What to Do While Waiting for Recovery

A Week of Free Fun

by Diana Beechener

Thursday March 5

Celebrate Women’s History Month with rhyme, women and film. Hear African American women poets, see interpretive dances and screen a documentary that celebrates black women in the arts — all without becoming a starving artist. 5:30-7:30pm @ Pascal Center, Anne Arundel Community College, Arnold. free: 410-777-2218.

Friday March 6

Culture doesn’t have to cost. Museums throughout Maryland invite you to view antiquities, relics and modern marvels for free. At Calvert Marine Museum’s First Free Friday, hone your vocal skills at a barbershop workshop at 5:30pm. Then hear the real thing: Fathers & Sons Barbershop Quartet sing 6-6:45pm; Patuxent Pearls sing 7-7:30pm. Beyond barbershop, you’ll be on time for the opening of the Solomons Then and Now photography show. As always, explore the museum’s paleontology and marine exhibits. 5-8pm @ Calvert Marine Musem, Solomons. free: 410-326-2042 x 41; www.calvertmarinemuseum.com.

Saturday March 7

Instead of scanning your financial statements, take a hike with Prince George’s Audubon Society to search for late-winter wildfowl. 7:30am @ Fran Uhler Natural Area, Bowie: 410-765-6482.

Sunday March 8

Not all concerts require tickets; for free you can salute the Navy’s efforts to entertain. Petty Officer Kevin Meyer leads Naval Academy percussionists in music by Gordon Stout, Chip Webster and Brett Dietz. 3pm @ Christ Our Anchor Presbyterian Church, Annapolis: 410-293-0263.

Monday March 9

Reminisce about better days as Lindsey Baker, director of the Laurel Historical Society, talks on the events in the 1950s that caused Laurel to shake, rattle and roll. 7pm @ Maryland City Russett Library, Laurel: 301-725-2390.

Tuesday March 10

Families find fun together at a trivial pursuit tournament, testing their knowledge and working as a team. All levels of experience can play for prizes or compete for bragging rights. 7pm @ Mountain Road Library, Pasadena: 410-222-6699.

Wednesday March 11

The best way to see a show for free is to join the cast. Audition for two of Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre’s summer productions, Smokey Joe’s Café (performances May 28 thru June 21) and Quilters (performances July 2 thru July 26), and spend a summer serenading audiences under the stars. Be prepared with a song. Auditions continue March 14. 7pm @ West Annapolis Elementary School: 410-268-9212; www.summergarden.com.

If stage fright has you quaking in your boots, screen cinema from around the globe at the World Artists Experience film festival. This week, see Egypt’s Love in Karnak. 7pm @ Maryland Hall, Annapolis: 410-647-4482.

Thursday March 12

The economy isn’t the only thing that’s declined over the years. Get an assessment of the Bay’s health in 1608 from estuarine ecologist and environmental historian Dr. Kent Mountford, who’ll envision how John Smith and the native peoples who lived along its shores saw the Bay and explain how 400 years have damaged Bay ecology. 7:30pm @ Calvert Marine Museum, Solomons: 410-326-2042.