Author: wingsorb@aol.com

Nearly three decades since its opening, the chateau-like exterior of Cafe Bretton at 849 Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard has become something of a Severna Park landmark. Its conical tower, hipped and gabled roofs, pediment topped windows, rustic touches and garden setting are reflective of the French countryside and of the fine French cuisine on the restaurant’s menu.

For multiple generations of local diners, stepping through the entrance to be greeted by Cafe Bretton’s welcoming general manager and head chef Victor Ledezma has been a lovely experience . The chef has been with Cafe Breton for more than 20 years. If the restaurant’s walls could talk, they’d have much to share. But so has Ledezma.

Cafe Bretton closed its doors for dining this Wednesday so renovations could begin. Its future is yet to be determined though the property may be sold. Regardless, Ledezma took the time to share much of its interesting history with us.

Though not in the U.S. during the 1970’s and early ’80’s, he learned that the building on the property at the time was called Brown’s Tavern, Talk of the Town.

Severna Park resident and well-known publisher Pat Troy recalls that the Talk of the Town had become quite run down by the late 1980’s when the tavern changed ownership. It was remodeled and transformed into a restaurant called Conrad’s which had a French chef. Troy remembered celebrating a birthday there in 1989. She said the exterior of building was painted blue at the time but retained its house-like characteristics.

According to Ledezma, when he arrived in the United States from Bolivia in 1984, he was sponsored by Severna Park resident Edward Dyas who owned and operated area restaurants including Bolongo Bay and Piccolo Roma. He worked for the Dyas family for six or seven years starting as a busboy and working his way up to waiting on tables.

“They were very good to me,” he said.

Ledezma subsequently moved to Baltimore and worked at a restaurant in Little Italy for six or seven years gaining valuable culinary experience.

After the death of Conrad’s owner in the early 1990’s, Dyas became the restaurant’s proprietor. In 1998 he invited Ledezma to come back to Severna Park to run it for him as Cafe Bretton – a fine dining establishment with a French menu, fine wines, white tablecloths, flowers and candles, art on the walls and a dedication to serving customers the best way possible. The young chef studied everything he could about French cuisine and he and Dyas picked out dishes for the menu together.

Meantime, Cafe Bretton’s new owner had been remodeling the restaurant, transforming its exterior to resemble a French chateau and creating a spacious indoor addition featuring beamed ceilings and an ornate fireplace. There were many unique touches inside and out.

At the same time, a courtyard dining area was added along with a terraced garden with additional tables above it – areas that served the establishment well on spring or autumn afternoons and came in handy when COVID protocols mandated outdoor dining only.

Typical of chateau-styled buildings, there are unique architectural elements along with fountains, statuary and a garden initially designed to provide the restaurant with fresh fruits and vegetables.

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Over the years Ledezma was assisted by a succession of other chefs. For their benefit and his own, Cafe Bretton hired a talented gardener named Bobby Riay to plant fruit trees and create a series of picturesque garden beds.

“Our gardener planted cherry trees, an apple tree, a pear tree, a peach tree, a fig tree and a persimmon tree which were wonderful. In the garden beds, he raised salad greens and green beans and squash and other vegetables and many herbs and flowers,” he reminisced. “It was great for us to have access to that fresh produce.

Sadly Riay passed away a few years ago. Without his supervision, the help hired wasn’t skillful and the garden deteriorated. Most of fruit trees, some of the flowers and a number of herbs are still productive but, of late, the restaurant sourced organic produce to guarantee the freshest possible ingredients.

Cafe Bretton has had a loyal following over the years. Pat Troy dined there many times and enjoyed taking visiting guests there. She fondly recalled one cozy evening there watching snow come down from their table by the window.

Severna Park native Lauren Garber remembers dining at the restaurant with her family from a young age.

“Cafe Bretton has long been our family restaurant. My grandmother Violet Weems and my uncle Stewart Weems discovered the place and fell in love with it. Before long, it became a frequent gathering place for my mother Valerie Garber’s side of the family,” she said.

Garber’s plain-spoken uncle liked fact that you could count on the food, wines and service to be first class every time you dined at Cafe Bretton. Dishes like Beef Bourguinonne and Duck Breast A La Bretton or desserts like Creme Brulee or Raspberry Crepes never failed to please.

In Garber’s grandmother’s case, Victor made all the difference.

“He always made her feel like a million bucks…especially as she grew older and had to use a wheelchair,” she said. “As soon as we’d come in through the little bar entrance, Victor would greet her warmly, grab her hand and give it a kiss and make her feel so special. Our whole family appreciated that.”

Garber likes that Cafe Bretton has been a place where you’ll see 20 and 30 somethings having a dressed-up date night along with generations of family having dinner together and enjoying each other’s company. She also liked that the restaurant exhibited art from local artists that you could buy and held special events like wine dinners.

Teresa Hales Tudor, who has been going to Cafe Bretton since 2000, has equally fond memories of the restaurant.

“Our family has celebrated many special occasions and birthdays at Cafe Bretton and we absolutely love it. Victor and his team make everyone feel like family. We’ve had baby showers and bridal showers there and its been phenomenal. We have many friends who’ve held their family events there as well,” she said.

She added that it’s a place you can take out-of-town guests to and know that the food and service will always be top notch.

“They’re so cordial and can’t do enough for you,” Tudor said. “The food is, I think, the best anywhere and certainly in Severna Park. We love everything they serve and would hate to see them go. ”

Indeed, many people, throughout the county, would hate to see Cafe Bretton go. As with other restaurants, COVID-19 took a financial toll. While it’s rumored the restaurant may change hands, we’ve had no confirmation it’s definitely for sale.

As for Victor Ledezma, he’s often thought of opening his own small restaurant with a formal yet intimate atmosphere and fine dining, Only time will tell what his future holds.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Just a few weeks on the job, SPAN, Inc.’s new staff members – Director of Development Michele Sabean and Director of Operations Maia Grabau – were delighted to conduct an eye-opening tour of the organization’s food pantries. At one point, they paused to show off a birthday box and some cards created, illustrated and donated by Arundel High School student Alisha Kim. Alisha’s wonderful gift was just one of the pleasant surprises awaiting the directors.

“On May 26, Alisha arrived unannounced at our outdoor pick-up/drop-off area with five beautifully wrapped boxes filled with items to celebrate a birthday,” Sabean said. “She also donated a dozen cards decorated with her wonderful artwork to be given to families receiving food donations. Each has a thoughtful note inside.

There seems to have been one surprise after another since mid-May when Grabau and Sabean took up their new positions. Once they were hired by SPAN’s board of directors, things moved quickly. Both women soon realized they have big shoes to fill.

According to Grabau, SPAN’s former operations director Jennifer Pumphrey left two weeks before she arrived. However, former development director Ellen Kinsella stayed behind for a week to give her some training.

“A few days later, Michele came in and Ellen’s focus switched to her for a day or two. So both of us are kind of learning as we go,” she said.

