Month: February 2025

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

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

and Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services

Few of our local churches are known to present ambitious musical or theatrical productions with large casts. But that is precisely what Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church has been doing for the past eight years. Thanks to David Merrill, Woods’ multi-talented and innovative Director of Music and the Arts, the church has produced large-scale productions ranging from “Jesus Christ Superstar” to last year’s “The Secret Garden”.

Attending an early rehearsal om the church sanctuary for this year’s musical, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, we realized what a challenge staging this complex production will be. As the production’s director, Merrill was taking the cast through a tavern scene featuring Chinmayee Balachandra as the beautiful Esmeralda who was kidnapped when she was an infant and raised as a Romani (gypsy) woman. During the scene, Balachandra skillfully portrayed Esmeralda pursuing her livelihood as a street dancer from atop a picnic table.

Following the scene, Merrill provided us an overview of the show. He said it is based on Victor Hugo’s novel “Notre-Dame de Paris” published in 1831. Set in 15th Century Paris, the story revolves around the deformed bellringer Quasimodo and his guardian, the Archdeacon Claude Frollo who falls in love with Esmerelda but is rejected by her. Turmoil, destruction and multiple deaths ensue before there is a glimmer of hope.

“The title of Hugo’s book was focused on Notre Dame Cathedral where the story unfolds,” Merrill said. “However, our Woods Church production is based, in part but not entirely, on the 1996 adaptation of Hugo’s novel in the Disney animated film ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’. The version we chose to produce differs from the film and is closer to the actual novel and much darker. It’s a show that we don’t recommend for children.”

He added that one theme of the production is an exploration of what it means to be a misfit in society – an “other”. It’s a theme that is reflected in the song “God Help the Outcasts”.

Merrill, called our attention to the actor who plays Quasimodo, Lucas White. We caught up with White just after he’d tried on the green cloak that costume department head Susan Bohlman designed for him and is holding in the photo at right.

“Luckily, the cloak Susan made for me has the hunchback’s hump built into the back. The hump, in combination with changing my posture, enables my transformation to a deformed bellringer.”

Asked what it’s like to play Quasimodo, White thought for a moment.

“It’s really special, very different from any other role I’ve ever played,” he said. “Quasimodo has been confined to the cathedral bell tower for years by his guardian Archdeacon Frollo. When he finally leaves the cathedral, he is experiencing everything that happens to him, good or bad, for the first time. His emotions are so genuine.”

While doing the fitting with White, Bohlman was joined by volunteer Jacquei Shade who’d returned from scouting for costumes and accessories. Together, they carried several garments to a balcony level costume storage area above the church sanctuary.

Bohlman showed off racks of colorful costumes and chests of accessories she’d thus far assembled for the show.

She pointed out that it is challenging to find or design costumes resembling clothing worn in the 1490’s timeframe in which the musical is set. Fortunately, Colonial Players loaned Woods Church a number of pieces. Bohlman took particular joy in showing off one of the dresses Balachandra will wear as Esmeralda.

Both Bohlman and Shade emphasized that it takes a lot of manpower to stage such a large production. “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” has a 62-member cast. In addition, a full orchestra and a 40-member choir will provide the musical background from the balcony above the sanctuary. Woven throughout the show, the choir will be performing chants and masses in Latin.

According to Merrill, the show will be a fully realized theater experience for the volunteers who will be working on the sets, the sound, the graphics and slides projected during the production, the costumes and the hair and makeup for the actors.

Moving to the balcony proper – the perfect place to watch the rest of the rehearsal – we observed that it was being conducted by the musical’s choreographer Elysia Merrill (David’s wife) and was focused solely on dance sequences. The staging of dance and movement throughout the show is vital to the multi-faceted production’s success and Elysia was looking to perfect every movement.

Back down on the main floor, we observed the choreographer working hard to be sure the performers were properly positioned to segue into the fast-paced tempo of a fiery gypsy dance.

The dancers must coordinate claps with the fiery rhythms of the music and the fast-paced steps as they rush forward from the raised platform to the floor.

