Celebration

When some 225 formally attired guests were greeted at the Enoch Pratt Free Library by a live cow, they knew the "Huntington S. Williams Award Celebration" -- for the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning -- was unique. After all, this was no ordinary cow, but the one who made fairy-tale history by jumping over the moon. And she wasn't the only character to leap off the pages of some of the library's storybooks to help entertain the guests. Colleagues like the Three Little Pigs, Cruella De Vil, Dorothy, Glinda the Good Witch, Cinderella and Prince Charming helped fill out the crowd.

An economics professor and four members of the news media were honored at Loyola College in Maryland yesterday during the Jesuit school's annual Maryland Day celebration. The announcement that the Rev. Francis G. Hilton had been selected for the college's Distinguished Teacher of the Year was greeted with resounding applause and then a standing ovation, the first a professor has received during the presentation in recent years, faculty members said. Honored with Andrew White Medals for their contributions to the Maryland community were National Public Radio talk show host Diane Rehm; Washington TV news anchor Beverly Anne Burke; John S. Carroll, editor of The Sun; and Gene Roberts, editor in chief of the American Newspaper Project at the University of Maryland and former editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Wise Avenue Volunteer Fire Company in Dundalk will show off its four new pieces of equipment worth $750,000 at a celebration and parade tomorrow featuring 65 fire engines.The parade starts at 9 a.m. at Wise Avenue and Grays Road. It will proceed on Wise Avenue and wind through several side streets before ending at the North Point Government Center, the celebration site.The celebration, which continues until 4 p.m., will feature a firefighter Olympics, a flea market with firefighting memorabilia and displays of fire and police vehicles, including the state police MedEvac helicopter.

The Columbia Council last week approved a request to let Howard County General Hospital lease the perimeter of Symphony Woods in Town Center for a holiday "Celebration in Lights" show to raise money for hospital projects.The agreement requires the hospital to pay the Columbia Association $6,000 for the lease and an additional small percentage if the hospital exceeds $100,000 in net proceeds from admissions.The event will take place in December, with all related expenses paid by the hospital.

Columbia resident Wallis Washington has quiet but powerful feelings about today's Kwanzaa celebration at the Howard County Center of African-American Culture, next to Columbia Mall."

Western Maryland College will celebrate the first campus-wide celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month with a lecture by Latino leader Raul Yzaguirre at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Baker Memorial Chapel. Yzaguirre recently appeared on network television and National Public Radio to discuss the latest census data, which confirms skyrocketing growth in the country's Hispanic population. At WMC, he will talk about the objectives of the National Council of La Raza, an advocacy group for Hispanic Americans, and the group's work to empower Hispanics.

As Annapolis nears its tricentennial in 2008, city leaders have begun to plan a celebration that will reflect the still-striking grande dame's entire history. Not everything in the past 300 years has been as pretty as the Chesapeake Bay or the late-18th-century architecture for which Annapolis is noted. Organizers say they reject the idea of a self-congratulatory stroll through the past, and promise that the historical chapters of slavery and segregation will not be overlooked. Yet the yearlong celebration should be inspirational for the city's future, bring all components of the community together and tap into its cultural resources, as Mayor Ellen O. Moyer and others see it. "This won't be a bunch of rich white guys patting each other on the back," said Charles W. Weikel, the mayor's newly appointed chairman of the Annapolis 300th Birthday Celebration steering committee.

CURRENT volunteer needs and news:Maryland Preakness Celebration '91 wants volunteers to help in the office immediately, answering phones, organizing mailings, responding to inquiries and other activities. Located in the World Trade Center. For details, call 837-3030. Also, volunteers are needed for the Preakness Parade, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. May 10. Call 752-8632. And if you want to help with the Hot Air Balloon Festival in Druid Hill Park, 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. May 11, or other Preakness events, call 837-3030.

Dozens of events are planned to celebrate the bicentennial of Baltimore's incorporation. What follows is a sampling of plans for the yearlong series of events.A Homecoming Center, scheduled to open by July at the Baltimore City Life Museums, will trace the history of ethnic groups and offer a short film on the city.A separate attraction at City Life, scheduled to open in December, will feature computerized immigration records so visitors can trace their roots.Reunion "how-to kits" will offer advice to organizations planning reunions in Baltimore.

To celebrate the 39th season of continuous performances, Baltimore's Arena Players plans a week of activities (Sept. 8-14) featuring guest appearances, panel discussions and performances.All events are in conjunction with the opening of the theater group's first production of the 1991 season, "Blues in the Night," which premieres at 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 13 at Arena Playhouse, 801 McCulloh St.Activities include Open Mike Night for area talent at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 9; a Celebrity Performance Benefit at 7:30 p.m. Sept.