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AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

An unexpectedly fine fall day, a miniature city of colorful tents on the Park Plaza parking lot, and a host of costumed children carrying bags of candy could mean only one thing. SHOPTBERFEST with a Trick or Treat Twist was happening. The annual event hosted by the Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber of Commerce has become one of Anne Arundel County’s largest Shop Local events.

According to Chamber CEO Liz League, the number of SHOPTOBERFEST vendors grew substantially from past years. (We counted more than forty before losing track.) Not only had the number of families attending the event increased but the number of dedicated shoppers had also increased. League, in fact, deemed the turnout “terrific”.

Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services owners Winsome Brown and Danielle Morgan Brown observed that their booth had been busy. They and staff members Mia and Mikayla Alexander spent the day talking with visitors. Having already given out all but one of the attractive bags embellished with their company’s logo, they began to worry if the candy supply would hold out.

Since Lean On Dee was once again a SHOPTOBERFEST Gold Sponsor, Danielle stepped up to be a first-time judge for the Kids’ Costume Contest. She later mentioned to County Council member Amanda Fiedler that she found the experience fun.

Music is always a wonderful part of all of the Chamber’s Shop Local events. For SHOPTOBERFEST, attendees were treated to recorded music from DJ Michael K as well as live music from several groups. We very much enjoyed listening to a tuneful trio from the cast of The Children’s Theatre of Annapolis production of “West Side Story” singing a lovely rendition of “I Feel Pretty”.

CottonWood in the Park owner Julie Antinucci used her “witching ways” to conjure up a display reminding us that the textile arts are alive and well in Severna Park. The store has done so well during its first year of operation that Julie and husband D.J. expanded their space at 548 Benfield Road to include a separate classroom for their popular adult and children’s sewing classes. The couple would be celebrating CottonWood’s one-year anniversary the following day, October 12th.

Meanwhile, drumbeats echoing from the SHOPTOBERFEST performance space alerted us to the fact that it was time for a demonstration by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi. In addition to the ever-popular Lion Dance and martial arts and self-defense demonstrations, the crowd was treated to a masterful Tai Chi sword demonstration by “shifu” Billy Greer. Greer was wearing a Chinese Ming Dynasty HanFu uniform he was given while serving as an official for the US Challenge Tournament.

Once again Gold Sponsors for SHOPTOBERFEST, Billy and Nancy Greer announced that Jing Ying Institute will be hosting an Open House in celebration of the Arnold-based school’s 25th Anniversary on November 15.

Quentin Oliver was a busy greeting SHOPTOBERFEST attendees at the Atlantic Blue Water Service’s tent. Not only was Oliver handing out candy for the children, but he was also offering free water testing to those signing up for it. He was also raffling off an under-kitchen-sink water filtering system.

Mathnasium, located in Park Plaza, always takes part in SHOPTOBERFEST and other Shop Local events so we’ve seen them many times. But this year, we made time to chat with lead instructor Rachel Graves and learned that the tutoring center helps students K-12 make sense of math and make it interesting for them.

“We believe we can change lives through math,” Graves said. “We generally teach 150 to 200 kids a week.

We had great fun visiting the Thrifter Chicks tent where “good witch” Heather McPhee and her sister Maria Carlton were showcasing some of their smart sustainable style clothing and pieces of China including a wonderful vintage turkey platter. We chatted with McPhee while Carlton was picking out a vintage dress for a customer. We discovered they are located with Local By Design at The Gallery at 1818 Margaret Drive in Annapolis.

“We love being part of the Design District off Chinquapin & West Street where the warehouses are for working artists and designers,” McPhee said.

She also introduced us to her daughter Vivian who was just back from winning the children’s costume contest. She then pointed out a whole rack of Halloween costumes in one corner – just a few of those that the Thrifter Chicks had been giving to children for free.

Gotta Have HeART Art Studio owners Christine Martel and Jennifer MacRobbie (seen below) invited SHOPTOBERFEST attendees to come to their Paint a Pumpkin Party.

There were two tables and a wheelbarrow of pumpkins for pumpkin painters to use. We learned from Jennifer MacRobie that the studio, which is located at Park Plaza, offers inspiring art classes and creative programs for all ages.

Lastly, with such an elegant and classy image of Fred Astaire to draw the eye, how could we resist visiting the Fred Astaire Dance Studio tent where instructors Alex and Ashley greeted us. Visitors to the tent were encouraged to sign up for a chance to win a free dance lesson.

With four dozen vendors to check out, we weren’t even able to get to the booths of some of our favorite businesses like Kwon’s Tae Kwando, Fieldstone Animal Inn and Side Street Framers & Gift Gallery. We noted, however, that the flow of shoppers from booth to booth was excellent.

Liz League felt that this year’s event was a huge success and reminded us that the Chamber still has lots of community activities to enjoy – especially as the holidays approach. It’s easiest to follow them at Facebook.

Severna Park Community Center kicks off 30th Anniversary Celebration

Severna Park Community Center invites the public to join them this Friday (October 17) in celebrating 30 years with an Open House from 6:30 am to 6:30 pm. There will be giveaways, free activities throughout the day and a Birthday Party on the Patio from 5:30 to 6:30 pm.

Admiral Cleaners’ Call for Coats

Admiral Cleaners is organizing a coat drive to collect, clean and distribute thousands of coats to those in need throughout October and November with the support of local charities.

Families can donate their seldom used or outgrown coats by dropping them off at any of four Admirals Cleaners locations. For the location nearest you, visit Admiral Cleaners: Professional Dry Cleaning & Laundry or call 410-267-8381.

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility whilereducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Bicycle Advocates for Annapolis and Anne Arundel County (Bike AAA) president Jon Korin enjoys pointing out the host of positive developments for area riders that the organization is responsible for. He and Sandy Bishop, manager for Bike AAA’s Cycling Without Age program, were eager to discuss some of those achievements.

The pair were fresh from being heavily involved in this year’s Lifeline 100 Century Ride on October 5th. The event was hosted by Bike AAA in partnership with the Anne Arundel County Police Department and the Anne Arundel County Department of Recreation & Parks. In fact, Korin was wearing the Lifeline 100 t-shirt issued to each participant in the ride..

It was only fitting that Korin and Bishop met me over coffee at Tom Caraker Plaza behind The Big Bean Coffee Shop. The late Caraker, best known as “The Mayor of the B&A Trail” and prominent Trailblazers member, had been one of Lifeline 100’s most ardent supporters. (The sign for the 2025 event was still posted as can be seen in the opening photo. Korin and Bishop also wanted to show off the sign honoring their friend Tom Caraker.)

The plaza is popular no matter what the weather. It’s a great place for trail users to stop for a breather and a bottle of water or an icy beverage from The Big Bean in the summer or a cup of hot coffee or cocoa in the cooler months. Food is available from the shops behind Tom Caraker Plaza as well.

According to Korin, Bike AAA’s mission is pretty much the same today as when it was launched in January of 2013, originally as a project of Leadership Anne Arundel.

“We are an all-volunteer 501C3 with the mission to promote safe cycling for transportation, recreation and fitness for people of all ages and all abilities,” he said. “We do that by advocating for more safe places to ride, better laws that protect people who are traveling outside of a vehicle be it on foot, bicycle, scooter, assisted device, scooter or other means – vulnerable road users as they’re called.”

Bike AAA has developed a variety of programs that promote cycling and safety for every age and ability.

Wheels of Hope is a bicycle refurbishment program. Volunteers collect and fix donated used bicycles of all kinds for men, women and children of all ages. Once refurbished, the program provides the bikes back to the community to people who rely on them and might not otherwise have a bike.

