14th Annual Midnight Madness to be held Saturday, December 5th 2015 in St. Michaels, Maryland

14th Annual Midnight Madness to be held Saturday, December 5th 2015 in St. Michaels, Maryland.

Great shops will be open 'til Midnight with refreshments and snacks, and special sales for that day and evening. The Town will be festively decorated for the season, and Carolers stroll the streets. You may even meet Santa... 

Each year, the town of St Michaels is transformed into a picture perfect holiday postcard, the shops, restaurants and B&B’s are decorated with stunning greenery, lights and festive cheer.  The holiday spirit is felt throughout town, which makes coming to St Michaels during the holiday season a special experience, year after year, and provides a wonderful backdrop to shop for the holidays.  

Midnight Madness in St. Michaels, Maryland could not happen without the support of the sponsoring and non-sponsoring members of the St. Michaels Business Association, the Town of St. Michaels, Maryland and the Talbot County Tourism Office.

Midnight Madness retail sponsors distributing tickets! Friday Dec 4 and Saturday, December 5th, Lodging and Restaurant Sponsors will hand out DOUBLE tickets!

Each ticket will give the opportunity to win one of the many baskets, valued over $1,500 each, on December 5th, starting at 11:30pm at the corner of Mill and Talbot Streets at Marcoritaville.

 NEED TO BE THERE TO WIN!

Each year the SMBA members donate over $10,000 worth of merchandise, services and gift certificates!
Visit St. Michaels, Maryland Escape to Talbot County
http://stmichaelsmd.org/pages/MidnightMadness/

Midnight Madness sponsors are:
Shopping

a/h American Holiday
A Wish Called Wanda
Blue Heron Coffee, LLC
Broken Rudder Sportswear
Calico Toys & Games
Candleberry Shoppe
Charisma Clothing Boutique
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
Chesapeake Bay Outfitters in St. Michaels, Maryland
Chesapeake Trading Company
Come By Chance
Dragonfly Galleria LLC
Flamingo Flats
Flying Fred's
Guilford and Company
Jewel
Justamere Trading Post - St. Michaels
Knotty Living
Olivin's
Ophiuroidea "The O" St Michaels, Maryland
Ouvert
Pemberton Pharmacy St Michaels
Rings and Things
Simpatico St Michaels
St. Michaels Essentials
St. Michaels Pet Supplies
Take Me Home
The Preppy Redneck
The Shops at Sea Captain's Cottage
The Christmas Shop
Woodcraft Artisans

Eating & Drinking

Awful Arthur's St. Michaels Maryland
Ava's Pizzeria & Wine Bar
Carpenter Street Saloon
Marcoritaville Tiki Bar & Grill
Mike & Eric's Front Street Restaurant & Bar
Theo's Steaks, Sides & Spirits

Lodging
Inn at Perry Cabin by Belmond
St. Michaels Harbour Inn, Marina & Spa

Meet the Members - The Rotary Club of St. Michaels

Name of Business:     The Rotary Club of St. Michaels, Maryland

Location:                     P.O. Box 394 St. Michaels, MD 21663

Website:                     www.rotarystm.org

Facebook:                  Rotary Club of St. Michaels

Phone Number:          410-714-0466 (Michael Mabe, President 2015-16)

Hours of Operation:   Meet weekly at Miles River Yacht Club

                                  Tuesdays, 7:30AM (Wednesdays, November thru March)

What is The Rotary Club of St. Michaels? 

The Rotary Club of St. Michaels is a not-for-profit community service organization.  The Club is managed by a slate of officers which changes annually on July 1 and a Board of Directors.  The Club also owns the Rotary Club of St. Michaels Foundation which is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.  The Foundation is operated under a separate Board of Directors.

The Rotary Club of St. Michaels was chartered in 1939 and has provided continual service to the community.  See the website for a list of projects the Club and Foundation support.

How and why you start a chapter in St. Michaels?  

