Chesapeake Music, a treasured gem for Eastern Shore music lovers, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year with one of the best series of concerts to date—many of which are still to come.

Marcy Rosen, who co-founded Chesapeake Music along with J. Lawrie Bloom and is the current co-Artistic Director, explained that the theme of Reflection and Celebration was inspired by the connection created on the Eastern Shore over the last four decades among the music, artists, and audiences.

J. Lawrie Bloom, Marcy Rosen, and Sahun Sam Hong (left to right) performing at last year’s Festival

When Lawrie’s parents retired to St. Michaels in the late 1980’s, they found the area lacking in classical and chamber music. So, in 1986, Lawrie’s father, Ralph, along with Don Buxton, who would serve as the organization’s founding Executive Director, laid the groundwork for the first festival concert. Marcy had met Lawrie at summer camp and accompanied him at his college graduation recital. After that, Lawrie asked Marcy to join him at the opening Eastern Shore concert. They brought musicians from New York for that concert and almost every year since.

Over the years, the Festival gained notoriety and popularity. The number of artists invited each year has tripled, and the Festival has grown from one to six concerts over two weeks.

Reminiscing over the many wonderful memories Marcy has with Chesapeake Music, she said one of her favorite memories was when she returned to Easton after the pandemic. “Our first rehearsal was a life changing event. The love and respect we all feel for each other, and having not played together for all that time, it made so much sense to be together in Easton, where we have spent so many summers making music together.”

“Thanks to the Prager Family’s generosity, The Ebenezer Theater in the Prager Family Center for the Arts became Chesapeake Music’s performance home in 2021. This fantastic auditorium has focused even more attention on the Festival and has drawn new audience members and given the musicians a sense of belonging and cemented our place in the community,” Marcy proudly stated.

“Every Festival is different,” Marcy noted, “but the musicians’ host families play an enormous role in making our musicians feel comfortable and at home! I have had only three hosts in the 40 years I have been coming to the area, and I am incredibly grateful for the friendships that have formed.”

Marcy Rosen

Chesapeake Music’s educational programming is thriving again under the guidance of Catherine Cho, the other co-Artistic Director of Chesapeake Music. In addition to the Festival, Chesapeake Music now offers a series of Interlude Concerts throughout the year, further enhancing its presence in the community.

Marcy and Catherine both have the opportunity to work with “Rising Stars” in the music world. Catherine explained that “Rising Stars” are young artists who embody a unique voice, a centered and grounded sense of integrity and character, a strong connection to the truth in music, and an urge to communicate.”

When asked what’s in store for the future of the Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival, Catherine explained that she would “like to broaden the reach of the Festival and draw in audiences from across the entire Eastern Shore and beyond, including an international audience via an online streaming platform.”

When developing the Festival program, Marcy and Catherine strive for a diverse repertoire that reflects many aspects of the human experience and an array of perspectives. “The programs are created with input from our artists,” Marcy explains. “For instance, the Opening Night program began with Robert McDonald, Catherine Cho and me deciding on which Trio we would like to play this summer. It is a long tradition. We chose Brahms Trio No. 2 in C Major—one of the true masterpieces of the repertoire. We also wanted to feature both our new young violist Zhanbo Zheng and festival founder Lawrie Bloom. It was my decision to ask them to play Schumann’s Märchenerzählungen (“Fairy Tales”) for clarinet, viola and piano which also includes our new pianist, Albert Cano Smit.”

This year’s Festival program includes the works of Boccherini, Schumann, Beach, Brahms, Beethoven, Chaminade, Dvorak, Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Farrenc, Smetana, Mozart, Widmann, Bonis, Schoenberg, and Fauré.

Week One artists June 6, 7, and 8, include Catherine Cho, violin and viola; Todd Phillips, violin; Carmit Zori, violin; Zhanbo Zheng, viola; Marcy Rosen, cello; Sterling Elliott, cello; Peggy Pearson, oboe; J. Lawrie Bloom, clarinet; Robert McDonald, piano; and Albert Cano Smit, piano.

Week Two artists June 12, 13, and 14, include Catherine Cho, violin and viola; Daniel Phillips, violin and viola; Marcy Rosen, cello; Tara Helen O’Connor, flute; and Wynona Wang, piano.