Pumphrey was with SPAN, Inc. for over a decade, first as associate director and then as operations director, and made significant contributions to its success. Her most important achievement was developing SPAN’s well-known Holiday Caring Programs for Thanksgiving and Christmas which match sponsors with deserving families for whom they purchase food and/or gifts. In 2012, along with then director Maria DeNardo, Pumphrey oversaw the expansion of the organization’s office and food storage spaces to keep pace with rapidly growing need. She resigned her position in early May for a long-awaited move to North Carolina with her husband.

Grabau now inherits her predecessor’s primary duties of overseeing day-to-day budgets and operations and working with the volunteers. With 20 years of experience as a pastor’s wife serving in church leadership in a variety of settings, she seems well suited to the job.

From the projects to the streets of Baltimore, Grabau has ministered to people from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds and has deep compassion for families in need. She also has been a content writer for N2 Publishing’s area magazines. She has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science from California State University and a master’s degree in public policy from Regent University.

Sabean enjoyed her few days with the former director of development who was very helpful. As the “face of SPAN” since June of 2017, Ellen Kinsella enjoyed interacting with the public and acquainting them with the organization’s mission. Amiable and outgoing, she excelled at raising donations. She resigned from SPAN for what she considers a “labor of love” – caring for her daughter’s newborn so the new mother can go back to work.

Like Kinsella, Sabean is outgoing. Her main focus will be continuing to get SPAN’s name out in the community and managing its social media traffic. With a bachelors degree in mathematics from Smith College and an MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, she served as director of operations for a Charter School Operator in Baltimore City and was a Program Manager developing math and reading tutoring programs. She has experience training and teaching in a variety of settings. She’s also a member of Our Lady of the Fields Church in Millersville (one of the coalition of 14 churches that founded SPAN in 1990) and has taught Faith Formation classes there.

Sabean said it’s been wonderful to see how well supported SPAN is with food drives by various schools, groups or organizations as well as generous individual donations.

Both women were impressed how innovative their predecessors were in providing financial and food assistance throughout the COVID pandemic. Along with the SPAN board of directors, Pumphrey and Kinsella and the volunteers re-engineered the back porch to be a drive-through pick-up station. Food pantry volunteers prepare dozens of food boxes each day and stack them against one wall.

“We’re then able to pass the food boxes through the openings for clients to pick up without any personal contact, “Sabean said. “The pass-through is also the place where people can drop off donations.”

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SPAN’s board decided simultaneously to erect a gazebo so volunteers who interview clients regarding financial aid could meet them in an outdoor setting.

Grabau pointed out that SPAN receives all its food and financial support through contributions. She’s been astonished by the amount of donations rolling in and impressed by the way pantry volunteers organize immense amounts of food stored on three levels of the building according to type….. with each item clearly marked with its expiration date so a proper rotation can be maintained. There ‘s incredible diversity in the food and household essentials contributed including a recently added section of gluten free foods.

Increased amounts of refrigeration that take up part of the main floor enable SPAN to include fresh meats, fruits, vegetables, eggs and milk donated by area produce markets, shops, supermarkets and individuals.

Currently, there’s a shelf full of chicken tenders from Giant Supermarket and there are fresh vegetables through SPAN’s partnership with Diehl’s Produce. Last year, Diehl’s started a program to round off customers’ change and pool the resulting sums to supply gift certificates for SPAN clients to buy produce.

Social media has been helpful when there is a shortage of a certain food or item like laundry detergent. SPAN almost immediately gets a response and a donation of the item from individuals or groups like Chesapeake Harmony Chorus.

SPAN currently serves families from across 14 zip codes including Arnold, Broadneck, Annapolis, Millersville, Severna Park, Ft. Meade, Linthicum, Severn, Pasadena, Glen Burnie, Crownsville, Gambrills, Odenton and Crofton.

Informed that summer is a slower, less busy time, Grabau finds that people often stop by unexpectedly. For now, she’s using the time to make sure she knows what her responsibilities entail. Gauging from the amount of calls coming in, she’s sure the pace will soon be picking up.

“With moratoriums on utilities and housing about to end, we’re already fielding calls from people worried about evictions or utility turn-offs,” Grabau said. “We are legally able to supply a one-time assistance for an eviction notice but can’t do anything about an eviction until a court order has been posted. We’re expecting that, when that happens, people will owe significant amounts of money.”

Moving into late summer and fall, Grabau is eager to get the word out that she’s looking for people to volunteer as pantry workers or interviewers. SPAN has a dedicated core of volunteers who have worked for a decade or more but she’s hoping to attract some younger volunteers too so there’s a wider pool to pull from.

“I’m thinking of contacting some young moms’ groups,” she said. “It’s a three-hour-a- morning responsibility that people can do once a week or once a month, as frequently or as infrequently as they like. Volunteering would really help us fill some gaps.”

Both pantry volunteers and interviewer volunteers require a little training – especially interviewers who need to show confidence and compassion but sometimes need to turn someone away.

Both Grabau and Sabean look forward to events starting back up. This year’s Turkey Trot fundraiser had to be cancelled because there’s no definitive timetable for lifting COVID restrictions but they are hoping to hold some sort of event in its place.

In September and October, they’ll be recruiting sponsors for the Holiday Caring Programs for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year 250 families have been referred to SPAN by local schools for the Holiday Caring Programs. People in the community have always been very generous sponsors contributing food baskets and gifts and, hopefully, will continue to do so. Often families who were on the receiving end of holiday food baskets or gifts will become sponsors themselves as a way of paying back.

For information about SPAN’s activities or medical, financial or food assistance programs visit them on Facebook at SPAN, Inc. | Facebook or on their website at SPAN Serving People Across Neighborhoods (spanhelps.org).

DANCING IN THE STREETS at Severna Park Community Center June 19

On Saturday, June 19, bring your friends and family to Severna Park Community Center for a Dance-A-Thon from 9 am to 3 pm. The free outdoor/tented event will feature a DJ, dancing, dance lessons, raffles, food trucks and more. The Dance-A-Thon will be followed by a more glamorous Night In The Park from 5 pm to 9 pm. The ticketed outdoor/tented event will feature music from the Shatners, local food trucks, breweries, raffles, auctions, dancing and more. Tickets for a Night In The Park are limited and will be $20 per person. For information or tickets visit SPCC Home (spcommunitycenter.org)

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Parking lots without a single car in a once-favorite shopping center or empty storefronts along a strip of Severna Park shops are slightly unsettling. They mean businesses you may have liked are gone forever and the property owners are looking for new tenants.

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Change is inevitable and turnover has always been a feature of Severna Park’s retail scene but never has it seemed to move so slowly. The closure of businesses like the Food Lion supermarket (seen above) at 466 Ritchie Highway, A.C. Moore at Severna Park Marketplace and the service station at the corner of Ritchie Highway and Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard, to name a few, predate the COVID-19 pandemic and have been empty for more than a year.

