Picnic

Soroptimist holding a picnic Aug. 23 Soroptimist of Howard County will start its new club year with a picnic at 6:15 p.m. Aug. 23 at Patapsco Female Institute in Ellicott City. A brief business meeting will include discussion of projects and fundraisers for the fall. Soroptimist is an international volunteer service organization for business and professional women that works to improve the lives of women and girls around the world. The Howard County club meets on the third Thursday of each month.

What could be more appropriate for summer than a picnic? This is the last weekend to see Theatre Hopkins' production of "Picnic," William Inge's Pulitzer Prize-winning play set in small-town Kansas on Labor Day.Performed in the Merrick Barn and directed by Suzanne Pratt, the production features Ben Kram as the young drifter who upsets the lives of the Owens household, headed by Theatre Hopkins favorites Rosemary Polen, as Mrs. Owens, and Patricia Coleman, as...

My dictionary defines picnic as: "A meal that might have been perfectly nice indoors but is eaten outdoors instead so that you can get a sunburn, eat lukewarm food and fish bugs out of your wine, all at the same time."If it weren't for the pro-picnic lobby, everyone else's dictionary would say the same thing.With summer in full swing, people are nattering on about the joy of picnics as if they'd just discovered the out-of-doors.Don't get me wrong, nature is fine in its place. But it's a poor substitute for a comfortable dining room, hot food and insect-free beverages.

Howard County Executive Charles I. Ecker, undeterred by a recent poll showing him far behind in his bid to become the Republican nominee for governor, has scheduled a fund-raising picnic Aug. 21 at a West Friendship farm.Ecker, who plans to announce the beginning of his gubernatorial campaign in October, has been quietly raising money and speaking to groups for several months.The picnic at Nixon's Farm on Route 32 will be his third fund-raiser.The picnic will cost $25 for adults, $10 for children for a menu of fried chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad and ice cream.

For years, fourth-grade teacher Edna Mae Wasmer has invited her classes once a year or so out to her family farm in Union Mills.This time, she extended the invitation to all 559 children and 50 staff members at William Winchester Elementary School in Westminster for an afternoon at a spot by the creek where her family has always gathered for picnics."

SATURDAY'S 119th Clarksville Picnic is more than a meal or an excursion.Pat Marlatt, chairman of the 1997 Clarksville Picnic and Clarksville's Fifth District Fire Chief, might call it a community festival. Here's some of what Marlatt -- and hundreds of volunteers from St. Louis Catholic Church -- have cooked up for you:Rick Baker and his crew of cooks and helpers will serve fried chicken, country ham, potato salad, pickled beets, cucumbers and homemade succotash to 3,700 people.Adam Feaga and his lieutenants offer hamburgers, hot dogs, candy, ice cream, sodas and other fast foods.

The picnic season is getting under way, and it's never been easier.The new wave in picnicking includes purchased meals to go, do-ahead menus and lightweight gear that renders ice obsolete. Picnics aren't merely for lazy days in the park, either. They often ride tandem with outdoor cultural events as well as hiking, biking and sailing adventures.Getting it to go: Impromptu picnic fare used to mean fast-food fried chicken. But deli foods are more likely to start today's movable feasts.Chances are your nearest deli is in the supermarket, where you can find salads ranging from the classic coleslaw and potato salad to gourmet salads of seafood with pasta or chicken with grapes.

Alonzo Bennett III won't discuss the wildest thing that has ever happened during the 20 years of his annual "Eat the Rich" picnic. He won't even discuss the second wildest thing."

Information received by The Sun -- and printed several times in the last week in Howard County editions -- incorrectly indicated that a picnic to celebrate "National Night Out" is open to the community. The picnic Tuesday in Columbia's Long Reach village is by invitation only.The Sun regrets the error.

Youngsters and grown-ups, talking and laughing, playing games, eating hot dogs and drinking lemonade -- the idyll of a summer afternoon.More than 200 people gathered yesterday in the woods of Patapsco Valley State Park in Carroll County in what easily could have passed as an elementary school, church or company social. The children ran around the McKeldin picnic area, ignoring all heat and humidity, as the adults, lacking that immunity to discomfort, were content to supervise.But this was no casual encounter.

