Month: February 2023

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN By Sharon Lee Tegler

Brought to you by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services

The strains of music from the rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar” echoed from the sanctuary of Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church as a rehearsal for the show got underway last Saturday afternoon. The award-winning Broadway production, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, debuted in 1971 and remains popular 52 years later.

About half of the 40-member cast – a mix of principals, understudies and ensemble members – was on hand to rehearse specific numbers. The show has no spoken dialogue and everything is sung. With only a handful of rehearsals left before the musical’s March 24th debut, a lot of time was spent on Saturday working on the choreography of the dance sequences and general movement by the actors.

The show’s director, David Merrill, met with the cast onstage to give them a rundown of the scene they were about to rehearse. He next watched actress Emily Sergo, who plays Judas Iscariot, perform the show’s first number “Heaven On Their Minds” while assistant director Elysia Merrill (David’s wife) photographed her from different angles. The couple’s beloved Boxer dog Gisla, who attends every rehearsal, watched attentively from a comfy spot on the center aisle.

At the back of the room, Woods Church volunteer Jacquei Shade, whose son Thomas is in the production, was lending a helping hand where needed.

Sergo’s performance was enthusiastically received by her fellow actors waiting offstage.

As the rehearsal progressed, various parts of the production demanded on-the-spot instruction from choreographer Elysia Merrill who carefully coordinated the movement and placement of each actor from one scene to the next.

The cast’s entrance for the number “What’s the Buzz”, pictured above, was rehearsed several times before they segued into a segment highlighting the dancers. As the beat picked up and the actors receded toward the wings, the dancers moved front and center.

Behind them, Sarah Kent, who plays Mary, and cast member Dillon McCarrick, the understudy for the role of Jesus, sat on a platform while discussing the script.

The creative and innovative productions staged by Merrill, Woods’ Director of Music and the Arts, generally attract sizeable audiences. To accommodate them, the church uses its spacious sanctuary as a theater with the aisles on either side standing in for wings. The stepped altar area doubles as a stage and there is ample floor space.

When dance became the focus of the “What’s the Buzz” number, choreographer Elysia watched with intense concentration and occasionally interrupted the routine to offer a suggestion.

The dancers act as a bridge between scenes and play a pivotal role in moving the plot forward. However, three pieces of music, “Simon Zealottes”, “The Temple” and “Superstar” are exclusively dance numbers.

Loosely based on the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, “Jesus Christ Superstar” was controversial when it debuted on Broadway because of its unconventional portrayal of Jesus, its sympathetic treatment of Judas, its skipping of the resurrection and, among other things, its rock-based score.

As the rehearsal evolved into another scene, an impromptu script conference was needed between Elysia and actors Erica Snipes, Dillon McCarrick and Sarah Kent before they moved into place.

The actors worked on scenes featuring Jesus, using two platforms that will be disguised as scenery during the actual shows. According to the Merrills, Woods Church has a wonderful prop and set builder team.

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“Our prop master is Nancy Bishop and our set builders are Pete Bishop and John Dawson,” said David.  “We do not cover or mask the set so we must move it completely out of the sanctuary for church services or special events. John McLaughlin, our properties director, (a guard in the show) is good at setting up and tearing down the set with help from the cast.”

Elysia added that Susan Bohlman is the show’s head costumer and has two other volunteers working with her on outfitting 40 actors – all of whom can’t wait to see what they’ll be wearing.

When rehearsal drew to a close we caught up with one of the youngest actors, Violet Thompson, who is part of the ensemble and also plays a leper. The 15-year-old is a skilled, enthusiastic and expressive dancer. We inquired if she’d had other acting experience.

“Yes, I’ve done theater my whole life,” Violet said. “In addition to appearing in some of the Woods’ productions, I’ve been in a number of Jennifer Lee Kraus’s Theater In The Park shows.”

We caught up with actors Sarah Kent and David Thompson, who is playing Peter, while they were helping Merrill fold platforms prior to stowing them away.

