Leonardtown will host its inaugural Waterfront Celebration — a day of historical replay, new traditions, futurist vision and just plain fun — on Saturday, Sept. 13, from noon till 5 p.m. on the town square.
“The day is part of Leonardtown 350th anniversary year,” said Mayor J. Harry Norris III. It will also host the very first sailboat race between St. Mary’s Ryken and Leonardtown High School.
“I believe the race is called the St. Mary’s Ryken/Leonardtown High School Challenge Cup, Norris said.
“When I was a kid,” he added, “we used to watch hydroplane races from the dock before the old one burned down. This will be the first time there is an organized race on Leonardtown’s Breton Bay in 35 years.
“Its great to bring back our heritage like this,” Norris commented nostalgically, and “I foresee the race becoming a match both schools will take a continued interest in.”
The Waterfront Celebration also has an extremely important, well-thought out theme: the environmental health of Southern Maryland and Breton Bay, a topic we all must understand is critical to our future, said Helen Dorsey, chairwoman of the Waterfront Celebration Committee
“There has been so much development in the watershed, Dorsey said. “I am not sure the environment can take much more.”
Exhibitors at the celebration — the Maryland Dept of the Environment, Department of Natural Resources, Sultana Project, St. Mary’s County Recycling and Solid Waste Advisory Council, Chesapeake Bay Field Lab, Lower Tributary Team, Calvert Marine Museum, St. Clements Island and Piney Point Museums, Blackistone Lighthouse Foundation, Antique Boat and Motor Collections and the Power Squadron — will educate visitors on simple steps to reduce waste, reuse materials and recycle,
“Even though I won’t eat anything from there today and the Potomac Tributary team has rated it the worst, I know we can save Breton Bay,” Dorsey said.
“We have a history of environmental advocacy,” she added, Georgie Guy organized Pitch In about trash pickup in Leonardtown in the ’70s. “He was an environmentalist before anybody knew the word,” Dorsey said.
The Waterfront Celebration Committee decided to emphasize environmental education, she added because “given today’s challenges it is important for us all to pitch in.”
Exhibitors at the celebration will help visitors learn about recycling; xeriscape, drought-resistant planting; and planting native plants. “It’s about learning to take small steps to reverse the destruction that plagues Breton Bay today,” Dorsey said, adding she hopes area residents will realize the negative impact of President Bush recently vetoing the farm bill.
“My hope is Marylanders and state’s environment department will create a petition that could override the veto,” she said, taking a moment to recheck her list of activities during the Waterfront Celebration.
St. Mary’s Ryken Pep Band, the Leonardtown High School Band, the 22-voice Potomac Voices and strolling mistral David Norris will perform. There will be keel boat and dinghy races open to everyone, guided kayak and canoe excursions on the bay, crab races and craft workshops. Exhibits will include one on the James Adams Floating Theatre’s visits to Leonardtown, which w