Plus, a particularly exciting addition to this year’s program is The Juilliard Quartet, perhaps the most renowned quartet in the world. Its current members are Areta Zhulla, violin; Ronald Copes, violin; Molly Carr, viola; and Astrid Schween, cello.

“I find that The Juilliard Quartet reflects an incredible sense of creative energy in all their endeavors, and I am thrilled that they will share their musicianship with our Eastern Shore audiences,” Catherine explained.

In addition to being co-Artistic Directors of Chesapeake Music, Marcy Rosen is a professor of cello at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College and Catherine Cho is on the faculty of The Juilliard School and serves as Artistic Director of the Starling-DeLay Symposium.

Tickets for the Festival concerts at The Ebenezer Theater in Easton are $70. Chesapeake Music also offers a limited number of free tickets for students, music educators, and Talbot County First Responders, as well as a “buy-one-get-one” option for first-time patrons of Chesapeake Music. Visit ChesapeakeMusic.org for tickets and more information.

CAPTIONS AND CREDITS:

IMAGE 1: Catherine Cho, co-Artistic Director of Chesapeake Music performing at last year’s Festival. Photo by Mark Nelson Photography.

IMAGE 2: Marcy Rosen, co-Artistic Director of Chesapeake Music performing at last year’s Festival. Photo by Mark Nelson Photography.

IMAGE 3: J. Lawrie Bloom, Marcy Rosen, and Sahun Sam Hong (left to right) performing at last year’s Festival. Photo by Cal Jackson Photography.

 Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival Schedule

June 6–14, 2025

June 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Opening Extravaganza!

June 7 – 7:30 p.m.
Hope and Drama

June 8 – 5:00 p.m.
Masters at Work

June 12 – 7:30 p.m.
From My Life

June 13 – 7:30 p.m.
Quartets Old and New

June 14 – 7:30 p.m.
Festival Finale

2 Free and Open Rehearsals: June 4 and June 11 at 10:00 a.m.

Columnist, author, and educator Laura Oliver will take to the Stoltz stage for a public reading from her collected writings. Since she started to write her Sunday column for the Spy Newspapers, Laura has developed an exceptional following of readers, always eager to read her humorous and sometimes heartbreaking musings on life.

As an award-winning developmental book editor and writing coach, Laura has taught writing at the University of Maryland and St. John’s College. She is the recipient of a Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award in Fiction, a winner of an Anne Arundel County Arts Council Literary Arts Award, a two-time Glimmer Train Short Fiction finalist, and her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

She is also the author of “The Story Within: New Insights and Inspiration for Writers” (Penguin Random House), selected by “Poets and Writers Magazine” as one of the best writing books ever published.

Andrew C. Oliver will join Laura this evening. Andrew left home at the age of 17 to live on his own in New Zealand for the next decade. Many of his stories have been influenced by that experience as he absorbed the country’s unique beauty while working with international organizations, including Villa Maria Wines, North Sails NZ, and The Tauhara Otago Museum in Dunedin, New Zealand.

We asked Laura to share a preview of the evening reading here.

This video is approximately two minutes in length. For tickets, please go here.

(L to R) Dave Hawkins, David Dodd, Sean Schultz

There are lots of great musicians in Talbot County, and plenty of places to hear them play. But until now there has been a real void in the local music scene – there has not been a showcase for original music. I love James Taylor, Dolly Parton, and Chris Stapleton as much as the next guy, but there is something special, sometimes even magical, about hearing songwriters perform songs they have written.

That’s what makes the new Singer/Songwriter Night at Foxy’s Harbor Grille in St. Michaels so welcome. It provides a much-needed opportunity for area musicians to showcase their own songs. 

Singer/Songwriter Night at Foxy’s was the brainchild of David Dodd, who plays with the band Groove Tide and has often played at “Open Mics” in the area. Dodd, whose first love is writing and performing original music, was inspired after playing at a few nights at David Lee’s Original Songwriting Night at the Screaming Goat Yard & Tap in Spring Branch, Texas. He reached out to Foxy’s with the suggestion to do something similar. Dodd serves as the program’s host, and his songs (and guitar playing!) are always a highlight. 

Some of the performers are amateurs, singing their own songs in public for the first time. Others are established artists, already well-known in the area. 

