On Saturday, June 16, First Lady Yumi Hogan joined Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh for the opening of the Walters Art Museum’s 19th-century mansion at 1 West Mount Vernon Place. The $10.4 million project was supported by the State of Maryland, the City of Baltimore, the France-Merrick Foundation, Leo and Anna Belle Sirota, Baltimore County, Martha Ann Peters, and other generous donors. Four days earlier, on June 12, the First Lady visited the Ocean City Center for the Arts and spoke about the importance of art and art education to communities and her personal journey as an artist.

Pictured: (Left to right) James DeGraffenreidt, Jr., President of the Board, The Walters Art Museum; Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh; First Lady Yumi Hogan; Julia Marciari-Alexander, Executive Director, The Walters Art Museum; and children cut the ribbon at the opening of 1 West Mount Vernon Place.

The Maryland Tourism Coalition (MTC) announced Ruth Toomey as its new executive director, effective June 1, 2018. Toomey, a longtime professional in the Greater Baltimore/Anne Arundel County hospitality industry, has been an active board member of the tourism/hospitality trade organization since 2009. She most recently served as MTC’s Membership chair.

“Tourism is one of Maryland’s top economic engines and MTC needs a strong professional to guide our members in advocacy and policy to support an industry that employs nearly 150,000 Marylanders,” said Michael Haynie, MTC Board chair. “Ruth knows this community from the small business perspective, as well as the large retail perspective, and has been committed to MTC‘s success for nearly 10 years. She is an asset to our mission and we look forward to growing our organization under her leadership.”

The 2018 Maryland Travel & Tourism Summit (MTTS) will be held November 14-16 at the Chesapeake Bay Hyatt Regency Golf Resort, Spa and Marina in Cambridge. MTTS is Maryland’s annual tourism industry conference, which brings together all sectors of the hospitality industry. MTTS offers one-of-a-kind networking and is the ideal opportunity to learn and develop new strategies to advance your business and Maryland Tourism as a whole.

The summit attracts more than 250 attendees, acclaimed speakers presenting on industry trends, and interactive learning sessions including an off-site learning lab. For more information and to register, follow this link.

The road that built the nation, the Historic National Road, was the subject of the latest in TFA’s ongoing project to showcase Maryland’s extensive Scenic Byway system. The four-day video shoot covered the eastern section of Maryland’s Historic National Road; the western section was documented last year. The shoot featured actors traveling in a classic 1956 Ford Crown Victoria to locations in Hagerstown, Funkstown, Boonsboro, Middletown, Frederick, New Market, Ellicott City, and Baltimore. "It will be a great finished project featuring a couple travelling the eastern portion of the Byway in a gorgeous, classic car,” said Catherine Batavick, Project Manager, OTD. “We could not have done it without the support of our DMOs and a myriad of our tourism partners. The locations featured in the filming of this video could not have been more accommodating. So, a big thank you to all of them.” Look for this latest video later this year, and to see the current roster of Scenic Byway videos, follow this link to Visitmaryland.org.

The nation’s premier documentary film festival returned to Silver Spring as the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center once again rolled out the red carpet for the best documentary films and filmmakers of the year. AFI DOCS, which ran June 13-17, was founded in 2003 and has quickly grown to become not only a fan favorite drawing thousands of fans to the region, but one of the most important festivals in the industry. Called the "Pre-eminent U.S. Documentary Fest" by Screen International, the "Premier showcase for documentary films" by The Hollywood Reporter, and "Non-fiction Nirvana" by Variety, this year’s festival featured 92 films representing 22 countries including five world premieres and a thrilling new Virtual Reality showcase.

The Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) is conducting "We Are Listening" sessions to get feedback on several of its programs. The sessions include the Individual Artist Awards, Arts in Education, Accessibility and Veterans Programs and Grants for Organizations. The sessions began on May 31, with two more scheduled June 21 and 28 and more to follow in early fall. Participants are given the opportunity to provide feedback on the programs and the responses will be incorporated into MSAC's strategic planning process. To keep abreast of all the latest MSAC news, sign up for their newsletter here, and to register for a “We Are Listening” session, follow this link to the MSAC homepage.

In Partnership with the Maryland Tourism Education Foundation, the Maryland Hotel Lodging Association (MHLA) Scholarship was established to support hospitality students in the state of Maryland. Eligible students can receive up to a $1,500 scholarship for their tuition or related expenses. The deadline is approaching quickly; for more information on scholarship requirements and to apply, follow this link.

The all-new, official Destination Maryland guide presents our tourism partners with a unique, powerful opportunity 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 consumers 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 an advertiser's landing page.

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/.

How can OTD help spread the word about your attraction or event? "Maryland Mondays" is the perfect way to help us help you. Each Monday, OTD launches a new “Maryland Mondays” ticket giveaway program across all of our social media channels, consumer newsletters, and weekly “Maryland Minute” radio spots. Combined, these channels reach thousands of potential customers each week. To find out how to get involved by providing tickets to your attraction for an upcoming "Maryland Mondays," email OTD’s Leslie Troy.

Pictured: Oregon Ridge Park, provided by Richard Lippenholz

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.