Announcing the MHAA FY 2023 Grant Round |
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The Maryland Heritage Areas Authority (MHAA), an independent state entity under the Maryland Department of Planning, is accepting applications for FY23 grants under the Maryland Heritage Areas Grant Program. This grant program assists and encourages the preservation of historical, archeological, natural, and cultural resources while supporting economic development through heritage tourism across Maryland. Eligible projects must take place within the boundaries of one of the 13 certified heritage areas.
Eligible applicants for MHAA funding include nonprofit organizations and local, state, and federal government entities. Businesses and individuals are not eligible to participate. MHAA grants can fund both capital (acquisition, new construction, and historic preservation) and non-capital (planning, education, interpretation, and events) projects that support heritage tourism and education.
Applicants must submit an Intent to Apply form through the MHAA’s financial incentives website by January 28, 2022, and full applications are due in spring 2022 (each local heritage area has a separate deadline).
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Register for MHAA's Webinars for Project Grant Applicants |
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Four Rivers Adopts New Priorities Document to Assist Grant Applicants |
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At its November meeting, the Four Rivers Board of Directors adopted an Updated Priorities Document, a planning document designed to assist grant applicants in our heritage area with aligning their projects with our priorities. We expect this document to improve the clarity of applications in our heritage area.
As always, please contact the Executive Director, Carol Benson, with any questions about the application process, at heritage_area@aacounty.org, or by calling 410-627-6018. Thank you, and best of luck with this year’s grant applications!
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Virtual Lecture – The Nine Lives of Benjamin Franklin |
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Tuesday, December 7
7:00 pm
Organization: Historic Annapolis
Franklin’s genius is a puzzle. Born the tenth son of a humble family of puritan candle-makers in Boston in 1706, Franklin’s rise to the front ranks of science, engineering, and invention was as unexpected as it was meteoric.
Here is a man with only two years of proper schooling who later received honorary degrees from Harvard, Yale, Oxford, and St. Andrews as well as the eighteenth-century equivalent of a Nobel Prize for Physics. Like his hero Isaac Newton, Franklin’s great genius lay in optimizing, in tinkering, in improving, and in never being satisfied with the world as he knew it. Join University of Maryland historian Richard Bell as we examine many of Franklin’s ideas to make life simpler, cheaper, and easier for himself and everyone else. It turns out that those ideas encompassed not only natural science and engineering, but also all sorts of public works, civic improvements, political trail-blazing, and fresh, new business ideas.
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Lunch and Learn: Frederick’s “Stories in Stone” |
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Thursday, December 9
1:00 pm
Host Organization: The Maryland State Archives & The Maryland Four Centuries Project
Frederick’s Mount Olivet Cemetery is “a museum without walls.” Opened in 1854 as part of the famed “Garden Cemetery Movement,” Mount Olivet was clearly a progressive endeavor for a small town such as Frederick at the time. Today, Mount Olivet remains active as a site of over 40,000 burials while readily welcoming “tombstone tourists,” family genealogists and reverent recreation lovers. As a mirror on Frederick’s past, it reflects people buried here having unique ties to local, state and national events. Cemetery historian and preservation manager Chris Haugh will discuss the cemetery’s interesting beginning and introduce participants to some of the interesting characters that repose within its gates as he does each week through walking tours and his popular weekly blog entitled, “Stories in Stone” (recently celebrating its 5th anniversary.) A few of the obvious subjects are Francis Scott Key, Civil War heroine Barbara Fritchie, and Maryland’s first governor Thomas Johnson, Jr.
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Webinar on Understanding and Overcoming Resistance to Inclusive History Narratives |
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Thursday December 9
7:00 pm
Organization: Howard County Lynching Truth & Reconciliation
Join Jeanne Pirtle of Historic Sotterley in Maryland and Joseph McGill of the Slave Dwelling Project for an evening of insightful conversation. This webinar will include a screening of the recent session, "The Peaceful Transfer of Power: Understanding and Overcoming Resistance to Inclusive Perspectives of History," presented by Jeanne Pirtle at the 2021 Slave Dwelling Project Conference, followed by Q&A with Jeanne Pirtle and Joseph McGill.
