In a weekend packed with parties, parades and special events, Christmas in St Michaels’ Tour of Homes is one of the highlights, drawing visitors from far and wide for a close up look at the past and the present .  This year’s Christmas in St. Michaels Tour of Homes December 8-9, 2018 features a mix of waterfront estates and waterman’s cottages in and around town.

Whether you like old houses with new interiors, new houses that look like fine antiques or faithfully renovated historic homes, you will find something on the tour to pique your interest.  Find out why the owner of 207 Mulberry Street had to wait 10 years to buy her dream home, hear how a globe-trotting couple put down roots in St. Michaels, see what happens a talented landscaper and a woodworker/graphic designer tackle a house together.

Seven homes in all are featured on this year’s tour – five in St. Michaels and two Martingham estates, reachable by shuttle bus.   This year’s tour features a particularly unique historic St. Michaels home – the Horace Turner house on Dodson Ave.  Designed and built by African-American carpenter Horace Turner, the house has been completely renovated while hewing closely to its historic roots. Aside from the 18” brick foundation, modest window and landscape alterations, the house appears today much as Horace Turner envisioned it in 1904.

All of the in-town homes are within walking distance of each other.  Out of town homes are reachable by a free shuttle bus that runs frequently from the Crab Claw parking lot.  Tickets for the Christmas in St. Michael’s Tour of Homes may be purchased online at christmasinstmichaels.org for $25.00 or in person at The Christmas Shop. Chesapeake Trading Company, Chesapeake Bay Outfitters and Charisma in St. Michaels up until noon Dec. 7th.  After that, tickets can be purchased for $30.00 at the Granite Lodge on St. Mary’s Square, St. Michaels.

All proceeds from the Christmas in St. Michaels Tour of Homes and other events go to fund local charities.  Over the past three decades, Christmas in St. Michaels has donated more than $1 million to local non-profit organizations providing much-needed services to area residents. For more information about this and other events, please visit  christmasinstmichaels.org.

Christmas in St. Michaels lights up town Dec. 7 – 9th with a party, a parade, shopping, great food and exuberant hospitality that spills from one end of Talbot Street to the other.  Here’s a rundown of what’s happening and when.

Friday December 7th

Get a jump on the crowds when the Marketplace and Sweet Shoppe opens to the public at noon.   Located in the Grange Hall on historic St. Mary’s Square,  Marketplace is filled with an array of artful gifts including wine glasses, hummingbird feeders, fine jewelry, cuddly scarves and gloves plus homemade jams, jellies, and other gourmet goodies. Once you’re done stocking up on holiday treats, walk next door to the Woman’s Club where you’ll delight at the intricate handmade gingerbread houses on display.  (Don’t forget to vote on your favorite Gingerbread house! ) Admission is free at both places.

When nighttime rolls around, it will time to put on your dancing shoes and join the fun at the Yuletide Party, starting at 6:30 PM at the Miles River Yacht Club.  All of the ingredients are in place for a spectacular event: there will be an open bar, passed hot hors d’oeuvres, a carving station of pork and beef tenderloin and desserts.  In addition, there will be a raw bar with a selection of seasonal specialties gathered from the Bay.  Guests will also enjoy complimentary valet parking.  And you won’t be able to stay off the dance floor when the music strikes up at 7:30 PM.  Tickets are required.

Saturday, December 8th

The Christmas Parade steps off on Talbot Street at 10:30 AM  This charming hometown parade features Santa and Mrs. Claus, marching bands, a pack of Chesapeake Bay Retrievers – the Eastern Shore hunting dog – a surfing Snowman and much, much more.  Before the parade, kids, parents and grandparents are all invited to Breakfast with Santa at the Lighthouse Bar and Oyster Grill 125 Mulberry Street.  Tickets are $10.00 and are available online or by mail.  Advanced reservations are required due to limited seating.  And there’s more …after the parade, kids ages 3-11 can head over to Santa’s Wonderland, located at the St. Michael’s School, 200 Seymour Ave for face painting, games, snacks and the ever-important talk with Santa.