Sarah, who is Woods’ Director of Contemporary Music, said she felt that the rehearsal went well in spite of having just half the cast to work with. She was pleased that the “What’s the Buzz” sequences were coming along nicely.

“I’ve really learned to trust David and Elysia,” Kent said. “It seems like I’m always wondering ‘how are we ever going to pull this off?’ The costuming, for example, hasn’t come together yet and I have no idea what I’m going to wear. But then… we always do pull it off.”

Kent reminded us that there will be six performances of “Jesus Christ Superstar” on two consecutive weekends on March 24, 25 and 26 at 7:30 pm and, again, on March 31, April 1 and April 2 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $15 and may be ordered by visiting http://www.woodstix.org.

Woods Church brings back its annual St. Patrick’s Day Dinner on March 17

Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church volunteer Karen Lerario dropped by the “Jesus Christ Superstar” rehearsal to share some special news.

“For the first time since the COVID pandemic, Woods Church is bringing back its popular St. Patrick’s Day dinner on March 17th at the Severna Park Community Center from 5:30 to7:30 pm,” Lerario said.

“The dinner will be catered by Park Deli instead of prepared by the Woods Church kitchen coordinator and volunteers who prepared St. Patrick’s Day fare in previous years. Park Deli has been generous to us in setting the price for adult dinners at $20, with children 12 and under $10 and a maximum price for a family dinner $60.”

The dinner will be held in the community center’s Andy Borland Gymnasium which will be decorated in St. Patrick’s Day greenery. The Woods Church Childrens Ministry is making decorative screens, one of which features a rainbow with a pot of gold.

Lerario says the menu will feature traditional St. Patrick’s Day foods including Bangers and Mash and Corned Beef and Cabbage.

There will be Irish music, a performance by the Crawford Family Celtic Dancers and leprechauns to entertain the diners. The community is welcome. Tickets may be purchased online at Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church (woodschurch.org). For information, call 410-647-2550.

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress.”  

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN By Sharon Lee Tegler

Brought to you by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services

“Since Toys R Us went out of business, there are very few places where you can buy toys,” said Jack Cook the owner of 2ND CHANCE TOYZ at 6 South Ritchie Highway in Pasadena.

Over the past couple of years Around The Park Again has observed that affordable toys are harder to find, so it was a pleasant surprise to spot the 2ND CHANCE TOYZ shop from the stop light at the corner of Ritchie Highway and East West Boulevard.

Curious, we stopped to check it out and found it stocked with thousands of toys. The exact same thing happened to customer John Pylypec from Odenton who we found browsing the shelves of Matchbox cars.

“I was cruising down the highway and stopped at the light and there it was, 2ND CHANCE TOYZ,” Pylypec said. “I’d discovered the shop on Google maps when it was in Glen Burnie about a year-and-a-half ago and had always meant to stop by. However, I didn’t and thought I’d missed the opportunity. I’m really excited to discover it here and finally have a chance to come in and look around. They have a lot of things I like.”

Pylypec said he’s something of a collector of vintage toys. It was clear from the length of time he took examining every shelf and the full shopping bag he left with that he’d done well adding to his collection.

Pylypec was one of many collectors and hobbyists who frequent 2ND CHANCE TOYZ but customers of all ages and interests visit the shop and keep the staff of six employees hopping.

An interview and tour of the shop with owner John Cook was revealing, in part because of its interesting history, and also because of the extensive selection and price range of toys the business buys, sells or trades. The idea behind the toy business arose from owner’s desire to fulfill a childhood yearning.

“When I was a kid, we were poor, we didn’t have a lot of stuff,” Cook said. “My friends had it though. So, I always wanted the things they had. As I got older, I thought, ‘Okay, I’ve got some money so I’m gonna start getting a few things here and there,’ and, before I knew it, I had a mound of toys, games and action figures.”