St. John's College, the school that studies Great Books, and its neighbor the U.S. Naval Academy, the school that studies great sea battles, combine each year for an unlikely triumph - a really great lawn party where the annual croquet match takes a back seat to the elegant picnic food. Each year, in the spring, the two schools meet on the campus of St. John's - just steps away from the walls that surround the Naval Academy - for a lopsided competition. (St. John's leads in the series, 22-5.

Looking back over the past few months, I see that there was plenty to do in Baltimore - day and night, indoors and outdoors. Here's a snapshot of two events. The 17th annual Stone Soul Picnic on Aug. 16 had record attendance. Headlining the day of fun under the sun were soulful crooner Eric Benet, R&B artist turned gospel singer Regina Belle and rapper Jayceon Terrell Taylor, also known as The Game. Some entertainers, including recording artist Paula Campbell, posed and chatted with fans at the picnic, which was sponsored by Radio One and held at Druid Hill Park.

Safe driving in work zones is encouraged After the recent accident on Route 29 near the Howard-Montgomery county line in which two highway workers were killed and three were injured, the Maryland State Highway Administration urges motorists to reduce speed and stay alert when passing through work zones. According to an announcement by the administration, more than 2,200 work-zone related crashes last year resulted in the loss of 13 lives and the injury of 1,072 people. Motorists are urged to learn the location of active work zones (www.

Soroptimist holding a picnic Aug. 23 Soroptimist of Howard County will start its new club year with a picnic at 6:15 p.m. Aug. 23 at Patapsco Female Institute in Ellicott City. A brief business meeting will include discussion of projects and fundraisers for the fall. Soroptimist is an international volunteer service organization for business and professional women that works to improve the lives of women and girls around the world. The Howard County club meets on the third Thursday of each month.

More than two dozen community gatherings are planned in Baltimore County tonight as part of National "Night Out" anti-crime events. Among them are a picnic sponsored by the Lansdowne Improvement Association, a public safety demonstration at Reisterstown Elementary School, a caravan of Citizens on Patrol vehicles through Sudbrook Park in the Pikesville area, a procession of police vehicles through Towson, a picnic and boat parade at Wilson Point Park...

Tea Party 20 Themed Tea Parties With Recipes for Every Occasion Picnics By Hilary Heminway and Alex Heminway Gibbs Smith / 2007 / $19.95 When the weather warms, fans of alfresco dining start thinking of which restaurants have patios, of dusting off their deck furniture, of dragging a friend and a picnic basket to some picturesque spot. I hoped this book would offer advice on planning a picnic -- what's portable, what holds up well in a basket, what won't give you food poisoning. It doesn't.

Bay Theatre Company co-founders Lucinda Merry-Browne and Janet Luby are enthusiastic, but humble about their latest production: William Inge's Pulitzer Prize-winning Picnic. "We've never done Inge, and his plays capture place and time of innocence in a kind of '50s snapshot of everyday life in Kansas," said Merry-Browne, the troupe's managing and artistic director. "Humor springs from the sweetness of the people - wonderful women characters like Flo, a woman raising two daughters by herself, which wasn't easy in this period when having a man was considered essential to a woman's status and happiness, also seen in the spinster character Rosemary."

Summertime's long, warm days are the perfect setting for the ultimate alfresco dining experience: a picnic. Whether you're heading out to watch Fourth of July fireworks next Tuesday or attending an outdoor concert, a picnic packed with simple, easy-to-transport foods makes any summer outing a little special. To take the guesswork out of what to pack, we asked some experts to assemble picnics tailored to particular occasions, from a romantic open-air dinner for two to a family foray with a meal in a hamper.

The Rainbow Theatre at Slayton House in Wilde Lake Village Center will present the last show of its season with improvisational storyteller, songwriter and guitarist Paul Helou. Helou has written an interactive musical about a place he calls Hedgehog Island that is populated by singing and dancing hedgehogs. Welcome to Hedgehog Island will be performed for young children, with an adult, at 10 a.m. and at 1 p.m. May 26. Tickets, which should be purchased in advance, are $4.50 each; $5.50 at the door.

St. Agnes' 5K While Peter Jennings' death from lung cancer has helped raise awareness of the disease, you really don't need a reason to do what you can to help the cause. One way is to take part in St. Agnes' 5K Labor Day Run and Family Fun Walk. Besides the race, there will be music, food, drinks and dancing at Bay Cafe, where the race starts and ends Monday. If you can't make it to the race (or you accidentally sleep in), you can still donate $25 and get the goodie bag and T-shirt every registered racer receives.