Saturday, December 8 and Sunday, Dec. 9th

For lovers of historic homes, the signature event of the weekend is the popular Christmas in St. Michaels Tour of Homes.  Seven historic and significant homes, all decked out for the holidays,  will be open to the public from Dec. 8th 11 AM – 5 PM and Dec. 9th 11AM – 4 PM.  On the tour is a mix of 18th and 19th century seafaring homes that have been updated for modern living. In-town homes are within walking distance; all others can be reach via a shuttle service. Tickets for the Tour of Homes are $25.00 until Dec. 7th.  After that, tickets are $30.00. Tickets can be purchased on line or in local stores.

For a complete list of events, tickets and more, please visit: christmasinstmichaels.org.  All proceeds from Christmas in St. Michaels go to fund local non-profit organizations that provide important services for local residents.

St. Michaels artist Joanne Buritsch (center) shows off the ornament she designed for this year’s Christmas in St. Michaels. The handcrafted piece features the iconic honeymoon bridge shown behind Buritsch, Lisa Rey (right) and Val Kenn Gray – co-chairs of the CISM Ornament Committee. The Bridge’s name comes from the 1928 silent film, The First Kiss, where screen legends Gary Cooper and Fay Wray share a passionate kiss. To this day, the bridge often plays a supporting role in wedding photographs.

The ornament is now available for $20.00 from these local stores:

The Christmas Shoppe, Chesapeake Bay Outfitters, Chesapeake Trading Company, the Candleberry Shoppe, St. Michaels Pet Supply, Shore United Bank, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum store, the Broken Rudder, Charisma, Pemberton Pharmacy & Gift, St. Michaels Harbour Inn and Spa and All Pets Veterinary Clinic

This year’s Christmas in St. Michaels celebration will be held on December 7 – 9. Proceeds from Christmas in St. Michaels collector’s ornaments and all other related events support local nonprofit organizations whose work enriches the community. For more information about this year’s celebration please visit https://www.christmasinstmichaels.org.

Even if your honeymoon is long over, you can still take home warm memories with this year’s Christmas in St. Michaels’ ornament featuring St. Michaels’ iconic Honeymoon Bridge – the graceful foot path linking Cherry Street with Navy Point. This year’s ornament, the 15th in the series, was based on original artwork by Joanne Buritsch.

The Bridge’s name (sometimes called Sweethearts’ or Lovers’ Bridge), comes from a scene in the 1928 silent film, The First Kiss where screen legends Gary Cooper and Fay Wray share a passionate kiss. Both the bridge and surrounding St. Michaels were featured in the film. To this day, Honeymoon Bridge often plays a starring supporting role in wedding photographs.

The ornament is available for purchase at these St. Michaels locations: The Christmas Shoppe, Chesapeake Bay Outfitters, Chesapeake Trading Company, the Candleberry Shoppe, St. Michaels Pet Supply, Shore United Bank, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum store, the Broken Rudder, Charisma, Pemberton Pharmacy & Gift and St. Michaels Harbour Inn and Spa.

Ornaments from previous years are available for purchase online at christmasinstmichaels.org. Each ornament is packaged in a distinctive gift box, ready to become part of a collection or a very special gift. Ornaments are priced at $20.00 each.

This year’s Christmas in St. Michaels celebration will be held on December 7 – 9. Proceeds from Christmas in St. Michaels collector’s ornaments support local nonprofit organizations whose work enriches the community.

More than two dozen local non-profit organizations will have a little  more tinsel on the tree this year after they were selected to receive grants from the 2018 Christmas in St. Michaels celebration. The newly named beneficiaries provide services to the Talbot County community in a wide range of areas from community enhancement to family services.