By that time, he’d started meeting other people who collected similar items and enjoyed helping each other out with tips or trades. Soon, what began as a hobby turned into more of an obsession.

In 2011, as his interest reached an all-time high, Cook sold the landscaping company he’d owned for more than a decade and used the profits to start his toy business with wife Margaret. The couple chose the name “2ND CHANCE TOYZ” to represent John’s second chance to give toys a new life with someone who’ll appreciate them as much as he does.

“We started up at North Point Flea Market where we kept a booth from which we sold toys weekly,” said Cook. “It was a bit expensive keeping the booth, but we started making good money – good enough that we decided to keep rolling with it and move up to brick and mortar.

“I’m the tortoise in business, not the hare, so we began with a three-year contract on a storefront in Linthicum. Sales-wise, we were really moving. We next relocated 2ND CHANCE TOYZ to Glen Burnie and you’d have thought I turned a light switch on. Customers were coming from everywhere.”

Business was good but, still, Cook found the shop’s location a drawback. Situated all the way at the end of a shopping center, the store couldn’t be seen from the road. In spite of having an online presence, people were finding 2ND CHANCE TOYZ primarily through word of mouth. Thus, when the contract was up, the Cooks looked for a new retail space – one where they could be seen – on Ritchie Highway.

“I think I found a good spot here because it’s very visible, the traffic light’s in front of us, there are good neighborhoods around us, and we’re seeing a lot of new faces,” he said.

The location is also spacious enough to hold a voluminous inventory of recent and vintage toys and other items. They range in price from 50 cents for children or those who don’t have much money to spend to a few thousand dollars for high-end collectors. There are shelves and shelves and bins and glass front cases full of toy cars including the vintage metal cars shown in the opening photo.

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There are hundreds of vintage and modern action figures including Star Wars characters, X-Men, and other superheroes.

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According to Cook, GI Joes are “the hottest thing going now”, particularly the new 6-inch models which he says are midway between the little 3-3/4-inch ones he had as a child and the 12-inch ones owned by his father. GI Joes were always one of the shop owner’s favorite things so he took a calculated risk and placed an order with the distributor the moment they came out.

There is a vast collection of comics which take up most of a back wall, part of a wall on the left side of the shop and appear in a special glass case. To keep them in good condition and preserve their value, the comics are encased in see-through plastic sleeves and/or kept in cardboard bins according to series. Cook took pride in pointing out the glass showcase where valuable vintage or special edition comics are kept. He called our attention to a first edition of “The Crow” which is priced at $1,800 and an “Ultimate Fallout” edition selling for $1,000.

Another collection Cook is particularly proud of is strictly vintage. He finds he’s touched every time he turns on the Mickey Mouse lamp seen below because of what it represented to generations of kids.

A bust of Batman, an early 20th century merry-go-round, a metal barn circa 1950’s and a statuette of Donald Duck grace the top shelf of another section of older toys.

“I never thought 12 years ago when I started this that it would ever blossom to what it is,” said Cook. “But a lot of things have happened. Toys R Us going out of business makes it harder for people to buy toys. The Targets and Walmarts put out what’s easily available. But, if you’re looking for something from a toy series five years ago, your only option is to look for it on the internet, in which case you never really know what you’re getting. With us, you get to see it in person, see the value. You can see it, touch it and smell it.”

One of the most enthusiastic store owners we’ve met, Cook finds great satisfaction in carrying such a vast array of products that there is something for everyone. You might see a father and his son come in. The father might be a collector looking for something special that costs a lot. Meanwhile, the son may be looking to spend his allowance and can shop by himself for something fun but inexpensive – something with which to start a collection of his own.

Though the shop also carries merchandise for girls and women, that is not what Lane Heline was looking for.

“I’m here buying some wrestling figures for my son. He and my husband come here to 2ND CHANCE TOYZ on Saturdays to see wrestlers in person as do some other family members who are wrestlers. This is a great place and we come here for many occasions.