During the same period, smaller retailers like the chocolate shop Coco Couture closed, leaving life in Severna Park a little less sweet. Following the holidays in December, 2019 candy maker Jessica Zaleskiwicz, (who ran the shop day-to-day with mother Laura Zeitz) decided to go in another direction. By then, she explained, more of their sales were coming from events than from the shop. Zaleskiwicz still makes a bit of chocolate now and then but she’s currently working elsewhere while finishing her bachelor’s degree.

The candy shop is in the former Howard Bank Square at 350 Ritchie Highway and has yet to find a tenant.

A stone’s throw away Howard Bank, for which the center was named, closed its doors too. The bank building looks unoccupied but the presence of cars out front may tell a different story.

Among several businesses swept away by the COVID pandemic was Paradigm Scratch Kitchen & Cocktails at Magothy Gateway Village. Across Ritchie Highway from that property, storefronts previously occupied by Yoga Works, BoHo Nation and We Rock the Spectrum kids gym sit empty.

“For Lease” signs are scattered throughout Severna Park – a situation Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber CEO Liz League has speculated about. She wonders if there is too much duplication of certain kinds of businesses and worries about commercial office space going unused.

“At a multi-chamber luncheon with Maryland Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford, we learned that so many government employees are working remotely from home that there may not be a need to rent as much commercial office space,” League said.

Matt Wyble, who heads The Matt Wyble Team of Century 21, has long been a part of the Severna Park business scene. He speculates that several factors are eroding the ability of brick and mortar retail shops to compete.

“I don’t specialize in commercial real estate,” Wyble said. “However, my guess would be that the overall shift to eCommerce for retail shopping, in combination with the COVID quarantine restrictions hit neighborhood businesses hard.”

But the retail and commercial property picture in Severna Park may be brighter than it appears according to John A. Rosso of Annapolis-based Rosso Commercial Real Estate Services, LLC. As Rosso handles many of the properties mentioned above, he has a unique perspective.

He’s quick to point out that commercial real estate transactions in Anne Arundel County take much longer than residential transactions. The average commercial real estate transaction – say for someone wanting to lease the former Food Lion – could take as long as four to six months due to imperatives such as obtaining permits and completing construction.

New leases for empty commercial properties may be in the works, Rosso says, but there’s a lag before it becomes evident that they’ve been leased again “so the public may perceive that a property is unoccupied for longer than it actually is.”

He believes part of the former Food Lion property may be under lease to another supermarket but we could not confirm that.

Rosso said he’s been working on the service station property at the corner of Ritchie Highway and B&A Boulevard for six months and has a new business lined up but the transaction is still in the works.

Like League, Rosso thinks duplication in the market is a factor in the closure of some businesses. That may have been the case for another property he’s handling that’s next to the service station and previously housed the Choice One Urgent Care clinic.

At Magothy Gateway Village, Rosso is working on leasing the former Paradigm Sketch Kitchen that had earlier been Pascal’s Chophouse. He said Paradigm Sketch’s timing in re- branding from a pricey chophouse to a made-from-scratch restaurant with a nationally known chef was unfortunate as the pandemic hit within weeks of its opening. He feels the location shows promise and there’s a lot of activity from people interested in the space..

Rosso does not handle the former Howard Bank but believes, even though the space appears vacant, there are paying tenants.

“My understanding is that Howard Bank is currently involved in a merger/acquisition process but still pays rent on the building and has made the property available for sublease,” he said. “With two years left on the bank’s lease, subleasing is complicated because it’s a three-party transaction between landlord, tenant and sub-tenant…. and most companies prefer a longer lease.”

Several of the shops neighboring Howard Bank are primarily food related. According to Rosso, Anne Arundel County requires anyone serving or preparing food on premise to have a 1,000 gallon grease interceptor (that can cost up to $20,000), three-compartment sinks, and mechanical and HVAC capaciity. Even though the infrastructure is there for Coco Couture and the other businesses, it’s outdated by county standards making opening another food business costly.

The former Sun Trust Bank at Park Plaza was demolished recently due to a merger with BB&T Bank. Construction is now underway on a Popeye’s that will join an already crowded field of fast food restaurants in Park Plaza and other shopping centers.

“My understanding is that Popeye’s signed a lease up to 18 months ago before the pandemic to secure the location and has been paying rent,” Rosso said. “They’ve finally begun the construction phase.”

According to Rosso, there’s a lot of activity in the commercial real estate market currently but it’s very difficult for companies to find commercial properties to buy. Leasing is the primary option in Severna Park where there are now a lot of national chains like Noodles & Company, Mod Pizza, Chipotle, and Chic-fil-A. “We’re as busy as we’ve ever been,” he added.

There’s more good news involving the final contract Rosso’s handling – the location that housed Partners In Care’s Upscale Retail Boutique at 6 South Ritchie Highway before they moved to Festival at Pasadena.

“I’m representing a buyer for that property and we have it under contract,” he said. “The buyer is a local business wanting to expand their exposure. They should be settling in the next 30 days.”

Rosso’s comments indicate that some of the now empty storefronts may soon bustle with business. But with mixed signs in the local and national economy, it’s unclear whether all of the spaces will find new retailers.

Melody Wukitch, reading specialist and now bookstore owner, couldn’t be happier. On May 1, she opened Park Books & Literacy Lab at 555 Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard in Olde Severna Pak to the delight of the community. Nestled in a space next to Garry’s Grill and Savvy Consignment, the new shop has hundreds of books that appeal to a variety of age groups and interests. However the shop has much more to offer.

“Park Books is a traditional independent book store,” its proprietor said. “However, I’m a reading specialist by trade, working with students both within the educational system and privately, so I’ve integrated my literacy lab work into the bookstore.”

Moving into the main part of the shop, there’s a little bit of everything. There are young- adult fiction and adult fiction sections. There’s a special “Indie Next” section dedicated to fiction and non-fiction works favored by independent bookstores – books deemed likely to reach “bestseller” status.

There are Sci-Fi books and an excellent mystery/thriller section with books by best-selling authors like David Baldacci, John Sanford and Jack Carr. A sizable non-fiction section features books on health, humor, leadership, philosophy, and religion as well as autobiographies.

The bookstore also carries puzzles, games, jewelry and gifts made by local artisans. Particularly popular at the moment are handcrafted candles representing different Severna Park neighborhoods like Chartwell, Round Bay, Linstead or Cape Arthur. The candles are decorated with scenes from each community.

Interestingly, the Literacy Lab’s beginnings predate the bookshop by several months having started with informal sessions in November of 2020. By early in 2021, plans were underway to combine the two complimentary elements – reading lab and bookstore – into one cohesive small business.

“I launched the business in response to a critical need for a literacy/reading resource because so many families were reaching out to me,” Wukitch said. “I also felt it would be wonderful to have a bookstore – what better place for a child to learn reading. However, opening the shop was a scary proposition since many restaurants and retailers were failing due to the pandemic.”