The Rotary Club of St. Michaels MD was formed by a group of local business professionals to promote fellowship and to serve the community through charitable projects. The Rotary Club of St. Michaels is one of 34,000 Rotary clubs that make up the largest service organization in the world. Rotary International is a volunteer organization of 1.2 million business and professional leaders united worldwide to provide humanitarian service and help build goodwill and peace.

What does The Rotary Club of St. Michaels do?

 The Rotary Club of St. Michaels MD raises money from the public through various fund raisers and from its members to support worthy projects in the community.  The primary project is providing scholarships to St. Michaels MD High School graduating seniors each year.  

The Club and Foundation also support worthy projects initiated by other charitable organizations in St. Michaels and the surrounding area.  

One of the major fundraisers is the annual Mustang raffle.  This year's winner was announced late September.  Lucky guy!  

What strategy do you use to draw new members?

The Rotary Club of St. Michaels recruits new members from the community through personal contacts, referrals, contact with other charitable organizations through our speaker program series, and by promotion of the good works of the Club to the community. 

What is the strategy for growth in the next year?

Membership - We plan to grow our membership by letting the community know the good works that the Club and Foundation do.

Projects - We have an active Service Projects Working Group who are dedicated to identifying, selecting, initiating and operating new projects to serve the community. 

Fund Raising - We have a team responsible for developing new fund raising activities to support the additional projects the Club and Foundation will operate.

What is the best thing about running business here?

The St. Michaels community is very socially aware and community service oriented.  

Meet the Members - Balanced Care Physical Therapy

Name Of Business: Balanced Care Physical Therapy

Location: 1110 S. Talbot Street Saint Michael's

Website: www.balancedcarept.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/BalancedCarePT

Phone number: 410-745-8025

Hours of operation: 
Open Monday - Thursday 8:00-5:00, Friday 8:00 - 2:00

Who are the owners?

Stacy Fox, PT, DPT

How and why you started your business?

I have been treating patients in an outpatient Physical Therapy practice for 24 of my 25 years of practicing Physical Therapy. I love what I do, helping people feel better, helping them get back to what they need to at home work and play. My way of saying: “Getting you back to you, with one on one personalized care.”  I take pride in treating each patient as a person and not a diagnosis or a body part. There is an indescribable satisfaction and feeling when I see the progress and I pride myself in being able to find out what individual path that person should take to help them reach their goals.

After working in the corporate Physical Therapy world for 25 years, where the process is driven by driving the most appointments possible, I found it became harder to offer the individual specialized treatment I take pride in. It was time for me to branch out on my own, so I opened Balanced CarePhysical Therapy.

My goal is to offer the community the specialty treatments I continue to learn through continuing education, keeping my practices up to date with the ever changing treatments as new research drives the Physical Therapy world. I believe each patient should receive the respect and personalized care they deserve.

I returned to school after 22 years practicing as a Physical Therapist to obtain my Doctorate in Physical Therapy, graduating in 2014.  I offer current, researched base Physical Therapy in line with the most recent medical advances. In doing so, my patients start healing faster and decrease the chance for limitations at home work and play. As Physical Therapy practices continue to change, finding more specific exercises and treatments has helped progress patients to heal faster with less cost for the patient and the health care system.

What do you sell/make/do?

What I like to think I do is improve people’s quality of life. I do that through Physical Therapy with techniques that are modern and specialized, allowing them to return to a healthy, active lifestyle.

Offering services:

Pain prevention, wellness programs, Geriatric Rehab, Manual Therapy, Orthopedic Rehabilitation, Total Joint Rehabilitation, Injury prevention, Neuromuscular Re-education, Individualized treatment programs, Pre/Post-Surgical Rehabilitation programs, Sports Medicine Rehab, Functional exercise programs, Spine Rehab.

Specializing in treating:

Arthritis pain /Discomfort, Auto injuries, Balance Disorders, Carpal Tunnel, Foot and Ankle Pain, Acute and Chronic pain, Lower back pain, Muscle and Joint Pain, Fibromyalgia, Lower Extremity Pain, Musculoskeletal Disorders, Neck, Shoulder and Arm Pain, Neurologic Problems, On-the-Job Injuries, Pre/Post-Operative Cases, Sports Injuries, Stiffness and Weakness, General Orthopedics.

