Maryland Day is our version of Columbus Day.         On March 25, 1634, voyagers from the ships the Ark and the Dove celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving for surviving their long voyage, coming to land safely on a Potomac River island and negotiating a peace accord with the Piscataway Indians.     Those were smart Indians; they suggested the colonists go elsewhere. Thus St. Mary’s City, not St. Clement’s Island, became the seat of the Lord...

Is it worth your while to invest $20 plus a couple of hours of your time in community theater?         That evaluation is made each year by Washington Area Theatre Community Honors. Three dozen local companies make up WATCH, which reaches beyond the District into suburban and rural Maryland and Virginia. Last year, WATCH members evaluated 127 plays to recognize excellence in 38 categories. In each category, typically five nominees were chosen.     ...

James Barrett of Westin Annapolis is up for Maryland Chef of the Year What does it take to be Maryland’s Chef of the Year?         A concoction like this: The broth is daffodil yellow, screaming of spring, contradicting the misconception that chicken and dumplings is reserved for the cold of winter. Instead of big risen pillows, the dumplings are clever little Italian gnocchi. The geometrical cuts of ­chicken, moist all the way through, have seared...

Chesapeake Country waterways are swan lakes from November to March, as migratory tundra swans weighing as much as 20 pounds move in.     Some 18,000 of the big birds make Maryland their home. Dabblers, they tip bottom-up to feed on Bay grasses and small clams. They like winter wheat, barley and rye, too, and some of the swans will feed in fields.     These are their last days with us, as the elegant birds fatten and gather to begin their flight back north....