“A majority of our adult bikes go to people in substance abuse programs who, typically, are unable to drive. Yet, they need to get around in order to get to a job interview or a job, to attend an AA meeting, or get wherever they need to go,” Korin said.

Each bike Wheels of Hope restores and donates goes out with a helmet, bike lock and light. The program delivers hundreds of bikes a year all over Anne Arundel County through counsellors and recovery programs. They also work with a variety of partners connected with underserved youth and provide bikes to summer camps in the Annapolis area. At holiday time, Wheels of Hope provides children’s bikes to many organizations.

Another important program is Cycling Without Age. Sandy Bishop discovered an already existing Cycling Without Age program while searching for an adaptive bike for one of her daughters who rides a bike to work.

“We found that the program had been started for seniors with mobility issues in Copenhagen in 2012 and reached Wisconsin in the United States in 2014. But there wasn’t such a program here,” she said. “I met with Jon Korin and asked if Bike AAA would support such an initiative and he said yes.”

From there, it was a matter of making connections within the community for Bishop. The first connection she made through the Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber of Commerce was with Sunrise Assisted Living’s executive director who, German by birth, was familiar with cycling and fully embraced having a Cycling Without Age program. Sunrise subsequently provided a location for storage of the program’s equipment.

“We, in turn, offer rides to Sunrise residents and really to anyone in the community. In addition, we offer them to residents of Spring Arbor, Brightview, The Sheridan and Heartlands,” she noted.

Now in its third year of operation, Cycling Without Age provides rides for seniors with mobility limitations or dementia patients and typically uses the B &A Trail. From pick-up to drop off the rides last an hour and the passengers love it.

The program uses three adaptive trishaw bikes that have seats in front with good visibility for passengers while a pilot operates the bike from the back. All the pilots are Bike AAA volunteers. A few have been high school students. However, most pilots are 50 or 60 years of age, and one is 83. The trishaws are electric assist and are designed to be easy to ride but they require a little bit of height to see over the canopy.

Bishop arrived for our meeting at Tom Caraker Plaza peddling her own personal cargo bike which she regularly uses, among other things, for transporting tools or equipment and for shopping.

Bike AAA also runs various bike events, the biggest being Sunday’s Lifeline 100 Century Ride which was a great success. The annual fundraiser for people of all ages and abilities includes rides of various lengths and types including trail rides and children’s rides. There is also a special bike rodeo for kids.

“It’s a really wonderful charity event with all proceeds going to local non-profits,” Korin noted. “From 2014 on, we’ve generated over $400,000 for the non-profits choosing five or six different ones each year.”

Bike AAA even offers local charities the opportunity to use the event as a fundraising platform for their own organizations (with everything already taken care of from routes and food to permitting and bike techs.)

As bike safety advocates, Korin and Bike AAA representatives meet with multiple levels of local and state governments working to get bills passed. Though they’re advocating for cyclists, they are, as importantly, advocating for pedestrians too.

Both Bishop and Korin have been pleased to see Anne Arundel County making progress in creating safer conditions for cyclists. They established a Bike Advisory Commission in 2015 and, where there were no bike lanes on roadways before, there now are some and hopefully will be more. They’ve even created traffic-free Bike Safety Parks where children can learn and practice safe riding techniques.

Lastly, the county has created a system of trails that are safe for riders. They include:

The B & A Trail running 13 miles from Annapolis to Glen Burnie over the former route of the Annapolis and Baltimore Short Line Railroad.

The WB&A Trail running 13 miles from Odenton to Lanham over the former route of the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway.

The still-being-completed Broadneck Trail starting at Anne Arundel Community College and running all the way from Cape St. Claire to Sandy Point State Park.

The newest South Shore Trail being built from Annapolis through Crownsville to the WB&A Trail in Odenton.

As we concluded our meeting, Bishop and Korin reiterated that Bike AAA hopes to persuade more people to leave the car home and bike to where they need to go for obvious reasons. It’s good for the environment, good for easing congestion, good for health and a good way to save money.

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility whilereducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

The Park Hardware/Zeskind’s 100th Anniversary celebration began early in the morning on September 20th. The atmosphere both inside the store and outside on the parking lot was welcoming and shoppers arriving by 8 am were treated to a Glazey Day donut.

Honoring the company’s 100 years in hardware, September 20th was also the day customers could redeem Park Bucks they’d earned. For every $1 spent between August 1 and September 19, shoppers earned $10 in Park Bucks. Thus, there was an air of expectation.

A string of events was scheduled throughout the day including a Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting ceremony. Chamber CEO Liz League officiated introducing three generations of the family business including third-generation owners Rick Miller, Sr. and wife Deborah, fourth-generation owner Rick Miller, Jr., his wife Joannie, daughter Chloe and son Jax. Chloe officially became a fifth-generation member of the family business when she joined the Park Hardware/Zeskind’s staff earlier this year.

League and the Millers reflected that the family business was started in 1925 by Rick’s grandfather and grandmother Sam and Rose Zeskind at the corner of McHenry and Payson Streets in Baltimore. Rick, Sr. grew up working with his grandfather at that store and, in 1973, he and wife Deborah bought the store from Sam.

Like his father, Rick Miller, Jr. worked at Zeskind’s from the time he was 13. Later he became its vice-president with a 50% ownership, grew the business and completed a buyout of Zeskind’s in 2019, opening a showroom in Arnold. In April of 2023, Miller arranged to buy Clement Hardware from Gordon Clement renaming the store Park Hardware and folding the Zeskind’s showroom into the back half of the building. Rick, Sr. is still very much involved with the hardware side of the business.

We found Rick, Jr. later in the day as he chatted with numerous friends, business associates and customers. Asked how the day had gone, he beamed with pleasure.

“It’s been a great day with the family getting together, even one of the Zeskind sisters (that grew up working in the store with Sam) was here,” he said. “The turnout has been wonderful with demonstrations for attendees to see, raffles to enter and great food to sample from the vendors you see located around the parking lot.”

Go Melvo Sno-Balls and the Tacos Friday truck opened their windows to shoppers for free servings at staggered times of the day.

Both Milwaukee Tools and Napoleon Grills began demonstrations and giveaways at 11:30 pm. The team from Napoleon Grills went on with their demonstrations for quite some time, grilling meats and handing out samples to anniversary celebration customers who loved them. Park Hardware/Zeskind’s also sponsored a raffle to win a Napoleon Rogue 425 Grill.

There was even an interior paint class in the parking lot at 3 pm with Bob Appolin. All-in-all a pretty fine way for the Park Hardware/Zeskind’s family to celebrate its 100th year in the hardware business. Topping off the day for many was a visit to the Zeskind’s Showroom where an abundance of doors, windows and hardware awaited them.

On entering its 101st year, the store has many more offers and activities planned. To stay abreast of what’s happening, visit Facebook.

Pumphrey’s Farm Produce Stand, an echo of Anne Arundel County’s agricultural past

By September 22nd, autumn had officially begun and there was much to see in our area. Nothing says “harvest time” like a wagonload of pumpkins – especially if they are the smaller pie pumpkins cooks are so fond of. We found them at Pumphrey’s Farm Produce Stand at 8220 Veterans Highway in Millersville.

From the rustic sign off Veteran’s Highway to the aging and weatherworn building, the Pumphrey’s Farm produce stand is one of few remaining vestiges of Anne Arundel County’s storied agricultural past. And I ask you, where else will you find homegrown lima beans?

We were cheered to find farmer Nat Pumphrey behind the counter as usual telling all who’d like to listen about his beautiful vegetables.

“They come from right here in downtown Millersville,” he says. “We have 4-1/2 acres behind the stand and a larger acreage across I-97.”