Photos by Danny Douglas Photography

Where is your business located and why did you choose your location? 

Balanced Care Physical Therapy is located in the Bay Hundred Shopping Center by Sam's Pizza. 1110 S. Talbot Street Saint Michael's

I supported myself and my studies while attending Daemen College in Amherst, New York, by Opening a jewelry kiosk called Rings andThings. During that time my mother, Ellaine Hering, had been sailing with a friend and was introduced to the beautiful Town of St. Michaels. 

After obtaining my Bachelors in Physical Therapy from Daemen, I began to establish my career first by focusing on being a traveling PT. My mom decided to relocate with Rings and Things to the town she fell in love with, St. Michaels, Maryland. That was over 23 years ago.

After a year or so of traveling, I decided to relocate to Maryland and began to establish myself as a local Physical Therapist while managing a clinic. 

In May of 2014, my husband Ken and I tied the knot, merging our families. We were both enamored with the Town of Saint Michaels, and when my mom asked us to get involved with Rings and Things (so she could start to wind down her career), we recognized that as the chance to work towards retirement dreams of spending our days here. We made plans regarding the store, which turned into the possibility of establishing my own clinic, where I could provide the level of care and personalization that had been lost in the corporate world.

Having been a part of the St. Michaels community for over 23 years with my mom, I was very familiar with the seasonal nature of the town. But I knew there is a thriving community when the tourists leave that could benefit from my style of treatment. Planning with the local business people was very comfortable, as I knew them most of my adult life.

I decided to try to be convenient to St. Michaels, Tilghman and all points in between, while still providing an additional option for those coming from Easton. I was able to find a convenient location near Sams Pizza, right off the main road. We began construction and opened our doors on June 22^nd of 2015, at 1110 S Talbot St., Suite 5, Saint Michaels.

What strategy do you use to draw people to your establishment? –

By offering researched based Physical Therapy and treating patients with the attention and respect they deserve to help them obtain their personal goals.

I work very closely with the local doctors to make sure they know their patients will receive personalized, one on one treatment with a focus on recovery.

What is your strategy for growth in the next year?

I will continue getting to know the community and what it needs; developing and expanding any specialty programs needed that are not already being offered. It will be important to meet local doctors and let them know what I have to offer their patients.

What is the best thing about running a business here?-

I like the feeling of community here. I have been a part of St Michael's for 23 years and we want to retire here.

Fall into St. Michaels, Maryland to be held October 17th - October 25th

The change of the season brings excitement and vibrant color to the Town of St. Michaels, as residents and businesses celebrate their annual harvest festival “Fall into St. Michaels” October 17th thru October 25th. 

The Fall into St. Michaels festivities begin with the town-wide scarecrow contest starting on Saturday, October 17, 2015. Participating area businesses are competing in the First Annual St. Michaels Scarecrow Contest, where each sponsoring business will have the chance to win first place in one of the following three categories: Traditional, Whimsical or Humorous and will seek the coveted People’s Choice award. Walk along the streets of St. Michaels, where you’ll find the scarecrows displayed in front of participating businesses and hung along the telephone poles on Talbot Street.

Visitors can vote for the People’s Choice award online from October 17th thru October 25th. The People’s Choice winner will be announced on Monday, October 26th and can be seen on the Visit St. Michaels Facebook page and www.stmichaelsmd.org.

On Sunday, October 18th, with the Annual Jack Russell Races which start at 11:00am and take place on the lawn in front of the Inn at Perry Cabin.

The following weekend, the Fall into St. Michaels festivities go into full swing, Saturday, October 24th with the start of the Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest held at the St. Michaels Community Center early Saturday morning. Participating businesses sponsor the pumpkins, which are carved by experienced and novice carvers alike, each striving for the top spot in one of the four pumpkin categories. 