They found it hard to keep on clapping while descending to the floor stopping just short of where the audience will be seated, then exiting down the aisle.

The next part of the program being rehearsed had a more leisurely pace and a certain beauty and it is one for which Elysia Merrill demonstrated some of the steps for the dancers to copy.

Along with congregation members, Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church invites the public to enjoy their production of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” which will be held March 28 – 30 & April 4-6 in the church sanctuary. For a schedule of showings and to register, visit Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church PC(USA) (onrealm.org).

An update on Anne Arundel County Council Bill 2-25

Good news from Magothy River Association and Berrywood Environmental Committee member Karen Royer.

She tells us that Anne Arundel County Council member Amanda Fiedler submitted an amendment to Bill 2-25 that removed the “Critical Corridor” designation from the Ritchie Highway corridor in the heart of Severna Park, and the amendment passed.  

“That’s great news for everyone who has to travel on this already extremely overcrowded part of Ritchie Highway.,” Royer said.

She added that the amended version of Bill 2-25 will be back for a vote on March 3rd.

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. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center.)

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. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

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

and Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services

Hearts could be seen here, there and everywhere during BD Provisions‘ February 13th Gallentine’s Day Party, creating the perfect atmosphere for an event that was a combination social gathering and shopping experience. Initially a vision of BD Provisions’ co-owner/host Debra Saltz and Hip Mod Vintage proprietor Amy Heath, the party was a great opportunity for attendees to find unique Valentine’s Day gifts.

Located just inside the store’s entrance, an eye-catching display of jewelry from Hip Mod Vintage drew customers like bees to honey. Woven throughout the collection were heart-shaped rings and necklaces featuring hearts like the one seen in the opening photo.

Heath, is well-known as a longtime vendor at the Severna Park Farmer’s Market selling her recycled and perfectly restored vintage jewelry and other upcycled treasures. She also sells items from her equally well-known daughter Ellie Heath’s Three Blue Bunnies‘ collection of stylish jean jackets and other accessories she created from recycled materials.

“The farmer’s market actually opens a week earlier this year on April 19th and Hip Mod Vintage will be there,” Amy told us. But Ellie won’t be on hand as she’s living in Newport, Rhode Island where she’ll graduate this year from Salve Regina University. Luckily, she’s sending me new items she is creating for Three Blue Bunnies including trendy tote bags made from donated fabrics.”

Other vendors marketed heart-themed products at the Gallentine’s Day event. At the end of the first aisle, we spotted vendor Caren Bach (who can be seen on the far left in the opening photo). We worked our way to the Cookies by Caren booth and sampled her adorable heart-shaped cookies as well as cookies she made entirely from BD Provisions’ products. They were yummy.

Turning a corner, we happened upon Rebecca Gillin’s delightful Me Time LLC Bath Bomb, Soaks and Scrubs booth.

Gillin’s love of bath bombs was the inspiration for creating a whole range of products – products so successful she has been in business for three years.

“My children and I really loved bath bombs and I bought a lot of them. So I started making them myself and then expanded to other products,” Gillin said. “The children even helped me and the colorful beaded bracelets I’m displaying were made by them.”

For those who love to soak like Gillin, the Me Time products are ideal.

“I have a husband and two sons, so I was the only woman in the house. I could frequently be heard saying ‘I need a little me time’ which was the inspiration for the name of my business,” Gillin said.

Gallentine’s Day Party guests were having a wonderful time. They sipped complimentary Sparkling Cider, entered the raffle with its heart-shaped tickets, roamed the aisles and carried their purchases in heart-embossed gift bags.

Curiously, we noticed a few men attending the Gallentine’s Day Party, likely husbands or boyfriends eager to know what it was all about.

In addition to its normal wide array of chocolates and other candies, BP Provisions had Valentine’s Day specialties including those hard-to-find candy hearts of various kinds. They also had Valentine Candy Gift Boxes put together by the staff.

