Tea Party

Is there a place in the world for cute? There is if you don't have to put up with too much of it. The cuteness in question today is embodied in a toy called My Little Pony, which this year celebrates its 25th birthday, having now occupied a full generation's worth of girls' imaginations worldwide, while simultaneously alarming a generation of parents worried about excessive exposure to saccharine. But is artificial sweetener really so dangerous? Today's young women seem to have their heads screwed on straight - which is more than can be said for the Barbies they took up after leaving My Little Pony bereft and unwanted in the back of the closet.

The Carroll County Farm Museum will offer a series of traditional arts classes for adults from 10 a.m. to 3: 30 p.m. April 27 to 30.Classes vary from one day to all four days and feature arts prominent in the post-Civil War period, 1865-1900. Participants will exhibit items they make at a projects show May 1.Classes include:Blacksmithing, taught by Bob Morris. The four-day class costs $100.Tinsmithing, taught by Richard Haddick all four days. Cost is $140.Broom-making with Ralph Dinterman, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 27. Cost is $25.Beginning spinning with Nancy Schwinn.

Visitors to the Carroll County Farm Museum will have a chance to take a step back in time this week, as they learn about the art of broom-making and the proper way to hold a Victorian-era tea party.A series of classes celebrating the post-Civil War period will be offered at the Farm Museum tomorrow through Thursday. The traditional-arts workshops are as diverse as tinsmithing and blacksmithing, papermaking and open-hearth cooking."We're very excited about the program we've planned," said Emma Beaver, who coordinated the workshops.

Tea partyCelebrate Colonial resistance to British rule this weekend in Chestertown with the 24th Annual Tea Party Festival. The highlight of the two-day event -- the re-enactment of the dumping of British tea on May 23, 1774, into the Chester River -- is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday.Festivities begin with the 21st annual 10-mile distance run at 8 a.m. Saturday. A Colonial Parade through the town, featuring the Kiltie Band of York, the Washington Memorial Pipe Band and horse-drawn carriages, starts at 10 a.m. Live entertainment is scheduled throughout the day. Also part of the festival are more than 140 craft experts -- from blacksmiths and candle makers to weavers and woodworkers.

MOUNT AIRY CHILDREN'S library associate Dottie Haschert showed the children how a plain paper plate was transformed into a Christmas angel.She also demonstrated the many creative uses of recycled Christmas cards. With very little effort and a lot of imagination, the children turned used cards into unique gift tags and tree ornaments.Participating in "Celebration of Crafts" was originally mom's idea, but Mitch and Carter Goolsby admitted they were having fun making Christmas crafts. Brother and sister decided to surprise their parents with the crafts they made.

A tea party for girls and dollsWhat little girl wouldn't love to have a party at the Carroll Mansion at Museum Row for her friends and their favorite dolls? "A Doll's Tea Party" is a two-hour event that includes food appropriate for a 19th-century tea; creating a tea for their dolls and making tussie-mussies (nosegays); and a talk on proper manners for a tea party.The cost is $100 for up to 10 guests and $10 for each additional child. The suggested age is 5 to 11. For information and reservations, call (410)

The Memorial Day weekend is always a good time for a daytrip or two, and, as usual, many events are planned to lure you away from home.The 22nd annual Chestertown Tea Party Festival attracts people to the Eastern Shore for two days of free festivities Saturday and May 28. The festival recalls an event that happened there May 23, 1774. In response to the closing of the Port of Boston, citizens of Chestertown staged their own tea party. A group of men boarded the British ship Geddes, anchored in the Chester River, and dumped its cargo of tea overboard.

WHEN 11-year-old Lauren Bittner moved with her family in September from Shipley Road to Richmond, Va., she left a little bit of herself behind.Before she left, she decided to honor the agreement she made with the Linthicum library more than a year ago to display her tea sets. This month, Lauren's teapots will be exhibited at the library, at Shipley and Hammonds Ferry roads.Lauren has been the hostess of her own pretend tea parties since she was 2. As she got older, her interest in tea sets andtea parties continued to grow, as did her collection.

Visitors to the Carroll County Farm Museum can travel back in time this weekend at the annual Civil War encampment and tea party.The 19th Georgia Regiment will set up camp from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday on the Farm Museum grounds, 500 S. Center St., Westminster.Both armies camped around the Farm Museum site during the Civil War while en route to Gettysburg. Costumed soldiers from the North and South will set up camp and will perform company drills, skirmishes and medical demonstrations.

Chicago. -- Deep resentment of the federal government strikes every year in the middle of April, as millions of citizens struggle with Form 1040 and worry about how to pay the taxes they owe. And it should give lawmakers serious concern.It's easy to fantasize about millions of us dumping those hated forms in Boston Harbor in a new version of the Boston Tea Party -- and to hell with the environment.Maybe it's time the federal government borrowed a strategy from the states, which have found an easy, effective way to collect billions of dollars for public purposes without aggravation.