A member of the well-known Pumphrey farming family, Nat is proud of his heritage. He said the house he grew up in, behind a big red barn off the southbound side of Interstate 97, was a wedding gift from his great grandparents to his parents. Involved in the farm from an early age, he figures agriculture is in the Pumphrey DNA.

Long-abandoned farm equipment can still be spotted on occasion behind the stand as is the case with this long-abandoned tractor and even old plow beyond the stand.

No doubt, some of the antiques that are also sold by the stand come from the farm as well.

Nat Pumphrey loves to experiment with growing different types of vegetables. The hot peppers he grows are among the fieriest and are prized by chili aficionados. He also grows a wide selection of heirloom tomatoes as well as standard Big Boys and other types suitable for sandwiches.

He offers late season sweet corn as long as it lasts along with a host of melons and vegetables from the farm. As has long been the case, Pumphrey has brought in apples from Baugher’s Farm in Carroll County for the fall season.

And, of course, autumn wouldn’t be autumn at Pumphrey’s Farm Produce Stand without chrysanthemums to decorate the entrance.

Pumphrey’s Farm Produce Stand generally stays open through October until Thanksgiving depending on the weather.

Lifeline 100 Century Ride takes place this Sunday, October 5 at Kinder Farm Park

The Lifeline 100 Century Ride, a rain or shine event benefitting many local charities, takes place this Sunday with both start line and finish line at Kinder Farm Park. Information regarding registration and packet pick-up, ride start times for the 100-mile, 65-mile, 30-mile and 15-mile rides, course markings, rest stop locations, and other pertinent information can be found at Lifeline 100 Rides – Supported Bike Rides For All Riders Throughout Anne Arundel County.

Your hosts for the 2025 Lifeline 100 Rides are the Anne Arundel County Police Department, the Anne Arundel County Department of Recreation & Parks and
Bicycle Advocates for Annapolis & Anne Arundel County (“BikeAAA”).

Art In The Park at Cafe Mezzanotte this Sunday, October 5th

From 1 to 5 pm, the lawns at Cafe Mezzanotte will once more come alive with the sounds of music as the 5th Annual Art In The Park takes place. Presented by The Severna Park Voice and Cafe Mezzanotte, the festival will feature live music by ISHTA with special guest Gracie Jay, local artists and art galleries, a Wine Garden sponsored by Park Hardware/Zeskind’s with 20+ wines, and an All You Can Eat Gourmet Picnic sponsored by KMA Law Office. Tickets at https://checkout.square.site/…/MVIEM4WPWSXXMVUNJX4XEKWS.

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility whilereducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

As we approached the turn lane for Arnold Station off the northbound lanes of Ritchie Highway, we were astonished to see a poster bearing the image of a proud rooster urging the community to “Stop Chick fil A”.

We’d first heard about the Arnold community’s efforts to stop a proposed Chick fil A from being built there during an interview with Arnold Preservation Council director Elizabeth Rosborg in May of 2024. As the council is unable to file an appeal because one can only be filed by a property owner directly involved, Rosborg filed as owner of the property at 18 Severn Way LLC (with the support of the council). We were on the way to meet her near that property along the B&A Trail behind Arnold station when we spied a second colorful poster next to a fence.

A recent article in the Capital Gazette newspaper Business Section by Benjamin Rothstein covered the fourth of six hearings before the Anne Arundel County Board of Appeals. During the first three hearings, Chick fil A outlined their preliminary plan. According to Rothstein, lawyer Dan Fligsten, the attorney representing Rosborg and three witnesses spoke on behalf of the council followed by a brief presentation of Anne Arundel County’s case by assistant county attorney Curran Ritter.

Rosborg noted that the preliminary plan for the Chick fil A has already been approved by the County.

She described the proposed site for the fast-food restaurant, the first Drive-Thru Only Chick fil A in the state of Maryland, as being located off the southbound lanes of Ritchie Highway just past Arnold Road and CVS Pharmacy and between the Sunoco and a private driveway. It is opposite the Arnold Volunteer Fire Department.

“We are not against Chick fil A. In fact, many Arnold residents frequent the Chick fil A just up the highway in Severna Park,” Rosborg said. “Something will be built at the site and we’re not against that. We’re just not for having a Chick fil A at this site from a safety point of view. Traffic is heavy here and, since 2018, there have been three traffic fatalities in proximity to the intersection.”

She further explained that where Rt. 648 merges with Ritchie Highway south, the road expands to three lanes. The far-right lane continues south past Arnold Road until the highway narrows back to two lanes right in front of the proposed Chick fil A.

There is also an issue related specifically to Arnold Road which is illustrated in the map below.

Chick fil A proposes ingress and egress on Ritchie Highway but they also propose to build a road behind the CVS Pharmacy with entrance and exit to/from the site off Arnold Road. Though the Chick fil A would be a Drive-Thru Only property, it would have a window for Door Dash and Grub Hub pick-ups. Thus, it would have a lot with 42 parking spaces – 20 for employees and the remainder for Door Dash and Grub Hub pick-ups or orders from aps.

Drivers leaving Arnold Station shopping center would mix with drivers entering or exiting the road behind the CVS to the Chick fil A site – a possible cause of traffic back-ups.

Anne Arundel County’s largely unchecked development has meant there is bumper-to-bumper traffic on our highways most times of the day, especially on the span of Ritchie Highway (Route 2) running from Route 50 to Route 100.

For Elizabeth Rosborg, the Arnold Preservation Council and the community, the appeal process has been difficult. They are inexperienced in mounting such an effort in opposition to a big corporation and it has also been costly. To go before the Board of Appeals, they’ve had to raise money for three experts – a lawyer, a traffic engineer and a civil engineer who charge expensive by-the-hour fees. There have been other costs for the printing of necessary documents. Sadly, no one from the business community has stepped up to help them so they’ve needed to raise the money via a Go Fund Me page.

Rosberg said the most frustrating thing about the process is that they’ve had no actual communication with Chick fil A and have tried to meet with the County, but that has proved difficult as well.

Two more hearings are scheduled though only one may be needed. The Arnold Preservation Council is hoping to rally enough community members to fill the gallery, which holds 200 people, at the next Board of Appeals hearing which is scheduled for 5 pm October 1st at Arundel Center Council Chambers at44 Calvert Street in Annapolis.

Following public comments at that meeting, the Arnold group will be finished. Anyone is welcome to come to the hearing and speak with two conditions. You must speak on why this development will affect you and you must include what you would like to see built on the site instead. (There have already been three suggestions including one for a public library.)

For more information about the appeal, visit Stop Arnold Chick-Fill A page at Facebook.

Wellness Business Connections Happy Hour a breath of fresh air

The Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber of Commerce’s Wellness Business Connections happy hours are always fun and informative. One of the chamber’s networking groups, Wellness Business Connections was formed several years ago by a collaboration of health-related companies. The informal gatherings are held monthly, often at businesses or restaurants like The Social in Severna Park, and range in size from eight to twenty members depending on the season. Those hosted by longtime chamber member Barbara Gill are among the most looked forward to gatherings.

The happy hour hosted by Gill on September 18th began with members meeting one another in the beautiful garden of her Crownsville home. Seated in comfy chairs with a beverage of choice, they introduced themselves, traded business cards, and chatted about recent films, books, a new form of yoga, and meditation aps.

In attendance were holistic life coach Carrie Baquie, realtor and journalist Loren Edelstein, GYMGUYZ co-owner Lauren Brewington, certified Optiva Coach Jennifer Freeland, Center for Transformative Dentistry owner Yasaman Roland, and Fenix Wellness owner Krista Hernandez.

Gill, a distributor for Melaleuca: The Wellness Company and founder of City Coffee Connections is a most gracious hostess and invited everyone inside to her dining room table where she’d set out a buffet of healthy fruits, salads and other taste tempters.

