On October 24, we watched the Naval Academy Midshipmen take on Tulane University. The Naval Academy won! It was many of our au pairs first taste of American football.
Tag Archives: Maryland
Local Fairs & MD Renaissance Festival
What is a Fair?
According to Wikipedia:
A fair (sometimes fayre) is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. Activities at fairs vary widely.
Fairs are also known by many different names around the world, such as agricultural show, carnival, fete or fête, county fair, exhibition or state fair, festival, market and show. Flea markets and auto shows are sometimes incorporated into a fair.
Maryland State Fair
August 28-September 7, 2015. Maryland State Fairgrounds, 2200 York Road Timonium, Maryland. (410)252-0200. The Maryland State Fair was named one of the top 50 fairs in North America. This year’s 11-day festival will feature swifty swine racing pigs, live thoroughbred horse racing, bull riding and barrell racing, concerts, agricultural fair tours, games, rides and more.
Prince George’s County Fair
September 10-13, 2015. Prince George’s County Equestrian Center and the Showplace Arena, Water St., Upper Marlboro, Maryland. (301) 442-7393. Carnival rides, live animals displays, family circus, fireworks, live entertainment, food.
Anne Arundel County Fair
September 16–20, 2015. Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds, Generals Highway, Crownsville, Maryland. (410) 923-3400. Monster truck rides, carnival rides and games, farm animals and exhibits, pig races, antique saw mill, pie eating contest, talent show and much more.
Maryland Renaissance Festival
August 29-October 25, 2015.
We will be going there for a cluster meeting in September.
1821 Crownsville Rd, Annapolis, MD 21401. Set in a fictional 16th-century English village named Revel Grove, the festival is spread over 25 acres (100,000 m2). The second largest renaissance fair in the United States. Features costumed staff, food, performances, glass-blowing demonstrations, jousting, crafts and much more.
Outdoor Movies in DC Area
If you are looking to enjoy a movie outdoors this summer, there are lots of local options to consider.
DC Outdoor Films website offers a very comprehensive list which includes locations in DC, Maryland and Virginia.
Here are a few popular ones:
Golden Cinema Series
Golden Triange BID offers outdoor movies Friday nights through July.
Movies on the Potomac
National Harbor offers movies on Sunday nights through September 27.
Screen on the Green
Outdoor movies on the National Mall in DC
Drive-In Movie
Don’t forget about Bengie’s Drive-in Movie Theater in the Baltimore area. It’s a good hour drive from most of our cluster, but well worth it for the experience if you’ve never been to a drive-in movie. Check out my blog post about Bengie’s Drive-in.
Free Italian Ice on the 1st Day of Spring
On Friday, March 20, noon-9pm, all Rita’s Italian Ice locations will give each customer a FREE regular size Italian Ice. What a sweet way to start the season!
What is Italian Ice?
From the Rita’s website:
“Rita’s signature product is our Italian Ice, which is much smoother than a snow cone and combines ice with real fresh fruit; made fresh daily at each location and served within 36-hours of mixing. Trans-Fat Free and made fresh daily in dozens of deliciously refreshing flavors.”
There are Rita’s locations in Silver Spring, College Park, Bowie, Crofton, Annapolis & more. Check here on their website to find the nearest one for you.
**Contest** – The first au pair in our cluster to send Christine or Lisa a message (email or Facebook) telling us their favorite flavor of Italian Ice will win a gift card for a sweet treat.
Local Fairs & MD Renaissance Festival
What is a Fair?
According to Wikipedia:
A fair (sometimes fayre) is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. Activities at fairs vary widely.
Fairs are also known by many different names around the world, such as agricultural show, carnival, fete or fête, county fair, exhibition or state fair, festival, market and show. Flea markets and auto shows are sometimes incorporated into a fair.