He stands at his table by the side of the road, puffing a cigarette as the traffic whizzes by in the steamy heat. Passengers honk horns, waving fists through rolled-down windows Monday. The hundreds lining the streets wave signs: "Obama = Socialist," "Have You Read the Bill?" and "Health Care Reform Now." The messages stake out dueling viewpoints in a political tussle that's coming to a head this summer: the debate over the Democrat-backed House bill that aims to make huge changes in America's health-care system.

Now here are some people who could use a nice cold beer with the president. But somehow, I think all you'd end up with are people who are still mad but now have a bit of a beer buzz going. People who already are acting crazy don't need help losing any more of their inhibition. I've been watching footage of the town hall follies play out across the country as congressional representatives on summer recess head home to their constituents, some of whom apparently do not like President Barack Obama's push for health care reform.

Take government back from fat-cats As usual, The Baltimore Sun gave greater voice to the liberals than to supporters of the tea party protests in its forum "Readers speak out on the tea party protests" (letters, April 20). But what those who complained that the tea parties were Republican- and Fox News-inspired contrivances aimed at the Obama administration fail to understand is that these protests are grass-roots reactions to excessive government spending, which is bloating our already-too-large government with absolutely no plan to repay our deficit.

What I want to know is where these tea party protesters when Enron ripped off people's life savings ("Staging a revolt," April 16)? Or when our government invaded a country based on lies? Or when former President George W. Bush wasted the surplus former President Bill Clinton left him and doubled the national debt? Now all of a sudden these people take notice. I think it's pathetic. Instead of wasting good tea, they could have sent it to a food pantry or soup kitchen. Pat Harcarik, Baltimore We drove an hour through the driving rain to get to the tea party protests.

Here are some highlights from last week's entries on The Baltimore Sun's Maryland Politics blog, plus selected comments from readers. Smile for the camera? Voters who don't want to see speed cameras in their neighborhood now have a chance to vent their frustration. A petition drive is being launched to overturn the law authorizing speed cameras approved by the Assembly this month. It's not easy to get a law overturned. Petition gatherers have to collect more than 53,000 signatures - and they can't all come from one jurisdiction; they have to be spread out across the state.

Tax protesters just sore losers The Baltimore Sun's editorial "Happy tax day" (April 15) tied in nicely with the news about the "tea party" tax protesters ("Mailed tea raises alarms," April 15). Protesting against government policies perceived as offensive, unjust, unfair or just plain wrong, for whatever reason, is an honorable, even necessary, activity in any country. However, a prerequisite to engaging in such protests should be an understanding of the issues involved. In the case of the Fox News-inspired and Republican Party-encouraged "tea party" protests, such understanding seems to be lacking.

Here's a sampling of last week's entries from The Baltimore Sun's Maryland Politics blog, along with selected comments from readers. Fretting as tradition Gov. O'Malley is seeking authority to take the Preakness, Pimlico and Laurel Park by eminent domain, if necessary, to keep the second leg of the Triple Crown in Maryland. But here's the interesting thing: We've now got at least four people saying they want to bid for the tracks and keep the Preakness in Maryland. Peter Angelos stepped in first.

Is there a place in the world for cute? There is if you don't have to put up with too much of it. The cuteness in question today is embodied in a toy called My Little Pony, which this year celebrates its 25th birthday, having now occupied a full generation's worth of girls' imaginations worldwide, while simultaneously alarming a generation of parents worried about excessive exposure to saccharine. But is artificial sweetener really so dangerous? Today's young women seem to have their heads screwed on straight - which is more than can be said for the Barbies they took up after leaving My Little Pony bereft and unwanted in the back of the closet.

Have a tea party with your favorite ponies this weekend, as the kids' musical My Little Pony Live: The World's Biggest Tea Party comes to 1st Mariner Arena. Young visitors can dance and sing with Pinkie Pie and her friends from Ponyville at this interactive performance. The performances are at 7 p.m. tomorrow, 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Sunday at 1st Mariner Arena, 201 W. Baltimore St. Tickets are $13-$26. Call 410-547-SEAT or go to ticketmaster.com.

Tea off in Chestertown Boston wasn't the only town with a tea party. Local legend says that Chestertown citizens, inspired by more northern events, boarded a brigantine in 1774 and steeped its East India tea shipment in the Chester River. Modern-day Chestertown celebrates its rebellious act with the Chestertown Tea Party Festival this weekend. Activities include a 10-mile run, a 5K run/walk and a parade of marching bands, costumed children and a Colonial militia. Visitors can launch their own tea party Saturday when they'll be invited to board the brigantine Geddes (represented here by the schooner Sultana)