The shop often hosts in-person appearances by wrestlers who sit for autographs or pose for photos and also hosts live auctions viewed on Whatnot.com every Tuesday night and Friday night.

“One night we’ll do GI Joe and one night we’ll do wrestling, another night we’ll do Pokemon and people tune in,” Cook said. “The auctions have been one of several benefits we’ve enjoyed thanks to the internet. But actually being here at the shop in person is the real deal.”

A particular joy for Cook and his staff is helping kids like Lincoln Gaither find what they are looking for. Lincoln was all smiles as he was able to locate several boxes of his favorite Marvel Funko Pops heroes.

Lincoln’s younger brother Alex came to look for a video game but his imagination was temporarily captured by a bright green motorcycle nestled among the cars.

If there’s still a measure of the toy-loving child in you, or if you merely channel your inner sense of play through getting hard-to-find toys for your own little ones, we recommend checking out 2ND CHANCE TOYZ at 6 South Ritchie Highway in Pasadena or visiting them online at 2ND CHANCE TOYZ – HOME PAGE or on Facebook or Instagram.

An old-fashioned Pancake Supper at Baldwin Memorial United Methodist Church

Save your appetite for an All-You-Can-Eat Pancake Supper at Baldwin Memorial United Methodist Church, 911 Generals Highway, Millersville on Tuesday, February 21 from 4:30 to 7 pm. Pancakes, sausage, scrambled eggs, coffee, tea, orange juice and lemonade are on the menu.

The price for adults is $6.00, for students 13 and up $5.00, for children 6 to 12 $3.00 and for children 5 and under free. For information, visit Baldwin Memorial United Methodist Church – At the Crossroads of past and future in witness for Christ.

Anne Arundel Branch of American Association of University Women hosts ERA exhibit

The Anne Arundel Branch of the American Association of University Women, Maryland will be one of six hosts for “Artists4ERA, an art exhibit to bring renewed awareness to the Equal Rights Amendment, on March 3rd at the Baltimore County Arts Guild at the Catonsville Clubhouse from 6:30 to 9:30 pm. The clubhouse is located at 10 St. Timothy’s Lane in Catonsville. The work of iconic artist Shepard Fairey, Chuck Sperry and Tracie Ching is being presented along with that of 27 other artists.

Around The Park Again would like to welcome aboard Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services which joins Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi as a sponsor.

Thus, the column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress.”  

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Brought to you by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi

It was while doing research on replacing the windows in the former Catholic church that’s known today as Boone Station Hall that project manager Bob Royer visited the chapel at Holy Family Catholic Church in Davidsonville.

Years earlier, Bob and his wife Karen had driven by the pretty chapel on their way to Homestead Gardens on Central Avenue in Davidsonville and did a double take. Though smaller, the chapel bore a striking resemblance to Boone Station Hall.

Somewhat later, Bob and Karen bumped into Holy Family Catholic Church member Chis Gordon at a Watershed Stewards Academy event. Gordon, a Master Watershed Steward, is involved in maintaining and preserving the chapel and church grounds. The Royers mentioned having seen the chapel and the conversation evolved to chatting about its similar style of architecture with Boone Station Hall. The similarities didn’t end there.

Both edifices were built as Catholic churches in the late 1920’s and, even today, they bear a noticeable resemblance to each other. Both have a bell tower and both have similarly positioned entrances. Both have windows with identical panes in the same patterns and color. However, all of the chapel’s windows are square while Boone Station Hall has a combination of square and arched windows.

Built in 1929 as Holy Family Catholic Church, the graceful edifice seen above (and in the opening photo) served the Davidsonville community well until 1982 when a larger church was built to accommodate the burgeoning congregation. The building was restored to its original state in 1991 and preserved as a church but serves as a chapel. It is one of three churches located within the Davidsonville Historic District.

