SOLOMON'S, Md. — Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Art Center will soon hold its Insectival. It celebrates all things arthropod.
WATCH: Do you have a little bug that loves everything creepy and crawly?
We got a sneak peek and joined Emma and her family, who were visiting from Pennsylvania. Emma conquered her fear to hold a Hercules beetle.
Hercules lives here at Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Art Center. He’s a buggy ambassador outside of the beltway in Solomons.
“I mean, who doesn’t love these cool things! Come and be a kid!”
On Saturday the garden is holding their annual Insectival. Full of demonstrations, activities, and more from 9:00am to 1:00pm. It has a circus theme. Hester Burch, the staff naturalist at Annmarie, introduces us to some of the high flyers: “This guy is our ringmaster.”
You’ve heard of a flea circus? Well, this is the king daddy of them all. There's a costume contest and even a night bugs immersive experience. And if you get a little peckish...
“We are going to be daring people to eat insects of a variety.”
How into crunch can you be? Don't worry, there will be food trucks too.
"Mmmmmm, delicious...hahaha."
If bugs aren’t your scene, the center sits on thirty acres of walkable land. There’s a surprise around every corner. Jamie Jeffrey, deputy director and curator of education here, tells us about the property.
“There are five core pieces on our grounds that really anchor the site. And then we became an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, which allows us to borrow from their collection.”
You can see world-class art that otherwise would be hidden away in archive. And the community of Calvert County…who own the site contribute their own art. In the summer with faerie houses.
“We just encourage creativity here." Is your inner Picasso looking for a place? “We have the something inside our galleries called the Art Lab. It’s a creative reuse center.”
Providing all sorts of materials from around the community for your creative pursuits. “Our tagline here is ‘where art and nature meets. And we take that very seriously.” There’s even a clay studio. Jamie says the only one available in Southern Maryland. “I like that we bring in the high-end art with the community art.”
Visiting here is pay what you can. But back to the bugs. Hester has one more fun fact for us: “Did you know there are dung beetles in Maryland?” Just one of the things you and your family can learn about this weekend. Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Art Center has all sorts of events for the family. It's an easy day trip from Baltimore. You can check out what's coming up here. https://www.annmariegarden.org/annmarie2/
