Arts And Crafts

If you are ready to add some culture to your home or just shake up your environment, it's easy to take delight in carved masks from Kenya, sculpture and fabric from Burkina Faso, dolls from Uganda and South Africa, cut-metal wall hangings from Haiti, drums from Ghana and Senegal, and chess sets from Cameroon and Tanzania. It may be even easier to take such pleasures, knowing that the artists are seeing a fair share of the profits and that the people selling the imports went out of their way to not exploit workers in developing countries.

Summer is coming to a close, but there's still time for a trip or two, and Labor Day weekend offers several choices.On Sept. 2 you could travel to Oatlands Plantation near Leesburg, Va. Draft Horse and Mule Day will be celebrated there as a tribute to the American workhorse, once the mainstay of the American farm. Workhorses and mules will compete in trail classes, team log pulling, jumping competitions and cart and wagon obstacle courses. During the horse pull, you'll see teams pulling a sled carrying more than 6,500 pounds.

The Patuxent Research Refuge National Wildlife Visitor Center will sponsor a free National Fishing Week event from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. June 10 at the center, off Powder Mill Road between the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and Route 197, south of Laurel. Catch-and-release fishing, crafts, displays, tram tours of the refuge, knot-tying and other activities for all ages are planned. Reservations are not required. The refuge will offer a free workshop, "Butterflies: Nature's Festival of Colors," for children ages 8 and older with an adult from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. June 9 at the North Tract, on Route 198 between the Baltimore Washington Parkway and Route 32, near Laurel.

Attention, all skilled and nonskilled laborers, the Christmas in April organization wants you!For the second year in a row, the Carroll County chapter of this nonprofit organization is seeking help in its efforts to rehabilitate and to repair some 15 residences throughout the county.During its first year in 1993, the Carroll County chapter completed a variety of repair work on five homes.To be successful again, Christmas in April Carroll County will need individuals, businesses and civic organizations to pitch in for those who are less fortunate.

Every Wednesday, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., sisters Shytira and Shyrell Everett arrive at the Weinberg Family Center Y for two hours of charades, rock climbing, homework help, arts and crafts, picnics and other activities with mentors Sara Milstein and Kim Strassner. "My favorite activity is when we go to the art room to make arts and crafts," said Shytira, a third-grader at Harford Heights Elementary School in Baltimore, who is 9 and talkative and ties her hair in ponytails decorated with pink and blue beads.

Name: Bertha Dorsey, 78, of Elkridge.Hobbies and other activities: Mrs. Dorsey has been a volunteer craft instructor for five years at the Elkridge Nutrition Site, in Unity Baptist Church on Montgomery Road. In addition to arts and crafts, she enjoys cooking, knitting, crocheting and gardening. She is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8097, Amaranth and Eastern Star of Pennsylvania.Organization's Comments: "She is an invaluable craft instructor at the Elkridge Nutrition Site," said Elaine Flemion, nutrition site manager.

Mother's Day funIf you're looking for family fun on Mother's Day, a place to buy crafts or to learn about Early American life, head out to the 24th annual Mercer Museum Folk Fest this weekend in Doylestown, Pa.More than 100 skilled, costumed artisans will demonstrate their crafts using clay, fiber, paint, wood and metal. Demonstrations include hearth cooking, beer making, shoe making, pit sawing and timber framing. There will be continuous entertainment, including music, jugglers and storytellers, picnic fare and traditional food, a tot lot, a mini-farm with animals, granny's dress-up trunk and a militia encampment.

'Art of Living Well' Expo Enhance your lifestyle tomorrow through Sunday at "The Art of Living Well" Expo in Cambridge. Examine fine arts and crafts, receive tips on landscaping, home decorating and entertaining, and learn about culinary and floral arts. You can also watch demonstrations, attend seminars, listen to a variety of speakers, take a kitchen tour of selected Dorchester County homes and sample gourmet treats at the food court. And, you can discover parts of Maryland's Eastern Shore by visiting the Blackwater Refuge, sailing on the Nathan of Dorchester skipjack, touring the Richardson and Brannock Maritime Museums and other regional points of interest.

If your idea of a Jersey Shore getaway doesn't involve Snookie, The Situation or JWoww, then check out the family-oriented offerings of Wildwoods, N.J. What you will find is one of the only beach lacrosse tournaments in the world, amusement park rides and a maritime festival. THE PLAN: Leave the hair gel and blowdryer at home, but bring some friends for the lacrosse. You'll need five players to field a team. Each game will have two 18-minute halves with a four-minute break.

The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts is a giant artscape that begins on the campus of Pennsylvania State University and spills over into the streets of downtown State College.It opens Wednesday with Children and Youth Day, featuring performances of music, dance, juggling, children's films and storytelling. Children can paint, play musical instruments, participate in hands-on crafts and music workshops. There's also an international kiosk, where children will have an opportunity to participate in activities from around the world.