Grand Marshal

Former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell will be the honorary grand marshal for the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix on Sept. 4, race organizers announced late Tuesday night. Powell will give the command to "start your engines" to the field of IndyCar drivers at the start of the 80-lap event. He also will be given the opportunity to take a 180-mph tour of the 2.0-mile temporary street circuit in downtown Baltimore from the passenger seat of an IndyCar two-seater. "The opportunity to be grand marshal for the inaugural Grand Prix is an honor, as it will showcase the city of Baltimore and the beautiful Inner Harbor to a worldwide audience, and I'm very happy to be a part of that," he said.

My niece, Natalie Barton, is an extra in the movie "The Avengers. " She is the daughter of Linda Southall-Barton and grand-daughter of Herb and Mary Lou Southall. Natalie and her mother traveled to Ohio to go on the "extras" red carpet on opening night. The CGR Relentless 5K and Fun Walk will benefit the Cody G Richardson Memorial Scholarship Fund. It will be held on June 2 in Perryville. The run/walk will start and end at Perryville Middle School, proceed down Aiken Avenue, turn right on Broad Street, right on Susquehanna Avenue, left on Frenchtown Road, left on Broad Street and left on Aiken Avenue.

Samuel Merson has firefighting in his blood. At the age of 15, he joined his father and two older brothers at the Elkridge Volunteer Fire Department, where he often raced to emergency calls on his bicycle.Eventually, more of Mr. Merson's family took up the calling, including three other brothers, Mr. Merson's four children and assorted other relatives."We have a long legacy," Mr. Merson said.And, starting tonight, the 65-year-old volunteer firefighter and Sunday school teacher will preside over the seventh annual Elkridge Days Carnival and Parade as grand marshal.

On Jan. 29, more than 100 family members and friends gathered at the St. Agnes Council Knights of Columbus to celebrate Betty Nolan's 90th birthday. The guest of honor was surprised and teary-eyed as tributes in the form of songs, pictures and poetry were sung, shown and read. Along with her family, this longtime Catonsville resident served as grand marshal of the 2010 Fourth of July parade.

Former state Sen. Al Lipin will serve as grand marshal for th sixth annual Glen Burnie Memorial Day parade.Parade chairman Joseph Corcoran said Senator Lipin, who is recuperating at his Glen Burnie home from heart bypass surgery, will ride in a vintage convertible supplied by one of the area's antique car clubs.Senator Lipin is a World War II Army veteran who received a Silver Star.Two television newscasters also will ride in the May 30 parade, Mr. Corcoran said.WJZ noon newscasters Sandra Pinckney and Don Scott will ride as guests of Vintage Tin and Lost in the '50s.

Paralympic gold medalist Jessica Long will serve as grand marshal for the Towson University homecoming parade on Saturday, Baltimore County officials announced today. The parade is scheduled to begin at noon, kicking off a day of celebration dubbed "Revelry and Rivalry." The procession will begin at Bosley and Allegheny avenues in downtown Towson, travel south on Washington Avenue, then west on Towsontown Boulevard to Towson University's Burdick Field. Admission to Burdick Field is free, and Towson Tiger fans are invited to enjoy food, music, live entertainment and games, officials said.

More than a century ago two Germans, a father and his son, boarded a boat to the United States to escape religious persecution and to launch a thriving farming business in the town now known as Savage.Their legacy survives. In this Howard County community of 2,850, street signs and a bridge bear the name Vollmerhausen in memory of Conrad and Seiber Vollmerhausen, the two early settlers. Generations of their offspring stayed in Savage, refusing to relocate to other portions of the county, even after they sold the family's two farms to developers.

A stand-up comic and Frank Sinatra impersonator who is mulling a run for New Jersey governor is booked for another gig next week: grand marshal of Baltimore's Columbus Day parade. Joe Piscopo will take part in the Oct. 10 parade from Mount Vernon to Little Italy and perform his big-band Sinatra tribute that night under a tent at Baltimore International College. Details of the Columbus Day events were outlined yesterday at a City Hall news conference with Mayor Martin O'Malley and former Mayor Thomas J. D'Alesandro III. Begun in 1890, the parade is the longest-running Columbus Day celebration in the nation - and an important tie to a time when Baltimore was a city of immigrants, D'Alesandro said.

