Starting around 4 pm this Saturday, the friends and supporters of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum will gather in St. Michaels to celebrate at its annual gala. While this tradition has needed to change due to the COVID pandemic, with now a safe amount of social distancing built in the program, the goal remains the same; provide as much philanthropic support as possible to keep the CBMM alive and relevant. 

It is safe to say that most, if not all, of those participating in this year’s “Castaway” gala, understand the full extent of the CBMM’s mission. Still, the challenge for staff and volunteers leaders of this remarkable institution is telling that story to the general public. In many ways, the events and programming at the museum is so great in number and so comprehensive that it can be challenging for many to absorb how wide this range can be. 

To help with this communications challenge, the Spy thought it would be beneficial to focus on just one of those programs that very few associate with CBMM. Rising Tide program, the brainchild of Kristen Greenaway soon after she became the museum’s president in 2015, would be in that category. 

Founded as a program that teaches students basic boatbuilding and woodworking skills, Rising Tide is much more than a recreational outlet for young people. It inspires young kids to develop self-confidence, pride, and facilitates mentorships that provide guidance and support. It can also be seen through the lens of a STEM program, where students become more academically prepared and gain skills in mathematics, engineering, team building, and project management.

A few weeks ago, the Spy spent some time with Jill Ferris, the CBMM’s director of education, who oversees the Rising Tide program, for her own impressions of this remarkably successful after-school initiate.

This video is approximately minutes in length. For more information about CBMM’s gala, please go here.

While Juneteenth was just officially approved of as a Federal holiday a few weeks ago, there was a different kind of celebration at the Academy Art Museum on Sunday. That was when the AAM noted their tenth anniversary in celebrating this day of acknowledgment of the end of slavery in the United States.

Over the years the Academy has found several creative ways to make Juneteenth memorable for the Mid-Shore, including art exhibitions and onsite art projects, which were seen on Sunday with a visual art project to occupy the AAM’s cube, and the stunning exhibit of the late Black artist and printmaker Norma Morgan.

But after so many years in the making, AAM’s celebration of Juneteenth has also turned out to be one of the best musical events on the Mid-Shore. Assisted with the help of musician Ray Remesch, the art center has developed a well-deserved reputation of bringing to the stage some of the most dynamic and gifted Black artists performing today. They have also found a special platform for some of the region’s promising musicians.

For 2021, that spotlight was put on Dorchester County’s Destinee Edmonds. A fifteen-year-old and rising junior at Cambridge-South Dorchester High School, Destinee, with approving parents seating in the front row, opened Juneteenth with classical renditions of Beethoven, Debussy, and Bach.  Destinee was followed by world-class performers Alison Crockett and Julie Outrage.

The Spy captured Destinee’s surprisingly appropriate and moving version of J.S. Bach’s Prelude in C Major as well as a few introductory remarks from new AAM director Sarah Jesse and retired Talbot County Public School’s Vickie Wilson as M.C.

This video is approximately three minutes in length. For more information about the Academy Art Museum please go here.