Reasoning that Garry’s Grill was right next door and Kirsten’s Cakery and The Big Bean coffee shop a stone’s throw away, she dropped her original plan to include a coffee shop. Instead, she created an outside area with tables and chairs where customers could share a carry-out beverage or snack.

In one respect, Park Book & Literacy Lab opened at just the right time. With public schools closed for more than a year, quite a few children have fallen behind in developing their reading and comprehension skills.

Some children need help immediately. So the Literacy Lab has put some ‘Reading Recovery’ summer programming in place. For each grade level, there are four or six week sessions where parents can bring their child to meet with a certified reading specialist two or three times a week. The reading specialists assess each child, take a look at how they are reading to see where the gaps might be, and then work with them in a small group setting.

For such a recently opened establishment, Park Books is catching on quickly. Late afternoon Friday saw United States Naval Academy midshipmen Mitchell Vinzon, Maya Weiss and Dina Giles arrive for a visit with their favorite bookstore owner and to wander the stacks. Weiss and Giles, former first-year English students of Wukitch who loved her classes, think the shop is great.

Park Books and Literacy Lab is quite a boon for Olde Severna Park. No one can seem to remember if Severna Park has ever had a bookstore. You can check them out on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter or by visiting their website at Home – Park Books & Literacy Lab (parkbooksliteracylab.com) .

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN By Sharon Lee Tegler

Looking into a sea of faces as he began his remarks during the dedication of St. Martin’s-in-the-Field Episcopal School’s new Student Learning Center on December 5, 2019, Jamey Hein felt the excitement of the students, parents, teachers, and members of the clergy gathered round him. The dedication represented the culmination of years of planning, fundraising and execution for all who made the building’s construction possible. For Hein the occasion represented one of the crowning achievements of his seven-year career as St. Martin’s Head of School.

Shortly after being hired in April 2014, the amiable young educator and Connecticut native had an opportunity to explore the campus and meet with his predecessor, Rev. Frank Sawyer. While there, he looked into living arrangements and attended one of the school’s Festive Field Party fundraisers where he was warmly welcomed.

In July, Hein and his family arrived from Ann Arbor, Michigan where he’d spent seven years as a division head at Greenhills School.

“When I arrived, the school looked and felt very different, in every way, from they way it looks and feels today, Hein said. “It had a sense of soul but had not been innovated or modernized in any way so it felt a bit old fashioned.”

“For a very long time, it had been run by St. Martin’s Church as a parish preschool but it evolved into an elementary school in the late 1990’s and continued it’s evolution by adding a middle school in 2008. As one board member put it, the school had good bones but was a fixer-upper.”

Hein’s main mission as Head of School was to encourage child-centered learning. He observed that this involved teachers moving from “sage on the stage” to “guide on the side” as a way of allowing children’s voices and ideas to surface.

Almost immediately he instituted “Java With Jamey” gatherings to communicate his ideas to parents and get their feedback.

He mentioned his devotion to developing skill sets important for children’s futures – skills he considers keys to critical thinking like reading, writing and oral communication.

He also highlighted the significance of St. Martin’s acceptance into the Association of Independent Schools following a multiyear process to gain accreditation.

Parents, in turn, voiced desires that classes remain small and requested the school continue teaching cursive.

Meeting with parents, grandparents and supporters is an important part of how Hein brings them along with his ideas and innovations. He’s always been enthusiastic about meeting, greeting and speaking at events like the school’s annual Festive Field Party fundraisers.

From the outset of his seven-year journey, Hein realized his major concern was construction of a long dreamed of new learning center. But he considered that goal part of a larger equation.

“What I feel we’ve accomplished here is putting the school on an entirely new trajectory,” he said. “We’ve deepened its Episcopal identity, updated, modernized and advanced every facility, and by the end of summer, the renovation of the preschool will complete the renewal.”

An early indicator of new directions was a complete renovation of the playground and the creation of an iLab. The iLab project was launched with help from Norm Snyder, the grandfather of several St. Martin’s students and a major donor. Snyder had been the founder of Conquest, a computer technology company he later sold to Boeing.

Students helped raise $1,300 to build the lab by duct-taping their good-natured headmaster to a wall for $1 per piece of tape. They loved the lab. Who knew you could create a piano by wiring together half a dozen bananas or build a fully prosthetic hand using a 3-D printer?

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As chairman of the board of trustees, Snyder was at Hein’s side when St. Martin’s launched its major capital campaign for the learning center during the 2017 Field Party.

They also unveiled construction plans for the center – a 6,500 square foot facility that would house K-8 science and art classes and middle school core classes.

“There had been three different efforts at designing a building for the middle school but, when I arrived here, we scaled it back. We realized that we’d not done this before and needed to be realistic with our goals, aspirations and funding,” Hein said.

By Thanksgiving of 2018, construction was well along under the supervision of project manager Lynda Snyder. As usual, the school’s annual Children’s Thanksgiving Feast took place with food and decorations prepared by students from each grade. Always a good sport, Hein presided over the feast wearing a turkey on his head. Students from kindergarten and fourth grade offered prayers of thanksgiving and then were led by eighth-grade “buddies” to a buffet served by parent volunteers.

The end of 2019 saw the completion of the middle school construction and an impressive dedication ceremony. It began with a religious service in St. Martin’s Church followed by a procession to the learning center, a ribbon cutting by the entrance, and a blessing by The Right Reverend Eugene Taylor Sutton, 14th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.

Students couldn’t wait to show off their new classrooms to the parents and church members in attendance. Having just moved from their old mobile classrooms, they were eager to settle in and appreciate their new surroundings.

Visitors filing through the building that afternoon couldn’t help being impressed by science labs, art rooms and new classrooms.

Not only was the Student Learning Center open and accommodating but the school, in general, had been upgraded. The once-meager administrative staff was augmented by hiring true professionals for positions in admissions, finance, and marketing and development to provide a solid structure moving forward. There was a marked improvement in teacher salaries and an effort to broaden the curriculum to include more diversity.

St. Martin’s was becoming known across a wider geographical area, in part due to membership in the Mid-Atlantic Episcopal School Association of which Hein is president.

On dedication day, however, he had no idea that the biggest challenge of his tenure as Head of School still lay ahead. Following school closures and a switch to remote learning from late March through June of 2020, St. Martin’s board of trustees’ met through the summer. They made a decision to fully reopen the campus in September of 2020 for in-person learning (while public schools remained closed). It fell to Hein to implement the decision.

Bringing the students back to school went smoothly and was extremely successful. With COVID guidelines in place, children wearing masks, and the teachers wholeheartedly onboard, there were no problems with the exception of a few positive tests. Classes were quickly back to normal five days a week.

” It was completely worth it,” Hein said. “One unexpected silver lining of the COVID pandemic was enrollment. A year ago, we were projecting an enrollment of 160 students. Instead, because of our ability to stay open, we now have an enrollment of 230 and we’ll start next fall with an enrollments of 280 students. We hope we can keep all those students in our school family and we’re now second-guessing if we should have made the learning center bigger after all.”