There were a few children attending the event including young Poppy who was being helped to a piece of candy she selected by BD Provisions’ owner Debra Saltz.

Poppy came to the Gallentine’s Day Party with her mother Taryn Gilbertson and aunt Jantra Silbert, two of three sisters (along with Dara Robinette) who own the nearby Stellaluna Raine Boutique. The sisters were drawn to the event because they know the vendors and have also visited BD Provisions on occasion.

BD Provisions is becoming known for hosting community-oriented special events that are fun – often featuring vendors. They frequently post those events at Facebook or Instagram.

St. Patrick’s Day Wine, Cheese & Chocolate Fundraiser at Baldwin Hall March 15th

The Severn Cross Roads Foundation recently announced that Historic Baldwin Hall in Millersville will once again be decorated with shamrocks on Saturday, March 15th when the organization’s St. Patrick’s Day Wine, Cheese & Chocolate Fundraiser takes place from 7 to 10 pm. A much-anticipated social gathering, the annual event also raises funds needed for the preservation and maintenance of the beautiful Georgian Colonial-style structure built in 1861 as the Cross Roads Methodist Episcopal Church. Today the hall is a center of numerous community happenings.

Tickets are $50 and include wine, craft beers, and soft drinks along with an array of fruits, vegetables and cheeses to tempt anyone’s tastebuds. Guests will enjoy live music by vocalist Richard Walton, a Silent Auction, a Basket of Cheer Raffle and 50-50 Raffle, Door Prizes and the company of friends, neighbors and supporters who appreciate Baldwin Hall’s fascinating history and architecture.

Tickets may be order tickets by calling 410-409-0187 or by sending an email to: gcampbell8185@gmail.com or they may be ordered online at https:PayPal.me/BaldwinHallMD.

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. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center.)

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. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

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

and Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services

There’s never a time when Romenta Plants owner Alex Waldorf is not busy. A wedding and event florist, she’s also an avid gardener who grows some of the blooms used in her floral arrangements in her own Severna Park yard. She sources additional flowers, whenever possible, from Anne Arundel County farmers.

For several months of the year – basically wedding season from March through June and from September through November – Waldorf is extremely busy. However, the winter months are challenging for her, from both the gardening and wedding perspectives. She’s luckily able to offer her services as a freelance floral designer for other companies’ projects and markets floral arrangements through her website.

She’s currently offering Valentines bouquets in three sizes – medium-sized mason jar bouquets, larger luxury bouquets or smaller handheld bouquets tied with ribbon – that can be pre-ordered by visiting Flower Delivery, Local Flowers, Annapolis Flowers, Maryland Flowers, Anne Arundel Flowers, — Romenta Plants.

Romenta Plants is also teaming with The Coffee Trailer at 44 W. Earleigh Heights Road near the Yoga Barn to provide a Valentine’s Day Coffee and Flower Combo for $18.00. The combo can be preordered for pickup on February 14th by visiting Home | The Coffee Trailer (bestcoffeetrailer.com).

In addition, Waldorf works every week doing bud vases for Cafe Mezzanotte in Severna Park. Even as her garden sleeps through the chilly weather, however, she’s simultaneously preparing her land and growing seedlings for the coming season.

“I consider myself a ‘garden florist’, she says. “For a lot of my designs I work with seasonal blooms that are locally sourced and give off a garden vibe. Depending on the season, I source 20% or more flowers from my garden and most of the rest from area farmers.”

We came across Alex Waldorf while covering Good Neighbors Group’s Earth Day Celebration last April. She’d already sold quite a few of her fresh-as-the-breath of spring mason jar bouquets and herbs at her Romenta Plants booth. She enjoyed trading gardening tips with her customers and found that being a vendor was also good exposure for the wedding and event side of her business.

Waldorf loves being a floral designer for weddings and large events though it’s hard work. For instance, she preps flowers on Thursday for a wedding on Saturday.

