River Days Expand for More Family Fun
Anne Arundel County’s River Days festivals are back for another year—now expanded to include five family-friendly festivals.
Hosted by the Anne Arundel County Executive’s Office, the festivals are an effort to introduce the community to its local rivers and teach them about the rivers’ environmental impact.
“Watching families experience the magic of our rivers for the first time at our festivals last year was an incredible experience,” says County Executive Steuart Pittman, in a news release. “By hosting five festivals this year, even more families will get the opportunity to get out on the water, celebrate our local rivers and learn how to protect them.”
Each festival provides public water access and water activities, environmental educators, live music, food trucks, games, crafts, face painting and more.
The first of these festivals took place in June, with four more to come this summer.
Two will be held in Annapolis, at the Annapolis Maritime Museum Park in partnership with Chesapeake Regional Accessible Boating and Annapolis Sailing School (July 20) and at Quiet Waters Park (Aug. 25).
The others will be held at West River Center, in West River (Aug. 11) and Fort Smallwood Park, in Pasadena (Sept. 14).
All festivals run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Entry and boat rides are free, but the latter must be reserved separately for a specific time slot. Registration is required and opens a month prior to each event. Capacity is limited. Register here.
Annapolis Arts Week
Last month, Anne Arundel County hosted a month of arts-related access and activities in response to growing interest in the community.
What began as Annapolis Arts Week became four weeks of events, exhibits, live music, workshops, galleries, festivals, performances and more, led by AND Creative Studio and the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County.
“With Annapolis Arts Week gaining momentum over the last few years, we noticed more and more conversation about how the arts create an impact throughout the entire county,” says Darin Gilliam, co-founder of AND Creative, in a news release.
This year’s expansion included three additional weeks of programming, including North County and South County arts weeks and an Artist’s Week.
Among offerings were opportunities for families to introduce their children to the arts, through activities such as Paint Your Pal, in which little ones could paint a portrait of their favorite plush, a family drop-in art night and Children’s Theatre of Annapolis’ Celebrate YOU Day, uplifting the diversity of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Collaboration and inclusion were dominant themes at this year’s arts celebrations, which included pre-Pride Parade prep at the Annapolis Arts Hub, a post-Pride hangout, a multi-cultural festival and more.