He added that COVID innovations , the opening of the learning center, and the ongoing renovations and educational upgrades combined to transform the school. He observed that Internet technology has become an integrated part of learning – a part he believes the school has used wisely.

Hein’s time as Head of School for St. Martin’s-in-the-Field Episcopal School will come to a close at the end of June. He’ll be moving on to become Interim Head of School of The Calverton School in Huntingtown, Calvert County – a Pre-K through 12th grade International Baccalaureate School with a student body of 300. Founded in the 1950’s, Calverton School’s 150 acre campus is a busy one and includes a boarding facility for some of it’s international students.

Charles Sachs, Hein’s successor as Interim Head of School will not arrive until July. Meantime, Hein will continue as before and find time to do many more of his much-loved readings with the smaller children.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Annuals were flying off the shelves at local garden centers this week and vegetable transplants even more so. While longtime gardeners spent time searching for the year’s newest and most promising species, first timers needed plants, soils, containers and tools and were full of questions. Anne Arundel County Farm, Lawn and Garden Center, owner Cory Stephens and his energetic staff welcomed them all and stood ready to help and advise. They even helped one regular customer locate a rare breed of Japanese eggplant he wanted to try.

According to Stephens, business is booming due to the surge in gardening that’s taken place during the COVID pandemic lock downs.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that, over the last two years, because of COVID, folks needed something to do. In addition to home improvement projects, they discovered how easy gardening is,” Stephens said.

“Many people are novices and we’re good at working with inexperienced gardeners,” he added. “We have wonderful handouts that explain everything from planning your plot to what to plant, how deep to plant it, proper spacing and so forth. We have a tremendous selection of seeds and transplants that are easy for them to try.”

Having moved from its original location in Glen Burnie in 2017, AA Co. Farm, Lawn and Garden Center has 94 years of experience advising and supplying farmers and gardeners from across a wide area. Stephens and staff emphasize that soil and soil amendments are a priority for novices because Anne Arundel County’s acidic mix of sands and clay is challenging .

From signs for Bulk LeafGro compost along the fences to bags of potting mixes, top soils, raised bed mixes and mulches by the sheds, it’s clear that soil improvement is a goal that can be met.

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Stephens notes that the garden center does soil testing which takes just two minutes and is critical to getting a proper PH balance and essential nutrients for good growth.

The garden center’s “Welcome to Potsville” section has everything beginners need to get started from pots and watering cans to long handled tools, trowels, trellises and tomato cages.

Wending one’s way past “Berry Land” with its strawberry plants, raspberry vines and blueberry bushes, one found row upon row of vegetable transplants, perennials and annuals along with a greenhouse for newly started plants and hanging baskets.

Store manager Heidi Tyler and department manager Steph Stowell both commented that Homestead’s buyers are working double time to keep up with heavy demand for plants and gardening supplies. The COVID pandemic has inspired a new class of novice gardeners eager to try their hand.

“There are many new people coming in who want to start vegetable gardens,” Stowell said. A lot of them want to start from seed. Others, who haven’t gardened in the past, want to buy easy annuals like petunias or impatiens. Some, who gardened in the past but didn’t have time, are picking it back up again.”

Tyler said it’s been exciting to see such a high volume of new gardeners and it’s obviously good for business.

“Following last year’s huge surge in people buying ‘edibles’, they remain exceedingly popular. But this year gardeners are adding more decorative annuals and perennials to the edibles,” she said. “The pollinator plants and flowers are popular too.”

Tyler and Stowell mentioned that Homestead has been educating customers on the benefits of Maryland natives. In fact, the Severna Park store has just added a “Native Habitat” of plants in one corner at the far end of the patio.

“The plants and flowers within the habitat are natives that are true to our specific ecosystem,” Tyler said. “There are pollinator plants like coreopsis, yarrow, lavender and cone flowers along with ground covers and small trees and shrubs that do well here and attract bees and butterflies. There are even plants that appeal to hummingbirds. All that’s needed is for our signage to be finished.”

A few of the great looking bird feeders displayed inside the store will eventually be moved outdoors to the habitat.

A great hit with new gardeners this year were hardy cold weather vegetable transplants like organic “Dinosaur Kale”, Red Kale and fast-growing leaf lettuces.

Customers also shopped for seeds from racks located inside the store. Varieties of direct sow radishes sold well – particularly those slated to mature in 23 days.

Along with tomatoes, the most popular plant with male gardeners was peppers, particularly the hotter varieties like Hungarian Hot Wax or Premium Habaneros.

Both peppers and tomatoes are easy to grow but, for those having problems, the Homestead staff stands ready to help.

Gardeners interested in decorative plants to enhance the beauty of their lawns or porches will find a wide selection to choose from. Begonias, in a lovely shade of peach, have captured many shoppers fancy.

Both inside and outside the store are hundreds of ornamental ceramic or clay pots in which to plant them.

Severna Park resident Lee Lewis, who is familiar with both AA Co. Farm, Lawn and Garden and Homestead as well as Gary’s Garden Center on Ritchie Highway at Cypress Creek Road, is aware how popular gardening has become and understands why. She, too, has plenty of time to garden. For now, she’s mostly raising perennials and was so proud of the pretty Irises blooming in her yard that she snapped a photo for a social media post. She’s always had fun checking out the garden centers for new ideas.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

“Saturday was awesome – the busiest day of my life,” said Theater in the Park founder and director Jennifer Lee Kraus. “We did fourteen shows in one day. We began with our Broadway Babies at 9 am and didn’t finish until 10 pm.”

The show, “Time Warp The Musical” was performed “live” for audiences under somewhat challenging circumstances. To follow COVID guidelines, the children needed to appear in groups of ten according to age. The audiences were kept small and were socially distanced.

“Seven groups performed twice each to stay within the guidelines for audience numbers. First to perform were our little 3 to 5-year-olds,” Kraus said. “Next were our 5 to 8-year-olds, followed by our 9’s and 10’s, and ending with kids eleven and up.”

Further complicating matters, the production was to have been performed on the stage of the Holy Grounds building but had to be relocated due to renovation work. The show was moved, instead, to the Severna Park Community Center’s Andy Borland Gymnasium.

Kraus and her team of directors and assistants spent the night before “Time Warp The Musical” in the gym installing three different backdrops and a huge Time Warp Machine. Fortunately, TITP had recently purchased a new sound system and twelve body mics so each performer could wear one to be heard across the wide expanse of the facility.

Costumes were imaginative, recreating retro looks from the 1950’s through succeeding decades of fashions courtesy of the Time Warp Machine. The music followed a similar pattern from 50’s era “Splish Splash” and “Rock Around The Clock” to Gloria Gaynor’s 70’s hit “I Will Survive”, 2000’s “Who Let The Dogs Out” and beyond.

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The Theater in the Park team’s efforts and those of the young performers were warmly rewarded. According to Kraus, audiences were delighted and their comments wonderful. Many parents mentioned how glad they were to finally see a live performance. Others said they’d so looked forward to the musical that it was a highlight of their family’s life.

