The second annual Delmarva Pride Festival opens Friday night at Easton’s Avalon Theater. The Pride Drag Show features six queens who will strut their stuff on the Art Deco stage one at a time before mingling with the audience seated at 22 cafe tables. 

But with those heels, they’ll probably just wave to acknowledge applause from the balcony. 

Queen of queens Miranda Bryant plays host for a two-hour pageant that also showcases Vicky Fischer, Kedra Lattimore, Kandi Pop, Brie Daniels, and Tania Lashay, the 2022 Miss Pride of Salisbury – all performing to recorded dance music.

Delmarva Pride chair Kyle O’Donnell advises attendees to “bring your dollar bills.” Your tips will serve as support for your favorite queen of the night. As for ticket sales, O’Donnell says that “100 percent goes to support the work of Delmarva Pride Center,” which includes monthly socials “to encourage people to come out and feel a sense of belonging and community in public.” Coming up in July is a pool party, bowling in August, and a nature hike in September.

The Pride Festival continues Saturday with a Harrison Street fair from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., including main-stage entertainment hosted by MC Ryan featuring headliner Danah Denice along with The Sagacious Traveler, Madisun Bailey, Cameron Mae & Danny Alvarez, plus drag show reprises from the night before as well as new acts. And there’s an art show as well.

More than 100 vendors have signed up to sell their wares and wearables, as well as food trucks and beverage stands, and, of course, people from Delmarva Pride to tell you everything you need to know about their work and what they’re about.

“We offer the Mid-Shore, Upper Shore LGBTQ community a safe space to be themselves,” says  Tina Jones, a Wittman native and secretary/treasurer of Delmarva Pride.

“It goes back to visibility,” says Concetta Gibson, co-chair of Delmarva Pride. “Our center, what we do, makes it easier for us to find each other.”

“It’s about freedom to be yourself and having support to help keep your head up,” Ivan Colon says, adding that being a gay Latino can “reduce your earning power.”

Citing “intersectionality” – having more than one or two strikes against you in the eyes of those who hate people who are not like them  – Jones, a white trans woman, says, “A black, trans woman is 14 times more likely to commit suicide.” Besides discrimination and violence against them, the trans community and others in the LGBTQ alphabet face legislative attacks, too. “More than 500 laws have been introduced in this country to make it more difficult for them to live their lives. Some of these laws mean that they can even take your kids away from you.”

Still, Jones feels lucky, she says, because “I came out later in life.” Now 56, Jones had a successful career that gave her the strength to keep her head up in the face of people who think that her transition is – somehow – any of their business.

But when she did come out, Jones says, “I ripped the doors off the closet.”

The Pride Festival winds up on Sunday morning, ten a.m.-noon, with a Pride Brunch at ArtBar 2.0 in downtown Cambridge.

Steve Parks is a retired New York arts writer and editor now living in Easton.

DELMARVA PRIDE FESTIVAL
Friday, June 16-Sunday, June 18, in Easton and Cambridge, delmarvapridecenter.com

Chestertown Celebrates Annual Juneteenth Saturday June 17

The annual Chestertown celebration of Juneteenth will take place from 10 am to 6 pm in Fountain Park on Saturday, June 17.

The one day event will provide entertainment by Saxophonist Anthony “Turk”Cannon, Delaware’s own Best Kept Soul, Magician Anthony Ware, as well as a live performance by Karen Somerville.

The Bayside H.O.Y.A.S will also be unveiling the ‘2024 “Heroes of the Chesapeake” Juneteenth mural.

The Spy recently interviewed Bayside HOYAS co-founder and President John Queen about the celebration day.

Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day or Freedom Day, is a holiday celebrated annually on June 19th in the United States to commemorate the end of slavery. It specifically marks the day in 1865 when Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and informed enslaved African Americans that the Civil War had ended and they were free, two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation had officially outlawed slavery. It’s a day of celebration, but also a day for reflection on the history and enduring impacts of slavery and racial injustice in America.

This video is approximately four minutes in length. For more about Bayside HOYAS, see their Facebook page here and their website here

During the past weekend, the Kalmar Nyckel docked in Cambridge. When not enjoyed at the marina, she hosted numerous guests for short cruises on the Choptank River. A short video provides a sense of her impressive presence.

Some history:

Kalmar Nyckel was constructed in about 1625, and was of a design called a pinnace. The ship was originally named Sleutel (Dutch for key), but was called Key for the city of Kalmar, which purchased the ship in 1629, as its contribution to a state-sponsored trading company.

It was later purchased into the Swedish Navy. When Sweden decided to establish a trading colony in the New World under the direction of Peter Minuit, Kalmar Nyckel was chosen for the voyage.

The ship sailed from Gothenburg in December 1637, commanded by Jan Hindriksen van der Water, but encountered a severe storm in the North Sea and had to divert to the Netherlands for repairs. They departed on New Year’s Day 1638, arriving in North America in March 1638.[2] They built a fort on the present site of the city of Wilmington, which they named Fort Christina.

The Kalmar Nyckel made four successful round trips from Sweden to North America, a record unchallenged by any other colonial vessel. Between colonial voyages, the ship was used by the navy as a transport and courier. She was sold out of Swedish service to Dutch merchants in 1651. At the outbreak of the First Anglo-Dutch War, she was employed as a fisheries protection vessel under Captain Dirk Vijgh. The ship was sunk off the coast of Scotland in action against Blake’s squadron on July 12, 1652.

