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FOLK FESTIVAL!
It's an unbelievable lineup at the first-ever National Folk Festival in Salisbury, Md., Sept. 7-9. Great performers from all over the country and the world are coming. No worries: There is a big focus on regional traditions and acts, too. They are expecting 60,000 to 80,000 attendees! Details. |
speed racers
The skipjack fleet will be gathering for two traditional September race events.
• The Deal Island Skipjack Race is Labor Day Mon., Sept. 3. Music and events are planned on Sat./Sun. as well. Details.
• The Choptank Heritage Skipjack Race in Cambridge on Sat., Sept. 22. Details. |
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Dove Sails
The Maryland Dove is coming to visit our side of the Bay. A replica of the vessel that brought settlers who founded the Free State in 1634, the 56-foot-long boat will be in Cambridge the weekend of Sept. 8-9 (details) and then in Oxford the afternoon of Tue., Sept. 11 (details). |
Slippin' Away
One last summer holiday: I put together a list of events on the Secrets website to help you make the most out of your Labor Day weekend. Here it is. |
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YA' GOTTA EAT! GARLIC, CHILI, CHOCOLATE, BBQ ...
• The 12th Annual Chocolate Tasting at Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes, Del. is Sat., Sept. 8. Details.
• The Rehoboth Beach (Del.) Garlic Festival is a farm-to-table oriented affair the weekend of Sept. 21-22. Details.
 • The Delaware Vegan Festival at Glasgow Park in Newark is Sat., Sept. 22. Details.
• The 19th annual Chili Chowder Cook-Off in Chincoteague, Va. is Sat., Sept. 29. Details.
• The 5th Annual Brew n ‘Que (and Oysters Too!) party is Sat., Sept. 29 at the Sunset Beach Resort near Cape Charles, Va. Details.
• The SoDel Fest in Millsboro, Del. on Sat., Sept. 29 features a big Iron Chef-like competition pitting a team from Lewes against a team from Rehoboth. Attendees will also be able to sample a slew of dishes by Sussex County chefs and enjoy tastings of local wines, beers, and spirits. Details.
• On Sun., Sept. 30, the Taste of Newark (Del.)--pictured here--serves up samples from nearly 50 restaurants on the Old College Lawn at the University of Delaware. Details. |
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Milford rocks!
The Ladybug Festival is coming to Milford, Del. on Sat., Sept. 22. 40 performers in 17 venues—and it’s free. A showcase for women in music--both on stage and behind the scenes, backstage--it's a midsummer staple up in its home turf of Wilmington, Del. This is the first time around for a new fall version of the festival in Sussex County. Details. |
OC bike week
• Ocean City (Md.) Bike Week is Sept. 13-16. A slew concerts, parties, vendors, & more. Details.
• Delmarva Bike Week offers more concerts & activities at Shorebirds Stadium in Salisbury, Md. Details.
• Snow Hill, Md. hosts a “Ride to Sturgis” backroads trip on Sat., Sept. 15 that ends on the waterfront in Sturgis Park. Scroll to date for details. |
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SAN DOMINGO!
Ever driven past a sign pointing the way to little San Domingo (near Sharptown, Md.) and wondered, “What’s the story with that place and its crazy name?” Well, the free black community there is the topic of a talk on Wed., Sept. 12 in Salisbury. Details. |
dead folks talking!
The Elkton Cemetery Walk on Fri., Sept. 7 is going to be a living-history affair, in which you will meet departed mayors, suffragettes, and others talking about the way things were back when they were alive a century ago. Details. |
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10,000!
While enduring some dreaded accounting tasks recently, I figured out that my two books just passed a sweet milestone. Thanks to you all, more than 10,000 copies of the two Secrets of the Eastern Shore guidebooks have been sold.
You can find info on the two books here and here. You bet I'm hard at work on the next one; and hey, did I remember to say THANK YOU?!?! |
flying High
This year’s edition of the popular Easton Airport Day is Sat., Sept. 15. No worries: “The World Famous Rubber Chicken Drop” is back!
There will be airplane & helicopter rides available, plus a mass flyover, a big jet pull, & more. Details. |
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September's best block parties & art festivals
• The Brandywine Festival of the Arts in Wilmington, Del. on Sept. 8-9 is generally ranked among the top 100 events of its kind in the whole country. Details.
• The end-of-season Sunfest bash at the Inlet in Ocean City, Md. is Sept. 20-23, with scores of artists & craftspeople, live music, and lots of other stuff. Details. (FYI, there is a Kite Festival in OC that same weekend.)
• The 40th Annual Bethany Beach (Del.) Boardwalk Arts Festival is Sat., Sept. 8. Details.
 • Fall Fest ’18 in Elkton, Md. is Sept. 14-15. Music, contests, crafters, more. Details.
• This year’s Worcester County Fair had to be rescheduled because of all the rain we got a while back. It’s finally going to happen Sept. 14-16 in Snow Hill, Md. Details.
• There is an Art in the Park event slated for downtown Stevensville, Md. on Sat., Sept. 22. Details.
• Loockerman Street in downtown Dover, Del. will be closed to traffic for OctDoverFest on Sat., Sept. 22. Lots of local brews, spirits, food trucks, and live music. Details.
• On Sun., Sept. 23, the 41st annual Dorchester Center for the Arts Showcase will have artisans and craftspeople lining gorgeous High Street between downtown and the waterfront. Details. |
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play with fire
Furnacetown Living Heritage Village near Snow Hill, Md. is offering a day-long class in blacksmithing. Designed for beginners, it runs 9am-4pm on Sat., Sept. 15. Details. |
book it!
