CBMM begins next phase of Master Plan upgrades

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is pleased to announce that it has broken ground on its new Welcome Center—a major milestone marking the start of Phase II of its ongoing Master Plan campus upgrades. 

 

Opening in 2023, the new, fully ADA accessible building will house CBMM’s Welcome Center, Museum Store, and two exhibition spaces.  

 

“The new building will immensely enhance the guest experience at CBMM and provide an even warmer welcome to campus,” said Kristen Greenaway, CBMM’s President & CEO. “Our Master Plan is designed to create increased space for CBMM’s core museum offerings—including exhibitions, education, and in the shipyard—and we can’t wait for you to see it!” 

 

CBMM’s Master Plan also includes a Phase III focus on utilization of outdoor space and an expansion of Shipyard facilities, designed to showcase the ever-expanding range of shipyard education, boatbuilding, and exhibitions. 

 

Three phases make up the Master Plan, with the scope and timeline contingent upon funding. Funding sources will come from individual donations and naming opportunities, grants, and operations. You too can support CBMM’s efforts to enhance campus and create better public offerings by donating to The Annual Fund. Visit cbmm.org/donate to learn how. 

 

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to preserving and exploring the history, environment, and culture of the entire Chesapeake Bay region, and making this resource available to all.  

 

Every aspect of fulfilling this mission is driven by CBMM’s values of relevance, authenticity, and stewardship, along with a commitment to providing engaging guest experiences and transformative educational programming, all while serving as a vital community partner. For more information, visit cbmm.org or call 410-745-2916. 

 

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The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum recently broke ground on its new Welcome Center, marking the start of Phase II of its Master Plan campus upgrades. This rendering shows what the new building will look like when completed in 2023. 

August 14 brings crabs, watermen’s rodeo to St. Michaels at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

On Sunday, Aug. 14, Watermen’s Appreciation Day returns to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Md., featuring a spirited boat docking contest, steamed crabs and other regional food, live music, beer, boat rides, family activities, and more. The fundraising event is organized by CBMM in cooperation with the Talbot Watermen Association, with proceeds benefiting both organizations. 

The opportunity to meet the Chesapeake’s watermen, along with local steamed crabs, beer, and other food and beverages continue to highlight the waterfront festival. Eventgoers can also take part in a silent auction in the Small Boat Shed, with all proceeds supporting the Talbot Watermen Association. 

 

Beginning at noon, the event’s “watermen’s rodeo” boat docking contest returns to the Miles River near CBMM's 1879 Hooper Strait Lighthouse. Bleacher seating will be provided for spectators to the contest, and children’s activities will be offered throughout the day.  

 

“It’s a great day of celebrating the Chesapeake Bay’s watermen—from the rodeo to the cold beer, hot crabs, and live music” said TWA President Jeff Harrison. “And we’re grateful to partner with CBMM on this important fundraising event for more than a decade now.”  

 

  

Starting at noon, the day’s catch of steamed crabs—served by watermen—will be available for purchase, in addition to beer, water, soda, hot dogs, hamburgers, ice cream, and more. Steamed crabs will be sold by the dozen, with pricing set by July 29 and posted at cbmm.org.  

 

Also beginning at 11am, live music with Bird Dog and the Road Kings from the historic Tolchester Beach Bandstand will have people tapping their toes and dancing along CBMM’s waterfront. 

 

Admission to the 10am–5pm, rain-or-shine, event includes the boat docking contest, live music, numerous family activities, entrance to all CBMM exhibitions and historic structures, and is set at $18 for adults, $8 for children 6–17, with all children 5 years of age and under admitted free. CBMM members along with licensed watermen and their immediate families get discounted admission at $10 per adult, and $6 per child ages 6–17. Food and beverages are additional.  

  

Advanced admission tickets can be purchased online at cbmm.org/watermensday, with tickets also sold at the door the day of the event. Discounted watermen’s tickets will also be available at the door the day of the event, with an active watermen’s license shown. Boat rides, steamed crabs, beer, and additional food and beverages will be available for purchase. Free event parking will be available at St. Michaels High School, with a complimentary shuttle service to and from CBMM running throughout the day. 

