As Hot as the Mojave Desert Copyright 2010 Scripps Media, Inc

Did it surprise anyone that Frederick was the hottest city in the country yesterday? A nice write up on ABC2′s website HERE http://is.gd/dizti and HERE http://is.gd/dizvm They were calling for today to be warmer than yesterday on Monday.

Don’t worry, no prognostications of us breaking the all time record of 109 set on July 10, 1936.

Bring back that summer feeling with the Winter Alive @ Five series!  Enjoy special acoustic performances at various locations in downtown on the fourth Thursday of February, March and April 2010 from 5 – 8pm.  Cure your cabin fever with with a glass of beer or wine with your friends while enjoying great music in a relaxing atmosphere.   Must be 21+ with valid ID to enter. ID required. Cash bar. $5 cover helps support Downtown Frederick Partnership and the summer Alive @ Five series on Carroll Creek held May through September.

Thursday, February 25th, 5 – 8pm

Freddie Long Duo – Acoustic

www.freddielong.com

Weinberg Center for the Arts

20 W. Patrick Street

This event also supports the Weinberg Center

Thursday, March 25th, 5 – 8pm

ilyAIMY

High Energy Acoustic Folk Rock Duo

www.ilyaimy.com

Brewer’s Alley – 2nd Floor

20 W. Patrick Street

Thursday, April 22nd, 5 – 8pm

The Wayfarers

Acoustic Irish Music

www.dxplive.com

Cultural Arts Center

15 W. Patrick Street

This event also supports the Frederick Arts Council

An event to celebrate the vibrant culinary offerings found in Downtown Frederick and help raise funds for the Partnership.

Tickets can be purchased for a 5:30, 6:00, 6:30, or 7:00pm seating.  Maximum of 26 people per seating.  Diners will be seated European style.  Four courses will be served. The appetizer, salad, and dinner courses will include a glass of wine and/or beer. Coffee will be provided with dessert.  Diners will walk between restaurants.

Tickets are $85, which includes tax and gratuity and about half of the ticket is tax deductible.

Here’s the menu:

Appetizer Course: Patrick’s Irish Pub & Restaraunt

Mixed Tempura Battered Veggies & Dipping Sauces

Drink: Hot Mulled Wine or any Domestic Draft Beer

Salad Course: Quynn’s Attic

Baby Spinach & Baby Arugula Salad with Gorgonzola, Dried Cranberries, Shaved Fennel Slaw and Champagne Vinaigrette

Drink: Oxford Landing Pinot Grigio or Merlot

Entree: Brewer’s Alley

Brewer’s New Fashioned Pot Roast - Slow Rump Roast in Brewer’s Alley Nut Brown Ale with Parsnips, Onions, Carrots and Celery served over Creamy Mashed Potatoes

OR

House Smoked Atlantic Salmon – Char-grilled with Butternut Squash Succotash, Canellini Beans, Wilted Spinach and Zinfandel-Pomegranate Butter

Drink: Brewer’s Alley Beer or House Red/White Wine

Dessert Course: VOLT

Carrot Cake, Frozen Cream Cheese Icing and Ginger, Fennel Candy

Drink: Coffee

Explore unique boutiques, dine at fabulous restaurants, engage the arts with live performances, view unique galleries and more – just 45 minutes from Baltimore & DC!

Choose one of these great overnight packages and enjoy the best Downtown Frederick, Maryland has to offer…

The packages include Ghost Tours, a Girls Getaway and a Film Festival Package.  They also  include stays in local hotels such as Best Western,  Courtyard by Marriott and the Marriott Fairfield Inn and Suites.

I find this interesting, considering my recent post on hotels directing their out-of-town guests to downtown Frederick.  Hmmm, maybe the problem is more limited to the Hampton Inn.

A website dedicated to the farmer’s markets in Frederick County, Maryland. Here you will find where the farmer’s markets are located, when they are open, what items are available, and a detailed information about participating farmers, bakers, artisans, and business owners.

Related is this article from Frederick Magazine’s (correction: Elegant Living is actually published by the same company that published FNP and not Frederick Magazine, my bad and thanks to G.F. for the heads up) Elegant Living about area Farmer’s Market. Sounds like a lot of good fresh grub to be had.

Enjoy NINE Alive @ Five happy hours on the banks of Carroll Creek throughout the summer!  Great music, food, beer and wine from downtown restaurants and an exciting atmosphere make this a must attend summer event!

Alive @ Five 2009 kicks off on May 14th and is held the second and fourth Thursday of each month from through September 10th at the Carroll Creek Park Amphitheatre between Market and Carroll Streets. Each event occurs from 5 – 8pm.  Must be 21+ to enter.

ID required. $5 cover.

The first band to kick off this year’s Alive @ Five on May 14th  is Jah Works (turn your sound down if you are at work!), a Reggae band  that plays in Frederick pretty frequently.

Alive @ Five is a great time. Maybe we can try again to do another get-together.  By the way, when they say bring ID, they really mean it.  They check everybody’s ID, no matter how old you look!

The owner of a fine dining restaurant in Frederick County will honor gift certificates of two businesses that closed.

Sean DeLawder, owner of Gabriel’s Inn, said he will honor gift certificates from Hagan’s Tavern and Mealey’s, with some limitations.

The gift certificates will be honored for 50 percent of their value, up to $50. The offer is not valid for holidays or special events, DeLawder said.

“It is always a sad occasion when we lose an independent business in our area,” DeLawder said Monday.

“We are saddened to hear of the closing of Mealey’s Restaurant in New Market and Hagan’s Tavern,” he said in a notice sent to about 100 of his regular customers.

DeLawder said he is reaching out to customers and others who may have certificates from the two closed restaurants.

Gabriel’s Inn, at 4730 Ijamsville Road, offers fine French cuisine. The building has been a fine dining restaurant since 1968 and has been owned by the DeLawder family since 1988.

“We believe, and think our customers would agree, that we need more than chain stores and restaurants from which to choose,” DeLawder said. “It is part of our American heritage for a section of the marketplace to be comprised of small, independent businesses.”

He encouraged residents to support independent businesses of all types in the area, “And applaud your hard work, entrepreneurship and success in our community.”

A very classy move on the DeLawders and Gabriel’s Inn‘s part, if I may say so myself.

The Festival will kick-off on Saturday, May 2, 2009, with a Health and Fitness
Expo, followed by a twilight 5K race. On Sunday, May 3, the marathon will begin at 6:30
a.m. and conclude with an awards ceremony around noon. All events will be held at the
Frederick Fairgrounds. The 26 mile marathon will progress throughout The City of
Frederick and Frederick County. The exact route may be obtained by viewing the
Frederick Running Festival website at www.frederickmarathon.org. All event parking
areas will be clearly marked and located close to the Fairgrounds.

For any info on the race and other events, visit the Frederick Marathon website.  For example, for maps of the route, click here.  And you can find the full weekend schedule here.

I’m looking forward to trying some new pizza in town!

Lizfrog