Once seated in an adjoining studio/office area, Gill called the meeting to order and gave each attendee a chance to formally introduce and explain her business, starting with Jennifer Freeland.

Freeland, from Arnold, noted that she and her husband are Optiva Health Coaches.

“The main areas we focus on are weight loss and maintenance and optimization through personal training,” she said.

Next to speak was Lauren Brewington who owns and operates GYMGUYZ Annapolis & Columbia along with husband Alan.

“We bring the workout to you,” Brewington said. “We do not do the training ourselves but hire six certified professional trainers that will go to your home or wherever you are. We can do group sessions, semi-private sessions or private sessions.”

Krista Hernandez is a certified holistic wellness coach. Her business focuses on helping women relieve stress through, among other things, her Rise & Shine Weekly Women’s Circle that meets every Saturday at Fenix Wellness at 2705 Mountain Road in Pasadena. Hernandez also does Wellness Workshops including an upcoming one on October 3 at Element at Mill Creek, 76 Old Mill Bottom Road in Annapolis.

Loren Edelstein, a realtor with Long & Foster’s Eastport office is also a writer specializing in branding and marketing for small businesses. She can create website content, newsletters or white papers for them.

Carrie Baquie is a holistic conscious transformation coach specializing in helping women in mid-life who have retired from business or whose children are grown that would like to move forward. Held back by subconscious doubt, they are unsure how to go about it. Baquie retrains the subconscious.

Center for Transformative Dentistry owner Yasaman Roland came next. In practice for 15 years, Roland practices functional whole body dentistry for adults and children.

“We focus on a healthy approach to dental care,” said Roland. “We’re devoted to using healthy ingredients, reducing inflammation, using oxygenated ozone for cleaning and standard dentistry because it cleanses the area being worked on and do not use toxic materials or metals.”

Barbara Gill came last, describing Melaleuca as a U.S. company that started 40 years ago to sell Tea Tree Oil. The founders created a product line using seven essential oils and natural ingredients and wanted to sell them in stores but processing them to compete with Proctor & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson would be too expensive. Thus, they created a shopping club where people pay a nominal membership fee and their orders for exceptional products at reasonable prices are delivered to them. Gill produced a product list containing hundreds of Melaleuca products and made a game of selecting a winner based on how many products they could find similar to ones they use. Roland won the contest.

Before ending the meeting, Gill pitched her annual Coffee Connections holiday luncheon that will be held December 2nd at Cafe Mezzanotte this year and will feature “lipologist” Ariana who reads lips based on a lipstick imprint on a card.

As a final bit of fun, Gill handed out little gift bags to each Wellness Connections member as they left.

20th Annversary of Higgins and Friends Pet Sitting celebrated on October 2nd

A quick reminder that Jill Weissenbach will be marking the “20 Plus One” Year Anniversary of Higgins and Friends Pet Sitting, LLC on Thursday, October 2nd from 5 to 6 pm at The Social in Severna Park. For information, visit Facebook.

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility whilereducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Having held her original Homeschool Fair at Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi in Arnold, Macaroni KID Pasadena, publisher Laura McElwain Colquhoun found the success of that event attracted the attention of more than two dozen vendors interested in marketing their services to the homeschool population. Thus, she teamed with friend Gloria who publishes Macaroni KID Annapolis and Macaroni KID Bowie to produce another homeschool fair and searched for a larger venue.

The Severna Park Community Center agreed to host the event this past Friday, September 12th in its spacious Andy Borland gymnasium. A quick count on our arrival revealed that 27 vendors were situated throughout the gym. We were not really surprised to see the community center’s own table set up right past the entrance. SPCC not only has offered a popular home school swim program for several years but is home to many other activities that home school students are drawn to. As can be seen from the opening photograph, there was a constant stream of parents and children at the Severna Park Community Center table throughout the event.

Parallel to SPCC’s table, we found two Severna Park businesses that market their programs to the homeschool community and often partner with each other to hold back-to-back activities. Danielle Bowen from Blended Essentials noted that homeschool kids seem to enjoy the hands-on classes where they not only create products like soaps or candles but must focus on details like measurements for ingredients, essential oils and essences as well as chemical reactions and densities.

With more than two dozen tables to visit, it was interesting to see the parade of parents pushing baby carriages with one or more young children in tow attempting to stop at each and every table. Quite a range of businesses was represented – some familiar but others that we wouldn’t have expected to find at a homeschool event.

A natural starting point for us, was to visit the business with the longest and deepest experience with the homeschooling community – Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi owner Nancy Greer was constantly busy fielding questions.

“Our homeschool Kung Fu program has been going on at Jing Ying Institute from the time we opened 25 years ago,” Greer said. “In fact, we homeschooled our own children who are now successful adults.”

“Back in the 1980s’, my husband Billy and I started a homeschool group. We also had an educational supply company for the homeschool community. It was so unique at the time that Billy appeared on several nationally known television shows to talk about it. He was even quoted about the business in an article in the New York Times. Boy, did we get a lot of calls from that.”

Greer says there are several reasons parents decide to school their kids at home. Some want to provide them a more traditional education and the ability to think for themselves. Others choose homeschooling because their careers are travel dependent. There are also families whose children have an auto immune disease and they can’t be accommodated by the public or private school systems. Occasionally, families chose the homeschool route because their kids were bullied or, on rare occasions, they have a child who was expelled.

Jing Ying Institute’s homeschool Kung Fu classes work well with daytime schedules and are enjoyed by the students. In addition to providing a healthy form of exercise, they are very social and kids easily make friends.

From their own past experience, the Greers realize that homeschool families are often living on one income, so they keep costs reasonable. Since Jing Ying Institute is celebrating its 25th Anniversary, they are presently giving a $25 discount for each child enrolling in a homeschool Kung Fu class.

As we expected, there were a number of familiar vendors, particularly those involved with exercise. One that we’d never heard of, however, was Crossing Currents Aquatics which hosts the Homeschool Hurricanes Intramural Team with 8-week sessions at the Arundel Olympic Swim Center. They also have Swim Squad Intramural Teams at North Arundel Aquatic Center and the Severna Park Racquetball Club and Open Water Swimming in the South River.

Nor had we heard of Skate Zone, a fun activity for homeschoolers with locations in Crofton and Odenton where McKenzie wore skates and Guy operated a prize wheel. Neighboring vendor, Team Randori Martial Arts where owner Al Hogan’s Annapolis-based school teaches Brazilian Jujitsu, was hard to miss thanks to the inflated jujitsu practitioner.

“Homeschool families gravitate to us because our program gives kids physical activity and builds the discipline, self-esteem, and confidence they might otherwise get from a school athletic team,” Hogan said.

With more varied activities in mind, we were pleased to find the Baltimore Area Council for Scouting America table manned by District Executive MacKenzie Cook; Katie Carico, Scoutmaster for Troop 192; and Joe Chope, Cubmaster for Pack 550. All three leaders said their scouting organizations have had homeschool children within their ranks for years because scouting provides the perfect opportunity to learn new skills while being with other kids.

We saw several groups of little girls lead their parents to the Annapolis Dance Academy table so they could get a better look at the photographs they displayed. The school offers ballet and tap classes for children and ballroom classes for teens.

Little boys preferred seeing the live python and other critters at the Eco Adventures table, however, and made a beeline for it.

There was a line of vendors hoping to attract homeschoolers stretched along the back wall of the gym that included Gym Guyz, Wild Hearts Academy and Mathnasium.

