Author: wingsorb@aol.com

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.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Today, Severna Park is in transition from suburban to urban. But, from its origin as a farm community named Boone, Maryland over a century ago until today, the six buildings that have housed Severna Park’s post offices have served a vital function, – connecting the community to the nation and other nations while connecting residents to each other.

A small core of family businesses supplied Boone’s families with food, household items, farm tools and fuel. But there was a serious need for mail service for communication with the outside world and for the goods and services it could provide.

Established in 1914, the fledgling Boone Post Office, quickly outgrew its original site in Grotsky’s General Store at 4 Riggs Avenue. In 1919, it moved into a newly constructed building it shared with the Boone Train Station. Two years later, when the town changed its name, the facility was renamed Severna Park Train Station. But the post office retained its original Boone name until 1925 when it became the Severna Park Post Office. It continued operating from the train station for two more decades.

After the discontinuation of train service in 1944, the mail service was run from Cliff Dawson’s Store in the old Codd Building on Riggs Avenue and later moved across B&A Boulevard to Dawson’s new store at the corner of McKinsey Road.

A need to expand further to serve the growing community prompted a move to the property at 513 Baltimore and Annapolis Boulevard in 1962 – the post office building familiar to generations of residents (seen in the opening photograph). The building housed 33 employees serving 35 neighborhoods with a combined population of 19,000 people.

Clerks manned five windows while a supervisor managed operations from a catwalk above. City and rural carriers worked in the back in plain sight of patrons

Theresa Marozza, who was a clerk there for four “happy but busy” decades, spoke with us about what it was like prior to her retirement in October of 2009.

Marozza was hired by the post office in March, 1968 as a clerk/carrier. To get the job, she had to be capable of lifting 70 pounds. Clerks were required to tote heavy mailbags, catalogs, phone books and license plates. She also had to apply for a federal driver’s license to operate mail trucks. Her $2.80 an hour salary was the most money she’d ever made.

Workdays were frenetic and the hours long. The entire staff shared a single postage meter and one adding machine. Undaunted, they sorted and canceled 15,000 envelopes and packages a day by hand on a machine that constantly ran out of ink.

“We’d hit the truck, sort all the mail and put it through the canceling machine. I’d head out front with the mail pouch at 12:10 pm to wait for a bus to pick it up. Then we’d sort the mail that came in,” Marozza said.

“We’d hit the boxes at 7 p.m., sort that, cancel it and have it ready for the truck at 7:30. Several of us would then dash home to make dinner for our husbands and children.”

Regardless, the mood was welcoming and pleasant. Employees had time to establish relationships with their customers.

Marozza remained upbeat as the post office evolved through the decades in response to automation, population growth and economics. She said the most significant change occurred when Severna Park’s first postmaster, Jerry Brockmeyer, who’d lived in the community all his life, retired in 1979. The atmosphere changed then, becoming less personal and more businesslike.

The introduction of electronic sorting machines was another difficult transition. Rather than being sorted on-site, mail was shipped to Baltimore leading to staff reductions. In 1993, the carriers – Marozza’s friends and neighbors from Severna Park – were transferred en masse to the Delivery Distribution Unit at Earleigh Heights.

Characteristically, Marozza adapted and found time to focus on her fellow clerks and customers. She loved working at the post office so much that she postponed her retirement and, afterward, remained friends with many former customers. She’s still active as a member of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church and continues to volunteer at the Basilica of the Assumption in Baltimore and Mary’s Center, a crisis pregnancy center in Glen Burnie.

Despite Severna Park’s dramatic expansion over the next 17 years, the branch at 513 Baltmore and Annapolis Boulevard continued to serve as an anchor for the community – a place where residents ran into each other on a regular basis. But a major change took place on February 14, 2011 when the post office moved from the location it had operated at for nearly 50 years to shared facilities at the aforementioned Delivery Distribution Unit building on Magothy Bridge Road.

Exact figures aren’t available, but according to the current Severna Park Post Office, the facility processes approximately a million pieces of mail for local households and businesses. The building sees heavy traffic daily as residents visit post office boxes, drop off packages, or apply for passports. Lines are sometimes long as there are not as many clerks working as in the past. Many residents feel the location lacks the community oriented personality its predecessor had.

