SANDY SPRING, MD—On November 1, 1864 slaves living in Maryland were set free by a new state constitution. Join the Montgomery County Department of Parks as we celebrate this significant milestone in Maryland history at several historic sites in the county’s parks. A night hike of the Underground Railroad Experience Trail will kick-off the celebration, Friday, October 24 and several other Emancipation Day activities are planned for Saturday, November 1, including a special program of events at Oakley Cabin in Olney.
Friday, October 24, 2008
- Night Hike: “The Night Sky and the Underground Railroad,” 7:00 pm, Underground Railroad Experience Trail at Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park, 16501 Norwood Road, Sandy Spring. Historian Anthony Cohen gets Maryland Emancipation Day started a little early with this night hike of the Underground Railroad Experience Trail. Co-sponsored by the Menare Foundation, Inc.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
- FREE Guided Hikes, 10:00 am, Underground Railroad Experience Trail at Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park, 16501 Norwood Road, Sandy Spring. Trained Underground Railroad trail guides will lead FREE interpretive hikes of the 2 mile trail from Woodlawn Manor to Sandy Spring, near the Sandy Spring Friends Meeting House.
- Open House, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm, Sandy Spring Slave Museum and African Art Gallery, 18524 Brooke Road, Sandy Spring. The museum and art gallery will be open to visitors FREE of charge for Emancipation Day.
- Maryland Emancipation Day Celebration, 12:00 noon – 4:00 pm, Oakley Cabin, 3610 Brookeville Road, Olney. The Maryland Emancipation Day program at Oakley Cabin will include guided cabin tours, a living history demonstration by Foodways Historian Michael Twitty, refreshments, spiritual readings and songs, archaeology digs, a keynote address by Fath Davis Ruffins, curator of the National Museum of American History, Behring Center, and for the kids, an Underground Railroad puppet show by Puppeteer Schroeder Cherry. All activities are FREE. Parking available at the Longwood Local Park, 19330 Georgia Avenue, Brookeville. Co-sponsored by the Friends of Oakley Cabin and the Underground Railroad.
- Cabin Tours, 12:00 noon – 4:00 pm, Josiah Henson Historic Site (“Uncle Tom’s Cabin”), 11420 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda. The Josiah Henson Site will be open with FREE guided tours. Parking available only at the Montgomery County Aquatic Center/Wall Local Park, 5900 Executive Boulevard, North Bethesda.
Saturday, November 1, shuttle buses will run between Woodlawn Manor and the Sandy Spring Friends Meeting House (end of Underground Railroad Experience Trail hike) from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm and between Longwood Local Park and Oakley Cabin from 11:30 am to 4:30 pm. For more information on the Maryland Emancipation Celebration in Montgomery Parks visit www.ParksCulturalResources.org or call 301-650-4373.
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Contact:
Kelli Holsendolph
Media Relations Manager
Montgomery County Department of Parks
301-650-2866