Built by parishioners in 1927, the modest structure that is now Boone Station Hall was home to St. John the Evangelist Church until 1964, when construction was completed on a new church at 689 Ritchie Highway. The YMCA subsequently purchased the facility and land surrounding it adding a small building and a pool. Following bankruptcy proceedings, the property was acquired by Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church in 1965. The newly formed Severna Park Community Center next door leased the facility from Woods and eventually renamed it Holy Grounds Youth Center. Thereafter it served as a coffee house for teens but was soon used extensively for meetings and events.

While the Woods REHAB Group was in the planning stages for their window replacement project in 2020, Royer arranged to visit the Holy Family Catholic Church chapel and was amazed by what he saw. A conversation with Chris Gordon afterward astonished Royer and led the REHAB Group to alter their perspective on their own building’s history.

“From what I’d learned, I told Bob Royer that our church was built in about 1929 from a Sears Catalog church kit,” Gordon said. “It was originally shingled but was white.”

Gordon’s comment was confirmed in an article by Angela Gambill in the Baltimore Sun in 1991 that detailed the restoration of the chapel to its original state earlier that year.

“When the fledgling congregation at Holy Family in Davidsonville needed a church building, late in the ’20s, they started flipping through the pages of the Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog,” Gambill wrote. “Oral history from church members at the time recounts how the church arrived by rail at Hall Station off Route 214 and was brought by horse and buggy to its present location, where it was assembled. Older church members recalled seeing boxes with the Sears name on them.”

She added that Catalogs such as Sears offered several sizes and varieties of churches, which were shipped in large sections for assembly.

Royer, in turn, shared what he knew about the original church structure with Gordon. A history of Severna Park called “Reflections” (still available from Bay Media, Inc.) notes that a site along Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard was selected for St. John the Evangelist Church in January of 1927. Construction was soon completed, and a dedication and mass were held on September 14, 1927. As can be seen, the original church had dark brown shingles.

Having taken a close look at the Holy Family Chapel windows during his visit, Royer has no doubt they are the same as those at Boone Station Hall and now believes the St. John the Evangelist parishioners built their church from a Sears kit too. It likely came by rail to the railroad station directly across Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard from the building.

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The upper panes of the original windows in Boone Station Hall were arched but, otherwise, similar as can be seen in the photo below on the right that was taken during a building renovation in 2013. From the outside, square windows exactly like those in the Holy Family chapel are visible along the back of the building and in the anteroom on the side that was converted into a bathroom.

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The roomier balcony at Boone Station Hall overlooks the audience and stage. Observers and photographers lined the rail for a performance by the Freedom Choir in May of 2019 dedicated to the late Capital newspaper reporter Wendi Winters. With the pews long since removed, the former church can accommodate a sizeable audience.

Another similarity between Boone Station Hall and the Holy Family Catholic Church Chapel is that they both have bell towers. Sadly, the Boone Station Hall bell no longer exists. (It was likely removed when St. John the Evangelist’s new church was completed.)

However, the bell in the tower at the chapel peals strongly thanks, in part, to Chris Gordon who was kind enough to ring the bell during a visit by the writer. (He even invited her to ring it which was quite a thrill.)

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Gordon explained that the bell was silenced following the earthquake that took place across Anne Arundel County about a decade ago.

“We had painters out about three years ago to redo the chapel’s trim and they had a lift to get them up to do the work,” Gordon said. “The bell was not working so I gave them $50 and said ‘Take me up to that belfry.’ So I went up on the lift with them and opened the little door there and found that the bell was off its rocker. I quickly went back home, built a frame, got some 2×4’s for leverage and hoisted the bell back up onto the rocker and secured it with the frame.”

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Both properties have lovely campuses with handicap accessible walkways and ecologically sustainable landscaping. Boone Station Hall is renowned for its beautiful pollinator gardens full of native plants. Thanks to Watershed Steward Gordon, Holy Family Chapel has pretty grounds too with lots of rain barrels.

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Though the two buildings’ origins mirror each other, they are no longer two sides of the same coin.