Following the 2011 relocation, the former post office building in Olde Severna Park sat empty until taken over and transformed by brothers Peter and Ron Zarilli in 2013 and opened as Zarilli’s Steaks and Hoagies in December of 2015. They considered keeping the clerk’s enclosure but realized it would have split the dining room. They did retain a small portion of the sorting area in the back. All through demolition and reconstruction people would wander in with letters in hand thinking the building was still the post office Peter said.

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Unfortunately, the Zarilli’s faced stiff competition from similar local businesses at the time and were unable to attract a following large enough to survive.

In February of 2017, thanks to Severna Park native Charlie Priolla and one-time partner Arturo Ottaviano, the imaginatively named La Posta Pizzeria and Italian Kitchen was born ……..and a little bit of Severna Park’s postal history preserved. The partners put their “stamp” on La Posta with the installation of a specially built wood-fired oven that reaches 900 degrees.

These days Priola, longtime owner of Mangia Italian Grill & Sports Cafe on Main Street in Annapolis, and wife Susie are at the helm serving the wood-fired pizzas, pastas, and traditional Italian entrees they are known for. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, they added outdoor tables and a charming garden to the restaurant last summer which proved quite popular.

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According to Charlie, the staff still fields the occasional question about the restaurant’s history as the Severna Park Post Office. Most are delighted to see the building in use with its original theme carried forward.

Severn River Association reports Seine Net Fishing Bill HB 843 dead

The Severn River Association reports that Bill HB 843, which would have allowed commercial seine net fishing at Lake Ogleton, Whitehall and Meredith Creeks, died in the House of Delegates on March 19. The bill was defeated, in large measure, thanks to calls and emails to the Maryland House Environment and Transportation Committee which declined to move HB 843 out of committee, effectively killing the measure.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN By Sharon Lee Tegler

The atmosphere at Severna Park Evangelical Presbyterian Church last Saturday was lively and reassuring. Two equally important initiatives were taking place on opposite sides of the church. On the north side, the first of 190 families began flowing through a Pop-Up Pantry that is held in the parking lot once each month.

Organized by Melissa Kurzmiller in partnership with food recovery organization Celestial Manna and in coordination with the Maryland Food Bank, Anne Arundel County Food Bank and Feed Anne Arundel, the Pop Up Pantry ran like clockwork. Fifty volunteers of all ages pitched in to collect, set up and distribute the food.

Meanwhile, on the south side of the church, a race course was being laid out for a much anticipated Christian Service Brigade StocKar Derby Race organized by Michael Binnie and Matt Vahlberg with volunteer help from various dads. Early arrivals, like Vahlberg’s son Johnathan, were eagerly showing off their hand-crafted cars. before submitting them.

Held annually, the race is open to younger CSB members but older members help out and parents, grandparents, siblings and friends turn out to cheer for their favorite entries.

Christian Service Brigade Battalion members Caleb Rassossky and Seth Ratajczak split their time between volunteering with the Pop Up Pantry (where their muscle was much appreciated) and helping set up seating, tents, race track and tables for the StocKar Derby.

Saturday was Seth and Caleb’s second time working with the pantry alongside seasoned volunteers like David and Erin Freeman. The teens mentioned how impressed they’ve been with the effort. The Freemans noted that they’d received food from the pantry in the past so they like to give back and help out as much as possible.

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“I have chemo scheduled for Monday,” David said. “So we wanted to get out and do something good to help others before that. It’s nice to be able to share with people and say ‘God bless you’. Feels good.”

Kurzmiller, wearing a bright orange vest, was in the middle of everything directing her volunteers. A busy mother of five including one special needs child, Kurzmiller became involved with the Celestial Mana program five years ago. At first she worked as a volunteer picking up food from various grocery stores. Three years ago, she became a Celestial Mana coordinator running a food distribution operation from her home.

She pointed out that Severna Park Evangelical Presbyterian Church had run a food pantry program for 20 years. But, when the COVID crisis skyrocketed the number of families needing food assistance, Kurzmiller found she’d outgrown her home-based operation and needed a way to expand.

