Harmer’s Town Art Center has announced plans for a regional art facility with a park, studios, and galleries. The project is seeking donors.
Read more at https://patch.com/maryland/havredegrace/harmers-town-art-center-unveils-plans-downtown-hdg
Category Archives: Places
May 15-16, 2021: Secret Garden shhhhhhh…
The 15th Annual Secret Garden Tour, alongside the Garden Mart & Plant Sale, will be held the weekend of May 15-16, 2021. Tickets to the Secret Garden Tour are $25.00 per person and available for purchase online here.
Please note that Online ticket sales will end on the day prior, May 14th, at 12:00 PM. However, you may still purchase tickets in person at the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum, Havre de Grace Visitor Center, Amanda’s Florist, and Concord Point Coffee.
The Secret Garden Tour, hosted by the Gardens de Grace Club, supports the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum. It is a self-guided tour of private gardens along the Chesapeake Bay and around historic Havre de Grace from 12:00 until 5:00 PM.
The tour begins at the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum, located at 100 Lafayette Street in Havre de Grace, MD. At the museum, you’ll pick up your tour booklet and pin on the weekend of the tour. Your pin is your entry into each of the gardens on the tour.
This is a rain or shine event, so there won’t be any refunds issued unless the tour is specifically cancelled or postponed due to COVID-19. Please abide by CDC and State of Maryland social distancing guidelines. And out of respect to homeowners, we ask that there be no pets (with the exception of trained and registered service animals).
Please call 410-652-9757 or email gardensdegrace@hotmail.com with any questions you may have.
The Garden Mart / Plant Sale is FREE, held the same weekend as the Garden Tour on the grounds of the Maritime Museum from 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM. Plants will be sold on the museum’s lower level and on the grounds of Concord Point Lighthouse. Shop native plants, perennials, annuals, herbs, vegetables, hanging baskets and more.
There will be food trucks and assorted vendors selling arts and handicrafts, in addition to plein air artists and musical performances during the event. There will be a crystal bowl “soundbath” on Sunday with energy healer Linnea Tober.
Check the Museum’s Facebook page for additional details.
May 7, 2021: First Friday and Pride of Baltimore
Friday, May 7 is First Fridays in downtown Havre de Grace, with all the festivities attached.
Pride of Baltimore II will sail into Havre de Grace on Friday evening, dock and be open to the public for viewing (not boarding though) on Saturday & Sunday, May 8 & 9. The ship sails Monday morning, May 10.
See you there for selfies!
Friday, May 7
5:00 pm: Ship’s Arrival
Watch the ship sail into HdG, announcing her arrival with cannon fire. See the crew take in sail, secure the vessel to the dock, and prepare it for its weekend stay.
6:00 pm: Mosaic Project’s “Dawn’s Early Light”
Be transported back in time as you listen to stories of actual people who were here during the British Invasion on May 3, 1813. Interact with these historical figures and learn about their experiences.
Saturday, May 8
9:00 am: “Coffee with the Captain”
Watch a virtual program featuring Pride II’s Captain Jan Miles with special guest HdG Mayor Bill Martin, streamed live on the Pride’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/prideII.
10:00 am – 4:00 pm:
Pride II
Take a close-up view of this replica War of 1812 privateer schooner and witness crewmembers at work. Due to COVID-19 safety protocols, the ship is unable to offer deck tours or day sails.
Shoreside Exhibits
Explore the history of the War of 1812 in the Chesapeake Bay area and highlight the nationally significant connection to the region through the shoreside traveling exhibit located next to the Pride II.
War of 1812 Encampment
Witness a living history display through this re-created troop camp. Interact with historical interpreters that describe and depict the daily life of the soldiers.
Sunday, May 9
12:00 pm – 4:00 pm:
Pride II
Take a close-up view of this replica War of 1812 privateer schooner and witness crewmembers at work. Due to COVID-19 safety protocols, the ship is unable to offer deck tours or day sails.
Shoreside Exhibits
Explore the history of the War of 1812 in the Chesapeake Bay area and highlight the nationally significant connection to the region through the shoreside traveling exhibit located next to the Pride II.
War of 1812 Encampment
Witness a living history display through this re-created troop camp. Interact with historical interpreters that describe and depict the daily life of the soldiers.
Event Partners:
Maryland Heritage Areas Authority
City of Havre de Grace
Pride of Baltimore, Inc.
National Park Service: Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail
Maryland Heritage Areas Authority
City of Havre de Grace
Pride of Baltimore, Inc.
National Park Service: Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail
Tour the Lafayette Trail from your phone!
Check out the app now on your mobile device by downloading the free Distrx app from your app store (links below), then open the app, tap “Tours”, then “Lafayette Trail”.
