By Jake Russell
In keeping with the holiday spirit, all of Anne Arundel County and the Eastern Shore continue to delight the public with special cele atory events. Much like last weekend, both sides of the bay have something in store.
Watch Fort Meade illuminate when a 40-foot tree is officially adorned with over 4,200 multicolored lights at McGlachlin Parade Field with its Holiday Tree Lighting Friday at 5 p.m. Music will be performed by the Army Field Band Brass Quartet with caroling from the Fort Meade Community Boys and Girls Scouts and a visit with Santa, who will arrive on a fire truck. Call 301-677-6703 for more details.
Tired of giving out the old, standard Christmas cards? Take advantage of this opportunity where a small ensemble from the Chesapeake Harmony Chorus will, for a $50 visit anywhere in the Annapolis/Severna Park area, perform two a capella barbershop harmony songs and make a personalized card. This opportunity is limited, running from 12-7 p.m. Saturday the 14th and 21st.
Ever driven past holiday light displays and said to yourself: “I wonder how Santa sees them”? Well now’s your chance to get a sky-high view of local light displays around Baltimore, Annapolis and Columbia though Monumental Helicopter’s Holiday Lights Helicopter Tours. Offered nightly from 5-8 p.m. until Dec. 30, these tours give you a one-of-a-kind perspective of the spectacular light displays around the area. Portions of every flight will be donated to the Anne Arundel Medical Center or Howard County General Hospital.
Willow Oak Flower and Herb Farm in Severn will host the Polar Express Lights Walk to the North Pole on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 4:30-7 p.m., where kids can see Santa’s elves working in his North Pole palace. Visit Santa himself in Willow Oak’s wooded cabin after walking through a lighted garden. The trip is $7 for adults and $5 for children.
View the holidays from a historical perspective at Historic London Town and Gardens in Edgewater with the Homeschool Program - A Colonial Holiday on Friday, December 13 from 1-3 p.m. This program, for kids aged seven and up will help kids learn what it was like to be a proper 18th century child. Etiquette and dance lessons will be on tap to prepare your child for a proper colonial tea service.
The Talent Machine Company's Holiday Magic 2013, being performed at St. John’s College’s Key Auditorium in Annapolis begins Friday and runs through Sunday, Dec. 22, will feature the Talent Machine Kids, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa’s elves, Frosty, and many more of Santa’s friends from the North Pole.
For those in the giving spirit, there will be a Holiday Food Drive during the Eastport Yacht Club Lights Parade in Downtown Annapolis from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Friday night. Other special holiday events include the Annapolis Chorale presentation: A Cele ation of Christmas, performed at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis on Friday at 8 p.m. and The Nutcracker on Ice at Columbia Ice Rink on Saturday and Sunday.