Luckily, SPEP was happy to partner with her. Now, with more volunteers, the Celestial Mana/SPEP partnership provides in-house food distribution twice-weekly for 400 individuals along with the once-monthly Pop-Up Pantries open to anyone needing food . On Saturday volunteers worked steadily, filling car trunk after car trunk with canned and packaged foods and fresh produce.

The pace picked up as the 1 pm closing time for the Pop-Up Pantry neared. SPEP volunteers Suzanne Behrendt and Karen Larimer and three teenaged helpers prepared to greet drivers from Baltimore Station (a residential and treatment center for homeless veterans) and another group who were coming to pick up pantry foods that were left over. (The Celestial Mana/SPEP partnership always distributes any remaining foods to others.) The moment the Baltimore Station SUV pulled in towing a wagon, they began loading it with boxes of food.

Open boxes revealed canned goods, potatoes and apples from AA Co. Food Bank and more fresh produce from the MD Food Bank. There were hot foods, including shepherd’s pies from Feed Anne Arundel – a program paid for by the county that enables local restaurants (in this case Park Tavern and Mother’s Grill) to supply hot meals. All told, the Pop Up Pantry provided food for 725 total individuals.

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A few minutes later, Battalion member Timothy Carmon led the way across the SPEP campus where a crowd was forming around the bright aluminum race track with groups of children sitting together and parents in separate groups. An elaborate trophy table and a food and beverage table were already in evidence.

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Before explaining the event (basically a Pinewood Derby), Chief Ranger Matt Vahlberg described the structure of the Christian Service Brigade which is for boys. (There is a similar group for girls called “Pioneer Girls”.)

“CSB is divided into three age groups,” Vahlberg said. “The youngest, the ‘Tree Climbers’ for children in first and second grades, and “Stockade” group, for kids from third through sixth grades, would be racing. The oldest “Batalion” group, for seventh through twelfth graders, would help operate the event.

Binnie noted that the Tree Climber and Stockade groups had been meeting outdoors at the church on Tuesday evenings where they had access to band saws and belt sanders with which to shape blocks of wood they’d been given to design and shape into model cars. It’s an activity that encourages craftsmanship and helps the youngsters develop fine motor skills.

Start time drew near and four Tree Climbers’ names were called out to pick up their cars from the “impound table”, form a line, and place them on the track for the initial heat.

The cars would be automatically launched by the officials and sensors on the track would determine the finishing order for each heat. Naturally, the race officials took extreme care in lining the StocKars up before sending them down the track.

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There was a problem with the sensors, however, and times were not recorded. While fun to watch, subsequent heats had similar problems and results were not official. It was soon discovered that intense sunlight at the end of the track was interfering with the optical sensors.

Various strategies were tried to shade the end of the track but problems with UV light persisted until SPEP congregation member Gordon Laque, who designed the track, arrived and sorted out the trouble.

Then competition started afresh for the Tree Climber and Stockade groups with much enthusiasm and competitive spirit among the participants and tremendous cheering and clapping from the audience. Winners were eventually declared in categories for speed, race design and funny car. They were:

Speed: 1st place, Andrew Binnie; 2nd place, Sam Luman; 3rd place, Nick Grunes

Race Design: 1st place: Jonathan Butzin; 2nd place, Sam Luman; 3rd place, Zane Biggerstaff

Funny Car: 1st place, Johnathan Vahlberg; 2nd place, Oliver Christie; 3rd place, Colton Canby

For more information about activities at Severna Park Evangelical Presbyterian Church, visit Severna Park Evangelical Presbyterian Church – where Jesus mends broken lives… (spepchurch.org)

Severna Park 4th of July Parade a GO!

Good news from the Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber of Commerce. Severna Park’s annual Independence Day Parade will be held this summer. Since, July 4th falls on a Sunday, however, the parade will actually take place Monday, July 5. Parade entries are being accepted now. For details, visit Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce (gspacc.com) or email Liz League at ceo@gspacc.com.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Arriving just in time to take advantage of Lisa’s Cakepops’ “Baker’s Dozen plus two free pops” anniversary special on March 13, repeat customer Jennifer Wade perused the beautiful hand-decorated pops in the display case before making her selections.

