Celebration

The menu at Bel Air's Pairings Bistro changes throughout the year, evolving to highlight the best products from each season. This spring, Chef/owner Jon Kohler is serving small, succulent spring chickens, roasted and served with fresh peas and local mushrooms. Pairings Bistro 2105 Laurel Bush Road | Suite 108 | Bel Air, MD 21015 410-569-5006 | pairingsbistro.com Roast Poussin with Wild Mushrooms and Spring Pea Ragout Serves 6 Poussins: 6 poussins (spring chickens, preferably from KCC Natural Farms in Forest Hill)

Leading a tour of the Soldiers Delight area of western Baltimore County on Sunday afternoon, Paula Becker, an ecologist with Maryland's Department of Natural Resources, was pleased to report the first blooming of serpentine chickweed - a plant as rare as it is splashy in spring. And while that might not constitute earth-shattering news, it is certainly reassuring to those monitoring the health of the plant. Serpentine chickweed grows in the shallow serpentine soil of the strange, hilly grasslands of the Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area, at 2,000 acres the largest remaining ecosystem of its kind in the country.

Hoping to allow more fans to honor late manager Earl Weaver, the Orioles are pushing back their "A Celebration of Earl" to 6 p.m. on Saturday April 20. The event, to be held at Camden Yards, had initially been scheduled to start at 2 p.m. that day. The celebration will include a video tribute and a collection of guest speakers, including fellow Hall of Famers Jim Palmer, Brooks Robinson and Frank Robinson. Current manager Buck Showalter is also scheduled to speak at the event, as will National Baseball Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson and Earl's son Mike.

Soroptimist International of Havre de Grace, presenter of the 50th annual Havre de Grace Art Show, has announced the winner of the poster contest for original art created to highlight this year's event. Michael McMillion, of Bel Air, was presented an award of $300 by Soroptimist Club member and chairman of the Art Show, Cindy Height, for his entry. Soroptimist International expresses thanks to those who participated in the contest. The Havre de Grace Art Show has a call to entry for this year's show with a deadline of April 15. Proceeds from the show benefit scholarships and community service.

Eighteen months ago, Baltimore post-punk heroes Double Dagger played its final show at the Ottobar. But the trio of Nolen Strals, Denny Bowen and Bruce Willen aren't finished celebrating the band's career. On April 20 - internationally known as Record Store Day, which falls on the third Saturday in April each year - Double Dagger will host a free record release party at Hampden's Atomic Books . The trio is releasing its final album, a hard-hitting EP called "333," along with a documentary called "If We Shout Loud Enough" that follows the band on its final tour.

Celebrity chef Maneet Chauhan of the Food Network show "Chopped" will be at Ouzo Bay for a dinner event on April 20. Her people tell us that it's "a reservation-only dining experience. Guests will enjoy a three-course, prix-fixe meal for $95 a person, including a specialty cocktail crafted by Chef Chauhan. The appetizers and entrees will have a wine pairing, and guests will receive a copy of Maneet's book 'Flavors of My World.' Chef Chauhan will also be mingling with the guests.

A year ago, city officials left Annapolis distraught, their plans to obtain massive funding for school construction in the General Assembly's trash bin.   What a difference a year makes. On Wednesday, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Schools CEO Andres Alonso and the city's elected officials celebrated what they're calling a banner year at the General Assembly in which they pushed for and won passage of a $1.1 billion funding plan for city schools' construction. “This is a special, unique effort for Baltimore City,” Rawlings-Blake said at a City Hall news conference.

The Maryland Wineries Association will host the third annual Decanter: A Celebration of Maryland Wine and Racing on April 20 and 21 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, as part of Preakness 2013 celebrations. “We love this event,” said Kevin Atticks, executive director of the Maryland Wineries Association. “Honoring the heritage and traditions of Maryland is what Decanter is all about.” Horses will race on the dirt and turf courses about every 30 minutes, and guests can wager on all races throughout the day. Racing experts will be on-hand to host seminars for the inexperienced track-goer.

In conjunction with the city's big War of 1812 Bicentennial Celebration May 3 to 5, Havre de Grace Main Street Inc. is sponsoring a storefront window display contest. Downtown business owners and owners of vacant storefronts are being urged to enter the contest, which carries $500 in total prizes. The theme is the commemoration of the attack on Havre de Grace by the marauding British, which occurred on May 3, 1813. Theme and period windows should be up no later than May 2 at 5 p.m., according to the Havre de Grace Main Street website, and extra points will be given for period dress of any contestant's staff.

For 32 years after noted artist Grace Turnbull died in 1976, the house that she built in Guilford in 1928 sat empty, except for a few erstwhile renters - and some squirrels in the roof. Then, in 2008, manufacturing executive Douglas Hamilton III and his wife, Angela, a procurement manager, bought the six-bedroom, five-bath Spanish Colonial with Bermuda influences, in the 200 block of Chancery Road. But the Hamiltons didn't move in until December 2011, because the house, though uniquely artistic, was antiquated, poorly laid out and in ill repair.