Each of the two nights has had a “featured artist.”  The first week showcased Steve Lowe, who shared a number of songs from his soon-to-be released EP. One highlight was “Feels Like County,” about “life on the river, just taking it as it is.”  Lowe, who often appears with his band (Steve Lowe and Lowe Downs), has a captivating voice and a powerful way of capturing a sense of place – whether that place is his childhood home of Florida (“White Sands/blue skies/everything’s alright/jump right in”) or the Eastern Shore. 

Pete Baker opened the second night, with songs from his four albums as well as a few that are not yet released. Baker is a pro on stage, easily engaging the audience with his crowd-pleasing songs. His style is uncomplicated, in all the best ways, with radio-friendly tunes on the pop side of the spectrum. “Back in the Day,” beautifully captured the feeling of being “blissfully in denial,” as a younger man and of doing everything he could to avoid becoming “one of those who has lost their spark and been beaten down by life.”  Hitting the same theme in another song, Baker sang about the joys of being “happy, poor and free,” and making sure that “I was gong to live before I died.”

In addition to the featured artists, a diverse array of local songwriters, including

• Frank Hogans, whose fingerpicking on the guitar perfectly complimented his stories of love gone wrong (“now we’re on our own, kissing strangers”).
• Oliver Voss (who plays in the area as part of “Oliver and Friends”), who offered a few songs that, he explained, were written that day. This is one of the most exciting aspects of the Singer/Songwriter showcases; inspiring musicians to pen original music. 
• St. Michaels’ favorite Dave Hawkins, who will be the featured artist at the next Singer/Songwriter night (May 19th). 

In addition to serving as host, David Dodd offered some of the best songs of both evenings. A believer in the “write what you know” school, Dodd connected with audience on his songs about traveling to North Carolina and Jamica, about his life on “Gray’s Creek,” and a day spent “Watching the Rain.”

Other performers included Mac Macnamara (of St. Michael’s Junction 33), Suzzane Sanders (“you talk more than any two people I know”), who accompanied herself on the ukulele, and Sean Schultz. Schultz’s “Strange,” a moving song about love and addiction, was a particular highlight

Foxy’s next “Singer/Songwriter” night will be on Monday, May 19, 2025, from 5:00 – 8:00 pm. After a two-week break, it  will return on June 9th, with featured artist Anna Burgess, and continue on Monday nights through the summer.

Mark Pelavin is a consultant and freelance music journalist living in St. Michaels.  You can find more of his work on his Substack.

Filmmaker, author, artist, and cultural icon John Waters has spent more than five decades daring people to look at what they usually turn away from. Known for cult classics like Pink Flamingos, Polyester, and Hairspray, Waters made a career out of unsettling, challenging, and, ultimately, delighting audiences. On May 9, he brings his latest one-man show, The Naked Truth, to the Avalon Theatre in Easton.

As Waters describes it, the show is part stand-up, part cultural commentary, part confessional — and entirely new. “I rewrite it completely once every year,” he said. “It’s about everything — politics, fashion, movies, music, how to get on your parents’ nerves. All sorts of things.”

This year’s version salutes the “gender guerrilla generation” and the rapidly changing landscape of identity and sexuality. “It’s amazing how things have changed so quickly; it even startles me,” he said. “There is a whole new world out there. At the end of a date, you used to ask for a good night kiss. Now I read the young people strangle each other.”

Even for someone who made a name by pushing boundaries, the pace of social change today can feel dizzying. “There’s a whole new set of rules — and no trigger warnings anymore, because who are you going complain to?” he said.

But Waters made clear that The Naked Truth isn’t about shock for shock’s sake. “It’s easy to shock,” he said. “It’s much harder to surprise people and make them laugh. That’s what I do. All comedy is political. It’s protection. It’s how you fight back. It’s how you position yourself. Even fashion is political.” He added, “I’m not self-righteous. I make fun of the rules I live by.”

For some ticket holders at the Avalon show, there will also be a special stick-around for a post-show opportunity to take a selfie with the star and a “group therapy” session. As Waters explains, the therapy will be precisely what you might expect — and nothing like the real thing. “We have no shame here. We share different things,” he said. “Things they might not have been able to say in a regular Q&A. There are different neuroses and attractions, but they figure if anybody can understand, it’s me. And they’re generally right.”

When asked, Waters admitted he’s never attended real group therapy. “I always thought they’d tell others what I told them,” he said. “At my show’s group therapy, nothing is off limits. We say things you’re not supposed to say.” He added, “I’m the psychiatrist. I’m the defense lawyer. They’re the patients. They’re the filthiest people alive, not me.”