“I’ll have one Vanilla pop, one Vanilla Princess pop, two Lemons, two Chocolate Covered Vanilla,” she told owner Lisa Schneiderman.

Pausing before choosing further, she mentioned that she always comes by the shop after getting her eyebrows done next door.

Schneiderman, who personally manned the checkout counter in honor of the shop’s Second Anniversary as a storefront, explained to Wade that she based its design on that of an ice cream counter where you pick the flavors you want.

“We’re obviously featuring pops with a touch of green this weekend in honor of St. Patrick’s Day along with St. Patrick’s Day cakepop decorating kits for children,” she said. “But, we’re about to bring out our line of Easter cakepops and our Easter Pop decorating kits that encourage kids to get creative dipping and decorating their own chocolate covered eggs..”

With that, she disappeared for a second and brought out an Easter Bunny cakepop she’d just designed plus one of the Easter decorating kits. The bunnies will make their counter debut this week.

Along with them, will be Lisa Schneiderman’s ever-popular Easter chick cakepops and Easter egg pops which you can pick up from the shop or order by phone at 443-346=4011 or online at Lisa’s Cakepops – Eat Lisa’s Cakepops!

The trio of cakepop bunnies, chicks and Easter Eggs (like those below) will dress up any Easter Basket…….and are yummy to boot. In fact you might want to save some for the adults.

Families can have fun creating their own pops, however, by using one of Lisa’s Cakepops’ Easter decorating kits, thereby starting a new tradition. The kits come with six pre-formed single-dipped egg pops, a package of white chocolate to melt for dipping, and colorful sprinkles and sugars with which to decorate them.

Since becoming wholesalers in 2019, Lisa’s Cakepops finds that the Easter season is one of its busiest times. Both Lisa and her husband and business partner Glen spent part of Saturday in the kitchen finishing the final 800 of a catalog order for 12,000 Easter Pop Decorating Kits.

Lisa recounted the journey from her California kitchen to Severna Park shop owner and wholesaler. “

“A stay-at-home mom then, I spent hours in that kitchen experimenting with and perfecting my version of then-new cakeballs and cakepops,” she said.

Sharing her fanciful and delicious creations with family and friends, Lisa soon realized she could market them through a home-based business..

Shortly thereafter, Glen’s job brought the family east. She was no longer able to run her blossoming business from her kitchen and rented commercial kitchen space from Fiona’s Cakes at 836 Ritchie Highway.

By then, her products and been “discovered” and she was receiving custom cakepop orders from locals and further afield. Simultaneously, she was promoting her products by appearing at community charity events.

For a long time, she and her part-time staff of helpers were making the pops for local customers who’d order them for specific events like weddings or graduations. However, the staff suddenly found themselves getting numerous out-of-state inquiries and orders. In 2017, Lisa launched an e-commerce business through her website Lisa’s Cakepops – Eat Lisa’s Cakepops! and through Facebook at Lisa’s Cakepops | Facebook.

Local sales remained strong. So, when commercial kitchen owner Fiona D’Agostino relocated to another state, the Schneidermans took over the lease and bought all the equipment. They subsequently converted part of the kitchen to a storefront with refrigerated display cases and a counter from which to serve customers. They opened the shop on March 14, 2019 with a celebration and ribbon cutting by The Greater Severna Park & Anrold Chamber of Commerce.

In addition to e-commerce, Lisa’s Cakepops began working closely with two catalog companies, MacKenzie, Ltd. in Baltimore and Chesapeake Fine Food Group, LLC in Owings Mills.

Anniversary day remained busy. Glen Schneiderman took over the counter just as regular customer Marissa Sherman and her daughter Ella arrived to pick out their Baker’s Dozen plus two pops.

“Our family has a nut allergy and Lisa’s Cakepops doesn’t use nuts in their baking, so we’re in here often,” Marissa said,

The duo chose 15 of their favorite pops including Cookie Dough, Maple, Chocoate, Lemon and Salted Caramel and of course, green St. Patrick’s Day pops.