For some vendors, it was all about offering useful services. Madeline, from University of Maryland Urgent Care, hoped to acquaint families with the organization’s nearby locations in Pasadena and Glen Burnie. Mindy, from PDS Dentistry for Children in Gambrills said she was surprised to see some of their patients at the homeschool fair. Nicole, from Navy Federal Credit Union, was especially interesting to homeschool parents with middle school and high school aged kids. She was highlighting the Free Financial Workshops being offered for students in that age group that are available at all their branches. She noted that the workshops give students the basics about how to manage their money, explain the difference between a debit and a credit and even teaches them how to write a check.

There were two STEM education vendors – Saphire Rise, Inc. of Gambrills and iCode Severna Park at Benfield Village Shopping Center.

There was so much more to see that we couldn’t take it all in. On our way out, we stopped at the table of Lee Priddy from Priddy Music Academy which offers classes that would be a good fit for homeschoolers.

We couldn’t possibly leave without seeing Jason Kimmell and Amy Schropp from The Children’s Theatre of Annapolis. The theatre has many classes, workshops and camps scheduled at times that would work well for homeschool kids. Lots of good productions with which they might become involved as well.

The Macaroni KID Homeschool Fair seemed to be quite a success and, since the homeschooling movement is growing larger every day, we look forward to a return engagement same time next year.

ShoptoberFest scheduled for October 11 at Park Plaza

The Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber of Commerce has announced that this year’s ShoptoberFest with a TRICK OR TREAT TWIST is scheduled for October 11th from 11 am till 3 pm at Park Plaza. The free event will feature music, shopping, food, trick or treating and a costume contest.

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility whilereducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

And Midas of Annapolis and Pasadena, A family- owned business with four locations (Annapolis, Pasadena, Laurel and Wheaton). With 40 years’ experience and the backing of a national brand, they are committed to earning customers’ trust by offering the expertise, value and responsiveness drivers expect – “every time they visit us.”

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

May 29th was a banner day for entrepreneur Rose Walker’s Bohemian Black fashion boutique as it opened for business at 1915 Annapolis Towne Centre Blvd, suite 915 having relocated from its original Severna Park address.

Opening day represented the fourth of five major transitions for the fashion and lifestyle brand. Bohemian Black was created by Walker in November of 2021 as an outgrowth of her company Walking Roses which did personal styling, helping individuals select the right apparel for their body types. The company was originally known as the House of Design in conjunction with Walker’s mother – a talented seamstress who created stylish apparel but sadly passed away. Daughter Rose managed to revamp the concept of the business while keeping her mother’s legacy alive.

Bohemian Black first came to the attention of local residents at the Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber’s SHOPTOBERFEST 2022 at Park Plaza when Walker set up an exotic tent to market fall fashions with a BoHo Chic vibe. Shoppers were drawn to the display like bees to honey.

For a year or two, Walker displayed similar creativity while marketing her clothing, jewelry and home products at various events in Severna Park, Arnold and neighboring communities, and through Bohemian Black Festivals and fashion shows she held in collaboration with other vendors at Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Company. She was determined to establish Bohemian Black as a well-recognized brand in the fashion/lifestyle retail market.

She’d been looking for a space to open a bricks and mortar storefront boutique two years ago when introduced to the Listman property being redeveloped at the corner of Earleigh Heights Road and the Baltimore Annapolis Trail opposite the Ranger Station. She accepted an offer for a space there.

Unfortunately, the Listman property’s owners were tied up carrying out the extensive renovations required but Walker badly needed space to accommodate her growing inventory of clothing. She couldn’t afford to wait, so the owners agreed to remodel and restore a former garage attached to the store’s first floor for her.

On September 22, 2024, the innovative stylist finally opened the brick-and-mortar version of her fashion boutique Bohemian Black by Walking Roses at 45 W. Earleigh Heights Road.

Just past the Severna Park Taphouse, opposite The Yoga Barn, and parallel to the B&A Trail, it was easy to spot and seemed a promising location.

With two floors, the interior of the building provided sufficient room to show off various collections of men’s, women’s and children’s clothing and accessories, jewelry and products for the home. There was a problem, however.

“Even though the shop was located just off the B&A Trail, the area wasn’t conducive to retail traffic. People just didn’t come to busy Earleigh Heights Road to shop,” Rose Walker said.

After less than a year of operation, she made a difficult but imaginative decision. She relocated the Bohemian Black boutique to a space at Annapolis Town Center but transformed the original Severna Park location into the Bohemian Black Studio. A July 9th posting on the company’s Instagram page proclaimed, “A New Chapter for Our Severna Park Location”, and introduced Bohemian Black Studio — a flexible, inspiring space where creatives, entrepreneurs, and dreamers can gather to style, shoot, teach, host, and create.

Though closed when we drove by on the last day of August, we learned from Walker that a transformation was taking place inside to ready the Bohemian Black Studio for this Sunday’s September Market at The Station from 9 am till 2 pm. Roughly two dozen vendors will be on hand for the market with a diverse range of products.

Walker said she is already accepting bookings for Bohemian Black Studio spaces into October. She notes that the facility can be adapted for use as a co-working space, a place for client meetings, a place for non-profits to host workshops or events, a space for content meetings or photo shoots or even as a convenient location for a book club.

As mentioned at the opening of the column, the opening of the Bohemian Black boutique at Annapolis Town Center on May 29th was another monumental step forward for the brand. Rose Walker said she loves being located along Annapolis Towne Center Boulevard with other retailers, nearby restaurants, a coffee shop and lots of foot traffic from the condominium residents and people who come there specifically to shop.

Walker also is pleased to have more floor space to carry handmade items from over 15 women-owned businesses that make and market their own merchandise. She’s excited about the latest chapter for her business and hopes that those who became familiar with Bohemian Black in Severna Park will visit the new store in Annapolis or avail themselves of the versatile space that is Bohemian Black Studio.

Broadway Songfest & Silent Auction to benefit SPAN, Inc. on September 20

A Broadway Songfest benefitting SPAN, Inc. created and performed by vocalist and actress Laurette Hankins-O’Connell with pianist/singer Anita O’Connor will be held September 20th at the St. Martin’s in-the-Field Episcopal Church Parish Hall along with a Silent Auction on September 20th at 5 pm.

This is the fifth year Hankins-O’Connell has done a benefit concert for SPAN. (Last year’s concert raised $9,000 for the organization.) Her repertoire of Broadway songs combined with lively banter and amusing anecdotes and occasional duets with Anita O’Connor delight audiences. Tickets are $25 and 100% of the proceeds go to SPAN. They must be purchased in advance. To do so, visit Broadway Songfest and Online Auction – SPAN, Inc (spanhelps.org)

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility whilereducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

And Midas of Annapolis and Pasadena, A family- owned business with four locations (Annapolis, Pasadena, Laurel and Wheaton). With 40 years’ experience and the backing of a national brand, they are committed to earning customers’ trust by offering the expertise, value and responsiveness drivers expect – “every time they visit us.”

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

The weather for the waning days of August and Labor Day weekend couldn’t have been more beautiful with sunny days and just a hint of autumn in the air. With less than three weeks until the official beginning of autumn on September 22, some of us would like to hang on to summer just a little bit longer.

Walking northward through Severna Park on the Baltimore Annapolis Trail is always fun but, with a blue sky overhead and the sun on your back, it’s easy to fall into a lazy saunter with stops along the way to take in the sights. Pausing at Caraker Plaza (named for the late Thomas Caraker, III), with a coffee from The Big Bean, we watched a procession of walkers, runners and cyclists of all ages pass by us.

Viewing flowerbeds maintained by volunteers along the way is always a pleasure. The beautiful bed with the birdhouse seen in the opening photograph has been lovingly tended by the Snader family for many years. Butterflies fluttered in a bed next to it drawn to the deep purple blooms of a butterfly bush.

About-to-bloom Autumn Joy Sedum shared space in another plot with sturdy Black-Eyed Susans that were holding their own. But other plots were nearly finished for the season.