  

For safety reasons, non-service dogs need to be kept home during CBMM festivals, including Watermen’s Appreciation Day. Carry-on alcohol from dock or land is also prohibited. Spectator boats wishing to view the competition from the water must remain outside the buoyed channel.  

 

For more information, visit cbmm.org or call 410-745-2916. 

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Watermen’s Appreciation Day returns to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Md. on Sunday, Aug. 14, with a “watermen’s rodeo” boat docking contest, steamed crabs and other food, beer, live music, boat rides, family activities, and more. Proceeds from the event benefit CBMM and the Talbot Watermen Association, with advanced tickets and more information at cbmm.org/watermensday. 

St. Michaels Community Center launches capital campaign

Renovation will allow Center to double number of people served

 

The St. Michaels Community Center is kicking off the first capital campaign in its 32-year history to renew, rebuild, and revitalize its aged building in the Town’s Historic District.

 

The St. Michaels Community Center purchased its Railroad Avenue headquarters in 2015. The structure was constructed before World War II as a lumber storage warehouse. It’s had only minimal changes and upgrades since then. The nonprofit has made do with its crudely constructed interior, no windows, no heat or air conditioning in most of the building, and without handicapped accessibility, among other issues.  

“Our building’s primary asset is its location in the commercial district near the people we serve,” said St. Michaels Community Center Executive Director Patrick Rofe. “This long-awaited adaptive renovation will make the St. Michaels Community Center the only fully-equipped resource center for social services on the Bay Hundred peninsula.”

 

The planned renovations will include a fully equipped modern commercial kitchen to expand food distribution and meal service to those in need, and training for jobs in restaurants and hotels. Bright, well-equipped classrooms and a multipurpose room for community gatherings are included in the plans, with the Community Center anticipating double the number of people making use of the Center compared to today’s participation levels, once the new building is fully operational.

 

“This will give us a place to do our best work and have the greatest impact on the lives of the children and adults we serve,” said SMCC Advisory Board President Langley Shook.

 

Shook says more than half of the necessary funding already has been raised, including $1.225 million from the State of Maryland.

 

“The State’s support is a great vote of confidence for our first-ever capital campaign and an investment in securing a sustainable future for the Community Center’s essential work,” said Shook. “We serve at the heart of this community, and these improvements will give us a much better platform from which to serve our community.”

 

“This funding will help us to have the improved facilities needed to support our food distribution program and a new culinary arts workforce training program, for example,” said Rofe. “This will benefit our participants and local restaurants in need of well-trained employees.

 

“We’d like to start a Farm-to-Table program that will explore every topic related to nutrition and health, and for growing vegetables and fruits in our 40 community garden plots.”

 

Rofe says the Town’s Historic District Commission praised and unanimously approved the design of the renovated building, and an application for a building permit has been submitted to the Town.

The nonprofit is now inviting the public to participate in fundraising for the new building, with naming opportunities and more in the works before an anticipated 2022 groundbreaking.

 

“SMCC’s priority commitment is to the needs of the region’s population who lack the resources to lift themselves from poverty,” said Shook. “We will continue our long-time commitment to the food insecure and will add to that workforce development programming to enable adults’ transition to self-sufficiency.”

 

Architectural renderings of the new building and more about SMCC’s capital improvements, including information about how to support the campaign, can be found at www.stmichaelscc.org/future.  

 

The St. Michaels Community Center’s mission is to serve, empower, and connect the community, with year-round programs and activities for children, families, and adults. Donations to SMCC and proceeds from its Treasure Cove Thrift Shop on Railroad Ave. in St. Michaels help the nonprofit provide year-round programs, services, and community events for residents of St. Michaels and the Bay Hundred area.

Concerts in the Park series kicks off June 16 in St. Michaels, Md.

The St. Michaels Community Center’s free, waterfront Summer Concert Series is returning on Thursdays from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. to Muskrat Park in St. Michaels beginning June 16 and continuing through Sept. 1.