Their uses differ in many ways. According to Gordon, the Holy Family chapel has deliberately been kept as a church. Small and intimate, it is used primarily for weddings, baptisms and funerals. Until recently, it was also used for mass but the COVID pandemic meant all masses were conducted in the roomier new church behind the chapel where parishioners could spread out.

In the half century since the Woods congregation acquired the former church in 1965, the facility has been used for many things. While Holy Grounds Youth Center, it was managed by Severna Park Community Center and used first as a coffee house. Later it was used as a venue for meetings, bazaars and expos, concerts and theatrical performances, and dance and exercise classes like the Kendo martial arts class demonstration (below) during a Fitness Expo in 2010.

With the area where the altar used to be converted to a stage, Boone Station Hall, which is still managed by the Community Center, is a popular venue for concerts. But now and then it’s used for religious occasions as was the case with Woods Church’s Children’s Easter Service and Living Flower Cross procession on April 20th in 2014.

Severna Park’s Boone Station Hall and Davidsonville’s Holy Family Catholic Church Chapel continue to serve each community in meaningful ways. Born from a similar design, both represent charming sides of the same coin.

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardiovascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress.  January 28 marked the start of Jing Ying Institute’s month-long silent auction fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Brought to you by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi

What could be more uplifting on a rainy Sunday afternoon in January than to attend a Tea Tasting by well-known tea expert Lynayn Mielke hosted by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi.

Mielke, owner of The Well Infused Life at 915 Bayridge Avenue in Annapolis, has literally traveled the world in her quest for knowledge about different teas and their effects on the human body and spirit. Introduced to the audience by Jing Ying Institute owner Nancy Greer, Mielke’s expressive presentation about the art of tea tasting immediately captured the audience’s attention and imagination.

Unlike “going to tea” at a hotel or fancy restaurant where scones, clotted cream and finger sandwiches are on the agenda, a “tea tasting” is just that – a tasting and comparison of various teas. Mielke’s guests would be tasting and comparing three different Chinese black teas during the afternoon and discovering the subtleties of each.

It’s well documented that drinking tea with friends encourages everyone “be present” in the moment – a practice that is greatly beneficial to one’s health. Bearing that in mind, Mielke encouraged attendees to introduce themselves to everyone else at their table.

Her own passion for tea began early.

“I’ve loved drinking tea since I was five years old and having tea with my grandparents,” she said.

It wasn’t until she was an adult acupuncturist, however, that she rediscovered and refined her connection with the beverage. While studying with Professor J. R. Worsley, the father of Five Element Acupuncture, she learned of the connections between acupuncture and herbs. Though intrigued, she chose not include herbal therapy in her own practice. Instead, she delved further into the medicinal, meditative, and spiritual benefits of tea and began recommending it to her patients.

Prior to the actual tasting, Mielke noted that there were two cups at each place at the table. The white cups, she explained, were for drinking the tea and observing the different aromas, colors and flavors of the three varieties. The tiny clay cups at each place were gifts from her to her guests to take home with them. No longer made, the little cups were 20 years old and made from Yixing Clay found only in the Yixing region of Central China. They were originally used in the brewing or tasting process. One of many anecdotes the world traveler shared involved watching those clay cups being made by artisans who were women during one of her visits to China.

Soon, she pointed to the three teas being tasted which were neatly arranged on a table at the front of the room. There were examples of the dry tea leaves of each as well as the wet, or infused, versions of each.

Mielke explained that there are two main varieties of tea plants. Camelia sinensis is grown only in China and is the source for black teas, green teas, white teas, pu-ehr (also spelled puehr) teas, oolong teas, and yellow teas. Of those varieties, only black teas and pu-ehr teas are fermented. Pu-ehr teas can be loose leaf varieties or, more often, you’ll find them with the leaves compressed into small shapes.

Camelia sinensis assamica tea plants are grown in India with two main varieties of strong, large leaved black teas, Assam and Darjeeling.

