Fireworks Display

Who says Martin O'Malley, who's been in Asia burnishing his foreign-policy credentials and all around the U.S. as head of the Democratic Governors Association, has lost interest in all that needs doing here in Maryland? The governor will be hard at work in Baltimore June 18, leading his Celtic rock band in a performance for the U.S. Conference of Mayors. O'Malley's March will play for the group at Fort McHenry, during what is billed as a "Star Spangled Night. " Plans for the gig were first reported by The Washington Post , darn it all. "On this special night you will dine on the hallowed grounds of this National Monument and Historic Shrine by rare and special arrangement," says the agenda for the conference.

Annapolis fire officials yesterday searched for the cause of an explosion that injured two fireworks company employees -- one of them critically -- and interrupted the city's fireworks show Monday night.The accident occurred on a barge in the Severn River from which the fireworks were being launched.About 15 minutes into the show, Robert Silverman, 40, a "shooter" for Pyrotecnico of New Castle, Pa., loaded a 10-inch shell into a firing mortar. The shell exploded in the mortar, scattering debris 30 feet and setting several small fires on the barge, fire officials said.

INNER HARBOR:* Fireworks display today at 9:30 p.m., staged by Zambelli Internationale.BALTIMORE COUNTY:* Towson's annual July 4 parade will begin at 10:30 a.m. today from Burke Avenue and York Road and will go north on York Road, west on Pennsylvania Avenue and south on Washington Avenue to the reviewing stand at Washington and Chesapeake avenues. More than 100 units will participate, including veterans of the D-Day campaign, antique fire engines, a soccer team, Liberty Showcase Theater and a Highland pipe band.

Columbia's lake front will be the site of an annual rite Thursday, as thousands of Independence Day spectators try to squirm their way into that perfect spot to watch fireworks light up the sky across Lake Kittamaqundi.Hundreds of aerial shells are scheduled to explode across the skies during Columbia's 29th Fourth of July fireworks display -- a show that each year draws more than 30,000 people from throughout the Baltimore-Washington area.The display will be dedicated to Columbia's founder, James W. Rouse, who died this year, said Cole Drew, president of the Kiwanis Club of Columbia, which is sponsoring the half-hour show at 9: 30 p.m. Thursday.

Monday, July 4 Festival and fireworks The annual Fourth of July festival and fireworks display will be held at the Columbia Lakefront. Festival kicks off at 5 p.m. with children's entertainment featuring the Blue Sky Puppet Theater, Kinderman and comedy juggler Michael Rosman. There will also be carnival games and crafts, with a "Stars & Stripes" theme. At 7:30 p.m., the main stage will host a rock performance by Cruise. Fireworks begin at 9:30 p.m. Free parking. Information: 410-313-4451.

Fireworks will light the sky over the Inner Harbor on New Year's Eve after a donation from The Baltimore Sun allowed organizers to meet their fundraising goal for putting on the annual display. The Sun will serve as presenting sponsor for the 34-year-old event, which seemed in peril after the previous sponsor, Ports America Chesapeake, declined to renew its contract this spring. "We're so excited to have this generous grant … since it allows the region to reap the economic advantages while preserving the tradition for local residents," Bill Gilmore, executive director of the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts, said in a statement.

RIGHT ON schedule, the heat wave is here at the turn of the calendar.Business is booming at the Savage Snow Cone Shack, and there's a crowd sitting on the rocks at Savage Park.Of course, not all of us can kick back and enjoy well-earned heat-induced leisure.The Patuxent Area Jaycees are busy planning and doing.They've recently renamed their newsletter, The Voice -- the winner in a name-the-newsletter contest that included such losers as "Howard's End."They are gearing up to help with the rubber duck race at the Lake Elkhorn Festival in early September.

The Bel Air Independence Day Committee Inc., the non-profit organization that organizes July Fourth activities in the town, has started looking for another site to conduct next year's fireworks and hopes to attract as many as 200 new volunteers."

Memorial Day may be the unofficial start to the summer season, but the Fourth of July is perhaps its biggest weekend. In the holiday spirit, beach resorts will be offering plenty to do over the three-day weekend.Up With People's young singers and dancers will be performing in Ocean City, and the Independence Day festivities will culminate Sunday evening with a double fireworks display that promises to fill the skies with dazzling color.Sunday afternoon, the annual "Jamboree in the Park" at the 125th Street Northside Park will feature games, demonstrations, crafts, food and additional shows by the Up With People performers.

CHESTERTOWN -- Under thick, gray clouds that shed a tearful drizzle, searchers recovered yesterday the body of the 4-year-old boy who drowned in the Chester River on the Fourth of July.Natural Resources Police identified the victim as Edward Anthony Fleming, the son of Edward and Shelly Fleming of Worton. His body was pulled up by a drag line about 150 yards south of the Chester River Bridge at 11:01 a.m.The youngster fell overboard from a boat into the river shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday as the town's annual July 4 fireworks display was starting.