On Friday, April 20, the MSAC celebrated 50 years of supporting Maryland arts with a gala celebration at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. More than 200 attendees were greeted with video presentations by Governor Larry Hogan, First Lady Yumi Hogan, Secretary of Commerce Mike Gill, Mayor Catherine Pugh, and more. Guests also enjoyed craft demonstrations including net making, rug hooking, finger weaving and screen painting. MSAC program directors also gave presentations on Arts in Education, Poetry Out Loud, Individual Artist Awards, Community Arts, Arts & Entertainment Districts, Presenting and Touring, Maryland Traditions, and Public Art.

Pictured: Sankofa Dance Theatre

The South Mountain Eastbound Welcome Center in Myersville was named one of the nation’s 15 most beautiful by Architectural Digest. With this prestigious designation, the LEED-certified center joins other welcome centers in such exotic locations as the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, the white sand beaches of the Florida Keys, the rugged terrain of the Salt River Canyon in Arizona, and an iceberg-filled fjord outside Anchorage, Alaska. The South Mountain Eastbound Welcome Center is located on the Historic National Road, America’s first federal highway, 12 miles south of Hagerstown. To read the full list, follow this link to Architectural Digest.

Maryland’s Appalachian Mountains, valleys and waterways have been inspiring travel for thousands of years. As residents, business owners, organizations and agencies within the region, there are no better storytellers than you to help develop Maryland’s Mountains “Anthology,” an important step in increasing state arts and tourism investment in Frederick, Washington, Allegany and Garrett counties.

If you’d like to share stories that inspire travel to the region, please join the Maryland Office of Tourism Development and the Maryland State Arts Council for this workshop on June 6, 2018. The event will run 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. at a location to be determined. For questions or to reserve your space, contact Heather Ersts at hersts@visitmaryland.org by May 30.

The all-new official Destination Maryland guide presents our tourism partners with a unique, powerful platform. There is no comparable opportunity available that is 100 percent focused on visitation to Maryland—and there is no better time to speak to its large audience than when they are actively planning their visit to the state. Destination Maryland is sent by request to highly qualified travelers who are actively planning a Maryland vacation—most often a long one. In addition to 250,000 printed copies distributed, the guide will also be available as an interactive e-book with click-through to advertiser landing pages.

Contact Carly Stedman for rates and details: carly.stedman@milespartnership.com / 202-681-8169 or go to http://industry.visitmaryland.org/marketing-advertising/advertising-marketing-opportunities/.

The Maryland Stadium Authority (MSA), Green Sports Alliance (GSA) and International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) are hosting a sustainability professional development and networking event at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium. The event will be held Wednesday, May 30, from 1:00-5:00 p.m., and will feature sustainability tips, panel discussions, breakout sessions, and a stadium tour. The event is designed for current or potential GSA and IAVM members. Admission is free, and discount tickets for the Orioles/Nationals game, which follows the event at 7:05 p.m. can be puchased with the code GSAIAVM. To register, follow this link.

The Maryland Film Festival in Baltimore, sponsored in part by the Maryland Film Office, kicks off its 20th year at the Parkway Theatre May 2-6. More than 40 feature films will be screened, including "Soller's Point" by local filmmaker Matt Porterfield which was shot in and around Dundalk. Ten shorts from around the world, along with workshops, Q&As and other events make the Maryland Film Festival the largest of its kind in the state. Each of the North American featured films will be presented by a filmmaker from the project. This year’s slate includes “¡LAS SANDINISTAS!”, the classic Japanese film “A Page of Madness,” and John Waters’ 2018 pick, “I, OLGA HEPNAROVÁ." This year, the annual five-day festival is expected to be the biggest yet. Get your tickets now on the festival’s website.

The Maryland Office of Tourism's Welcome Centers will be hosting their annual Open House, a unique opportunity where tourism partners are invited into the Welcome Centers to promote their attractions directly to our visitors alongside our travel counselors during National Travel and Tourism Week, May 6-12. During the event travelers will be invited to choose their favorite cover of the 2018 Destination Maryland editions. To join in at a center in your region, please contact casey.keyfauver@maryland.gov by May 5.

You’re invited to the Rural Small Business Lending Worskhop being held May 10 in Salisbury. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, USDA Rural Development, and the Rural Maryland Council will welcome you, as well as community bankers, community development experts, community development financial institutions (DCFIs), municipal government representatives, and community and economic development partners, to learn about credit enhancement and direct subordinate loan opportunities to assist businesses and community development projects. This half-day session will focus on the state of rural small business development, highlight the various lending products offered by each participating organization, and discuss how their respective lending products are leveraged to meet evolving small business development needs. There is no fee to attend the event, however advanced registration is required as seating is limited. Follow this link to register.

On May 3 and May 15, TFA will be hosting regional partnership sessions in Columbia and Flintstone, respectively. The goal of these meetings is to build and develop programs between state agencies and other partners involved in arts and tourism with the goal of appealing to in-state and out-of-state customers to drive economic and quality of life benefits for Maryland. The state agencies include DHCD, Transportation, DNR, Commerce, and Planning.

The day-long meetings will provide an overview of how state agencies can benefit tourism and arts partners, and include round-table discussions centered on marketing, research, access to resources, and idea generation to build collaboration and programs that will enhance the state’s tourism and arts offerings. The Regional meetings are being produced by the Maryland Office of Tourism and its sister agencies sponsored in part by AAA. There is a $20 registration fee for each workshop, and lunch will be provided. For more information, to register, and to take our brief survey, follow this link to Visitmaryland.org.

For the latest on events and everything going all around Maryland, view the latest edition of Visit Maryland Now! here.

Each week, the Maryland Minute provides highlights and insights on this weekend’s events around the state. Maryland Minute is featured on iHeart radio stations in Maryland and Washington, D.C. and on Baltimore’s WBAL-AM 1090.