Recalling the first anniversary of the storefront on March 13, 2020, Lisa said the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic gave her a feeling of uncertainty. But business stabilized thanks to her loyal customers and catalog orders.

“On our second anniversary here, I’m feeling more hopeful,” she said.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

When asked by friend Stephen Mitchell what she missed most during the COVID-19 pandemic, Petra Ligmond Roche had an instant comeback.

“Getting all dressed up to attend galas or fundraisers,” she said.

Like many of us, she yearns for a return to normalcy when jobs, meetings, church services, or dinners out with friends induce us to slip out of those “remote working” pj’s or yoga pants and into something pretty that makes us feel good about ourselves.

Theresa Kurtz, a real estate agent with The Gerdes Team of Long & Foster who’s always on the go showing properties across the county, said she’s never given up dressing well. Kurtz says looking stylish lifts her spirits and inspires confidence.

Both women are delighted that shopping local for stylish clothing is now very possible. One of Roche’s favorite haunts, The Cottage at Park Plaza in Severna Park, is awash in spring colors and fashions in every size. Dressing rooms are open and impeccable there so trying on clothes is a breeze.

The Cottage’s trendier clothes are popular with teens and with the shop’s young staffers and sometime-models like Emily Humphries. Emily is seen above showing off a swingy lavender print dress by Mahi Gold with heels by Toms and a bag from Annapolis-based company Hobo.

There are styles by labels like Vera Bradley, Spartina and Tribal that appeal equally to young moms, busy professionals and women who are involved in community volunteering or social activities..

Manager Courtney Coughy said resort wear is already being shown but, for the moment, customers are particularly drawn to Vera Bradley’s colorful floral print raincoats with matching handbags.

Accessories are big this spring – especially handbags or hats in shades of aqua blue. Equally prized are casual clothes like Spartina’s playful pastel jumpsuits that can be worn with sandals or dressed up with a pair of heels.

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Next door to The Cottage, customers roamed the aisles at JOANN Fabric and Craft Store. According to manager Claudia Mbem. they have never stopped making clothes including “dressy stuff” for special occasions. Silks, satins and laces have been selling well because brides-to-be are currently making their wedding gowns or bridesmaid dresses.

Opposite Park Plaza, Kohl’s spring line of fashions is on display with labels like Vera Wang, Lauren Conrad, Apt. 9 and Chaps providing plenty of dress-up options for women. The menswear section includes sport coats, classic slacks and suits by Haggar and casual clothing and jeans by IZOD, Levis and Lee among others. Both men and women shoppers need to know their sizes, however, because dressing rooms are not open.

In Olde Severna Park, Savvy Consignment is a favorite place to browse for quality name brand clothes. Stepping inside, it’s easy to see why and to discover that Savvy’s dressing rooms are open too.

Owner Stacey Cassidy is proud of the wide array of designer label fashions she’s able to display. For instance, there’s a whole rack devoted to Lilly Pulitzer clothes. Cassidy took time to reveal a Lilly Pulitzer dress with simple, elegant lines that she’s particularly fond of, then reeled off some other high end labels.

She noted that the clothing on other racks is arranged by color and size and includes name brands like LuLu Lemon, Ann Taylor, JCrew, Michael Kors, Tory Burch, Free People and Vineyard Vines. There is a more limited selection of menswear in one section of the store.

Spring is always a busy time at Savvy with mothers coming in to buy warm weather clothing for their children but these days the moms are lingering to check out something stylish for themselves.

Severna Park, Millersville, Pasadena and Arnold residents have long known that Partners In Care’s Upscale Resale Boutique at Fesitval at Pasadena off Ritchie Highway is a hidden treasure for shoppers with an eye for style. With spring in the air, shopping for clothes has picked up according to PIC’s Executive Director Mandy Arnold.

A group of volunteers known as “The Designing Women” do a great job of staging clothing in appealing vignettes.

Arnold notes that, in addition to a new jewelry counter showcasing the shop’s impressive collections, the boutique carries fashions bearing labels like Chico’s, Zulily, Talbots, Anthropologie and Banana Republic among others. They also carry menswear from name brands like JoS.A.Bank and Hugo Boss.