Beneficiaries include:

Family Services
St. Michaels Family YMCA/CarePacks of Talbot County
St. Michaels Food Pantry
Channel Marker, Inc.
Mid-Shore Pro Bono

Education and Child Development
Back to School Project at Christ Church
Character Counts
Critchlow Adkins Children’s Centers – St. Michaels Site
Imagination Library of Talbot County
Phillips Wharf Environmental Center
Sink or Swim (SOS)
St. Luke’s School
St. Michaels After School Help (SMASH)
St. Michaels Little League
St. Michaels Middle/High School Band Boosters
St. Michaels Middle/High School Musical Theater Program
Tilghman Area Youth Association (TAYA)

Community Enhancement
Bay Hundred Community Volunteers
Classic Motor Museum
Drew Landis Memorial Fireworks Fund
St. Michaels Farmers Market
St. Michaels Fire Department
St. Michaels Middle/High School After Prom
St. Michaels Museum
Talbot Village Connections (TVC)
Union United Methodist Church

The actual grant amount will be based on the proceeds from this year’s Christmas in St. Michael’s events including the Tour of Homes, The Yuletide Party, Marketplace and sale of Gingerbread Houses. Over the past 32 years, hundreds of grants worth over a million dollars have been given to local organizations providing an important source of funding for needs both large and small.

If last year is any guide, the grant funds will be put to good use.  The Classic Motor Museum used CISM grant funds to begin work on its new education building, while at

Pickering Creek Audubon Center, sixth and seventh graders explored the biodiversity of the Chesapeake Bay and learned about food webs.

“We are honored to have Christmas in St. Michaels support these programs, said Mark Scallion, center director, Pickering Creek Audubon Center.

Although the Christmas holiday comes around once a year, the Christmas in St. Michaels Grant Fund is truly the gift that keeps on giving throughout the year.  To find out more about 2018 Christmas in St. Michaels, please visit: christmasinstmichaels.org.

When the Christmas Parade kicks off on Talbot Street Saturday morning Santa and Mrs. Claus will be accompanied by more than reindeer.  There will be infantry. Lots of infantry.

For the first time this year, two historic militia units dedicated to telling the story of the War of 1812 in Maryland, will be marching together in the St. Michael’s Parade. Both the Chesapeake Independent Blues and the Fort McHenry Guard will be representing the militias who once protected St. Michaels from British attacks, helping it become “The Town that Fooled the British”.

The Chesapeake Independent Blues were formed in 2012 as part of State of Maryland grant given to five counties, including Talbot, to create living history representation of the Maryland citizen-soldiers who served during the War of 1812. The focus of the organization is on public education, and the group refers to its volunteer members as interpreters rather than re-enactors. The unit’s first program was held in Queenstown in April of 2013, says one of the group’s founders, Mark Dubin. Since then, the group has provided ceremonial and living history programs at public and private schools across the State, at national and state parks, and private historical sites as far south as Louisiana and as far west as Ohio.

Maryland suffered deeply during the War of 1812.  The State itself saw more action and devastation than many other parts of the Mid-Atlantic region.  The British blockaded the Bay in the Spring of 1813 and then systematically destroyed towns, vessels, warehouses and homes throughout the region.  Local militias, like the Blues, were essential to helping communities fend off British attacks.

“St. Michaels was one of the few communities to successfully fight off the British,” said Dubin, a Maryland Park Service Historic Weapons Safety Officer.

On Saturday, 17 members of the Chesapeake Independent Blues along with the Fort McHenry Guard from Baltimore, will provide a glimpse into that past and perhaps a chance to give a silent thanks to those who fought to protect this town so many years ago. Dressed in historically accurate military uniforms with reproduction smoothbore muskets and other common military items, the militia will be accompanied by the Fort McHenry Guard Fife and Drum Corpsa 6-pounder field artillery piece, and, a brand new flag.

The large silk “Colour” the Blues will be carrying  for the first time is a hand-painted reproduction of an original Maryland Militia flag from the War with an emblem that harkens back to its historical roots.  Emblazed across the top of the flag is the original Latin phrase “Non Sibi Sed Patriae” which translates as “Not for Self but Country”. As patriotic a statement as the men who carried it over 200 hundred years ago.

“We based the reproduction on a printed image first published on the War in 1868,” said Dubin.  “It’s probably the first time anyone has seen this Maryland flag in nearly 150 years, since the whereabouts of the original is now unknown.”

From the flag to the infantry, there will be several firsts when the Christmas in St. Michaels parade kicks off at 10:30 am. on Talbot Street, Saturday, Dec. 9th. Don’t miss the Home Tour immediately following the parade.  Tickets are required. For more information about these events and many others, please visit christmasinstmichaels.org.  Proceeds from all Christmas in St. Michael’s events go to support local non-profits providing important services to residents.

