Great Getaway Events - March
Week after week, year-around, the Mid-Atlantic region celebrates with a variety of festivals, galas, sports extravaganzas and other special events. They make a great excuse for getting out of the house and on the road. If you think you have seen all the local “sights,” these great getaway events provide a whole new roster of attractions.
Not surprisingly, most big events are scheduled for the weekends. Most are held annually, drawing repeat visitors in big numbers. Depending on the weekend, you can find an event focusing on food, music, history, nature, wine, sports, art and even shopping.
The events I cite below are scheduled either for this weekend (March 8-9) or next (March 15-16) or both. All are within easy reach for a day trip, and all take place in places that are attractive in themselves. In the weeks and months ahead, look for similar activities in each state tourism office’s Calendar of Events or simply by keeping an eye or ear open to travel reports in the media.
The events:
FOOD: Learn about real maple syrup at the 38th Annual Maple Syrup Making Demonstration at Cunningham Falls State Park near Thurmont, Md. Commercial syrups you buy in the store often have little or no real maple syrup. You get the real stuff at this festival. Park staff members demonstrate the process of making maple syrup from tree tapping through boiling and packaging. Trees are tapped using the same tools as the Pilgrims—a wooden bucket in which the sap drips and a wooden tube that is stuck in the tree in a bored hole. The sap is boiled into syrup over a wood-burning fire. Enjoy a pancake and sausage breakfast (about $5 per person), held all day. Seating is around a big warming campfire. Special activities for children include crafts and storytelling. Live music includes lots of folk tunes. Fee: Adults, $2; children, $l—a contribution to Friends of Cunningham Falls. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 8-9 and 15-16. Details: 301/271-7574, www.dnr.state.md.us. On the same weekends, you will also find the Highlands Maple Festival in Monterey, Va.
SPORTS: Watch a steeplechase at the 66th Annual Warrenton (Va.) Hunt Point to Point. Virginia is a major center of steeplechase racing in America. Racing has been part of Virginia life for generations. A point-to-point race is the minor leagues of racing, a chance for beginning horses and rides to compete for trophies instead of cash purses. As a result, they are more informal occasions. The big money races come later in the season. Ten races are scheduled. Three are timber races over wood fences, four are races over brush fences and two are flat races. Races go on rain, snow or shine. Dress warmly and bring a picnic lunch. Fee: $10 per person. Races begin at 12:30 p.m. March 15 at the Airlie Course in Warrenton. Details: 540/219-1400, www.virginia.org.
NATURE: See eagles and other raptors at the 8th Annual Eagle Festival at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge near Cambridge, Md. The day marks the opening of the refuge’s new library and the refuge’s 75th birthday. A day-long a program of classes and demonstrations focuses on the refuges wildlife. At 8 a.m., the 2nd annual Bird Walk takes in eagles, Canada geese, ducks, herons and song birds. At 9, learn how to photograph wildlife. At 10:30 a.m., go on an Eagle Prowl. At 11, catch the live peregrine falcon program. Throughout the day, catch live music performances and enjoy food provided by local service groups. Children’s events include building a blue bird nesting box and an endangered species puppet show. Free admission. 8 a.m.-4 p.m., March 15. Details: 410/228-2677, www.friendsofblackwater.org.
WINE: Sample the wines of nearby Pennsylvania on the Uncork York Wine Trail during the Third Annual 2008 Tour de Tanks. Eleven family-owned wineries in the York/Gettysburg/Lancaster/ Harrisburg (the heart of Dutch Country) area invite you into their cellars for a tasting. They are celebrating the arrival of new vintages with special tank and barrel tasting to preview the season’s upcoming wines before they are bottled. Drive through rolling hills dotted with vineyards, stopping at the wineries along the trail. Speak with the winemakers, learn more about the process and discover the different varietals and vineyards. You can download a map from the Internet. Fee: $15, good for all wineries every Saturday and Sunday in March except Sunday, March 23. Noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday; 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Details: 888/858-YORK, www.uncorkyork.com.
HISTORY: Join in the James Madison Birthday Celebration at Montpelier, the Founding Father’s mansion in Orange County, Va. Madison, the fourth President, is considered the Father of the Constitution and chief sponsor of the Bill of Rights. This event marks the 257th anniversary of his birth. Madison’s home, set on a 2,650-acre estate, has been undergoing extensive renovation to return it to its original look. Once owned by the duPont family, it grew from its original 22 rooms to a pink grandiose mansion of 55 rooms. Stripped of its modern additions, now the house the exterior looks much as it did in Dolley and James’ day—a brick colonial Palladian-style home. This is an opportunity to check up on the work; no admission will be charged. The day’s activities include an unhurried tour of the home; exhibitions of elegant furnishings; a look at active archeological excavations; a visit to the family and slave cemeteries; and, if the weather cooperates, a chance to walk two miles of hiking trails through a 200-acre old growth forest on the property. Special hands-on activities are planned for the kids. 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. March 16. Details: 540/672-2728, www.montpelier.org.
SHOPPING: Take your $1 bills with Washington’s portrait to George Washington’s Bath Tub Celebration in Berkeley Springs, W.Va. George crisscrossed the wilderness, making his way occasionally to Berkeley Springs, where it is assumed he soaked in its gushing springs as did generations of Native Americans before him. There is, indeed, a pool in the state park known as Washington’s bath tub. From Friday through Sunday, March 14-16), shops and businesses in town offer dollar sales and specials. $1 bills or $1 off items. There is a program also of history related events. Live music, food, theater. Enjoy a massage at the spa at Berkeley Springs State Park or the town’s five other spas. Details: 800/447-8797, www.berkeleysprings.com.