Families also noted that they appreciated that TITP stayed open throughout the pandemic.

“To do that was financially rough,” said Kraus. “We had to reserve more space, hire more directors, and have fewer kids in each class but keeping our doors open was so worth it.”

The “Time Warp” performances capped a busy time for Theater in the Park. A week before, they’d staged one of their Pitch Perfect group choral performances which was moved from its scheduled location at Holy Grounds to the front steps of Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church. Thanks to TITP’s great sound system, the concert featuring music from the group Abba was a great success. For information on Theater In The Park musical workshops, visit Musical Theater Workshop for Kids – Home (theaterinthepark.net)

Children’s Art Show at Woods’ Fellowship Hall a visual delight

For most of Woods Child Development Center’s 65 year history, the annual children’s art show has been as much a social occasion as a viewing. But the show didn’t happen at all in 2020 thanks to COVID-19 related church closures. This year, the show is back and about to open – albeit in socially distanced fashion – according to director Jessica Kemper.

Kemper, along with several teachers and assistants, helped hang the show Tuesday for a Wednesday viewing from 6 to 7:30 pm. A sneak peek at the art revealed how amazing it is for children so young. Walking into Fellowship Hall, one’s eyes were immediately drawn to a whole bevy of “umbrella people” made by 2-year-olds . The children replaced the figures heads with photos taken by their teachers of their own faces.

The art was so colorful and pretty – especially the umbrella figures with likenesses of the two-year-olds.

Noting that the children who created all the art were so young, Kemper introduced teachers Amanda Siverling and Christine Westphal who were in the process of finishing panels showing their classes’ work.

“Our children use their imaginations so well,” Kemper said. “They’re making sculptures from tinfoil, creating acrylic art on panels, geometric designs, and colorful mosaics using many different techniques. I’m always surprised by what they can do.”

Among her favorites were the acrylic panels which she believed lovely enough to hang in her own home.

Kemper took a few minutes for a brief history of the child development center. She revealed that it was started in 1954 by two women from the community who wanted to offer a school opportunity for children from all walks of life, socio-economic backgrounds and races. It was very inexpensive for the times.

It began as a little church preschool a couple mornings a week but developed over the years. By 1984, they’d added a school day childcare program licensed by the Maryland Office of Childcare. Currently, the child development center has two programs – a preschool program which meets two or three days a week in the mornings and a full-day childcare program for two, three or five days which opens at 6:45 am and runs till 6 pm but has flexible hours. In a normal year, the center accommodates about 140 students though during the pandemic it has been limited to 72 students.

Kemper briefly touched on “art nights” which both staff and parents have missed.

“In past years, we’ve had the room laid out differently so people can congregate because it’s really been quite a social occasion for the parents and children. We’ve usually served strawberries and cookies and lemonade and juices and have also held a Spring Basket silent auction as a fundraiser for the center,” she said. “This year, we’re only doing the art part and the room is set up so families enter from one direction and file through and exit to the outside from the opposite direction.”

Crossing to another area of the art exhibit she’s fond of, Kemper pointed to a number of geometric designs and mosaics created by three-year-olds.

Lastly, the director pointed to a blue box decorated in clouds and explained that, throughout the year, the box had been various things.

“According to the story that’s attached, the beloved box was recycled many times. On its journey, it was a rocket ship, a cave, a tunnel, a volcano and a gas station pump,” she read. “At the end of its journey, the class turned it into a beautiful sky with their own rendition of painted clouds from the book, ‘It Looked Like Spilt Milk’. Each child’s cloud tells a different story and each child can tell what it means.”

For more information on Woods Child Development Center, visit Woods Child Development Center ~ Home (woodscdc.org) .

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Workmen on scaffolding could be spotted throughout the past week on both sides of Historic Holy Grounds. A mix of tools, ladders, lumber and windowpanes could be seen.

Owned by Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church but managed by the Severna Park Community Center, the graceful building constructed in 1927 as St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church has aged gracefully but wear and tear was inevitable. Foremost among the architectural elements needing immediate care were the windows.

Woods congregation member Bob Royer, project manager for the window replacement, revealed how plans for the complex undertaking were conceived, evolved, and brought to fruition thanks, in part, to an anonymous donor.

“We’d begun making plans to redo the windows in 2019 as part of our church’s Renew Capital Campaign to upgrade our buildings in sustainalbe, energy efficient ways,” Royer said. “At Holy Grounds, the windows were somewhat in disrepair and had been patched several times. We’d decided we couldn’t let them deteriorate further and now was the time to replace them, when we were contacted by Severna Park Community Center Executive Director Sarah Elder with a possible donor for the project.”

The church members involved had done their homework and were just about started on the work when Elder put Royer in touch with a Severna Park resident who is a community center member.

He learned that the Holy Grounds building held a great deal of significance for the donor’s family. Her grandfather attended St. John the Evangelist Church back in the days when Severna Park was still known as the rural community of Boone, Maryland. She had fond memories of the building and wanted to do something to preserve it.

Royer discovered that she’s a great advocate for authenticity (her family having been involved the John W. Brown Liberty Ship Project). He then suggested she donate the window replacement as a visible example of the original builders’ standards of excellence and a fitting tribute to her family’s legacy. He outlined the project which would require quite an expenditure and she said she’d like to pay for it.

“It was such a generous gift which allows us to divert the money we’d have spent to making other much-needed repairs and upgrades,” Royer said.

Walking into the interior of the building with him, it was stunning to see the window frames on the far side of the building empty of windows and open to the great outdoors.

There were five windows on each side of the original church but one window on each side was eventually converted to a door – a modern glass door rimmed in black with push bars. The upper panels of legacy glass were still in place on each side (one appears on the right side of the photo above) but are being removed and replaced with new panes above a pair of newly designed doors with a Prairie Grid design that mimics the windows. The original front door to the vestibule has been replaced and the legacy arched windows on either side of it replaced. Fortunately, to preserve the history of the building, they will be reinstalled in the church’s Youth Room.

All six bathroom windows have been installed. The glass used there is similar to the “Minster” style hammer-tone glass of the large windows that you can see through from inside. However, the bathroom windows use a different form of the glass that cannot be seen through from either side.

Both indoors and outdoors one could see the ongoing work and observe the contrast between the old and new window materials.

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“We were very concerned about how to preserve the look of the original windows while using a different kind of energy preserving double-paned glass,” Royer said. “We tried to make the design as close to the original as possible so we made cardboard templates of every grid to send to the company to be reproduced identically. You’ll see that we were pretty successful.”

Replacing the windows went far beyond the Woods’ REHABers group’s skills even though some are quite competent woodworkers or electricians. So the church had to hire a company that specializes in such installations. Very few companies will even touch such difficult work but Royer was fortunately connected with Severna Park resident Kyle Watson of Lansing Building Products – a business that maintains its own crews of highly skilled installers through a partnership with Action Exteriors LLC in Riva.