Sarah E. "Sally" Murphy, the first woman to serve as grand marshal of Baltimore's St. Patrick's Day parade and a retired city government worker, died of congestive heart failure Tuesday at ManorCare in Ruxton. The Rodgers Forge resident was 77. "She was one of the greatest workers at City Hall," said former Mayor Thomas J. D'Alesandro III. "She practically ran her department and was its main cog. " Miss Murphy was born in Baltimore and raised on Cecil Avenue. She was the daughter of Jerome Murphy, a Hynson, Wescott and Dunning pharmacist.

Former Severna Park High School athletic director Andy Borland, as familiar to residents as the towering oak trees that define the local landscape, will take on a new duty tomorrow -- grand marshal of the Greater Severna Park Chamber of Commerce's Independence Day parade. The 30th annual event, whose theme is "America's Volunteers," begins at 10 a.m. "Andy has rolled up his sleeves and done so many projects for his church, the high school," said Linda Zahn, executive director of the Severna Park Chamber, "and because of his work for the new community center, we thought he'd be the right person to be grand marshal."

84th Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival What: A springtime ritual in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, the festival is a 10-day celebration that offers a variety of events, including golf tournament, wine fest, arts and crafts, carnival, circus, 10K race, musical performances, dances, pie-baking contest and the crowning of Queen Shenandoah. The festival also includes the Grand Feature Parade in Old Town Winchester on Saturday at 1 p.m. with floats, marching bands and actress Debbie Reynolds as grand marshal.

Former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell will be the honorary grand marshal for the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix on Sept. 4, race organizers announced late Tuesday night. Powell will give the command to "start your engines" to the field of IndyCar drivers at the start of the 80-lap event. He also will be given the opportunity to take a 180-mph tour of the 2.0-mile temporary street circuit in downtown Baltimore from the passenger seat of an IndyCar two-seater. "The opportunity to be grand marshal for the inaugural Grand Prix is an honor, as it will showcase the city of Baltimore and the beautiful Inner Harbor to a worldwide audience, and I'm very happy to be a part of that," he said.

Sarah E. "Sally" Murphy, the first woman to serve as grand marshal of Baltimore's St. Patrick's Day parade and a retired city government worker, died of congestive heart failure Tuesday at ManorCare in Ruxton. The Rodgers Forge resident was 77. "She was one of the greatest workers at City Hall," said former Mayor Thomas J. D'Alesandro III. "She practically ran her department and was its main cog. " Miss Murphy was born in Baltimore and raised on Cecil Avenue. She was the daughter of Jerome Murphy, a Hynson, Wescott and Dunning pharmacist.

Maurice Downing Meyers hasn't been around as long as the community of Severna Park, but he nearly has. So it seemed only fitting to organizers of Severna Park's centennial celebration to tap Meyers, a 97-year-old veteran and longtime area resident, to be the grand marshal of its Fourth of July parade and festival. "We're very fortunate with our grand marshal, whose family roots go back many, many years in the area," said parade chairman Ted Mathison, a resident of Shipley's Choice since 1979.

Of the estimated 1,400 participants and the 10,000 spectators at Saturday's Westside Preakness Parade, none anticipated it or enjoyed it more than the grand marshal. "That's a dream in and of itself," the grand marshal said the night before he was scheduled to ride down a major thoroughfare in his hometown in a bright yellow convertible during one of its signature events. "How many people can say that he's the heavyweight champion of the world, and he's grand marshal of the Preakness Parade?"

It's not easy being red. For decades, Santa Claus has anchored the Thanksgiving parade. A tough job, says the parade's longtime Santa, but somebody's got to do it for Baltimore's children. There's the sweltering wool costume. The grueling hours of ho-ho-ho-ing. The pointed questions from increasingly suspicious kids. And these days, there is also stiff competition. SpongeBob SquarePants, the ubiquitous cartoon character "who lives in a pineapple under the sea," served as the grand marshal in yesterday's 53rd annual parade on Pratt Street.