Workshop

Homeowners hoping to see benefits from a national mortgage settlement — and others struggling with their payments — can attend a workshop in Baltimore Tuesday for information and assistance. The Maryland attorney general's office said the event will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 4414 Frankford Ave. Nonprofit housing counselors and others who work with distressed borrowers will be on hand. The settlement, with the country's five largest mortgage servicers, was over allegations of widespread foreclosure and mortgage-servicing abuses.

The upcoming weekend is chock-full of green activities. Here are just some: Saturday is "Climate Impacts Day," meaning environmentalists intend to stage a flurry of demonstrations to get people to "connect the dots" between climate change and extreme weather. Folks will be donning gas masks to highlight their concerns during the "cyclovia" bike-walk from Roland Park to Druid Hill Park. Others will be kayaking amid the drowning wetlands at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, while still others plan to celebrate the installation of another solar array in Howard County.

A fire caused extensive damage to a blacksmith's workshop in Dublin Friday afternoon. The fire in the 1500 block of Deerfield Road was called in shortly before 1 p.m. The State Fire Marshal's Office said the fire originated on the rear wall of a 10-by-16-foot outdoor storage facility; however, emergency radio transmissions said the building involved was a "workshop. " Thirty firefighters responded from the Darlington, Level and Whiteford volunteer fire companies in Harford County and Water Witch Fire Company in Cecil County and brought the fire under control in 10 minutes, according to a notice of investigation from the fire marshal's office.

Roger Miller and Jeffrey A. Wolk make photography sound easy. These seasoned shooters, who have nearly a century of experience between them, share some simple instructions: Relax, enjoy the scenery, focus and keep taking pictures. "The most important thing about a camera is not to be afraid of it," said Miller, publisher of 34 photography books. "Just keep shooting. You will get some great pictures. " For those uninitiated in the intricacies of today's equipment, these two, both award-winners in their field, have put together a daylong photography workshop that promises candid coaching, technical assistance and lively dialogue.

Lutherville resident David Kressin, a professional house painter for nearly 20 years, recently released a new DVD "Take a Professional Painter Home with You," designed to teach the average person how to paint an interior room in several concise steps. "The paint industry assumes everyone knows the basic painting fundamentals or recommends taping everything in the room," Kressin said. "If I painted the way most online videos teach, I would be out of business. " He said the video, "illustrates the fundamentals and tricks of the trade, which aren't hard.

Theater and dance students in Prince George's County public schools can attend workshops in March that also offer the opportunity to perform. The second annual Theatre Arts Festival for county drama students will be held Tuesday, March 27 at 7 p.m. at the Bowie Center for the Performing Arts, 15200 Annapolis Road, Bowie. Drama students from Prince George's County public middle schools and high schools will participate in monologue competitions and workshops with professional artists, and the day will end with student performances at 6 p.m. The 15th annual Dance Showcase, on Thursday, March 29 at Dr. Henry A. Wise, Jr. High School, 12650 Brooke Lane, Upper Marlboro, provides county dance students an opportunity to work with professional choreographers and receive instruction in various dance genres.

After taping an 8- by 10-inch drawing of a Chinese dragon to a white board in an art classroom at Stevenson University, Carlson Bull handed over an iPad with the instruction to aim it at the illustration and wait for mobile augmented reality to unfold. With both hands gripping the tablet computer as if it were a steering wheel, the tester was able to "look through" the device like a window and watch, in 3-D, as the vividly colored creature peered out of a hole in the wall, glanced furtively around and gracefully flew away.

The Chesapeake Paddlers Association, a nonprofit organization with more than 650 members and run strictly by volunteers, will hold Sea Kayaking 101, a class to teach the basics of the sport, March 10 in West River. The seven-hour workshop, which begins at 8:30 a.m. at the West River Center (5100 Chalk Point Road) will include experienced sea kayakers talking about how to get started in the fast-growing sport in terms of kayaks, paddles and other equipment. There will also be discussions about where to paddle, how to find fellow paddlers and the history of the sport.

Free State Montessori School in Fork will hold a parent workshop on Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. The workshop will address the Montessori hands-on approach to teaching language. It will explore how the language curriculum is handled at all levels of development, from toddler through elementary school. Parents will get a chance to work with the curriculum's materials to better understand the Montessori method. The workshop is free. Light refreshments will be served. Free State Montessori School is located at 12536 Harford Road.