The pumpkins are judged from 1:00pm – 1:30pm and then will remain on display until 7:00pm on Saturday and 10:00am thru 2:00pm on Sunday.

The Bay Hundred’s Annual Pumpkin Pie Competition will be held during the Pumpkin Carving Contest at the St. Michaels Community Center. The Pumpkin Pie Competition is open to professionals, home bakers and children. Each group will be judged on traditional or creative creations. Cash prizes will be awarded to top three winners in each category, and of course, bragging rights and a plaque go to the winners.

Each contestant must submit 2 – 3 pies of the same recipe. The St. Michaels Community Center will be selling pieces and whole pies of those entered. Judging will begin at 10:00 am on October 24th and sales will begin at 11:00am. Proceeds of the bake sale will benefit the programs and activities of the St. Michaels Community Center. Please contact Trish at the SMCC 410-745-6073 for more information or to register as an entrant. The St. Michaels Community Center is located on the corner of Railroad Street and Fremont Street.

The St. Michaels Museum at St. Mary’s Square will offer one of their signature walking tours, “Frederick Douglass, a slave, in St. Michaels 1833-36”, at 10:00am on Saturday, October 24th . The 90-minute tour gives a more detailed view of the early life of St. Michaels’ most famous 19th century resident and notably one of the most important African American Abolitionist in the Civil War Era. The walking tour is $10 per person and also includes admission to the museum. Please visit the museum’s website for more information and to reserve your space:www.stmichaelsmuseum.org

Children’s activities will be hosted by St. Michaels Events and held at St. Luke’s Church on Talbot Street on Saturday October 24th.

Lastly, as a way to give back during the harvest months, the St Michaels Business Association is combining their “Fall into St. Michaels” festivities with their First Annual Food Drive for the St. Michaels Food Pantry.

The St. Michaels Food Pantry, which is housed in Christ Church on Talbot Street, is supported through individual food and financial contributions as well as donations from area businesses and organizations.

It serves Talbot County residents requiring food assistance. A satellite program on Tilghman Island operates out of the Tilghman United Methodist Church. 

The St. Michaels Food Pantry also provides complete Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners to those in need. “Many members of our community struggle with providing healthy, nutritious food for their families. We hope our first annual food drive is the first of many to come that will help fill the shelves of the St. Michaels Food Pantry and help Talbot County residents in need.” said Kim Hannon, Secretary of the St. Michaels Business Association.

While the St. Michaels Food Pantry appreciates every single food donation, they strive to offer a variety of food items that help balance nutritional intake, especially important to children, seniors, those with health challenges and those with culturally diverse diets. Drop off your donation items at the St. Michaels Community Center on Railroad Ave. during the hours of the Pumpkin Carving & Pie Baking contest on Saturday, October 24th 10:00 am until 7:00 pm and Sunday, October 25th 10am until 2:00 pm.

For a list of accommodations, please visit our website.

Shop. Eat. Play. Stay - Visit St. Michaels www.stmichaelsmd.org or call 410.745.0411.

POSTS

Meet Your Merchant - Lyon Distilling Company

Name Of Business: Lyon Distilling Company

Location: 605 S Talbot Street #6

Website: www.lyondistilling.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/lyondistilling

Phone number: (443) 333-9181

Hours of operation: 

Fridays 1-5 / Saturday 12-6 

Other times available by appointment

Who are the owners?

Jaime Windon and Ben Lyon

How and why you started your business?  (any background info would be helpful)

Ben worked for a small distillery after college, and Jaime is an avid spirits enthusiast, so after moving here in 2012, they decided St. Michaels was an ideal location for the distillery.

What do you sell/make/do?

We make a series of signature rums, a corn whiskey, as well as a traditional Maryland rye whiskey.

Where is your business located and why did you choose your location?

Lyon Distilling Co. is located in the Historic Mill District.  The mill has a fascinating history and wonderful industrial architecture, with added benefit of being pedestrian friendly.  Visitors are also in close proximity to the winery and brewery, creating a booze trifecta unlike anywhere else in the state!

