international travel

When WYPR on-air personality Diane Finlayson and her husband, Maarten Calon, return from their island vacation in the Caribbean on Tuesday, they will be met by an unusual welcome committee ¿ a friend armed with boots, gloves, brooms and a heavy-duty snow shovel. Calon and Finlayson had been scheduled to return to Baltimore from Curacao on Saturday on American Airlines.

As part of its Searchlight Tour to end world hunger, the band Willet will lead acoustic worship at Grace United Church of Christ, in Taneytown, at 10:15 a.m. Sept. 14.

Rich Thomas has run more than two dozen professional golf events over the past 14 years, but from its inception more than year ago the LPGA's International Crown at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills has felt different to its tournament director. "It's not even close," Thomas said.

An elaborate sendoff for three Southwest Airlines flights to the Caribbean from BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport on Tuesday morning will mark the official entry of the largest domestic carrier in the United States into the international airline market. It will also signal the growing Anne Arundel County airport's hopeful ascendance as a major hub for domestic travelers looking to hop overseas.

The last time a women's professional golf tournament was held in the Baltimore area, the results mirrored the world rankings.

New musical version of 1939 classic film heading to Modell Lyric

Under Armour opens its largest specialty store to date today in SoHo, hoping to attract tourists from around the globe

The Eastern Shore-born activist who created Kwanzaa told a standing-room-only crowd the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of African-American History Saturday that the post-Christmas holiday is a celebration of "all that is good in life."

No one's sure how many weekend riders the MARC train will carry to and from Baltimore on its new expanded Saturday and Sunday service, but Charm City marketing experts and transportation officials expect to collect on the state's $46 million venture in more places than just the fare box.

Norris said the demeanor of the staff, the efficiency of the clinic and the price of the service and antibiotics, it cost him $5 for a diagnosis and 10 days of medication, are what led him to set a fundraising goal of $10,000 for the clinic.

Thomas Saunders of Renaissance Productions and Tours been leading groups on tours around Baltimore to sites that have significance in African-American history.

Baltimore tourism leaders will have to find another way to draw visitors over Labor Day weekend after the Grand Prix of Baltimore was canceled. They are focused on more sporting events and filling up the dead time of winter.

Airport officials welcomed last week's announcement by Gov. Martin O'Malley that weekend MARC train service between Baltimore and Washington will start in December because such a connection to the nation's capital is a huge selling point — especially for international travelers BWI is trying to court.

The University of Maryland is conducting an archaeological dig in Easton at a site called The Hill that may be the oldest settlement of free African-Americans in the country.

The Port of Baltimore's cruise business was made whole Friday morning, when Grandeur of the Seas began loading passengers for its first ocean voyage since a fire put the vessel in dry dock more than six weeks ago.

Still smarting from news that half of Baltimore's lucrative cruise business is headed south next year, the state's ports chief said Friday that officials already are working on replacing the Carnival Pride.

Rij Patel's golf skills and future potential are getting noticed at McDonogh School.

San Miguel travel

More than 350 turned out for the annual Kwanzaa celebration at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum on Saturday. The seven-day holiday was created in 1966 by Eastern Shore native, Maulana Karenga, to reflect on the African culture

The holidays are here before you know it and often gone before you've had a chance to sample any of the wonderful seasonal offerings. Taking a day trip to any of these destinations will provide a quick cup of cheer.

Holiday productions feature new collaborations, full 'Messiah'

About 40 people gathered at the Enoch Pratt Free Library's Pennsylvania Avenue branch for historian Thomas Saunders' program, titled "Revisiting Pennsylvania Avenue: A trip down memory lane." The library just completed a three-month renovation meant to reinvigorate the long-standing community landmark.

Summer Olympics in London

The first large-scale music festival in Dover history, Firefly's inaugural lineup has something for everyone.

Golfer Rij Patel of Cockeysville and Hunt Valley Golf Club is ranked first by the International Junior Golf Tour in the 14-and-under division

Canada and China are refusing to get on the bailout bandwagon

The production, stopping at Security Square through Sunday, shows off acts from around the world

Day trips Baltimore Washington

Ocean City Springfest

When it opens next year, The Great Mall of China near Beijing will be the biggest retail and entertainment center in the world — with the world's tallest indoor roller coaster, imported from Baltimore.

Flights from BWI to Havana have been pushed back to October because of lack of interest.

Jules Witcover: Obama fulfills a campaign pledge, but the country's future is uncertain

Common Ground on the Hill is branching out from its roots in Westminster and launching a concert series in Baltimore

Anne Arundel County datebook

'Nutcracker on Ice' is only Maryland holiday show of its kind

Saturday holiday and Ravens game timing lead more restaurants and taverns to open their doors

Attendance expected to be high for annual downtown tour

Former football coach at City College, John Carroll and Calvert Hall was 86

Retired pediatrician and World War II veteran was a former chairman of St. Agnes Hospital pediatric department

They all reside at the Edenwald Retirement Community in Towson now. But on Dec. 7, 1941, that "Day of Infamy" when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, they were all in different places when they heard the news, some of them thousands of miles from Towson.

Baltimore events, entertainment: Everything you need to know about the week of 12/5-12/11

Rolling Road lived up to its name back in the early 1900s and traveling it you could easily imagine those hogsheads of tobacco bumping and rolling down it toward the deep, wide, 18th-century Patapsco River where they were loaded onto ships.

Toure's fourth book, "Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness" raises questions about racial identity