Back down the trail to the Riggs Avenue crossing, we turned right and headed for Diehl’s Produce at the corner of B & A Boulevard and McKinsey Road where we noticed a portion of the parking lot had been fenced off to one side of the tent. According to the stand’s general manager Jennifer Diehl, by the following day, the entire area would be filled with chrysanthemums with pumpkins to follow. In accordance with Diehl family tradition, the produce stand will remain open until Halloween with another week of Adams County, Pennsylvania peaches followed by six varieties of Adams County apples, plenty of Eastern Shore sweet corn into October, and other late season vegetables.

Jen’s sister Abby’s Diehl’s Produce of Annapolis will also remain open until Halloween. Late breaking news indicates that Chase’s Produce off Route #424 will close this Sunday, September 7th. Nearby Marco Ridge Farm farmstand will also close September 7th but will offer vegetables on the farm wagon on a serve-yourself, pay-as-you-go basis for a few weeks thereafter. Pumphrey’s Farm produce stand in Millersville will stay open until Thanksgiving with autumnal flowers and pumpkins, apples and late season vegetables.

With time to burn, we headed for the car with another stop to make. A fan of watercolor artwork, we’d heard there was an exhibit of paintings by Terri Allen-Jackson we’d like to check out in the art gallery at Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church. Sure enough, prominently displayed along the gallery walls were paintings from Allen-Jackson’s “My Mosaic Journey” collection of watercolor paintings along with mosaic artworks.

The watercolors were quite vivid and featured subjects ranging from vegetables to plants and flowers while the mosaic pieces were intricate designs incorporating similar subjects.

We imagined the artist’s mosaic works like the one seen on the left took a great deal of time to assemble.

There were obviously hundreds of colorful tiles laid end-to-end to create images of plants. It was interesting to note that Allen-Jackson couldn’t have picked better subject matter for her work as the Woods Garden Group is acclaimed for creating the church’s innovative “Parking Lot Gardens”. We walked outside to see them.

Like a number of gardens we observed on the B&A Trail, the flowers in various beds were faded leaving behind seed heads the Woods Gardeners insist on keeping intact for the birds, chipmunks, squirrels and other wildlife that feed on them throughout the winter.

Lazy or not, time was ticking away and there was one last stop we wanted to make. We dropped by the Severna Park Community Center to visit with Executive Director Sarah Elder and Marketing Director Amy Holbrook.

We’d learned that SPCC is partnering with Macaroni Kid Pasadena’s Laura McElwain Colquhoun to host the Anne Arundel County & Bowie Homeschool Fair in the center’s gymnasium on Friday, September 12 from 10 am to 12:30 pm.  (For full details visit Anne Arundel County Homeschool Fair Hosted by Macaroni KID & Severna Park Community Center | Facebook.

“We think the homeschool fair is a wonderful idea,” Elder said. “Laura has organized the event to include eighteen vendors that offer services to homeschool families. Since we already offer swimming classes for homeschoolers here in our pool, we’re happy to host the homeschool fair.”

She added the community center hopes to add a physical education homeschool program to the schedule. It’s just in the planning stages but won’t be ready until the first of the year.

Holbrook was excited because SPCC is coming into its busiest time of the year. In fact, she’d just printed out a list of upcoming events.

This Saturday (September 6), the community center is hosting a Second Time Around The Park Yard Sale to which the public is invited to bring their own items to sell.

Next on the schedule is the community center’s highly popular Halloween Spooktacular on Friday, October 24th. On Friday, December 12th the equally popular Cookies & Cocoa With Santa will take place. And, on Friday, December 14th they’ll host their second annual Holiday Pop-Up Shop.

The excitement will continue into the new year with a Health & Wellness Expo in January followed by events associated with the center’s 30th Anniversary celebration and its Gin and Jazz Gala. You can keep up with SPCC programs and activities by visiting Home – Severna Park Community Center (spcommunitycenter.org)

AAUW Used Book Collections this Saturday, September 6th

News from Alice Harrison that the American Assoc. of University Women – Anne Arundel County will collect used books in good condition in Severna Park, Arnold and Annapolis on Saturday, Sept. 6 from 9:00 a.m. to Noon. 

In Severna Park, they’ll be at St. Martin-in-the-Field Church at 375 Benfield Road,  in Arnold at the Anne Arundel Community College parking lot at West Campus Drive off Ritchie Highway, and in Annapolis at St. Phillip’s Church on Bestgate Road.  Volunteers will accept your used books in good condition. 

The books collected will be offered for sale in a large Book Sale to be held in November.  All net proceeds will go for scholarships for women.  For more information, contact Alice Harrison, awharrison@yahoo.com or at 410-353-1867.

Park Hardware/Zeskind’s 100th Anniversary Celebration September 20th

From 7 am to 7 pm on Saturday, September 20th, the Park Hardware’s parking lot, store and Zeskind’s Showroom will come alive with a celebration marking 100 years in the hardware business. Napoleon Grills and Milwaukee Tools will be on-site starting at 11:30am on September 20 for the Anniversary event! Attendees will see live demonstrations and have the chance to win prizes from these great partners. To see more, visit Facebook.

Trinity Bible Church’s 3rd Annual Fall Festival September 27th

Trinity Bible Church, at 99 Truckhouse Road, invites local residents to join them for a free, community event on September 27th. Enjoy lunch with a burger or hotdog. drink and chips and an assortment of fun activities including a moonbounce, photo booth, games and crafts, snow cones, bingo, and more. To see more, click TBC 3rd Annual Fall Festival | Facebook .

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility whilereducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

And Midas of Annapolis and Pasadena, A family- owned business with four locations (Annapolis, Pasadena, Laurel and Wheaton). With 40 years’ experience and the backing of a national brand, they are committed to earning customers’ trust by offering the expertise, value and responsiveness drivers expect – “every time they visit us.”

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Kids are not always in the mix when a new business holds its Grand Opening. However, we spotted a number of children and teens at the August 14th opening of iCode Severna Park in the Benfield Village Shopping Center. Because iCode offers a comprehensive STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education program for children, they came along with parents looking into the classes and camps offered by the company.

As with any Grand Opening ceremony and ribbon cutting conducted by the Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber of Commerce, the event drew people from the local business community.

Chamber CEO Liz League, who oversaw the festivities, started things off with the offering of citations to iCode owners Mark and Sandra Sellers from a significant number of state, county and community organizations. They included citations from Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman’s office, the Anne Arundel County Council, Maryland House of Delegates member LaToya Nkongolo and fellow District 31 members Nicholaus Kipke and Brian Chisholm, Maryland State Delegate for District 33 Heather Bagnall, and one presented by Macaroni Kid’s Laura McElwain Colquhoun on behalf of the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation.

Things then moved along quickly, and the aforementioned ribbon cutting seen in the opening photo took place. Then Mark Sellers said a prayer and invited attendees to mingle, browse a table of literature on various programs being offered, or adjourn to the attractive glass-enclosed space where a buffet awaited them.

Initially, most folks chose to mingle. LaToya Nkongolo caught up with Sandra Sellers to congratulate her on the Grand Opening. We caught up to League for a chat during which she mentioned that Chamber members generally seem pleased that iCode has brought cutting edge technology training to Severna Park.

We also had an opportunity to talk with Mark Sellers who credited his wife Sandra for coming up with the idea to start iCode Severna Park.

“Sandra had always wanted to do something involving teaching kids in a way where we’d be contributing to the community,” Sellers said. “We’d both taught while in graduate school but later we worked as mathematicians for the federal government. I’d already retired, but Sandra actually resigned from her job to take advantage of the opportunity to open iCode.”