Maryland State Fair
August 22-September 1, 2014. Maryland State Fairgrounds, 2200 York Road Timonium, Maryland. (410)252-0200. The Maryland State Fair was named one of the top 50 fairs in North America. This year’s 11-day festival will feature swifty swine racing pigs, live thoroughbred horse racing, bull riding and barrell racing, concerts, agricultural fair tours, games, rides and more.
Prince George’s County Fair
September 4 – 7, 2014. Prince George’s County Equestrian Center and the Showplace Arena, Water St., Upper Marlboro, Maryland. (301) 442-7393. Carnival rides, live animals displays, family circus, fireworks, live entertainment, food.
Anne Arundel County Fair
September 10 – 14, 2014. Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds, Generals Highway, Crownsville, Maryland. (410) 923-3400. Monster truck rides, carnival rides and games, farm animals and exhibits, pig races, antique saw mill, pie eating contest, talent show and much more.
Maryland Renaissance Festival
August 23-October 19, 2014. 1821 Crownsville Rd, Annapolis, MD 21401. Set in a fictional 16th-century English village named Revel Grove, the festival is spread over 25 acres (100,000 m2). The second largest renaissance fair in the United States. Features costumed staff, food, performances, glass-blowing demonstrations, jousting, crafts and much more.
Maryland Crab Feast Cluster Meeting
We had a crab feast/pool party cluster meeting at Whitehall Pool in Bowie on August 10. This was Lisa Maxwell’s first official cluster meeting as community counselor. We had au pairs in attendance from nine different countries: Germany, Bolivia, Brazil, South Africa, France, Thailand, Mexico, Panama & Costa Rica. It was the first time any of these au pairs had ever tried eating crabs.
We also played a game called “Do you know Maryland?” I tried to stump them with questions about all things Maryland including: Annapolis, the Orioles, the Ravens, Edgar Allen Poe, the Chesapeake Bay and that Baltimore term of endearment, “‘hon.”
Their reviews on the crabs were mixed. A few enjoyed them, but several were completely grossed out. We had a lot of fun!
Free & $1 Summer Movies
When the kids are out of school for the summer, one place to cool off is at the movie theater. Below are three theaters in different parts of our cluster area that are offering $1 or free kid’s movies each week of the summer.
Tips to maximize your free movie enjoyment:
- Movie admission is $1, but bring additional money for popcorn and/or drinks, if desired.
- I suggest you arrive at least 15 minutes early to get a good place to sit. Some of the movies can be very popular and fill up.
- Have all the kids make a bathroom stop before going into the movie.
- Do your homework and google the movie that’s playing in advance to make sure it will be a good one for your child/ren.
- As with any outing, ask your host parents before taking the child/ren to the movies.
- If you take the kids to the movie in Silver Spring, check out the fountain in Silver Plaza afterwards. Bring a towel and a dry change of clothes for the kids. It’s hard to resist splashing in the fountain.
After the movie, do activities related to the movie:
- Ask the children what were their favorite parts of the movie.
- Find crafts related to the movie to complete with them.
- Let the children act out parts of the movies. Use household items as props and dress up in costumes to make it more fun.