What strategy do you use to draw people to your establishment?

Our focus is to create absolutely superb small batch spirits whose reputation speaks for itself.  We're happy that people like the look of the bottles, but to us, it's what's inside the bottle that is most important.

What is your strategy for growth in the next year?

After building a great reputation over the last year and a half, the goal is to expand production to markets where we have demand, but haven't been able to sell to simply because we are very much a boutique scale operation.

What is the best thing about running a business here?

St. Michaels is a beautiful town, with a great community, and fantastic history.  It's also incredibly exciting to see all the new businesses thriving here, and a new generation of visitors discovering the town.

Meet Your Merchant- St. Michaels Crab and Steak House

St. Michaels Crab & Steak House

Location:
305 Mulberry Street St. Michaels, MD 21663

Website: www.stmichaelscrabhouse.com

Facebook:
St. Michaels Crab and Steak House

Phone number: 410-745-3737

Hours of operation:
Thursday-Tuesday (Closed Wed.)
11am- 10pm

Who are the owners?

Eric Rosen

How and why you started your business?  

The desire to own my own restaurant began when I became a chef in the Army. From there I went on to restaurant school in Philadelphia, PA where I am born and raised. After graduation, I relocated to the Eastern Shore of Maryland and began my career as a chef and general manager of a few establishments. When the opportunity came available to own my own restaurant I took a crazy chance and 22 years later I can proudly say my dream came true.

What do you sell/make/do? 

We're a crab & steak restaurant. The St. Michaels Crab and Steak House provides a full menu including entrees, sandwiches, salads, appetizers, raw and steam bar, desserts, etc. We have a full bar with many great drinks including our House Infused Bloody Mary.

Within the restaurant there are 4 dining areas that can seat approximately 300 people. Two of the dining areas are outside and two are inside. Additionally, we have an inside and outside bar, a favorite of locals.

Over the many years as owner, I have held rehearsal dinners, crab feasts, birthday parties, etc.

The restaurant is seasonal, so we generally open in April and close after the weekend of Christmas in St. Michaels, normally the second weekend in December.

Where is your business located and why did you choose your location?

St. Michaels, Maryland in what a few of us like to call the Heart of the Harbor. We sit directly in the St. Michaels Marina, overlooking the water and the boats coming and going.

What strategy do you use to draw people to your establishment?

Social media has done wonders for business. We have a great website and Facebook page that are updated almost daily with pictures of fun with customers and friends and photos of our good food and specialty drinks! Many businesses and hotels in town have copies of our menu. I can not forget our wonderful regulars!  They put the word out around town and other areas about us.  

What is your strategy for growth in the next year?

Continue to provide great meals and experiences to all customers that walk through our doors. Additionally, keep up with social media and changing times in the area of marketing online.

What is the best thing about running a business here?

All the great people I have come in contact with, and friends that I have made. It’s a great feeling to know that I have satisfied so many people from many different areas across the United States and other countries.

Meet Your Merchant - Calico Toys and Games

Name Of Business:  Calico Toys & Games
Location:  212 S. Talbot St
Website:  calicotoysandgames.com
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/calicotoysandgames
Phone number:410-745-6229
Hours of operation:

10:00am-5:30pm Sunday – Thursday

10:00am-6:00pm Friday & Saturday

Who are the owners?

Brad & Pamela Fout

How and why you started your business?
We purchased Calico Gallery in 2001 after Brad retired from Lucent Technologies. At that time, Calico was a large gallery of framed Chesapeake oriented art downstairs and a great toy store upstairs. It was also the highest quality Custom Framing shop in Talbot County. It was also our favorite business to visit when we were tourists.

So, we didn't actually start Calico Gallery, we just wanted to improve on one of the oldest retail traditions in St. Michaels.   After doubling sales after the first six years, we were hit by the recession. The “Framed Art” part of the business took a huge dive – folks stopped buying expensive pieces off the wall. So, instead of shutting down, we re-engineered the business to primarily all toys and children’s books.