Because multi-paned glass requires a tight seal and a flat surface, a film that creates the grid pattern had to be applied before installation could take place. Woods hired a second company called Advanced Window Technology to apply that film.

At the same time, Action Exteriors LLC took out the sashes – quite a job that saved the installers considerable time. The original 1927 sashes were counterbalanced with lead weights in the frames that had to be removed and the channels containing them filled. Royer had worried that the wood would be deteriorated. However, the frames were quite thick and so ingeniously built that they were in good shape.

Workers from both companies were “absolute jewels” – total professionals in handling the windows down to the smallest detail according to Royer.

He noted that further work is planned going into summer – some of which may be tackled by the Woods REHAB group and some of which will be handled by a company they’re hiring. The work will include upgrading the bathrooms and kitchen.

Elder, who viewed the ongoing work across the community center courtyard from the window behind her desk, also made frequent visits as the project unfolded.

“I visited yesterday and, walking around with Bob Royer, I marveled at how much prettier the new windows are. The work they’ve done to preserve the original look is incredible,” she said. “The space is now filled with light and the windows change colors according to the time of day. The jewel tones are particularly evident at sunset. Our wonderful anonymous donor has also been by and she is just thrilled.”

Elder had a marvelous surprise to share. At the completion of the renovation work, Holy Grounds will get a new name.

“Because the building was constructed as a church in 1927 when Severna Park was known as Boone and was located opposite Boone Railroad Station, we are renaming Holy Grounds “Boone Station Hall” as a nod to its history” she said. “It’s such a charming building that’s been used by the community for everything from weddings, concerts and theater performances to yoga classes, birthday parties, baby showers, reunions and memorial services.”

She added that she’s pleased that the Holy Grounds and Youth Center signs will be saved and used elsewhere at Woods Church.

Cool Congregations Sacred Grounds Award also won by Woods

Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church recently won a Cool Congregations Sacred Grounds Award from Maryland’s Presbyterian Mission Agency for its collaborative efforts to restore the four-acre habitat the church is built on. They were awarded $1,000.

Woods was recognized for its community based efforts to renew the natural ecosystem on church land. To date, the congregation has planted over 500 native plants and more than 200 native trees. In 2019, the church’s Renew Capital Campaign raised $2.2 million dollars for sustainability projects like energy efficient windows, HVAC and LED lighting.

Their Woods at Woods Reforestation Project, Caring for Creation Rain Garden at Holy Grounds, Conservation Landscape Project to restore an eroding bank by planting deep rooted native plants, and unique Parking Lot Native Plant Gardens involved church and community members of all ages and organizations like Unity Gardens, Bay-Wise and the Watershed Stewards.

To view two excellent videos detailing these efforts, visit Woods Memorial Stormwater Tour – YouTube or A Reforestation to Slow Stormwater Runoff – YouTube

JING YING INSTITUTE OF KUNG FU & TAI CHI HOSTS WORLD TAI CHI DAY SATURDAY

Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi, a long-time participant in this global event, will be celebrating World Tai Chi Day  on Saturday, April 24. The event will be held outside at Severna Park Community Center under the trees beside Holy Grounds Youth Center from 10 am to 11:30 pm. All ages and fitness levels are welcome. If it rains, the event will be held indoors at the Jing Ying Institute in Arnold.

According to Jing Ying owners Billy and Nancy Greer, there will be demonstrations of Tai Chi followed by free mini-workshops suitable for all levels of fitness. This year, people are asked to register for the event at: www.JingYing.org where there’s also information about a free introductory tai chi class at the Severna Park Community Center on April 28.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

“Bites, brews and ballgames…” proclaims the marquis along the front of soon-to-open JB’s, Severna Park and that’s just what the new sports bar and grill is all about. Slated to happen before the end of May, the long-awaited debut of JB’s is being anticipated by locals with great excitement.

From the moment the 206 Restaurant Group took over ownership of the former Bill Bateman’s Bistro at the beginning of 2020, plans moved ahead for a complete renovation and transformation of the building which is located at 566 Ritchie Highway, Park Plaza. By mid-January of 2020, construction crews were already at work gutting the interior and reconstructing the exterior.

Greg Keating, managing partner of the 206 Restaurant Group which owns Oliver Brewing Company and four other restaurants including Park Tavern, said construction and renovation work was put on hold shortly after Governor Larry Hogan’s Stay at Home order of March 23rd.

“In addition to pausing the renovation of JB’s, we decided to close two of our Baltimore restaurants to concentrate on keeping Park Tavern, The Ale House Columbia, Donnelly’s Dockside and our brewing company operating,” Keating noted. We adapted as pandemic guidelines changed.”

Even so, plans and menus for JB’s continued to be worked on and refined.

“People have been curious to know why we decided to open JB’s directly across the Park Plaza parking lot from Park Tavern,” Keating said. “When you look at Park Tavern, however, you will see that the restaurants have entirely different concepts.”

He describes Park Tavern as a casual but sophisticated dining establishment suitable for a date night, business lunch or a Saturday or Sunday brunch. JB’s, on the other hand, is designed to be even more casual, lively and sports-oriented with 44 TV screens. (Park Tavern has just six screens.)

“JB’s also will be very child-friendly – a place you can bring your kids after soccer practice with the cleats still on,” observed Keating.

Artists’s drawings capture what the interior will look like.

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A well-designed entrance area will open onto a bar and a series of booths curving around the bar toward a bank of windows where there will be additional seating. There are also plans for an outdoor dining space.

Menus are being created to appeal to families as well – fun, simple, bar-driven foods like smash burgers, boneless wings, and regular or sweet potato fries. The bar will offer twenty draft beers but will not be as craft-oriented is Park Tavern is. Diners will find a combination of domestic beers like Bud Light or Coors mixed with a few craft beers from Oliver Brewing.

With construction and work back in full swing, the renovation project is entering its final phase. As can be seen from the photo above and the one immediately below, all of the exterior siding, signage and painting is complete.

The red, white and blue themed interior is still a work in progress though construction of the attractive bar has been completed. Elsewhere, there are still sawhorses and tools occupying part of the floor as the petitions for the booths are being built.

Keating reports that 206 Restaurant Group is already hiring for JB’s and has launched three social media sites for the restaurant including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @JB’s,SevernaPark. (The eatery has already gotten over 3,000 likes.)

“We’ve just reopened our Pratt Street Ale House in Baltimore, followed by the Five and Dime Ale House, also in Baltimore, and JB’s in turn,” said Keating. “We’re planning a couple of soft openings for friends and family in early May before our official opening day which hasn’t yet been chosen. We’ll also be having a grand opening at a later date.

Keep posted by visiting JB’s, Severna Park | Facebook.

Sun Trustdeconstructed – Popeye’s on the way

Right next to JB’s, at 566B Ritchie Higjway, the old Sun Trust Bank is being torn down to be replaced by a Popeye’s according to Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber CEO Liz League. (The Sun Trust banks merged with BB&T last year to become a single entity renamed Trust). The tear-down at the site is nearly complete so it appears that JB’s will have a new neighbor soon.