15200 Major Lansdale Blvd, Bowie, MD, 301-262-9133
Doors open at 9:30 am, Movie starts at 10 am
6/10-6/11 Hotel Transylvania (PG), The Smurfs 2 (PG)
6/17-6/18 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (PG), The Pirates: Band of Misfits (PG)
6/24-6/25 Arthur Christmas (PG), Despicable Me 2 (PG)
7/1-7/2 Lego Movie (PG), Free Birds (PG)
7/8-7/9 Adventures of Tin Tin (PG), Rise of the Guardians (PG)
7/15-7/16 Kung Fu Panda 2 (PG), Madagascar 3 (PG)
7/22-7/23 The Croods (PG), Epic (PG)
7/29-7/30 Turbo (PG), Walking with Dinosaurs (PG)
8/5-8/6 Mr. Peabody & Sherman (PG), Rio 2 (PG)
900 Ellsworth Drive, Silver Spring MD, 301-565-8884
Doors open at 9:30 am, Movie starts at 10 am
6/17-6/18 Hotel Transylvania (PG), The Smurfs 2 (PG)
6/24-6/25 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (PG), The Pirates: Band of Misfits (PG)
7/1-7/2 Arthur Christmas (PG), Despicable Me 2 (PG)
7/8-7/9 Lego Movie (PG), Free Birds (PG)
7/15-7/16 Adventures of Tin Tin (PG), Rise of the Guardians (PG)
7/22-7/23 Kung Fu Panda 2 (PG), Madagascar 3 (PG)
7/29-7/30 The Croods (PG), Epic (PG)
8/5-8/6 Turbo (PG), Walking with Dinosaurs (PG)
8/12-8/13 Mr. Peabody & Sherman (PG), Rio 2 (PG)
Annapolis Harbour 9 (FREE)
2474 Solomons Island Rd, Annapolis, MD, 410-224-1145
Doors open at 9 am, Movie starts at 10 am
6/24-6/25 The Croods (PG)
7/1-7/2 Epic (PG)
7/8-7/9 Walking with Dinosaurs (PG)
7/15-7/16 Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (PG)
7/22-7/23 Ice Age 4: Continental Drift (PG)
7/29-7/30 Alvin & the Chipmucks: The Squeakquel (PG)
8/5-8/6 Alvin & the Chipmucks: Chip Wrecked (PG)
8/12-8/13 Mr. Peabody & Sherman (PG)
8/18-8/20 Rio 2 (PG)
Drive-In Movies
Have you ever been to a drive-in movie? Drive-in movies are outdoor theaters where the movie is projected on a large screen and you watch from your car. There were once over 4,000 drive-in theaters in the U.S., now only a few hundred remain.
One of those still operating is right here in Maryland, in the Baltimore area. Bengies Drive-In has been in business since 1956. It is about an hour drive from most parts of our cluster, but since they are the only one left in the entire state of Maryland, that doesn’t sound so far.
Click here to visit the website
I have been taking my kids to drive-in movies at Bengie’s for the past few years and we love it.
The drive-in is only open Spring-Fall.
Drive-In Movie Tips for First Timers:
- You pay one price whether you stay for 1, 2 or all 3 movies. *Cash only for admission*
- You may stay in your car or bring chairs to sit in in front of your parking space.
- If you go in the summer and plan to sit outside, bring insect repellent spray or bug bracelets.
- If you go in the fall when the weather is cool, bring blankets.
- You cannot bring in outside food or drinks, unless you purchase an outside food permit. I recommend you buy your snacks there. They have some interesting options that you don’t see at a regular movie concession stand and that’s part of the full experience.
- Before you go, read the information on their website about headlights. You need to know how to disable your headlights when you are inside the movie.
- You also need to figure out how to turn your vehicle to the “accessory setting” with your key. This will allow you to listen to the movie without draining your battery. VERY IMPORTANT
- There is a note on their website about how to enter their address with GPS. There address is listed as “Middle River”not Baltimore on GPS.
If you give it a try, let me know how you like it!
April is Community Service Month
Every community needs volunteers. If the children are too young to help at a food pantry or soup kitchen you can simply take a trash bag and clean up a local park to make it more pleasant for everyone. Be sure to wear plastic gloves and don’t touch broken glass.
2014 Au Pair in America DC Regional Cultural Fair
Au Pair in America is hosting a DC Regional Cultural Fair
Au pairs representing over 35 different countries will provide: children’s activities, performances, visual displays, face painting and a cultural parade. This event is open to the public. Anyone interested in learning about other cultures and the Au Pair in America program are invited.
Saturday, April 5, 2014
1:00-3:00 PM
Spanish Ballroom
Glen Echo Park
7300 MacArthur Boulevard
Glen Echo, Maryland 20812
For more information, please contact Christine Connally at cconnallyaupair @ gmail.com or 301-860-1314.