Fun and Educational toys, books and games, too!

Though we do not advertise Custom Framing, we have kept almost all of our high level customers and actually added many through referrals.

The Framing Shop

What do you sell/make/do?
Calico Toys and Games offers fun, educational and retro toys, games and puzzles for Infant to 99!
We specialize in children's books, framed art and Celebrate St. Michaels posters from the St Michaels Art League. Brad makes all of the custom framed art.

The Fun Place in St. Michaels!

Where is your business located and why did you choose your location?
We're located at 212 S. Talbot Street, a brightly painted two story building, colored in fun primary colors, blue, red and yellow, in the center of the shopping district.  Look for our many toy displays out front!

What strategy do you use to draw people to your establishment?

We're always using local advertising, discount coupons and programs, throughout the year.  We also consider offering the best selection and customer experience possible for repeat customers and to help with word of mouth advertising. 

What is your strategy for growth in the next year?

Keep providing the largest selection of the best Toys, Games, Puzzles and children’s books under one roof on the Eastern Shore. Push shopping local via coupon mailers, and local discounts.

Games Galore!

What is the best thing about running a business here?

It is a beautiful place where people love to visit, so for the most part your customers are happy and excited to be here. It is especially nice when your business becomes a part of the customer’s tradition.

Calico Toys and Games...educational fun, like this puppet show.

Meet Your Merchant - Justine's Ice Cream Parlour

Name Of Business: Justine’s Ice Cream Parlour

Location:  106 N. Talbot St. St. Michaels, MD

Website:  www.justinesicecreams.com

Facebook:
Justines Ice Cream Parlour

Phone number: 410-745-0404

Hours of operation:

Monday – Thursday 12:00 p.m. – 8 p.m. 

Friday – Sunday 12:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Who are the owners?  

Kathy Lash & Joe Trippi 

Tyler Heim, Manager 

How and why you started your business? 

Justine's Ice Cream Parlour has been scooping ice cream and selling shakes for over 25 years in St. Michaels.  In 2012, we purchased the ice cream parlour because my family always loved visiting Justine's in the summer.  We all enjoyed the selections on Tom Quimby’s Famous Wall of Shakes and we wanted to bring that original energy, style, and those recipes back to the parlor.  Quite frankly, we thought it would be fun – and it has been! 

  

What do you sell/make/do? 

We work hard to give our guests a total ice cream experience.  We have been serving premium Jack and Jill Ice Cream since the store opened.  Last year we added to our selection of flavors making our own "homemade" ice creams.  We serve our guests the highest quality products and a variety of frozen dessert treats.  We still make our root beer floats, banana splits, ice cream sodas and New York egg creams the old fashioned way but have added new innovative sundaes to the menu to appeal to every taste.  We love ice cream! 

  

Where is your business located and why did you choose your location? 

Justine’s is located at 106 North Talbot Street in St Michaels. 

  

What strategy do you use to draw people to your establishment?

Justine's has been a mainstay business in St Michaels for over 25 years and is known by locals and returning visitors as a fun spot for a delicious frozen treat.  We believe that ice cream should be as much about memories as it is about new discoveries.  We have created unique flavors for our homemade ice cream --flavors that are inspired by ingredients that are available to us locally and reflect the season.  We want every visit to Justine’s to be an experience – something that our guests will remember and join us again. 

What is your strategy for growth in the next year? 

In previous years, our business plan was based on a business to customer strategy.  This year, we want to expand to a business to business strategy and sell our homemade ice cream flavors outside of Justine’s.  We hope that you will soon find our Cocoa Dream, Raspberry Oreo, Rum Raisin and Café Mocha flavors at your favorite local restaurants. 

  

What is the best thing about running a business here? 

It has to be the people – our guests and friends who have been so loyal to us year after year.  Without them, we would not have the opportunity to grow our business.  We feel very blessed to have such loyal friends and promise to keep working hard to serve the highest quality ice cream desserts with friendly prompt service.