You will see current and historical pictures of each site on the Trail and hear narration by past famous citizens.
The Maryland Historical Society* Museum is reopening!
The Maryland Historical Society* Museum is reopening!
Saturday, September 12, 10 am–3 pm
Maryland history and culture await you. Explore new onsite exhibitions – Flickering Treasures: Rediscovering Baltimore’s Forgotten Movie Theaters, and Wild and Untamed: Dunton’s Discovery of the Baltimore Album Quilts. The Spectrum of Fashion will reopen through December 2020. Admission is free on reopening day.
H. FURLONG BALDWIN LIBRARY REOPENS TO GENERAL PUBLIC
Wednesday, October 7 — The library is currently undergoing building upgrades.
NEW VIRTUAL EXHIBITION OPENS
Wednesday, September 9 — Forgotten Fight: The Struggle for Voting Rights in Maryland.
*Breaking news…the Maryland Historical Society is becoming the Maryland Center for History and Culture.
From their September 9 statement:
“After 176 years, we are stepping into this new identity that better reflects our mission to provide space for the community to discover and develop a deeper understanding of our nation’s history and culture through a Maryland prism. Your history lives here.
“The name change process took more than two years and was marked by extensive research and surveys. Accompanying our rebrand is a new visual identity. Inspired by the quilts in our collection, the “M” in our logo represents pieces of a pattern coming together but not complete—history is about collecting stories, but more stories are always yet to be told. The logo also radiates out and radiates in, symbolizing the lives we touch and the ideas we bring together.”
Historic Structures in HDG (PDF)
Click here to download a PDF file of the historic structures in HDG.
Originally compiled from a number of sources (survivors of the War of 1812 / Lafayette Trail sites of interest/ buildings listed in the original town survey of Marion Morton (1977}/ etc}.
Enjoy the houses and points of interest!
Openings July 2020
Who’s Open in and around HDG? Let’s take a look…
The Havre de Grace Maritime Museum is now open Fridays and Saturdays, 10 AM to 5PM, and Sundays 1 to 5 PM.
Enjoy the “Eat Like a Greek” food truck at the Museum on most Saturdays, 11 AM to 5PM.
The Decoy Museum is now in full operation 7 days per week
The Lighthouse is open for Weekend Hours only
Who is that Masked Man?
Even our dear statue of Lafayette is wearing his mask for going outside during the pandemic.
As I took a morning walk to Office Centre and the mailbox; I circled around the statue and Union Avenue. Good news that the Hitchcock House next door to the Mathilda O’Neill house and Bahoukas smells of fresh, new paint and is glorious white with repairs.
Secondly, the duplex of homes with front door enclosures next to PNC Bank and the Bowman Apts strip/storefronts building have been spruced up and painted and sided.
Thirdly, work continues and is looking good on the Wright-Henry House and the shop next door (former decoy shop and Andy & Bill’s} on the corner opposite the Creole de Graw restaurant.
The letter opposing the demolition of 300 Market Street is at Office Centre for copying and then will be distributed to City Hall. The commission will be notified when copies are available.
– Ron Browning
HDG: The Decoy Capital of the World
What does Havre de Grace have in common with the Bigfoot Capital of the World?
Both are on a new list compiled by Fodor’s Travel, which produces guidebooks for destinations around the world. This week Fodor’s released its guide to “10 American Cities That Insist They’re the ‘Capital of the World,'” and of course, Havre de Grace carved out a spot for itself.
Havre de Grace’s claim to fame is being the Decoy Capital of the World, of course.
Fodor’s described the city on the Chesapeake as “ground zero” for decoy carvers, who were more concentrated in Havre de Grace than anywhere else.
The Havre de Grace Decoy Museum got a mention for showcasing “the country’s largest collection of wooden decoys,” and so did Vincenti Decoys, featuring legendary carver Patrick Vincenti.
There’s also the museum’s beloved Decoy & Wildlife Art Festival, now in its 39th year, which has canceled the 2020 celebration due to the coronavirus pandemic. And now for 20 years, the city has celebrated the new year with what has become a tradition for the Decoy Capital of the World, with the Susquehanna Hose Company’s Duck Drop.
Others capitals the list are the Bigfoot Capital of the World (Willow Creek, Calif.); Mushroom Capital of the World (Kennett Square, Pa.); Unclaimed Luggage Capital of the World (Scottsboro, Ala.); Fried Chicken Capital of the World (Barberton, Ohio); Frog Capital of the World (Rayne, La.); Bratwurst Capital of the World (Sheboygan, Wis.); and others.
from the May 7, 2020 Patch by Elizabeth Janney
The Graw Clubhouse
The Graw Clubhoue is no more. It was announced at the Council meeting of June 4, 2020 that the Maryland National Guard demolished the race track clubhouse.