 

The concert series starts with the sounds and melodies of local favorite JCT33 playing their ‘little bit country, little bit rock 'n roll.’ All 12 performances are listed on the St. Michaels Community Center’s website.

 

Muskrat Park features an expansive lawn overlooking St. Michaels Harbor and the Miles River and includes a covered gazebo for performances, with plenty of locally-owned restaurants and parking nearby.

 

Guests are encouraged to bring a blanket or their own seating, along with friends, family, neighbors, your leashed dog, or just yourself to enjoy the concerts. Picnics are encouraged, with alcohol prohibited.

 

The free concert series is made possible through the generous sponsorship of local businesses acknowledged at each concert. Early, gold sponsors include Ava's Pizzeria & Wine Bar, Bridges Land Management, The Crab Claw Restaurant, Hammy's Burgers & Shakes, Lyon Rum // Windon Distilling, The Orthopedic Center at Easton, Rebecca Thomas Events, Theo's Steaks, Sides & Spirits, Tilghman Island Inn, Total Home Performance, Town & Country Wine, Liquor, Etc, and The Wildset Hotel.

 

Treats including popcorn, water, and snow cones will be available for cash sale at the concerts, with proceeds benefiting the people served by SMCC.

 

The nonprofit continues to provide groceries and meals to those in need during select hours on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays along with youth, senior, and adult programs throughout the year.  

 

Donations to SMCC and proceeds from its Treasure Cove Thrift Shop, located on Railroad Ave. in St. Michaels, help the nonprofit provide year-round programs, services, and community events for people in St. Michaels and from throughout Maryland’s Bay Hundred area. More information is at www.stmichaelscc.org.

 

 

Maryland Dove launched into the Miles River

 (ST MICHAELS, MD – Thursday, March 31, 2022) 

Nearly three years after beginning the largest construction project they had ever taken on, shipwrights at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum have their eyes set on the finish line, with the construction of Maryland Dove scheduled to finish this spring.  

“I am incredibly proud of my team and what they’ve accomplished,” said CBMM’s lead shipwright, Joe Connor, who has served as the construction manager on the project since its inception. “We have assembled some of the most talented shipwrights I’ve ever worked with, and we’re all looking forward to seeing the ship sail away.”

A major milestone in the project happened in CBMM’s working Shipyard on March 28, 2022, when the roughly 94,000-pound ship was hoisted by crane and placed in the Miles River—touching water for the first time in its new life. It was the largest vessel launched in St. Michaels since 1904, and a spectacle to behold.

In 2018, it was announced that CBMM had been selected to build a brand-new Maryland Dove for Historic St. Mary’s City. The ship, a representation of the late 17th-century trading ship that accompanied the first European settlers to what is now Maryland, is owned by the state of Maryland, and operated and maintained by the Historic St. Mary’s City Commission. An earlier version of the ship, built in the 1970s by Cambridge’s Jim Richardson, was nearing the end of its useful life and decades of new research meant that a new ship could be designed to be a more historically accurate representation of the original Maryland Dove.

PHOTO BY GEORGE SASS

Since that first announcement, construction of the iconic state ship has been the central focus of CBMM’s working Shipyard. After tapping naval architect Iver Franzen to design the new ship, the lofting process began, with shipwrights turning the Boatshop floor into a lofting board on which full-size patterns and lines were drawn. Those patterns then came to life as they were shaped in a variety of woods—Live and White Oak, Osage Orange, Ash, and Cortez, just to name a few—and fixed to a lead backbone to give Maryland Dove its shape. Work over the past few years, all done in public view, has seen the new ship move from concept to reality, and Maryland Dove will now remain dockside for the final steps in its construction, which include finish work and the installation of masts, rigging, and sails.

“It has been absolutely amazing to watch Maryland Dove come together, piece by piece, over the past few years,” said CBMM President & CEO Kristen Greenaway. “We are very grateful for everyone who has followed along with the ship’s progress, and we invite you to stay tuned as it nears completion.”

Details for a celebration of the completion of Maryland Dove will be announced later via CBMM’s social media channels and at marylanddove.org.