – similar?

The lead “instructor”, Mr. Liebno, is to be our tour guide today and we board the bus again to see the facility.  First are the driving tracks.  As you look around you see lots of paved roads with intersections, stop signs, arrows, etc. just like anywhere you drive pretty much, but you don’t see any cars.  I thought we were here to get an idea of what will be going on at the FASTC driving tracks, not see a ghost town – NO CARS!?  We ask if they can put someone on the track for us, and our tour guide says “sure.”

After a few minutes of standing in the cold at the side of the “high speed” track, two police cars fly by us at about 70 mph on the straight-away then circle around and come back up the hill to stop in front of us.  Our thoughts; we can see that on 50/301 anytime.  There were no screeching tires, no brakes …. Hmmm – similar?  We asked Mr. Liebno about this and he tells us that it is quite costly to go through all that rubber and wear and tear on the car and adds that the smell from those maneuvers makes him sick to his stomach.  What a colossal disappointment.  We were not impressed.

The only thing left is their firing range since there is no mock urban warfare zone and no explosives – not even flash bangs.  These are 25 yard and 50 yard ranges that have concrete flooring with 3 concrete walls and what looks like waffling aluminum roofing.  There are 3 men shooting 9mm pistols and one 12 gauge shot gun.  We are told that we cannot get off the bus without ear protection.  Guns blazing on the 50 yard range made it impossible to hold a conversation even with the person sitting next to you on the bus.

We wanted to hear it from outside so they took us uphill 300 feet from the range and we got off the bus.  After a moment or two they started firing the pistols and the sound was horrendous!  The 9mm pistols blasted away and we were devastated to think we would be hearing this all day long not to mention it was only three guys NOT the 20 – 30 students proposed for the FASTC.  Some actually jumped at the blast of the 12 gauge.  These were not even the larger weaponry; I.e., 45 cal machine guns – again, similar?  Totally unacceptable!!

So to summarize:

PSETC                                                           FASTC

Mountainous terrain                                  Flat terrain

18 employees (only saw 4)                        400 employees

NO students                                                  450 students

Pistols and 12 gauge                                   45 cal machine guns, etc.

2 police cars                                                  100’s of cars including armored vehicles

NO mock urban warfare                             3 Mock urban warfare zones

NO rifle range                                               Indoor/Outdoor rifle range

Explosive detonations 2/yr                        Explosive detonations 3,323/yr

Similar???

I went, I saw, I wasted an entire day.  I am sure that when Senator Mikulski suggested this, she actually meant it should be a site that was actually similar to the Ruthsburg proposal so we could get a feel for what it will really be like at the FASTC.

They had weeks to prepare for this, months even.  I, and I am sure the others, expected tires squealing, cars racing around, braking, circling on the skid pads – lots of action; dozens of shooters blasting 45 caliber machine guns NOT  pistols; explosions/flash bangs; even a hostage situation at the mock urban warfare zone.  What we got……..yet another COLOSSAL government disappointment.

Sherry Adam
1636 Ruthsburg Rd
Ruthsburg MD

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