That perspective fits Waters’ lifelong fascination with outsiders — although, he said, even that definition has shifted. “I’m through with being an outsider. I want to be an insider now,” he said. “Everybody wants to be an outsider today. Instead, I want to screw things up from the inside — in a positive way.”

It’s an unexpected, if fitting, turn for someone whose early work was once banned, condemned, and reviled. Today, Waters is celebrated by some institutions that once shunned him. “I’m so respectable, I could puke,” he said. “Who would have ever thought the Academy Award museum would give me a 12-room show? Not to mention all these awards I’m getting — the Writers Guild Award, an editing award. It’s amazing to me.” 

It’s so amazing that Waters said he’s now addicted to receiving awards. “I miss the day when I was condemned by the Catholic Church, and they gave me all the bad reviews that I used in the ads,” he said. “Same movies, but people just take them a different way.”

Through all the shifts in reputation and audience, Waters said the core of his creative life remains the same. “I’ve written all my movies. I write my stand-up shows. I write books. I photograph,” he said. “Basically, though, I’m a writer. So, every day, Monday to Friday, I get up, think up weird things, and write between 8 am and noon. In the afternoon, I sell it. That’s what I do for a living.”

His latest novel, Liarmouth, came out of that same discipline. “I’m always in airports because I tour all the time,” he said. “So I wrote about a woman who steals suitcases. No, I never saw it happen — but it’s easy to do. And if you get caught, you pretend you picked up the wrong one.”

As for new undertakings, Waters says he constantly collects new material, jotting down ideas and observations in what he calls different “cubby holes” for future projects. “I’m never bored. I don’t understand how anybody can be bored. Just go watch people. There’s no reason to be bored. You only get one life. Pay attention.”

That attitude extends to how he stays plugged into contemporary culture. “I have youth spies that tell me new stuff that’s going on,” he said. “I hate people my age who say, ‘It was much better back in the day.’ No — it wasn’t. You’re just an old fart. They’re having just as much fun now. You’ve got to figure out what that fun is.”

Waters speaks about aging with the same defiance he once reserved for battling censors and critics. “Old chickens make good soup,” he said. (I had to remove the comment that followed this, but in true Waters fashion, you can probably guess it wasn’t Hallmark card material.)

Then again, if material ever runs short, Waters joked, there’s always hospice humor.
“Old queens, wrinkle queens — we’re all still telling stories.”

Asked if Baltimore continues to be a muse even though his fame has grown beyond his native home, Waters said. “Baltimore’s still my favorite city. It’s still the coolest city because it’s cheap — you can still have Bohemia there,” he said. “I think I give Baltimore pride. We humanize the city. We make it popular, he said, crediting other Baltimore storytellers, from Barry Levinson to The Wire creators, with continuing to frame the city through the lives of its citizens. “We all made it about the peculiar people,” he said. “That’s why people connect to it.”

With a body of work that has been dissected by critics, celebrated by institutions, and embraced by younger generations, I asked if he ever felt misunderstood. “No,” he said. I’ve been understood right from the beginning,” And as for misgivings, he said there was only one. “The only regret I have is smoking. I haven’t had a cigarette in 8,149 days. I write it down every day.”

This ability to track regrets while continuing to push limits is at the core of who Waters is. Asked if there was anything he turns away from, he didn’t hesitate. “Sure — racism, stupidity, homophobia, transphobia,” he said. “But at the same time, I try to figure out what causes that and make that person laugh so they’ll listen and maybe change their mind.”

For first-timers attending The Naked Truth, Waters offered a simple piece of advice:
“Don’t call the police,” he said. Still, he said most audiences know exactly what they’re getting into. “I do ask, ‘Are you on a first date? Good luck.’ It will either resolve in marriage, or it will be the worst date ever.” For me 45 years ago, it resolved in marriage. Thanks, John.

John Waters brings The Naked Truth to the Avalon Theatre on May 9. Tickets are available at avalonfoundation.org. And for those attending the post-show group therapy passes, bring your camera– and maybe an issue or two.

