:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/baltimorebanner/3RGDY5APCNCTHDPRHAR7NIX3KE.JPG)
You could take in some Latin dancing, take your kids to hear a Maryland children’s author, attend a Paul Shaffer concert or go on the trail of presidents in Annapolis during the week through Feb. 21.
Dance bachata
9 p.m. Friday
Latin dance styles have gone up and down in popularity, but one that started in the Dominican Republic in the 1960s is making an Annapolis stop at Club Vibe. Zacarías Ferreíra has been singing bachata since 1998, with several hits.
Bachata as a dance started in bars and brothels of Santo Domingo and progressed to become a social dance performed with other pairs, each couple keeping close and working around the floor in squares. The music — originally the word meant “backyard party” — shares some rhythms with merengue and bolero but developed its own sound. It reached peak popularity in the 1990s after electric guitars were added in the United States, and the sound worked its way back to the island.
Tickets start at $57.25 plus fees, with a four-ticket minimum.
A story for Saturday
11-12 p.m. Saturday
Baltimore children’s author Kim C. Lee will read from her first book, “The Night Owl,” at the Museum of Historic Annapolis on Random Acts of Kindness Day. She’ll talk about what it means to show love, compassion and positivity through small, unexpected acts of kindness.
After the reading, kids can have fun coloring with Lee and explore the museum on a self-guided scavenger hunt. A limited number of books will be available for purchase. $7 for anyone 8 and over, free for younger children, Historic Annapolis members and active military. Advance registration required, space is limited.
More about Annapolis
Sailor Ronnie Simpson’s solo circumnavigation bid ends with rescue off Argentina coast
InGrano opens new restaurant in former Flamant space in West Annapolis
A political reporter’s best tips for visiting the State House in Annapolis
Retro TV in concert
7:30 p.m. Saturday
Jon Stewart is back as a weekly host on TV’s “The Daily Show,” and talk show legend David Letterman posted a Super Bowl video on his YouTube channel, so why not go see Paul Shaffer in Concert at Maryland Hall?
Shaffer, Letterman’s musical director and sidekick for 33 seasons on two late-night television shows, will perform symphonic renditions of his favorite pop, R&B and jazz tunes in a show conducted by Live Arts Maryland Director J. Ernest Green. They’ll be joined by a variety of vocalists. $50
A winter run
8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday
Annapolis Striders’ ninth annual Eternal Winter 6-Hour Run was delayed in January because of inclement weather, but the forecast for the new date, Sunday, is partly cloudy with highs near 50. This 2.5-mile dirt and paved course takes runners on Greenbury Point at Naval Support Activity Annapolis.
It is a free, no-frills run that is all about the social aspect. Proceeds will benefit The Light House and its homeless prevention program. Fill out the registration form online, print it out and bring it and a check with you. $25.
Black History Month musical
4-7 p.m. Sunday
The Greater U Street Theatre Group is bringing its jazz musical “String of Pearls” to Maryland Hall in collaboration with the Banneker-Douglass Museum. The musical tells the love story of Nettie and Sam, sharecroppers who escape from the Chikoree Wood Cotton Plantation to Washington’s Greater U Street neighborhood. $50 plus fees.
In concert for kids
2-3 p.m. Monday
Monday is a federal (and school) holiday, and if your kids are under 10, the Milkshake Duo’s appearance at the Anne Arundel County Public Library’s branch at Westfield Annapolis Mall could be a highlight of the day.
Singer Lisa Mathews and guitarist Mikel Gehl write music for kids, and their work is popular with adults. Creative expression is encouraged with every song, and children participate through body movement and voice. Free.
Looking for presidents
Monday
George Washington loved to dance. Lincoln didn’t tell anyone he was coming.
In a city that has drawn so many presidential visits, it is odd that there isn’t a guide that lets you walk where occupants of the White House have trod Annapolis.
But if you look hard, you can find a few traces here and there for Presidents Day
The best place to start is the Old Senate Chamber at the State House. There you’ll find a life-size statue of George Washington on the spot — roughly — where he resigned his commission on Dec. 23, 1783.
The general went home to his wife, Martha, and Mount Vernon the next day, but he was well-known around Annapolis before the Revolutionary War for his love of horses, dancing and a card game called whist. He often stayed at Mann’s Tavern, or the owner’s house. The building he visited was destroyed years ago, but children can learn more about his visits from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in a special program at the Museum of Historic Annapolis.
You don’t want to take the kids to the site of the Three Mile Oak, the supposed spot of a giant tree where a delegation from Annapolis met Washington on his way to the State House for his resignation. It was struck by lightning in 1909, and the fire left only a charred stump. A concrete block at the corner of Generals Highway and West Street supported the remains until they were removed in 1967.
A new tree and granite memorial were planted across West Street from the Annapolis Restaurant Park, although the memorial has since fallen over. Legend has it that the stump, or what’s left of it, is in official storage somewhere in Annapolis.
Lincoln arrived in Annapolis on Feb. 2, 1865, from Washington to much less fanfare. He stepped off the Annapolis & Elk Ridge train from Washington at the corner of Calvert and West Street, part of a secret trip to a Virginia peace conference with Confederates.
In his book “Lincoln in Annapolis February 1865,” Back Creek Books owner Rock Towes suggests Lincoln walked across the muddy streets of Annapolis, the St. John’s College campus and into the Naval Academy probably via the Maryland Avenue gate. From there, he took a steamer to City Point and then returned. There’s a marker at the spot where the train station once stood.
Many presidents have made the trip to Annapolis for academy graduation ceremonies, held for years at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Before that, presidents addressed the Mids from the bandstand in front of the Naval Academy Chapel.
Some extra visits have been made by modern-day presidents.
Bill Clinton came to the State House in February 1997 to talk about his education plans, and stopped for a bite at a pub on Maryland Avenue. It’s where Galway Bay is now located. George W. Bush attended the Annapolis Conference at the Naval Academy, a November 2007 attempt to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Barack Obama spoke at the annual retreat for Senate Democrats when it was held at the Westin Hotel on Westgate Circle in February 2013, and if Donald Trump only made it here for the commissioning ceremony in 2016, his visit generated dueling protests on Rowe Boulevard.
Joe Biden has been here at least three times, speaking at graduation ceremonies as vice president in 2015 and president in 2022, and at a seminar on sexual assault at service academies in November 2015.
Happy Presidents Day.
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/baltimorebanner/2202b4c8-71b7-4d0f-8d3a-0acdacc40a70.jpg)
Rick Hutzell is the Annapolis columnist for The Baltimore Banner. He writes about what's happening today, how we got here and where we're going next. The former editor of Capital Gazette, he led the newspaper to a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the 2018 mass shooting in its newsroom.
:format(jpg)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/baltimorebanner/UTOU6RCPLZEOREZ3XZNRG2ZDKY.jpg)
:format(jpg)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/baltimorebanner/YO2XC34J6JHOZKTPKVPUWFEYVE.jpg)
:format(jpg)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/baltimorebanner/5VYMTB6UOFHKXG72LMP42HMWOU.jpg)
:format(jpg)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/baltimorebanner/7V65VJ4Z2FCCNPYEXDDIMABSPE.JPG)