Christmas in St. Michaels festivities kick off December 2nd with the Gingerbread House Preview Cocktail Party from 5-7 PM at the Women’s Club of St. Michaels located on St. Mary’s Square.  The Gingerbread House competition is open to anyone. Tickets for the Cocktail Party and complete contest rules are available online at christmasinstmichaels.org.  Awards will be announced at the Preview Cocktail Party.

The following Friday, Dec. 8th, put on your dancing shoes and join the fun at The Yuletide Party, starting at 6:30 pm at the Miles River Yacht Club.  All of the ingredients are in place for a spectacular event: there will be an open bar, passed hot hors d’oeuvres, a carving station of pork and beef tenderloin and desserts.  In addition, there will be a raw bar with a selection of seasonal specialties gathered from the Bay.  Guests will also enjoy complimentary valet parking.  And you won’t be able to stay off the dance floor when Joe Martone strikes up the music starting at 8 PM. Tickets are required.

On Saturday, Dec. 9th, gather the whole family for the Christmas Parade which steps off on Talbot Street at 10:30 a.m.  For parents with younger kids, there is a pre-parade Breakfast with Santa, held at Harrison’s Eastern Shore, 1216 Talbot Street.  Tickets are $10.00 and reservations are required. After the parade, kids ages 3-11 can head over to Santa’s Wonderland, located at the St. Michael’s School, 200 Seymour Ave for face painting, games and – for baseball lovers – a maybe even a visit with major league baseball star and St. Michael’s native Harold Baines.

For lovers of historic homes,  the signature event of the weekend is the popular Christmas in St. Michaels Tour of Homes.  Eight historic and significant homes, all decked out for the holidays,  will be open to the public from Dec. 9th 11 a.m. – 5 pm. and Dec. 10th 11a.m. – 4 PM.  On the tour for the first time this year is the elegant brick colonial style Cannonball house which earned its nickname after being hit with a cannonball during the War of 1813.   Evidence is still visible in the stairwell.  All of the homes located in town are within walking distance of each other and transportation is provided to outlying locations.  Tickets for the Tour of Homes are $25.00 until Dec. 8th.  After that, tickets are $30.00. Tickets can be purchased on line or in local stores.

And finally, you can finish up (or get started on!) your Christmas shopping at the Marketplace and Sweet Shop, located at the Granite Lodge on St. Mary’s Square.  Filled with an array of artful gifts including hand-etched wine glasses, hummingbird feeders, fine jewelry, cuddly scarves and gloves plus homemade jams, jellies, and other gourmet goodies, Marketplace has something for everyone on your list.

To purchase tickets, make reservations, and find out more about these and other events, please visit:  christmasinstmichaels.org. All proceeds from Christmas in St. Michaels events go to fund local non-profit organizations that provide important services for local residents.

Don’t be fooled by the unseasonably warm weather – the holiday season will be here before you know it!  So, dust off your dancing shoes, get out your festive clothes and mark your calendar for the annual Christmas in St. Michaels Yuletide Party, Friday, December 8th at Miles River Yacht Club, St. Michaels, MD Friday, December 9th from 6:30 – 11 PM.  Tickets are $150.00 ($65.00 is tax deductible) and are available at https://www.christmasinstmichaels.org.

“This is a wonderful way to kick off the holiday season,” said Yuletide Party Co-Chair Barbara Rose.  “The club will be beautifully decorated and there will be plenty of room for everyone to mix, mingle, enjoy themselves.”

Indeed, all of the ingredients are in place for a spectacular event: there will be an open bar, hot passed hors d’oeuvres, a carving station of pork and beef tenderloin and desserts.  In addition, there will be a raw bar with a selection of seasonal specialties drawn from the Bay.  Guests will also enjoy complimentary valet parking. Plus, you won’t be able to stay off the dance floor when Joe Martone strikes up the music starting at 8 PM.

All proceeds from Christmas in St. Michaels go to support local non-profits that provide much needed services to local residents.  For more information on this and other Christmas in St. Michaels events, please visit:  christmasinstmichaels.org.