Garrett County youngsters will attend performances Friday
For the Cumberland Times-News Cumberland Times-News
MCHENRY — The Mountain Maryland Gateway to the West Heritage Area in Garrett County and Garrett Lakes Arts Festival will present a Star Spangled 200-sponsored event, Maryland in the War of 1812 — A Living History Event.
The project focuses on bringing the commemoration of the War of 1812 to Garrett County middle school students and also provides opportunities for residents and visitors to participate in Maryland’s Star Spangled 200 activities. The project is made possible by the Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission.
Award-winning actress and Smithsonian scholar Mary Ann Jung, playing Rosalie Stier Calvert, will provide an interactive presentation. The performance will explain the importance of the War of 1812 and how that era affected the newly independent United States of America.
On Friday, performances will be held at Garrett College for fourth-, fifth- and eighth-grade Garrett County students.
Rosalie Stier married George Calvert in 1799 and became mistress of his plantation, Mount Albion. When her father died, he left his plantation in Bladensburg, Riversdale Plantation, to her — not her husband, which was the custom. Participants will learn what it meant to be in charge of two growing plantations in early 1800s Maryland.
Audience members will become the British versus the Americans to better understand the important war and relive the dramatic Battle of Bladensburg — and find out how close it came to Calvert’s beloved Riversdale. “The Star-Spangled Banner” by Francis Scott Key, who married Calvert’s friend Polly, will be included in the performance.
Educational resources re-lating to the war will be purchased for middle school teachers, including books, videos and a traveling trunk, created by the Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum. The trunk focuses on life during the war for all Marylanders and contains 11 lesson plans and many hands-on objects, including flint and steel kits, period clothing and games, and books.
The Maryland in the War of 1812 — A Living History Event will be the grand finale for the project. The free celebration, scheduled for May 17-18 at the Garrett County Fairgrounds, will include War of 1812 speakers and re-enactors; period music performed by musicians and singers in period garb; and displays and education information, including a U.S. Navy display covering its involvement with the War of 1812. Event hours are 5 to 8 p.m. May 17 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 18.
More information is available online at www.visitdeepcreek.com or by calling 888-387-5237.