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Grand Marshall announced for Severna Park Independence Day Parade

The Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber of Commerce was pleased to announce on April 12 that Eddie Conway, owner of Garry’s Grill has been chosen as Grand Marshall for this year’s Independence Day Parade. A great supporter of the community who has donated both his time and raised funds for many local charities, Conway has also entered floats in the Severna Park Parade. He’s usually been seen at the forefront of the floats – a standout in his stars and stripes coat, tie and trousers. This year the parade will take place on July 5 (since July 4 falls on a Sunday). For times and details visit Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce (gspacc.com).

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Spring flowers are not the only thing popping as the weather warms. After a somewhat difficult year, the wedding business is beginning to bloom. Wedding dresses are being shopped for, venues and caterers booked, cake tastings arranged, and flowers selected as community residents rebound, recognizing that even amid the uncertainty of a pandemic, life goes on.

Mary’s Designer Bridal Boutique at 150 Jennifer Road has definitely seen business pick up now that the COVID vaccines are out according to stylist Nita Munevar.

“Weddings seem to be a little smaller than usual but are certainly larger than they were last year,” she said. “We are selling bridal gowns and dresses for the wedding party including dresses for the mother of the bride and mother of the groom.”

Mary’s Designer Bridal Boutique carries bridal gowns and related fashions and accessories from eight designers including Allure, Maggie Sottero, Sophia Tolli and others.

With some brides planning more intimate weddings, smaller venues like Historic Baldwin Hall in Millersville and Historic Holy Grounds in Severna Park are experiencing a revival of interest.

Classic Baldwin Hall, built as a church in 1861, has four weddings booked for April with good availability for late spring and summer. Several weddings that were postponed are rescheduled for fall according to building manager Annie Medford.

“Once a house of worship until replaced in 1896 by Baldwin Memorial United Methodist Church across the street, we currently function as a historic landmark and site rental,” Medford said. “Brides can choose to have their wedding ceremonies here as well as the reception but most prefer to have the ceremony at the church .

She said all COVID protocols are followed including a restriction to 50% of capacity for an indoor wedding and there’s ample space. However, many couples opt for outdoor marriage ceremonies and the spacious grounds of Baldwin Hall are an ideal setting.

The Severna Park landmark building known as Historic Holy Grounds, is owned by Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church and managed by the Severna Park Community Center. Constructed in 1926 as the home of St. John the Evangelist Church, its architecturally interesting interior is well suited to hosting wedding receptions. It even served as the site of a wedding show a few years ago with vendors and models wearing the latest bridal fashions.

Holy Grounds’ quaint exterior and spacious interior, with graceful windows and a railed balcony, can be beautifully decorated. There’s even a small kitchen. For an outdoor wedding, there’s an attractive portico and beautiful gardens.

According to SPCC’s marketing manager Amy Holbrook, there have already been small weddings and receptions taking place at Historic Holy Grounds with proper distancing and observation of COVID protocols.

“However, we’re having to take a break from booking events for a couple months for renovations including the replacement of Holy Grounds’ fragile original windows with new stained glass ones. After that, we have wedding receptions booked for July and August and beyond,” Holbrook said.

Wedding venues that can accommodate larger weddings/ receptions include Severna Park’s Chartwell Golf and Country Club which has a spacious ballroom.

“We’re having more weddings booked for 2022 than for 2021. But we’ve had some small weddings here for 40 guests or so that were held outside,” director of events Morgan Kilduff said. “For a larger number of guests, we’ll typically do the ceremony and cocktails outside, weather permitting, and the reception in the ballroom.

A popular waterfront destination for weddings is Kurtz’s Beach in Pasadena which, because of its size and extensive outdoor space, continued hosting weddings throughout the past year.

According to event director Ashley Mason, wedding bookings remained strong since Kurtz’s Beach has tremendous outdoor capacity and could easily shift things as COVID restrictions changed. For spring and summer, wedding bookings have picked up even more for both indoor and outdoor settings.

“We are well-booked through May and June and beyond,” Mason said.

Spring is always a busy time for caterers and, partly due to weddings, this spring is even busier said April Cunningham, owner and executive chef of Olde Severna Park-based April’s Table.

“We do have a few weddings booked for spring that are generally very intimate with 20 guests or less and a plan to sit outside under a tent to enjoy a multi-course plated meal,” Cunningham observed. “However, most of the weddings we had booked for this spring season opted to reschedule for fall, so our calendar is full September through November which we are thrilled about!”

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With regard to the fall weddings, she said most clients are still planning on a large headcount, anywhere up to 200 guests, with buffet style service.  April’s Table is equally comfortable serving small-scale plated dinners or large-scale buffet dinners.

A typical intimate wedding dinner might include passed Hors D’oeuvres like Watermelon Feta Cubes, Fresh Apricot Crostini and Gazpacho Soup Sips followed by a salad of Spring Field Greens. Main event entrees might include Maryland Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes, Eggplant Napoleon or Herb Rubbed Beef Tenderloin. And, of course, there’d be special desserts in addition to wedding cake.

A large wedding menu would include a grazing display board of Hors D’oeuvres like cured meats and artisan cheeses, a Hot Hors D’oeuvres station, a Slider station, and Pasta and Salad Stations to tickle wedding guests’ taste buds.

While caterers are busy, bakeries have revved up too. Kristin Witmer, head cake decorator for Kirsten’s Cakery in Olde Severna Park (who decorated the wedding cakes pictured here and above), said the bakery has been sending out wedding cake tasting kits for the past two months.

“We have quite a few custom wedding cakes scheduled for the spring and summer,” she said. Some orders are for bigger cakes and some for smaller cakes or cupcakes,” she said.

Michael Brown, owner of Cakes and Confections at 342 Ritchie Highway, an establishment also popular for breakfast and lunch quiches, salads and sandwiches, said he, too, has been sending out wedding cake tasting kits.

“We’re now having phone consultations and getting some orders. There’s a bit of a comeback and were seeing some of the earlier postponements due to COVID-19 reschedule their orders,” he added.

It’s not surprising, since Brown is noted for his decorative wedding cupcakes and his genius in arranging them, that many brides prefer to order those instead of a cake. They’ll often order extra sweets to go with them like mini-cheesecakes and tarts.

Newer Severna Park businesses like Tammi Molavi and Michelle Hickman’s j.lolly and Atalie Payne’s Atalie Day Photography are getting feelers too. Payne has a wedding photo shoot booked for August and further inquiries while a client has booked j.lolly to supply table settings for a large October wedding.

Well established photographer Laura Wegman of Laura’s Eyes Photography said, though she focuses more on corporate photography now, she has shot photos for four weddings, the largest of which had 50 guests. She has another smaller wedding coming up and an additional request.

“It’s nice to see wedding assignments and other photographic work making a comeback,” she said.