There is no need to travel far for Places We Inhabit at the Zach Gallery in Easton, MD. The gallery held an artist talk on Saturday, April 26. Gallery Manager Aynsley Schopper had curated an excellent, invitational exhibition in this new white space of the Zach Gallery in Easton, a refreshing new asset to our Eastern Shore community.  

Cid Collins Walker

Schopper had organized a mini-symposium with the four women artists in the exhibition Places We Inhabit. The title of the exhibition was inspired by the artist Elizabeth Casqueiro’s artist’s statement. She is a visual artist who lives in Washington DC and in Easton, who is always fascinated by the complex interplay between nature – frequently referencing her mother’s “overgrown” flower garden in Portugal – and the built environment, and the meanings inherent in this connection.  Her artwork explores, through an expanded definition of painting, the ways in which these two environments intersect, shaping the places we inhabit, the experiences we have within them, and the people we become. 

Elizabeth Casqueiro

Also in the exhibition is Amy Wickersham, born in Chicago. She received her BFA from Denver University and studied painting and drawing at the Spannocchia Foundation in delicious Tuscany. Both the sunlight and warm colors of Italy are certainly noticed in her work. After New York city, she moved full time to Sag Harbor in 2010.  

Cid Collins Walker is not only an excellent visual artist but also the founder, executive producer and director of Black Opal Productions LLC.  In addition to documentary filmmaking, she is an awarded expert in television and film production, creative direction, animation, print design and brand management. She earned a B.A. in painting from Scripps College in Claremont, CA, followed by Whitney Fellowship in New York. She serves as Artistic Director at Chesapeake Film Festival which takes place annually in Easton.

Amy Wickersham, Spring Rumba, dyed silk on canvas, 40” x 40

Erica-Lunn Huberty did not attend the artist talk, but her work can be admired. She uses embroidery to create artwork that is replete with intricate detail, often incorporating textiles, trim, and lace. Her use of diverse materials links her practice to collage, although Huberty considers her work to be more indebted to the Dutch and Flemish Old Masters., music to Dutch art-historical ears.  

With some 15 people attending the prosecco event on a Saturday afternoon, the three artists present shared their work and their inspirations. Amy discussed her dyed-silk two-dimensional “paintings,” Cid described here “risks and joy, representational combined with abstract works and Elizabeth her background as an architect and interactions with nature. The overall theme seemed to be their artwork as “containers for their respective narratives.”  

The exhibition is on view from March 8 – May 10, 2025. See https://www.zachgalleryeaston.com/

Anke Van Wagenberg, PhD, is Senior Curator & Head of International Collaborations at the American Federation of Arts in New York and lives in Talbot County, MD. 

Over the last few years, Meredith Davies Hadaway has increasingly been seen as the region’s foremost eco-poet as she draws on her time on the Eastern Shore and her love for the Chester River.

That is why Hadaway will be headlining the upcoming Spy Night at the Avalon on May 7th.  She will read from her new book, Among the Many Disappearing Things, a collection of poems that commemorate both the beauty and the fragility of Eastern Shore life and landscapes.

She will be joined by special guest, poet Deidra Greenleaf Allan.

Here is a sample of her work.

This video is approximately one minute in length. For tickets, please go here.

Spy Nights with Meredith Davies Hadaway
with Guest Deidra Greenleaf Allan
Stoltz Listening Room
Doors: 5:30pm / Event: 6:00pm
May 7, 2025

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The Oxford Community Center is proud to present world-renowned jazz vocalist Allan Harris on Friday, May 2, for a one-night-only performance honoring the legendary Nat King Cole. Part of the acclaimed Jazz Series On Stage at OCC, the concert invites audiences to experience the rich, velvety tones of Cole’s songbook through the singular voice of one of today’s most celebrated interpreters.

Described by The New York Times as a “velvet-voiced baritone with an earthy edge,” Allan Harris has captivated audiences worldwide with his masterful storytelling, elegant phrasing, and genre-defying performances. His tribute to Nat King Cole is more than a concert—it’s a deeply personal homage to an artist who helped define American music and break racial barriers along the way.

“He was for everybody,” said Harris. “He sang for the world, and he delivered the exact songs that the composers wrote. When you heard a Nat King Cole song, you heard every word, every syllable, and it made sense. It was just wonderful.”

Backed by a stellar jazz trio, Harris will perform some of Cole’s most beloved songs, from the buoyant charm of “Rambling Rose” to the silken romance of “Unforgettable,” delivered with the diction, warmth, and storytelling that make Harris a standout on any stage.