He added that the programs iCode offers are perfectly suited to their teaching styles and abilities. Their popular Belt Program offers a variety of technical skills and soft skills their students gain as they progress through various ‘Belts’ or levels. Fun, hands-on activities within each lesson incorporate the latest technology like robotics, drones, artificial intelligence, 3-D printing, gaming and even more.

As we were about to follow Mark Sellers to the buffet area, we stopped for a moment to watch “The Face Paint Lady” Michelle who was busily applying a colorful mask to the face of young Caden as his mother Emily looked on.

Caden was clearly excited about his face paint transformation. His mother was excited about the programs iCode offers.

Heading past Michelle mid-mingle, we entered the glass-enclosed area set up with a fine buffet and seating conveniently placed for conversation.

Sandra Sellers was finally free and we had an opportunity to speak with her. We’d learned that Sandra has a PHD in mathematics and left her impressive career behind to start iCode Severna Park. We asked her about her inspiration for forming the company.

” I have to say that I fell in love with mathematics, the language of the Universe,” she said. “There are so many things I wished I’d had exposure to as a kid or at a younger age. For me, the drive and passion of seeing and working with children, especially when their faces light up as they solve a problem, is intangible and hard to capture but wonderful.”

Sandra added that she feels giving children the opportunity to express their creativity in new ways now with technology advancing is important. It is one of the foundations of the new business.

As we were about to leave the Grand Opening, Liz League reminded us that iCode was one of two businesses that opened at Benfield Village Shopping Center within the past few weeks. The other one was The Lovejoy Project just two doors down the sidewalk.

The LoveJoy Project – a new endeavor with an interesting background

The LoveJoy Project at 564 Benfield Road in the Benfield Village Shopping Center has a subdued yet tasteful exterior and we wondered what we’d find inside. Stepping through the door, we found a delightful gift shop. Though the store’s owner was not on hand, we found the manager Sarah Vinje behind the counter.

There are many eye-catching gifts and home decor items throughout the gift shop. However, candles play the most important role in the store’s inventory.

Vinje related the story behind the creation of this promising new business. She said Robin Stewart, the owner of The LoveJoy Project, got into the craft of candle making while her mother Judith Lovejoy Stewart was battling ovarian cancer. Robin wanted to make something special for her mother that was safe and healthy, so she sought out premium quality ingredients – coconut and apricot waxes – with which to make candles.

It took two years for Stewart to master the art of candle making but she became expert enough to make all the candles for the shop she’s just opened honoring her mother. A plaque with a photograph of Judith Lovejoy Stewart, occupies one wall. The mission for The LoveJoy Project can clearly be seen below the photo.

Stewart is very much into giving back and donates some of the proceeds of her business to the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition. In addition to the candles she makes for every season of the year, she makes special candles for a variety of causes. She is making special pink candles for Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Sarah Vinje pointed out that Stewart also likes to feature healthy products from local businesses that give back. She carries a lip balm with the unusual name BitchStix, a self-care brand providing protection & promoting healing that donates a percentage of its proceeds to support survivors of domestic violence & sexual assault.

The Lovejoy Project also carries the Grounds & Hounds Coffee shown us by store manager Sarah Vinje. She loves the company motto “EVERY CUP HELPS A PUP”.

Vinje was excited to tell us to check out the signs in front of both entrances to the shop advertising The Lovejoy Project’s upcoming flash bake sale this Saturday, August 30th.

“We’re hoping to ramp up our donation to the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition to 50% raising as much money as we can,” Vinje said.

For information regarding the bake sale visit The LoveJoy Project at Facebook.

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility whilereducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

And Midas of Annapolis and Pasadena, A family- owned business with four locations (Annapolis, Pasadena, Laurel and Wheaton). With 40 years’ experience and the backing of a national brand, they are committed to earning customers’ trust by offering the expertise, value and responsiveness drivers expect – “every time they visit us.”

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

For decades, the Lost in the 50’s Custom Car Club of Maryland’s weekly Cruise-Ins have been a popular platform for antique automobile owners to display a wide range of fully restored or custom-built models dating from the 1950’s or earlier.

For the second year, the non-profit organization’s Cruise-In events are being held each Saturday evening from April through October on the lot at Pasadena United Methodist Church at 61 Ritchie Highway from 4 to 8 pm. Car cruise admission is $1 for members and $2 for non-members with spectators welcomed for free. Cruisin’ is surely fun but most Lost in the Fifties Custom Car Club members enjoy parking their rides in a spot that shows them off to good advantage, talking to spectators, and socializing among themselves.

Attending an LITF Cruise-In is not a new experience for locals from Glen Burnie, Pasadena, Severna Park, Millersville or Arnold. Like others who admire vintage automobiles, our own first visit to a Lost In the Fifties Custom Car Cruise-In took place in the late 1980’s or early 90’s and we’ve returned to the event several times over the years.

Hoping to get some information on when the custom car club started, we sought out the organization’s president Mike Arrington who introduced us to three long-time members. The only original member present on Saturday was Carl Blazek who’s been part of the club from the start more than 40 years ago. On Blazek’s far right was Virgil Graham who has been a member for over 30 years. Directly next to him was Jack Kozma who is also a member of long standing and serves on the Board along with Graham.

“We actually began meeting in the early 1970’s in fits and starts at impromptu gatherings or Cruise-Ins,” Blazek explained. “However, we didn’t become a formally recognized club until the 1980’s when we incorporated as a 501c3 non-profit and elected officers and a Board of Directors.”

All three gentlemen have loved cars all their lives and started their decades-long hobby of collecting and restoring them years ago.

Blazek noted that his first love was a 1949 Ford that he paid $35 for. He added that he did automobile appraisals for years and has owned, restored and shown many including the Chevelle he brought to the Cruise-In with the original 19,000 miles on it. He admits that he has a passion for Ford Thunderbirds and has bought 10 of them over the years.

Graham said his first car was a 1938 Plymouth he bought over 50 years ago and still owns and works on. He, too, has owned many cars including the 1952 Chevy Pick Up he and his wife Joanie brought to the show.

According to Joanie, Virgil owned the truck for a long while but kept it pretty much in the condition he bought it. Their daughter Christina Graham, who owns an automotive shop, rebuilt the truck for her dad as a retirement gift adding some amenities the vehicle didn’t originally have including power steering and air conditioning.

Kozma’s purchases and restorations include the 1956 black and white Chevrolet he brought to the Cruise-In that is an absolute treasure with an engine so clean I could have served tea on it.

Saturday’s event was by no means the largest collection of antique cars, trucks or street rods we’d seen at some of the club’s other events but the club is partnering with Flagship Car Wash for the much larger “Christmas In August Car Show” this Saturday (8/23/25) at 7155 Ritchie Highway in Glen Burnie from 4 to 6 pm.

Nevertheless, there was quite a nice representation of vintage automobiles to view and owners to meet. Conversational groups had formed around some of the cars including this 1964 Oldsmobile Starfire owned by William Kosman.

According to owner Ed and pals Bruce and Carol, his bright red ’66 Chevelle Super Sport drew a number of curious spectators eager to inquire about its big block, Brodix heads, headers and manual transmission.

“Everyone likes to talk about their cars,” Ed said. ” This Super Sport is one of five I own – a couple other Super Sports and a couple Malibus. It will be the last one.”

A soundtrack of rock ‘n roll hits played in the background as we noticed the familiar lines of one of our favorite vintage autos – a light blue 1961 MGA Roadster owned by Bill Riley.

“A 1961 MGA was my first car when I was in high school,” Riley said. “I’ve owned it for 58 years since buying it from a used car lot in 1967. It had two previous owners and had been given a not very attractive Earl Sheib paint job. My wife has been kind enough to let me keep the car though her pet name for it is “My Rival” after a song sung by Ann Margaret in the Elvis Presley movie “Viva Las Vegas”.

