Shopping for boat storage can be a confounding rabbit hole of frustration and disappointment. Once you’ve already found, financed, and refurbished your dreamboat, finding it the perfect home may seem like an afterthought—until you begin perusing the smorgasbord of options.

 Local floral designer Melissa Huston, part of the Schaffer Design team, was recently awarded “Best in Show” at the Philadelphia International Flower Show. Huston, who is the lead designer for Intrigue Floral Design in Annapolis, was in Philadelphia working with the design team the entire week before the show.

This year’s theme is ‘Hawaii: Islands of Aloha.’ The Schaffer Design team, led by Bill Schaffer AIFD and Kris Kratt AIFD, created a dynamic lava flow featuring over 5,000 stems of tropical flowers. Their display, titled ‘Pele: Goddess of Fire,’ utilizes two types of Hawaiian anthurium, eight varietals of heleicona, Oncidium orchids, Pincushion protea, and Gloriosa. The display is highlighted with LED lights and smoke effects to mimic the flow of hot lava, complete with three large bursts of lava reaching over 20 feet into the air.

This is Huston’s second time as a member of the winning design team. Last year Huston was featured at the Flower Show with a solo showcase design and worked with the Schaffer Design team on the “Best in Show” display titled “An American in Paris.”

The Philadelphia International Flower Show is the largest indoor flower show in the world. The winning display can be seen March 4-11 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

Hospice Cup XXXI is kicking off its 2012 season celebrating local sailors Cedric Lewis and Fredrik Salvesen who won the Hospice Regattas National Championship last year. A special presentation of the national perpetual trophy will take place at Boatyard Bar Grill in Annapolis on Thursday, March 8, 2012, from 7-9 pm.

Tilghman’s Jewelers donated this sterling silver trophy in 2003 when the championship’s home was Annapolis. Boatyard Bar & Grill is the trophy’s home between championships, where it sits on display in the Storm Trysail Club Chesapeake trophy case. As part of this special event, Boatyard Bar & Grill will be providing special Hospice Cup drinks in conjunction with their full moon celebration.

“We are so excited to award this special trophy to Cedric and Fredrik. They have demonstrated excellent sportsmanship and enduring support for the annual Hospice Cup event,” says Brien Jones-Lantzy, Hospice Cup President.

In September 2011, Cedric and Fredrik qualified again to represent Hospice Cup in the Hospice Regattas National Championship on April 20-22, 2012 in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Hospice Cup XXXI – America's largest charity regatta – will be held on Saturday, September 22, 2012 on the Chesapeake Bay. Entering its 31st year of racing, to date Hospice Cup has raised more than $8 million to support hospice programs in local communities around the Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. area.

About Hospice Cup

Hospice Cup funds help to pay the expenses not covered by Medicare or private insurance. These dollars enable the hospices to provide skilled compassionate care, comfort and dignity to the terminally ill, their families and friends, regardless of their ability to pay. Hospice enables patients to carry on alert, pain-controlled lives so their last days may be spent in comfort, at home or in home-like settings. Hospice care concentrates on care, not cure. Bereavement counseling and support groups are part of hospice services after the loss of a loved one.

The annual Hospice Cup regatta is a cooperative effort. It is organized by the all-volunteer Hospice Cup, Inc. (HCI) Board of Directors, an Executive Director, participating area hospices and hundreds of volunteers. The race is managed by Shearwater Sailing Club and assisted by Storm Trysail Club Chesapeake Station.

The 2012 participating nonprofit hospices include: Capital Caring, Hospice of the Chesapeake, and Montgomery Hospice.

The Hospice Cup race is sanctioned by the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Racing Association (CBYRA) and counts for CBYRA season-long High Point competition. Hospice Cup, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization chartered under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia for the purposes of conducting a benefit yacht race and related events. Hospice Cup, Inc. is also a proud member of the National Hospice Regatta Alliance. Learn more at www.hospicecup.org.

About Hospice Regattas National Championship

The annual championship is a program of the National Hospice Regatta Alliance, a network of hospice regattas nationwide inspired the first hospice regatta, Hospice Cup. The championship, which moves location every few years, celebrates the accomplishments of these regattas that have netted over $16 million for hospice care in their communities. Learn more at www.hospiceregattas.org.

Highlighting the Women’s History Month Celebration in March at Anne Arundel Community College is an afternoon writers reading and an evening lecture by National Public Radio journalist, author and Wiccan priestess Margot Adler.

Adler will read excerpts from her books, Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers and Other Pagans in America Today (1979) and Heretic's Heart: A Journey Through Spirit and Revolution (1997), at 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 7 for the “Writers Reading @ AACC” 2011-2012 series. During the reading, she plans to discuss her current project involving the sociocultural factors driving a renewed focus on vampires in American literature. Adler recently aired a related story for NPR’s “All Things Considered” entitled “For Love Of Do-Good Vampires: A Bloody Book List.” 

The AACC Bookstore will have copies of “Drawing Down the Moon” for sale at the reading from 12:30-1:10 p.m. for those wishing to purchase a signed copy of the book. The reading takes place in the AACC Center for Applied Learning and Technology Room 107 on the Arnold campus. Book sales will also take place 30 minutes before the evening lecture, which takes place in the same building but in Room 100.

Adler’s 7 p.m. presentation is entitled “Walking in Many Worlds: Margot Adler Reflects on Journalism, Activism and Spirituality.” An NPR correspondent based in New York, Adler covers a variety of topics for NPR’s “All Things Considered,” “Morning Edition” and “Evening Edition.” Her most recent stories were “Knicks Star Jeremy Lin Captures Big Apple's Heart ,” “Warm Winter Leads To Early Blooms In Northeast” and “Film Noir: Weegee Was His Name; Murder Was His Game.”

She also has prepared detailed features involving the controversial proposal to build the Islamic Cultural Center near Ground Zero in NYC, effects of budget cuts on education, the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy, the death penalty and affirmative action.

Her reports for NPR’s Arts desk included the first American radio interview with J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series; the fad of Percy Jackson books and popularity of vampires. From 1999-2008 she hosted NPR’s “Justice Talking” weekly show about constitutional controversies in American courts. This longtime correspondent also covered the winter Olympics in Calgary in 1988 and in Sarajevo in 1984.

Her book “Drawing Down the Moon” is a study of contemporary nature religions. She co-produced the award-winning radio drama “War Day” and has created and hosted live talks shows at a New York City station.
 

The reading is sponsored by the AACC Cultural Events Committee. Sponsoring the lecture are the AACC Women’s History Month Committee, Student Activities and the Gender and Sexuality Studies Department. Both events are free. For writers reading information contact Susan Cohen, 410-777-2545 or  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . For information on the evening lecture contact Jaquelyn Lyman, 410-777-2802 or  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The Arnold campus is at 101 College Parkway.

The United Way of Queen Anne’s County is pleased to announce its annual awards banquet/fundraiser on Saturday, April 14th from 6-9pm at Prospect Bay Country Club in Grasonville.  This is Queen Anne’s County’s most beautiful event!

Talbot County Department of Social Services Share Child Support Successes Through Community Lunch ‘n Learns