St. Michaels, MD—The gazebo in Muskrat Park in St. Michaels is the subject of the eleventh ornament for 2014 Christmas in St. Michaels. An Eastern Red Cedar, which is native to the Eastern Shore, adorns the gazebo.
Historically, gazebos were often placed to offer extensive views. Members of royalty were the first to have them. In the 14th century, France had four gazebos erected at the Louvre. The Muskrat Park gazebo overlooks Church Cove. The cove originally ran right up to the back of Christ Church, founded in 1677, enabling church-goers to arrive for services by boat. As the cove silted over and grew marshy, it was over-run by muskrats whose pelts became a valuable commodity. Eventually, part of the cove was filled in with oyster shells and became a park. In 1999, the gazebo was constructed in Muskrat Park and in 2012, the park of today was beautifully restored. It has become a community gathering place for musical concerts and other events.
The 2014 ornament, the 11th in this collectors series, was designed by local artist Joanne Buritsch.
The ornament is packaged in a gift box ready to give or to add to your collection. It can be purchased for $20 at the following St. Michaels stores: Broken Rudder Sportswear, Calico Toys and Games, Charisma, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum Store, Chesapeake Bay Outfitters, Chesapeake Trading Company, The Christmas Shop, Frivolous Fibers, Reeser’s Pharmacy, St. Michaels Harbour Inn and The Talbot Bank.
Some ornaments from previous years are available at Chesapeake Bay Outfitters, The Christmas Shop, and Reeser’s Pharmacy. Ornaments are also available online at www.christmasinstmichaels.org.
Members of the volunteer committee who worked with Joanne Buritsch to develop this year’s ornament are Lisa Rey and Val Kenn Gray.
Christmas in St. Michaels, the charity fund-raising event for which the ornament was developed, will take place in and around St. Michaels on December 12, 13, and 14, and will include a Holiday Gala, Christmas parade, Tour of Homes, Breakfast with Santa, Santa’s Wonderland, Gingerbread House Display, the Marketplace for hand-crafted gifts and gourmet foods, special musical events including the Celebration of Choirs, wonderful shops decorated for Christmas, great meals prepared by St. Luke’s United Methodist Church and Union United Methodist Church, and many other holiday festivities.
All proceeds from the sale of the 2014 ornament go directly to support the designated beneficiaries of Christmas in St. Michaels. The 2014 beneficiaries are CarePacks of Talbot County – St. Michaels & Tilghman, Character Counts Mid Shore, Inc., Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, Classic Motor Museum of St. Michaels, Critchlow Adkins Children’s Centers – St. Michaels Site, Drew Landis Memorial Fireworks, Imagination Library – Bay Hundred, Phillips Wharf Environmental Center , Pickering Creek Audubon Center, St. Michaels High School After Prom, St. Michaels After School Help (SMASH), St. Michaels Community Center, St. Michaels Community Food Pantry, St. Michaels Fire Department , St. Michaels Little League, Talbot Humane – Bay Hundred , Talbot Partnership – Bay Hundred, Tilghman Area Youth Association and Tilghman Waterman’s Association.
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