By Jake Russell
This weekend offers a fresh mixture of indoor and outdoor family-friendly events as we long for warmer weather on the horizon.
The 18th Annual Polar Bear Plunge, previously scheduled for January 27th, will in fact take place Saturday at Sandy Point State Park. Lunch will be provided for plungers and live music will be played on stage throughout the day. The park and registration both open at 8 a.m., the Pee Wee & Family Plunge will take place at 11 a.m. with open plunges at 12, 1 and 2 p.m.
The Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. offers families a chance to escape to New York, Paris and the Wild West on Saturday with Family Day 2014: The Great Escape! The gallery will offer live performances of My Grandfather's Circus by Zany Um ella Circus, a masquerade salon by Project Enlightenment, gallery activities and hands-on art workshops. This event is free and works for all ages.
The Baltimore Original Quilt & Sewing Expo will be held Thursday through Sunday at 10 a.m. at the Hunt Valley Inn. The expo will house dozens of workshops and exhibitors from around the area, endless shopping opportunities, a display gallery, stitching conversations, quilt walks, make-it-and-take-it projects and more.
Learn how to make your own yarn from instructor Drew Bogda at his drop spindle class Saturday at noon at the Fiber Arts Center of the Eastern Shore in Denton. The class is $20 plus a kit fee and is tailored for students ages eight and up. Students will make a “homemade” spindle and then learn the basics of understanding fiber before mastering the spindle.
The magical tale of Peter Pan will be told through special performances at the Country School in Easton on Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets are $8 for students and $10 for adults.
Internationally known sailor Gary Jobson will speak at the Oxford Community Center on Sunday at 4 p.m. He will discuss his life as a sailor and what the lifestyle provides. Admission is $15 and his book "Gary Jobson: An American Sailing Story" will be available for purchase and a signature.
As part of The Phillip Wharf Environmental Center’s Winter Weekend Program, University of Maryland environmental scientist Eric Schott will discuss why so few blue crabs were caught over the last year during this free discussion Saturday from 6:30-8 p.m. at Harrison’s Chesapeake House on Tilghman Island.