“We’re honored to bring Allan Harris to our stage,” said Liza Ledford, Executive Director of the Oxford Community Center. “His connection to this music is palpable, and it will be a night of beauty, nostalgia, and extraordinary talent in an intimate setting.”

Allan Harris: The Music of Nat King Cole
Friday, May 2, 2025 | 7:30 PM
Oxford Community Center | 200 Oxford Rd, Oxford, MD
Tickets and more information: oxfordcc.org

This event is expected to sell out. Advance ticket purchase is strongly recommended.

On Sunday afternoon, at The Ebenezer Theater in Easton, the Hesper Quartet, a Korean-American string quartet based in New York City, charmed the audience with the music of Benjamin Britten and Bedřich Smetana. The quartet was then joined by Chinese pianist Ying Li for a piano quintet by Dmitri Shostakovich. The result: technical mastery, inspirational interpretation, and flawless execution. The concert was held in memory of Anne Moran, who served on the Board of Chesapeake Music and co-chaired the organization’s International Chamber Music Competition.

Last year, the Hesper Quartet swept Silver Medals at the Chesapeake International Music Competition, Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, Lyon International String Quartet Competition, and the Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition. And just last weekend, the Quartet won first prize at the St. Paul Chamber Music Competition.

Yi Ling was the First Prize winner of the 2021 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions, as well as the recipient of the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival Prize and the Tri-1 Noon Recitals Prize, in addition to a host of other awards. 

The Hesper Quartet played Britten’s Three Divertimenti for String Quartet, which Britten wrote in his early 20s and created to represent character portraits of various school friends, sometimes referred to as Go play, boy, play.

The second piece was Smetana’s String Quartet No. 1 (“From My Life”) which is a four-movement autobiographical piece which includes memories of his youth, some nationalistic references, a tribute to his wife, and the final movement which correlates with his declining health and the reckoning of his mortality. Its notable features include a prominent viola solo in the first movement and a sustained harmonic E by the first violinist in the last movement. 

The Shostakovich Piano Quintet in G Minor consists of five movements—a Prelude, Fugue, Scherzo, Intermezzo, and Finale. The Quartet captured the essence of much of Shostakovich’s music, which is characterized by emotion, sharp contrasts, and technical complexity. 

The Hesper Quartet and pianist Ying Li did more than justice to each of these pieces and received a well-deserved standing ovation for their artistry and interpretations. 

Next up on the Chesapeake Music calendar is the much-awaited Chamber Music Festival, which offers six concerts from June 6 through 14, including some with the world-renowned Juilliard Quartet. Subscriptions and individual tickets for the Festival are available on ChesapeakeMusic.org. 

Editor’s note: The Spy has proudly supported the Chesapeake Film Festival since 2010. Over the past fifteen years, we’ve explored various ways to share with our Mid-Shore readers just how fortunate we are to have a festival that consistently delivers thoughtful, engaging, and artistically rich programming.

This year, we’re expanding that commitment by co-producing a monthly podcast with CFF executive director Cid Walker Collins and her devoted team of volunteers. The series will feature in-depth conversations about the films being presented throughout the year, offering listeners a behind-the-scenes look at the creative forces behind them.

Cid will be joined by Irene Magafan, the festival’s new board president, as well as guest hosts who will interview filmmakers, writers, and actors about the art and craft of cinema. These discussions will offer both artistic insight and cultural context, underscoring the value of experiencing these screenings in our own community.

In this first episode of Chesapeake Screen, Cid speaks with Irene Magafan about her work as a filmmaker, her deep passion for cinema, and how her vision aligns with the Chesapeake Film Festival’s enduring mission.

This podcast is approximately ten minutes in length.  For more information and ticket sales, please go here.

Upcoming CFF – Talbot County Free Library partnership screenings: 

• April 30: River — In honor of Earth Day, experience this breathtaking documentary narrated by Willem Dafoe, exploring the vital role of rivers in our ecosystem and culture.

• May 21: Conclave — Dive into the intrigue of this Oscar-nominated film starring Ralph Fiennes and Isabella Rossellini, a gripping narrative of power and secrecy.

• June 21: Wicked — Get ready for a wild and wonderful cinematic journey with this theatrical masterpiece starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, and Jeff Goldblum.