“You also have to carry dozens and dozens of flowers, buckets of water, ladders, tons of equipment and all the mechanics and bases to the wedding location,” she said. “There’s always so much to do that, these days, I hire a team of freelancers to help me as needed.”

Fortunately, Waldorf comes from a producer background having worked in television and film production for ten years traveling all over the world. She’s managed crews and equipment for programs ranging from National Geographic and the Discovery Channel to the Food Network so she was used to lugging around gear on random stages in random locations. (In fact, she’s currently working on the production side of the 2025 Annapolis Film Festival which takes place March 27-30 – a nice way to supplement her floral design business during a down time for weddings.)

Wedding season will soon be upon us, however. We asked the designer what some of her favorite weddings have been.

“I love brides who give me free rein to use different colors and different textures,” she said. “Delicate pink and white blooms with some contrasting blues work wonderfully for spring weddings. Autumn weddings generally call for more vivid hues so you can incorporate late season sunflowers, zinnias, dahlias, mums and marigolds which are abundant.”

Brightly colored casual bouquets graced not only the head table at the lovely wedding above but every table.

Another favorite wedding design meant covering the ceiling of a 60 x 40 ft. tent at Herrington on the Bay with trailing plants and flowers. A third was a wedding with a Gothic vibe. The bride had a specific vision that allowed the florist to go out of her comfort zone.

“The wedding was so interesting,” Waldorf said. “The bride wore a black wedding dress that was beautiful. I created table designs featuring tall black candles surrounded by lush greenery and flowers in near black and deep purple shades with touches of dark crimsons and blues. It was outstanding.”

The upcoming spring wedding season coincides perfectly with the spring growing season and gardener Alex Waldorf has already given herself a head start. She’s employing a method known as cold stratification which involves scattering seeds on the ground while the weather is still freezing. Within a couple months, the seeds will sprout and pop through the ground healthy and hardy. She said winter sowing with seeds for sweet peas, calendulas, strawflowers, milkweed and poppies and other varieties of flowers has been failproof so far.

Waldorf’s passion for gardening runs deep and is integral to Romenta Plants’ success, truly a foundation for the business. The florist reflected that the most fun and most challenging aspect of her work is finding the growers she sources flowers from. After starting her business, she found a website that lists all the farmers and growers. The first thing she did was use that website to call to call growers nonstop to see if they would sell to her.

“After finding a farmer online, I’d check out the location and then ask if he or she would let me cut their blooms, she said. “Sometimes I’d work out a deal that, if I could come cut, they’d sell them to me cheap. Or I’d trade a bit of labor cutting and processing the flowers to get them ready for my use but also for the farmer’s other customers.”

Waldorf was immensely pleased to discover local growers in Annapolis and Davidsonville. If necessary, she could always go to wholesalers but it’s not really her style so she works local as much as she can.

Since moving to Severna Park, with its sandy soils, three years ago, her gardening challenges have been significant. In newly establishing her land, she’s learned it’s essential to add lots of amendments to the soil every year to have even a chance of growing a garden like those she’s had in the past when she lived in Washington, D.C. For now, she’s kind of a chaos gardener placing plants in the ground wherever there is space in hopes they’ll grow and taking lots of notes. But, in a few years’ time, she believes she’ll have a well-organized flower field with rows of blossoming plants of numerous colors and varieties. You can follow Alex Waldorf’s work on her website romentaplants.com) or @RomentaPlants on Facebook or Instagram.

Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Company Bull & Oyster Roast February 15th

Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Company’s annual Bull & Oyster Roast will take place Saturday, February 15 at the firehouse at 161 Ritchie Highway from 5 pm till 10 pm with food, music and fun. As always, the menu will be terrific with pit beef, ham and turkey and raw oysters, oyster stew, and oyster fritters plus all the trimmings and dessert. There will be 50/50 Boards, Big 6, Showdown Poker, Pull Tabs and Lottery Board to grab your attention. The yearly event is always fun. For tickets which are $50 in advance or $60 at the door see Earleigh Heights VFC (ehvfc.org).

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. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center.)

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. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.