Eventually, we gravitated to the back end of the lot where we saw an entire line of antique cars including those seen in the opening photo – a 1951 Ford and a 1938 Buick. Others in the lineup include an early 70’s Ford Mustang, a 60’s Ford Galaxie, and a Chevy C-10 pickup.

We checked out a couple of other Ford Mustangs including one owned by John Kuccinski. Then, we wanted to take a closer look at the light green 1935 Ford Panel Delivery Truck we’d seen cruising earlier and caught up with owner Rick Sadler who has owned the van for 25 years.

Sadler did all the restoration work himself including the multi-gauge panel, steering wheel, seating and the gorgeous wood paneling in the back.

Part of the charm of attending a Lost in the Fifties Custom Car Club event is being able to see automotive elements of our common history. For the owners of classic and custom cars who populate the event each Saturday evening is an opportunity to share their passion with others, enjoying the company of like-minded enthusiasts and introducing new generations to the automotive hobby.

Family memberships in the club are $20. However, the Cruise-Ins are open to anyone with a 30 year or older vehicle. As mentioned before, car cruise admission is $1 for members or $2 for non-members. Proceeds from the Christmas in August Cruise-In taking place this Saturday in Glen Burnie and all other club events are donated to the Salvation Army and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

For more information, visit Lost in the 50’s Custom Car Club of Maryland – One of the largest antique automobile organizations in the state of Maryland! (lostn50s.com) or follow them at Facebook.

Anne Arundel County & Bowie Homeschool Fair at Severna Park Community Center

Macaroni Kid Pasadena and the Severna Park Community Center are partnering to host the Anne Arundel County & Bowie Homeschool Fair at the Community Center on Friday, September 12 from 10 am to 12:30 pm. Eighteen vendors that offer services to homeschool families will be on hand. They range from the Annapolis Dance Academy, Dance Center at Severna Park Community Center and Theater In The Park to Team Randori Martial Arts, Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi and Eco Adventures. There will be a FREE exchange table for gently used books and school supplies.

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility whilereducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

And Midas of Annapolis and Pasadena, A family- owned business with four locations (Annapolis, Pasadena, Laurel and Wheaton). With 40 years’ experience and the backing of a national brand, they are committed to earning customers’ trust by offering the expertise, value and responsiveness drivers expect – “every time they visit us.”

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Who doesn’t like the idea of a mini-vacation in the span of a single day – a chance to enjoy things you’d see and do on a longer trip but without traveling a distance?

For me, the most fun is to start out close to home, especially since I like to shop local while supporting our county’s farms.

Hot to buy some hot peppers for the hot pepper-lovers in my family, I started out at Pumphrey’s Farm stand on Veteran’s Highway in Millersville where farmer Nate Pumphrey likes to experiment with unusual or even exotic vegetables. In addition to the usual summer crops, Pumphrey grows the hottest varieties of peppers you can find anywhere including Cubanelles, Jalapenos, Habaneros, Ghost Peppers, Cherry Bombs, Hot Poblanos, and Carolina Reapers.

Heading south to Marco Ridge Farm Produce on Route 424 in Davidsonville, I bought fresh-from-the-field sweet corn, tomatoes and pickling cucumbers.

Diane and Fred Klinken, who manage the stand for farmer Alan Covington, said they hope to stay open through September 7th. Thereafter, some vegetables will be available on the farm’s serve-yourself and pay-on-the-honor-system wagon. Nearby farmstand, Chase’s Produce, where we’d stopped earlier in the week, will be cutting back after Labor Day to being open only on the weekends.

A fellow farmstand supporter mentioned one further south called Zangs Farm Stand that I’d never heard of but was eager to try. So I conned some family members into coming with me and headed further south down Route 214 to Muddy Creek Road toward Galesville. I easily located the stand thanks to its colorful sign.

Having visited their website, I learned that Zangs is a family owned and operated farm that grows seasonal fruits, vegetables and cut flowers. Zangs offers both field-grown and high tunnel cut flowers from March until October with dried flower centerpieces and wreaths available during the holidays. Naturally, I couldn’t wait to investigate and found the farmstand even more colorful than the sign.

Noticing the wheelbarrow full of melons to one side of the stand, I let my eyes wander and spotted a bed with Sunflowers in various stages of growth. Opposite the bed, across the parking lot, was another bed of smaller flowers for cutting including Zinnias, Celosia, Marigolds, Bee Balm, Ageratum, Strawflowers, Lisianthus, Gomphrena, Statice, and Amaranthus.

The homegrown corn, melons and vegetables were great and I bought some yellow freestone peaches that were wonderful on their own or sliced and served over vanilla ice cream.

Time to travel further south. I’d heard from several people what a quaint small town Galesville was and I couldn’t wait to see it. So I pressed on.

Galesville is located on a small peninsula surrounded by the West River and is rich with history. A pamphlet from Galesville Heritage Society, Inc. notes that the town was founded in 1652 when a land grant for 660 acres of land was issued to Puritans John, Patience, and Mary Brown, and John Clark and his wife Elizabeth (who later became Quakers). Originally called Brownton, the town later changed its name to West River Landing when it became a center for shipping and travel.

Interestingly, large numbers of Quakers gravitated to West River Landing for meetings. In fact, the West River Quaker Meeting held in the spring of 1672 represented the birth of Quakerism in Maryland. In 1924, the town’s name was changed to Galesville in honor of Richard Gale, a prominent Quaker planter in the area.

Galesville continued to be the main port of the West River up to and throughout the steamboat era when the well-known Emma Giles connected the community to other waterfront towns and to Baltimore.

Today Galesville is something of a destination for visitors seeking waterfront recreation. With a year-round population of just 623 resident’s, it has retained its small town feel and charm.

Visitors to Galesville’s main street will easily spot the Carrie Wheedon House (circa 1901) which became home to the Galesville Heritage Society & Museum in May of 2004. From the signage pictured in the column’s opening photo to the winding pathway and red door, the museum’s exterior is lovely and the interior is filled with exhibits depicting the town’s history.

Galesville is also home to Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Church which was formed in 1906 when the existing property was purchased. Members worshiped in a house on the grounds until 1920 when construction was completed on the church. A restoration of the building was begun in 1979.

There was history to everywhere you looked but a limited amount of time to enjoy it. Meantime, I really love the simple design of the antiquated ice house below which now houses antiques.

The day flew by but there was still time to absorb some local color along waterfront while getting something to eat. It seemed there were two popular restaurants in Galesville – Pirate’s Cove and Stan and Joe’s Riverside. As it was closest, our party chose the latter and immediately realized that there were wonderful views of the West River on three of the restaurant’s four sides.

Entering through a picturesque gate, we strolled leisurely up the wooden boardwalk to the pier that wraps around the establishment.

It was interesting watching boats of all types, vintages and sizes, including some sailing craft, arrive, tie-up alongside, and then make their way back across the West River.

Just past the bar, folks were waiting by the hostess station for a table to open in either the indoor dining room or an outdoor dining area overlooking the water.

Once we put in our own reservation, we didn’t have long to wait before being seated on Riverside’s expansive deck. Live music wafted across the deck from a local guitarist inspiring customers to sing along or dance.

All in all, my cross-county-sojourn was a pure pleasure and I’m sure I’ll soon be on the road again.

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility whilereducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

And Midas of Annapolis and Pasadena, A family- owned business with four locations (Annapolis, Pasadena, Laurel and Wheaton). With 40 years’ experience and the backing of a national brand, they are committed to earning customers’ trust by offering the expertise, value and responsiveness drivers expect – “every time they visit us.”