Vanessa Collier, River Hill graduate, blues saxophonist/singer/songwriter, returned from four shows at Biscuits and Blues in San Francisco in time to perform on the Green Stage at Wine in the Woods.
She and her band will next appear in Howard County at the Woodstock Maryland Music Fest on June 20, from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m., opening for 10,000 Maniacs. If you purchase tickets for this show, be sure to tell them Vanessa sent you because she gets some credit for ticket sales.
Her summer east coast tour schedule includes stops in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and South Carolina. For a full list of released tour dates, go to http://www.vanessacollier.com/tourdates/.
These have been great times for Vanessa.
After finishing in the top three finalists in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest for her original song, "Bad News Bears" in September, she appeared as Blues Breaker Artist of the Month, Dan Aykroyd's Elwood's Blues Mobile(House of Blues Radio) in October and returned as Best of 2014 Blues Breaker Artist in December.
Vanessa was a finalist in International Songwriting competition for her lyrics to her original song "Tongue Tied" in March and won Billtown Blues Challenge ,earning a spot on the main stage at the Billtown Blues Festival in Pennsylvania, thus earning a highly coveted spot in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in January 2016.
Amid all her successes on the road, Vanessa manages to teach private saxophone lessons in Howard County and helps with the Collective Jazz Ensemble at River Hill and Atholton High schools.
Congratulations to Jeremy Jablonover. The Clarksville Middle School student received a Special Prize in the Maryland State History Day competition for "R. Adams Cowley: The Golden Hour."
Kudos to Mariah Campbell, Karen Feng, Brenna Donovan and Lily Chakrabarti on being recognized at RHHS as outstanding CMS art students. All four students will continue art studies as freshmen in Art II GT classes.
Were your ancestors German Catholics?
John Foertschbeck will present "Catholics, Germans and Western Maryland" at the Bain Center on June 10. Based on his research, John has authored several books. Some will be available for purchase at the meeting. Come at 7 p.m. to enjoy free refreshments and socialize.
Members of the Howard County Genealogical Society share their research at 7:15 p.m. There is a brief meeting at 7:30 followed by the lecture at 8 p.m. It's all free and all are welcome. The meeting is canceled if senior centers are closed that day. Learn more at Welcome to the Howard County (Maryland) Genealogy Society
Seven years ago theNew Hope Church helped to build the New Hope Mahotas School in Mozambique. They've been supporting the school ever since. Recently the church hosted an international food fest. Over 600 guests enjoyed yummy food andbeverages from Africa, Argentina, the Caribbean, Germany, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Peru and the USA.
There was entertainment throughout the afternoon featuring the children's steel drum band, kids' choir and dances from India and Africa. The Caribbean was voted overall winner for display, food and beverage, but the USA collected the most tips for dessert. In all, over $10,000 was raised, making the children in Mozambique the real winners.
Hilltop Child Care Center celebrated its 14th birthday on May 13. They note that a fun-filled summer program is planned and they are continuing to enroll for the coming school year. Programs are available for children ages 2 1/2 to 5 who are potty trained. Go towww.HilltopChildCareCenter.comor call 443-535-8505 to learn more or schedule a tour.