• The History Book Festival in Lewes, Del. Sept. 28-29 features appearances and talks by 20-plus best-selling authors who specialize in times gone by. Details.
• On Sat., Sept. 1, writer Earl Swift will be signing books at Sundial Bookstore in Chincoteague, Va., 11am-1pm, A nationally recognized talent, Swift’s new book is titled Chesapeake Requiem: A Year with the Watermen of Vanishing Tangier Island. Details. |
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show time!
Secrets of the Eastern Shore is thrilled that our own Jill Jasuta Photography is among the select regional artists who got admitted to the juried marketplace at the aforementioned National Folk Festival in Salisbury, Md., Sept. 7-9. The talent pool in that Festival Marketplace is first rate, so be sure and look for us & our fellow artists and craftspeople at the corner of Camden & Market streets, right near Acorn Market. Here is the whole marketplace lineup. (The photo of Jill here is by our friend Hal Roth.)
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Grab a paddle
• New to kayaking? The Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center in Graysonville, Md. has four beginner-oriented paddles set for dates in September and October. Details.
• The Sultana Education Foundation in Chestertown, Md. sponsors kayak trips, too. There are five more left this season, including a full-moon affair. Details.
• Delmarva Birding Adventures is leading one kayak expedition near Milton, Del. on Sat., Sept. 29, and another near Laurel, Del. on Sun., Sept 30. |
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SEPTEMBER TUNES: The month's top music fests
• The Nassawango Bluegrass Festival is Sept. 7-8 at Furnacetown Living Heritage Village near Snow Hill, Md.. Details.
 • Belle Haven, Va. is the site of the 6th annual Craft Beer and Music Festival put on by the ESO Arts Center. Details.
• The Chestertown (Md.) Jazz Festival is Sept. 6-10. The Sean Jones Quartet (pictured) is on the main-day bill Sat., Sept. 8 in Wilmer Park. Details.
• They will be closing the streets of downtown Cambridge for GrooveFest on Sat., Sept. 15. Soul, rockabilly, and blues are on the bill. Local restaurants will be serving up BBQ, too. Details.
• The Freeman Stage in Selbyville, Del. will host its annual Arts & Jazz Festival on Sat., Sept. 15. Details.
• The Berlin (Md.) Fiddler’s Festival is a hugely popular annual affair coming up Sept. 21-23 in the downtown. Headline bluegrass act is Only Lonesome. Details.
• Folk music fans will want to head to little Hartly, Del., which is west of Dover along the backroads near the Maryland line. That’s the site of the 27th Annual Delmarva Folk Festival on Sept. 28-29. Details.
• The Fortify Music Festival at Fort DuPont in Delaware City, Del. on Sat., Sept. 29 looks to be a hard-rocking affair. Kashmir is headlining. Details. |
GLOBE TROTTING
• There is a Korean Festival in Wilmington, Del. Sat., Sept. 29. There will be both traditional dancing and hyper-modern K-Pop moves. Details.
• Festival Hispano in Georgetown, Del. is Sat., Sept. 16. Holy cow—bachata superstar Luis Vargas on Delmarva! Details.
• The St. Hedwig’s Polish Festival runs Mon. through Sat., Sept. 24-29 on the riverfront in Wilmington, Del. Details.
• Go German at the Delaware Saengerbund Oktoberfest celebration, Sept. 21-23 in Newark, Del. Details. |
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go native (1)
If you have ever wanted to learn about Delaware’s native Lenape Indians, this is the month. The Delaware Division of Historical & Cultural Affairs has a dozen events devoted “The First People of the First State.” Highlights:
• Dancing, demonstrations, and more at the old State House in Dover on Sat., Sept. 1
• Early “American Indian Melodies” (at 78 RPM) at the Johnson Victrola Museum, also in Dover, on Sat., Sept. 1 and Mon., Sept. 3.
• Lenape-centered talks on history, women's roles, archaeology, DNA research, and more.
Whole list here.
(Pictured: Lenape women in 1915.) |
go native (2)
The 41st annual Nanticoke Indian Powwow is the weekend of Sept. 8-9 in Millsboro, Del. There well be drumming, singing, dancing, traditional foods, and more. Details. |
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sharptown!
This little Wicomico County, Md. town will celebrate Heritage Day on Sat., Sept. 15. The parade is at 10am. Alas, I don't think the local fire department has a band anymore, so the guys pictured here won't be marching. Details. |
web gems: New stories on the secrets website
• QUOTE OF THE DAY: Traveling to Tolchester Beach in 1879. Link.
 • How a Big Hurricane on Aug. 22, 1933 Created the Ocean City We Know Today. Link.
• SITES & STOPS: The Historic Pine Street Corridor of Cambridge, Md. Link.
• How This Little Backroads Chapel Evokes the Stories in James Michener’s Novel, Chesapeake. Link.
• QUOTE OF THE DAY: The Heyday of Garment Factories in Crisfield, Md. Link.
• TUBMAN TRAVELS: Sailing a Steamboat South to Freedom. Link.
• QUOTE OF THE DAY, 1907: Those Newfangled Skipjacks “Are as Cheap as Anything in the Form of a Boat Could Be” Link.
• QUOTE OF THE DAY: A Shocking Discovery in the Dunes of Fenwick Island. Link. |
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pass it on
Can I ask a favor? If you have family, friends, or co-workers who might find this monthly newsletter fun & useful, go ahead and forward it to them.
The more, the merrier! Have a great month, everybody. Happy wandering! |
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