Museum Grounds

The world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales will make their third appearance at the Carroll County Farm Museum from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. tomorrow.The eight horses will be harnessed and hitched to a red beer wagon for a ride around the Farm Museum grounds. The unloading and harnessing of the horses, which will be at 3 p.m., is a show in itself as the huge animals stand docile for their decoration.Then the horses will be hitched to the Studebaker-built wagon. The wagon and horses together weigh 12 tons and are handled by a driver and assistant.

It's most likely that outside of the circle that once held the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum and the Chesapeake Wooden Boat Builders School, folks will never know what really happened to the decade-long partnership that was severed last month. Nor does it matter. What does matter is that what looked like, at least from a distance, had been a vibrant part of the museum is no longer. The official reason given was "the Boat school was not providing necessary support to the mission of the Museum.

The Carroll County Farm Museum, 500 S. Center St., will host its annual Old-Fashioned Fourth of July Celebration and Fireworks on Monday, July 4, from noon until the fireworks end. The Kiwanis Club of Westminster is sponsoring the fireworks display this year. Events during the day at the farm museum will include stage entertainment, vendors and activities. Groups performing will include The Elderly Brothers, Ray Owens, the Carroll County Cloggers, Standard Delivery Combo and Uncle Sam on stilts with his monkey, Django.

SYKESVILLE — The Sykesville Gate House Museum of History is hosting a free summer family series on select Sunday afternoons on the museum grounds, 7283 Cooper Drive, Sykesville. The free hour-long programs held began last weekend, and the next will be held July 8, 2-3 p.m., wit the title, "A Confederate Soldier's Story. Visitors will hear about the Civil War from ""Sergeant Smith," a reenactor portraying a soldier with the Confederate Army. The presentation will offer an interactive discussion on uniform, weapons and what it was like serving in General Robert E. Lee's army.

Summer concert The Annapolis Maritime Museum will present its free Summertime Lunchtime Maritime Concert series at noon Wednesday on the restored workboat Peg Wallace at Annapolis City Dock. Them Eastport Oyster Boys - Jefferson Holland and Kevin Brooks (right) - will perform. They will also play at 7 p.m. on the museum grounds. The duo performs humorous tunes inspired by living where the best things in life are a "good hat, a good dog and a good boat." Their original songs range from island rhythms to "country/western shore."

If you go Maryland Day events run 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Historic St. Mary's City. Admission is free. Call 240-895-4990 or go to stmaryscity.org. Getting there Driving: Follow Interstate 97 South toward the Bay Bridge until it ends at U.S. 50 and 301. Follow U.S. 301 south toward Richmond, Va.. Take exit for Route 4 south toward Prince Frederick. Continue on to Solomons Island; continue across large bridge over the Patuxent River, to traffic light at Routes 4 and 235. To avoid congestion at Lexington Park, continue on Route 4 for 8 1/2 miles until it ends at Route 5. Turn left onto Route 5 and travel south about 14 miles.

Carroll's military personnel who served in the Persian Gulf war willget a hometown thanks with a special program as part of the city's Fourth of July celebration.A ceremony of gratitude and recognitionfor Desert Storm troops from the area is planned to kick off the annual July 4 All-Day Picnic at the Carroll County Farm Museum.The "Welcome Home" rally is sponsored by the city government and the farm museum staff, who promise that yellow ribbons and red, whiteand blue bunting won't be in short supply.

The famous Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales, along with the red Budweiser beer wagon, will make their second appearance in Westminster in seven months from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Carroll County Farm Museum.The "gentle giants" came to Carroll County last August, when some 5,000 visitors of all ages crammed the museum grounds to see the horses.But even with the success of last summer's show, Farm Museum officials were taken by surprise when they were asked if they'd like to have the team back again.

Familiar characters, stories and a petting zoo will fill three hours with fun and games today during the fifth annual Children's Day.Preschool and kindergarten-age children are invited to join the festivities from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Carroll County Farm Museum."

There's a chill in the air, and with it comes the first real feel of the holiday season.On Thursday, Thanksgiving will bring many families together.Tables will be filled with wonderful foods -- turkey, dressing, vegetables, salads, fruits, breads, pies and cakes.Televised football games will command the attention of most sports fans, while those less interested will catch a nap or linger over a second piece of pumpkin pie.As the day comes to an end, thoughts will turn to the beginning of the Christmas holiday.

The Carroll County Farm Museum, 500 S. Center St., will host its annual Old-Fashioned Fourth of July Celebration and Fireworks on Monday, July 4, from noon until the fireworks end. The Kiwanis Club of Westminster is sponsoring the fireworks display this year. Events during the day at the farm museum will include stage entertainment, vendors and activities. Groups performing will include The Elderly Brothers, Ray Owens, the Carroll County Cloggers, Standard Delivery Combo and Uncle Sam on stilts with his monkey, Django.

