Two Maryland events have been selected to appear on the American Bus Association's top 100 events in North America for 1995, and this year they share the same weekend. The first is the 27th annual Autumn Glory Festival held in downtown Oakland and the surrounding area from Thursday through Oct. 16, and the second is St. Mary's County Oyster Festival at the St. Mary's County Fairgrounds in Leonardtown Saturday and Oct. 16.
The official Maryland State banjo and fiddle championships are among the highlights of Oakland's four-day Autumn Glory Festival, an exciting weekend that also includes an Oktoberfest celebration, two big parades, the Western Maryland Tournament Bands, a Tall Tale Liars' Festival, a baseball- and sports-card show, a heritage craft festivaland the 10th annual Gortner Airport Fly-In -- not to mention musical entertainment, square dancing, clogging, hayrides, games, crafts, antiques, turkey dinners and other food.
Shuttle service will be available from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday between the Deep Creek Lake-McHenry area and downtown Oakland. Admission is charged for some events. For information or a free brochure, call (301) 334-1948.
During the last two days of the Oakland festival, the St. Mary's County Oyster Festival in Southern Maryland will be providing a feast for oyster lovers: The succulent mollusk will be served raw, fried, stewed and scalded. Those who aren't oyster fans can dine on seafood chowder, shrimp, crabs, stuffed ham (a Southern Maryland specialty), chicken, beef and homemade desserts.
Two stages will have continuous entertainment -- square dancers, a swing band, a 35-member barbershop quartet, jazz, bluegrass and other sounds. Other amusements include carnival games and rides, local arts and crafts, a flea market and children's activities. Highlights of the event are the National Oyster Shucking Championship Contest (both days) and the National Oyster Cook-Off on Saturday. Free oyster-shucking lessons will be offered throughout the festival, and past cook-off winners will be on hand both days to demonstrate their best dishes.
Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $2; free for children 14 and under. The fairgrounds are two miles south of Leonardtown on Route 5. Call (301) 863-5015.
Cranberry festival
Cranberries will be the main attraction at the 11th annual Chatsworth Cranberry Festival Saturday and Oct. 16 at the White Horse Inn in Chatsworth, N.J. The inn is all that remains of the 1904 Chatsworth Club, once a fashionable resort complex owned by the Italian Prince Ruspoli. This year's festival will focus on the club's history. Here some of the nation's wealthiest families gathered every autumn until World War I. The guest list ++ included the Astors, Biddles, du Ponts, Morgans and Vanderbilts, as well as statesmen and titled Europeans.
This year's visitors can take tours of the cranberry bogs; reservations are suggested. The Cranberry Cafe will offer cranberry tarts, pies, muffins and cookies. A cranberry pancake breakfast will be served from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., and a variety of musical groups will perform in the inn's courtyard. A flower show, with cranberry-colored arrangements, as well as handmade crafts, antiques and an antique-car show (Sunday only), are other festival attractions. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Rain dates are Oct. 22-23. Admission is a $5 parking donation. Take Exit 4 off the New Jersey Turnpike to Route 38 east to Route 206 south, and turn left on Route 532. Call (609) 726-1890.
Re-enacting Cedar Creek
The 130th anniversary of the Battle of Cedar Creek will be observed with a living-history and re-enactment weekend Saturday and Oct. 16 on the battlefield in Middletown, Va.
Camps will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Last year's event drew more than 20,000 spectators, and even more are expected for this 130th anniversary event. Some 250 of this year's participants are related to soldiers who fought at Cedar Creek Oct. 19, 1864. Throughout the weekend there will be drills, parades, symposiums, and infantry, cavalry and artillery demonstrations. Battle re-enactments are scheduled at 4 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
Admission is $8; free for children 12 and under. The battlefield is on U.S. Route 11, one mile south of Middletown. Call (703) 869-2064.
An 18th-century fair
Crafts people, peddlers, militia men, a tailor, farmers and musicians are among the people you will meet Saturday and Oct. 16 at the 18th-Century Autumn Market Fair at the Claude Moore Colonial Farm at Turkey Run in McLean, Va.
Weather permitting, activities take place from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The fun includes hands-on crafts demonstrations, food, period music, dancing, 18th-century games and a Colonial puppet show for children. Admission is $3 for adults; $1.50 for seniors and children ages 3 to 12. The farm is at 6310 Georgetown Pike in McLean. Call (703) 442-7557.
Trolley Museum anniversary
The National Capital Trolley Museum celebrates its 25th anniversary Oct. 16 with an open house from noon to 5 p.m. All the museum's trolley cars will be in operation or on display, and there will be tours of the museum's car shop and indoor storage areas. Visitors will see a restoration-in-progress of a 1939 trolley.
Children can make their own scarecrows for a separate fee. Trolley rides are available for a fee of $2 for adults or $1.50 for children. Museum admission is free. The museum is at 1313 Bonifant Road in Northwest Branch Park, north of Wheaton. Call (301) 384-6088.
Equestrian events
Important equestrian events are part of the weekend line-up. There's steeplechase racing over brush and timber fences at the International Gold Cup Saturday at Great Meadow in the Plains, Va. Gates open at 10 a.m., and the first of seven races begins at 1:30 p.m. General admission at the gate is $50 per car. Call (703) 347-2612.
More than 150 horse-and-rider teams will be competing at the Radnor Hunt International Three-Day Event in Malvern, Pa., from Thursday to Oct. 16. It will be held at the Radnor Hunt Club on Providence Road. The three-day event is made up of dressage (held over two days, Thursday and Friday), cross-country on Saturday and stadium jumping on Sunday. This is equestrian competition on a national and international level.
Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $7 per day with proceeds benefiting the Paoli Memorial Hospital. Call (610) 648-1440.
The 49th Annual Pennsylvania National Horse Show is scheduled Thursday through Oct. 22 at the State Farm Show Arena in Harrisburg, Pa. Here the country's top Grand Prix horses and riders, including many candidates from the U.S. Olympic team, will compete for prize money. Highlights of the show include hunt-night championships, terrier races, the Budweiser Clydesdales, barrel racing and Western competitions, a youth rodeo, pleasure-driving championships and the $50,000 Budweiser Grand Prix de Penn National. General admission is $5 (Oct. 13-19); $6 (Oct. 20-22); $4 (daily) for children 12 and under. Call (717) 975-3677.