Examining the examples of dry and wet leaves of each tea being passed around, the guests observed how the tea leaves swelled in size once infused.

Mielke had earlier brewed plentiful amounts of all three of the featured teas and stored them at the proper temperature in stainless steel air pots for everyone to taste. She invited one or two guests from each table to form a line at the air pot furthest left and sample the first tea – a Gong Fu Cha. To honor the tradition of serving others as part of the tasting ritual, each person carried two cups to fill.

Headed by James Kluh, a line of eight people formed. A little bit later, black Labrador guide dog Parker was only too happy to accompany his mistress Wendi Ng to the air pots once the line dwindled.

Ng, whose popular calligraphy classes are hosted by Jing Ying Institute, said she is raising Parker while he’s training to become a Guiding Eyes For The Blind guide dog. He’ll be going back to Guiding Eyes in mid-April for testing to assure he’d make a good guide dog. If all’s well, he’ll receive a good deal of further training before being matched with someone with vision loss.

Mielke, meanwhile, asked attendees to cradle their cups of tea and breathe in the aroma. Surprisingly, she emphasized that it was a perfectly acceptable practice to slurp one’s tea in order to aerate the beverage over the tongue thereby enhancing its taste.

After savoring the Gong Fu Cha, the second tasting of Black Gunpowder Tea from Fujian was introduced. Attendees once more filled multiple cups of tea from the air pots. Among other attributes, the leaves of Black Gunpowder Tea are broad and strong and capable of being reinfused a second time. Those tasting the beverage described it as having a smoky taste.

Having acquainted her audience with two of the three types of tea, Mielke introduced them to a range of tea accessories called Gai wans which are basically small pots that brew a single serving of tea. She also displayed a magnetic tea infuser that she later used to show the audience what a brewing of the final tea, a pu-erh, looks like.

Pu-erhs are aged black teas that are fermented allowing microbials to develop that are beneficial to wellness and longevity. The one she chose to feature for the final tasting was a Mandarin Orange Pu-erh with strong hints of roses and chocolate.

Many attendees said they liked this tea best as the aromas and flavors of rose and chocolate really came through. Though the tasting ended with final cups of tea, the event was not yet over.

Questions were taken and answered by Mielke and helpful tea tips were given. Among them we learned that teas can be kept for two years. However, one should not refrigerate tea leaves. (You can brew the tea leaves and allow the tea to sit out overnight for use in the morning.) Above all, don’t ever microwave tea which destroys the microbials as well as the structure of the tea.

Just as the event was winding down, Lynayn Mielke took a moment to pose for photos with her helpful companion Rodell Middleton and hosts Nancy and Billy Greer.

Afterward, people browsed the Silent Auction table set up by Jing Ying Institute to raise funds for the Alzheimer’s Association which provides Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Others flocked to a table of teas and tea accessories available for purchase from Mielke’s business, The Well-Infused Life. (Years ago, she recommended teas to her acupuncture clients and soon began selling them. The sign on the table for the East West Tea Emporium is a reminder of the original tea business she launched years ago with her mother.)

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As one might imagine, there was a long line of willing customers for a variety of Well-Infused Life products for sale. To learn more about Lynayn Mielke and The Well-Infused Life, visit Lynayn Mielke | Facebook.

Orphan Grain Train’s “Light Up Ukraine” Drive still going strong

We have a follow-up to our earlier news about Orphan Grain Train’s “Light Up Ukraine” campaign. The effort has been a huge success! To date the organization has collected over $85,000 and money is still coming in. A total of 3,500 lights have been sent to Ukraine so far, with many more on order. OGT has collected enough money to purchase over 11,000 lights. Light Up Ukraine committee chair Elfe Eberle would like to pass on her thanks to everyone who helped OGT in giving LIGHT and HOPE to the people of Ukraine.

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardiovascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress.  January 28 marked the start of Jing Ying Institute’s month-long silent auction fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association