History isn’t always as pleasant as many heritage organizations and historical societies showcase for their visitors and members. Organizations all over the country have been grappling with how to address difficult history in their offerings. For some institutions, there is resistance from within to tell it. For some institutions, they aren’t aware how their offerings appear to those who don’t look like the leaders with the power in their organization to control the offerings. While some organizations have done careful work to critically self-assess themselves in this area, others have not. Researching, telling and uplifting traditionally ignored and underrepresented history has often been delegitimized as promoting an agenda, but all are invited to be part of this important conversation. Attend this webinar to hear more from these highly-respected speakers.
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A Dutch American Christmas |
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Saturday, December 11
10:00-11:00 am
Hammond-Harwood House
19 Maryland Ave, Annapolis
Families are invited to the mansion for a day of holiday stories and crafts. Children will enjoy story-time amidst the splendor of the ballroom decorated for the season. After the story children will be invited to an activity classroom where they will create holiday decorations and learn about a Dutch Christmas tradition.
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Shop Local! Midnight Madness Continues |
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Join Midnight Madness on December 9 from 4 pm until 11 pm!
Downtown Annapolis Partnership proudly presents Midnight Madness—a Historic Downtown Annapolis holiday tradition that encompasses the charm and character of our most beloved memories of Norman Rockwell and Charles Dickens. We will adorn the streets and participating storefronts with holiday decorations, trees, garland, snowflakes, bows, and lights to create a Downtown Winter Wonderland.
Residents and visitors are invited to stroll along Main Street, West Street, Maryland Avenue, State Circle, Market Space and Dock Street from 4 PM until Midnight to support our local businesses. When we Shop Local, we reinvest in our community and help our downtown businesses thrive. Check out all the stores, galleries, and boutiques throughout the downtown area.
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Visit the "Gifts from the Arts" Holiday Show |
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"Gifts from the Arts" Holiday Show Returns in 2021
Final weekend: December 10–13, 2021
The Muddy Creek Artists Guild is excited to announce the return of its annual "Gifts from the Arts" Holiday Art Show and Sale for the 2021 holiday season. The pop-up gallery show will continue December 10–13, 2021 at the Main Street and South River Colony Shopping Center (179 Mitchells Chance Rd, Edgewater, MD). The show is free and open to the public.
"Gifts from the Arts" is a professional art gallery experience featuring works that explore a variety of subjects, including the local Chesapeake Bay region, in an array of different media including painting, pottery, photography, jewelry, and textiles. As with every MCAG show, this is a wonderful opportunity to engage with local artists and shop for unique, local artworks and gift items.
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Network to Freedom Open House |
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The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program will be hosting a virtual Open House Program on Tuesday, December 14, at 1:00pm EST. All Network to Freedom Members are encouraged to attend. The open house will everyone an opportunity to connect with and support each other.
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AASLH Winter Online Courses Begin January 10 |
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Winter 2022 Online Courses from the American Association for State and Local History!
Deadline to Register: January 3
The winter session of online courses begins January 10. Registration closes January 3 and they are quickly filling up!
Working on your Small Museum Pro! certificate? AASLH is offering four eligible courses this winter:
- Collections Management
- Developing Exhibitions: Design
- Introduction to Financial Management
- Museum Education & Outreach
They are also offering Basics of Archives and Creating Programs for Teachers and Students for those looking to boost their archival management or program design skills.
Get a jump start on planning your professional development for the rest 2022. Check out the schedule of online courses and when they will open for registration. Mark your calendar and don’t miss out because courses fill up fast! Learn more by visiting the course catalog.
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Grants! Trader Foundation for Maryland Burial Sites |
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The Trader Foundation for Maryland Burial Sites, Inc. was created to provide financial assistance for worthy cemetery projects in the State of Maryland. The Foundation’s mission is to prevent further desecration of endangered historic Maryland cemeteries and to enable positive responses to emergency situations by awarding grants directly to qualified parties.
The Trader Foundation invites applications for grants up to $2,000. The project or program must benefit a specific burial ground within the State of Maryland, and Trader funds must be matched by the grantee. Examples of eligible projects include rescue of an endangered site, gravestone conservation or restoration, documentation, protection of burial site from desecration by nature or by man, cemetery clean-up, and planning for restoration.
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Four Rivers Heritage Area | 410-222-1805 | heritage_area@aacounty.org | fourriversheritage.org |
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