If you go Maryland Day events run 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Historic St. Mary's City. Admission is free. Call 240-895-4990 or go to stmaryscity.org. Getting there Driving: Follow Interstate 97 South toward the Bay Bridge until it ends at U.S. 50 and 301. Follow U.S. 301 south toward Richmond, Va.. Take exit for Route 4 south toward Prince Frederick. Continue on to Solomons Island; continue across large bridge over the Patuxent River, to traffic light at Routes 4 and 235. To avoid congestion at Lexington Park, continue on Route 4 for 8 1/2 miles until it ends at Route 5. Turn left onto Route 5 and travel south about 14 miles.

The biggest Independence Day celebration in Carroll County takes place at the Carroll County Farm Museum, where the annual Old-Fashioned July 4 Celebration and Fireworks will be held, rain or shine, from noon until the end of a fireworks display Wednesday. Co-sponsor WTTR radio, AM 1470, will broadcast live throughout the day. The Rotary clubs of Carroll County sponsor the fireworks. The farm museum is at 500 S. Center St., Westminster. The day features live entertainment; crafts vendors; food vendors; guided tours of the farmhouse given by costumed tour guides from noon to 6 p.m.; and self-guided tours of the Living History Center, exhibit buildings and gift shop.

Every September, the Maryland Wine Festival sets up on the grounds of the Carroll County Farm Museum as the largest event at the county's most treasured tourist attraction. Last year, about 25,000 people came from 47 states and eight countries to sample local wines and entertainment during the festival weekend. Besides the wine, fairgoers get a taste of the county's agricultural life stretching back 150 years. "Preservation and education are our biggest issues," said Farm Museum administrator Dottie Freeman, who has worked there since 1986.

Summer concert The Annapolis Maritime Museum will present its free Summertime Lunchtime Maritime Concert series at noon Wednesday on the restored workboat Peg Wallace at Annapolis City Dock. Them Eastport Oyster Boys - Jefferson Holland and Kevin Brooks (right) - will perform. They will also play at 7 p.m. on the museum grounds. The duo performs humorous tunes inspired by living where the best things in life are a "good hat, a good dog and a good boat." Their original songs range from island rhythms to "country/western shore."

NEW YORK - Ground Zero officials defended plans to build a museum on freedom at the site as dozens of victims' relatives yesterday launched a nationwide effort calling for its removal from the plans. John Cahill, Gov. George E. Pataki's chief of staff, stressed that rebuilding officials won't allow the museum's mission to be "hijacked from the political right or the political left." "We were attacked that day because of our values and because of our freedom," Cahill said. The center is expected to have exhibits on slavery in America, the Holocaust and global human-rights issues, but families are worried that some exhibits would take away from the sanctity of the adjacent memorial.

It rained intermittently on the 12th annual Maryland Wine Festival, but the weather did little to dampen attendance.The two-day festival on Sept. 16 and 17 drew 14,216 people to the Farm Museum in Westminster, down about 6,000 from a sunnier event last year.Still, the Saturday attendance of more than 10,000 was the second-largest since 1991, said Dottie Freeman, museum administrator. Early predictions for a rainy Sunday may have spurred the crowds to come out early.As a result, the much needed and anticipated rain helped the farmers on Sunday and the Farm Museum on Saturday, Ms. Freeman said.

It's most likely that outside of the circle that once held the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum and the Chesapeake Wooden Boat Builders School, folks will never know what really happened to the decade-long partnership that was severed last month. Nor does it matter. What does matter is that what looked like, at least from a distance, had been a vibrant part of the museum is no longer. The official reason given was "the Boat school was not providing necessary support to the mission of the Museum.

Now that they've restored the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum's roundhouse after a snowstorm-related roof collapse in 2003, museum officials are stepping up efforts to repair the historic artifacts that were damaged when the roof caved in. The museum will unveil a $6 million Railroad Car and Locomotive Restoration Facility as part of a three-day Grand Reopening celebration that will be held Friday through Sunday. The restoration facility was constructed as part of the museum's $30 million, multiphase campaign to recover from the Presidents Day snowstorm that dropped 28 inches of snow on the roundhouse's roof, causing parts of it to collapse onto priceless locomotives and railroad cars below and forcing the museum to close for 19 months.

The most popular tourist attraction in the county, the Carroll County Farm Museum, lies in the heart of Carroll's gently rolling hills, a reminder of days gone by. The 140-acre working farm and museum is the site of a dozen major events throughout the year that bring 100,000 people from around the region for fun and relaxation, as well as for a variety of educational programs. The farm was created in July 1852 as the county's almshouse, or poorhouse, also called the county home. A farmhouse, dormitory-style building, springhouse, barns and other outbuildings were constructed in 1852 and 1853 as a place for the poor who had no money or place to stay.