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Whether “dressing up” is a fait-a-compli for you – or right around the corner – it’s fun and easily doable by shopping local. You can even venture a bit further afield. Roche said she enjoys shopping at Macy’s at Westfield Annapolis Mall where dressing rooms are open or Nordstrom Rack at Harbour Center. It’s good to know those of us who like or need to try on clothes before buying them now have a choice of places to shop.

St. Martins’ Mustangs & Meatballs virtual family event

St. Martin’s-in-the-Field Episcopal School is hosting a fundraiser called Mustangs & Meatballs on Friday, April 23rd. It will be a virtual family event including a student variety show, Italian carry-out dinner including salad, entree and dessert for two, a bottle of wine, wine tumblers and more. There will also be a silent auction. Tickets for dinner and show – or for variety show alone – will go on sale Monday at www.stmartinsmd.org.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

For Stage & Screen Studio owners Julie Ann and Pete Garvey, the bounce back from the dark days of pandemic lock-downs has been nothing short of miraculous. While most of the entertainment industry was devastated, the Millersville-based business managed to blossom over the last several months thanks to creative, innovative ideas that kept things moving forward.

The studio’s director Pete Garvey reflected on the company’s journey from “sudden and complete halt to operations” to revitalization and steady growth.

“What happened in those first few months between March, April and May of 2020 when we were completely locked down was shocking. We’d just finished a very successful run of ‘Sound of Music’ and I was directing ‘Alladin, Jr.’ for Jones Elementary School which, unfortunately had to be cancelled,” he said. “Julie and I were like ‘what are we gonna do?’

As the couple began thinking outside the box, the idea for making a TV pilot was born. Inspired by a Netflix show featuring teenagers called “Outer Banks”, they thought “what do they have that we don’t have other than financial backing?”

Reasoning that there were plenty of natural settings in the great outdoors along Maryland and Virginia’s scenic waterways, they gently put out feelers to see if they could find a few young actors who’d be interested. Eleven signed on right away. Pete wrote a script and found a location three miles south of Severna Park on the Chesapeake Bay. Thus was born the pilot for “The Point” – a production that could be filmed safely in the open air in socially distanced fashion without sacrificing quality.

“We filmed it over three weekends and the kids loved doing it,” Garvey said. “We just finished editing it and will be releasing it in about three weeks. We are now beginning to film Episode 2 of “The Point” with twenty student actors already signed on for it.”

Simultaneous with work on the film, the studio began offering one-on-one instruction – at first virtually – but, shortly thereafter, in-person with proper COVID-19 protocols including masking and social distancing. As opposed to their previous emphasis on training students for big productions, one-on-one training allowed the staff to concentrate on the fundamental techniques of acting that make actors great and keep them in demand for work ranging from films, TV and the theater to commercials.

In those first few months, Pete redesigned the company’s website to better reflect the deep pool of talent on Stage & Screen Studios’ staff, thus planting seeds that continue to blossom.

With the approach of warm weather, the studio added small group theater camps for elementary and middle school students where participants learned fundamentals of “musical theater” including singing and choreography. Pete added a new wrinkle by doing a bit of coaching for Severna Park High School senior Ellie Heath who’s preparing for her second Maryland Poetry Out Loud State Level Competition.

The company also invested in equipment upgrades that allow them to do multi-camera live stream events or showcases directly from the studio.

At the same time, they enlarged their staff. There are now eight different teachers with impressive backgrounds in a range of disciplines. They include theatrical coach Allison Bailey, big screen/Hollywood coach Sixx Orange, performance coach Hannah Hall, stage combat instructor Claudia Rosales, choreographer Heather Harris, music director Jill L. Beram-Limatta and acting coach Dean Davis. Most exciting of all, renowned aerialist and aerial dance coach Robin Miller joined the staff.

Miller’s most avid pupil, from the outset, was Pete’s son Nicholas Garvey, an actor/dancer who has already achieved distinction in the world of ballet as an International Academy of Ballet competition winner representing The Greater Annapolis Ballet.