In 1986, a group of citizens from Wilmington, Delaware, established the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation, whose primary source of funding is from the taxpayers of the State of Delaware, plus donations from corporations and individuals. The foundation designed, built, and launched a replica of Kalmar Nyckel. The modern ship, designed by naval architects Thomas C. Gillmer and Iver Franzen, with additional help from Melbourne Smith, Joel Welter, and Ken Court, was built at a shipyard in Wilmington. She was launched on September 28, 1997, and commissioned on May 9, 1998. The re-creation measures 94 ft (29 m) on deck and 131 ft (40 m) overall, with a 25 ft (7.6 m) beam, a 12 ft (3.7 m) draft, and a displacement of 300 tons.

-Wikipedia

On Saturday afternoon, Academy Art Museum’s gathered together hundreds of friends and artists to celebrate its 65th birthday this year. It was done on the museum’s wonderful South Street lawn with music, complimentary ice cream, and some fun screen-printing of the AAM’s commemorative poster.

But the fun part for many was to help recreate a historic photoshoot the Museum originally staged for its 25th anniversary. In this case, it required professional equipment for the photographer to find just the right angle to match the original. The Spy can’t wait to see the final edition.

A few spies were at the event and filed this report.

This video is approximately one minute in length. For more information about the Academy Art Museum please go here.

Thanks to Genevieve Townsend we have this wonderful photo. Does anyone remember when bananas we a treat? “Steamboat “Dorchester” that stopped at wharf in Windy Hill, MD to pick up apples and peaches from local orchards. Remember my grandmother bought bananas when the boat came down.

Contact: Cathy Hill [email protected] to share your old photos and purchase our collections photos. Comment, Like our page and join the Talbot Historical Society!

The Wye Oak at Wye Mills, Maryland was believed to have germinated in the 1500’s! The Wye Oak held the title of the largest white oak in the United States since the American Forestry Association began it’s contest in 1940! On June 6, 2002 the Wye Oak’s massive trunk collapsed during a severe thunderstorm! Facts: dnr.Maryland.gov. This Talbot Historical Society Collection photo was taken shortly after it had fallen!

Contact: Cathy Hill [email protected] to share your old photos and purchase our collections photos. Comment, Like our page and join the Talbot Historical Society!

For more than six decades, a group known as the Poplar Islands Yacht Club (PIYC) has existed in our region; and, while the islands may have disappeared, PIYC remains dedicated to its mission of fostering camaraderie and maritime adventure through cruising adventures on and around Chesapeake Bay. Founded in 1961 as a means of fostering the fraternity of yachting, the club has weathered various challenges while leaving an indelible mark on Maryland’s boating culture.

The PIYC’s origins can be traced back to the late 1950s when an increasing number of yachtsmen from both the Eastern and Western Shores of Maryland began cruising to the quaint harbor nestled within the Poplar Islands. Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman even sought solace in these islands during the 1930s and ’40s, playing poker, feasting on crabs and oysters, and engaging in private meetings with Democratic leaders.

Following a fire that razed the main lodge in 1946, the islands changed hands multiple times until they found a new purpose under Daniel H. Hodgeman. Hodgeman rebuilt the lodge and transformed the islands into a seasonal hub for the Poplar Islands Yacht Club in the summer and a gun club in the fall and early winter.

With the lodge restored and additional buildings renovated, the PIYC grew in popularity. Yachts frequented the harbor, with regular visitors securing their own name boards and reserved slips on the 300-foot pier that led to deep waters in Poplar Harbor. The navigational challenge of reaching the pier was overcome by two World War I mines painted orange and repurposed as buoys.

However, financial difficulties eventually forced Hodgeman to sell the islands to Dr. George Elkins of Philadelphia, who later donated them to the Smithsonian Institution for conservation and use as a wildlife refuge.

Over the years, the islands faced the threat of erosion and the division of land masses due to heavy storms. Concerned with the islands’ conservation, the State of Maryland and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers collaborated in 1994 to restore them as a waterfowl and wildlife sanctuary. The project involved enlarging Poplar Island using dredged materials from the Chesapeake Bay and Baltimore Harbor.

For the PIYC, the changing landscape necessitated a shift in focus. In 1965, the club’s members decided against purchasing the islands due to their high cost. Instead, they opted for monthly rendezvous during the yachting season at other yacht clubs and waterfront homes, leading to more engaging and diverse experiences.

The club’s membership, once limited to 60 yachtsmen within a 250-mile radius of the Chesapeake Bay, experienced a transition from sail to powerboats and from wood to fiberglass. As new activities and destinations were incorporated into the club’s itineraries, cruises began including more overnight stays at marinas with various amenities, such as floating docks, pools, restaurants, and even yoga facilities.

In recent years, the PIYC has seen significant milestones. In 2021, for the first time in its history, a woman was elected Commodore, breaking the so-called “fiberglass ceiling.” Additionally, the club’s newsletter, once a mimeographed flyer, evolved into a digital publication called “Anchor Lines,” featuring vibrant color photos and shared links to members’ extensive Southbound cruises.