“With Miller’s help, Nick took to performing in the air like it was second nature. He’s used the newly developed skill to recreate the persona of Spiderman,” Pete said.

Julie and Pete Garvey bring their own considerable talents to everything the company does. As owner/manager, Julie brings her movie, TV and commercial background experience into play.

Julie has appeared in over 50 regional TV commercials and shows including performing as host of a nationally broadcast children’s show on Fox called “AquaKids”. She models professionally for national product lines and has appeared in movies including “Ladder 49”, “Syriana”, “Better Living Through Chemistry” and “National Treasure Book of Secrets”.

Director and principal instructor Pete has appeared in over 25 nationally broadcast TV shows on Discovery Channel networks, HBO and NetFlix. He’s appeared in more than 80 regional TV commercials and narrates audiobooks on Audible and iTunes. He’s also a former theater director for the U.S. Naval Academy Masqueraders, technical director for the Naval Academy Glee Club and director of the Maryland Shakespeare Festival.

For information on lessons, classes, upcoming auditions and bios for Stage & Screen Studios staff members visit Lessons | Stage & Screen Studios .

The Garveys noted that other theater or dance related programs have kept operating through much of the pandemic as well. In doing so, they’ve managed to supply some of the healthy interaction children have been missing during the pandemic. Two are in Severna Park.

Theatre In The Park

Theater In The Park founder and director Jennifer Lee Kraus found ways to adapt and weather the pandemic storm.

“Other than having to shut down last spring and not being able to have our performances, we have been able to continue our small group summer camps and in person workshops,” Kraus said. “We have just adapted to COVID guidelines to make them safe. It’s gone really well.”

Theater in the Park’s musical theater arts workshops, for kids from 5 to 18, provide opportunities for acting, singing and being part of a production. The in-person classes are held at Severna Park Community Center and Holy Grounds. A “Broadway Babies” program is currently underway and plans are already afoot for summer camps in July with a “Space Bop” theme. For information, visit Theater in the Park | Facebook .

The Dance Center of Severna Park

The Dance Center of Severna Park ‘s director Kellie Greer found a way to keep dance in the forefront of people’s minds when the Severna Park Community Center where the program is based closed in accordance with Governor Hogan’s Stay At Home order.

She created free dance lessons for children to view and practice to at home using Facebook Live – lessons that attracted would be students.

Once the community center reopened, in-person lessons were immediately offered with small class sizes, masks and proper social distancing.

Today in-person classes are held six days a week but can be virtual as well. A year-round recital schedule will be set shortly with a date and location for the first recital still to be determined. For a full description of the various classes offered, visit SPCC Home (spcommunitycenter.org).

Chesapeake Life Center offers grief support and summer grief programs for children

Chesapeake Life Center’s grief support programs for children and teens are now meeting in-person at Hospice of the Chesapeake’s John & Cathy Belcher Campus, at 90 Ritchie Highway. They are:

“Stepping Stones”, for children ages 6 to 12, which will meet from 10 a.m. to noon April 3. Breakfast, games and activities are included.

“Phoenix Rising” for teens ages 13 to 18 which will meet from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month, April 21, May 19 and June 16. A meal is provided along with games and activities.

“Pre-Teen Group” for pre-teens and early teens meets at the same time but in a different room as Phoenix Rising.

Groups are limited to six participants and masks must be worn. The cost for each program is $10 per participant, with a maximum of $20 per family. Pre-registration is required by calling 888-501-7077 or emailing griefinfo@chesapeakelifecenter.org.

Summer Grief Programs for children 6 to 11 being held on four consecutive Saturdays are filled with adventure, music and art. “Adventures in Grief” takes place at Terrapin Adventures at Historic Savage Mill on May 15. A “Summer Grief Art Workshop”  for younger children will be held June 26 at a yet to be decided location.

A music-based “Rhythm and Grieve” program will be held July 17 at a Prince George’s County location yet to be determined while “Teen Adventures in Grief”, for kids 12 to 18, will take place August 14 at Terrapin Adventures. More information will be forthcoming or yoy can keep tabs by visiting http://www.chesapeakelifecenter.org/.