Whit’s End Salon & Spa in Stevensville is the new full service salon on Kent Island.

Just opening last October, Whit’s End is the fruition of a lifelong dream for owner Whitney Willis. Whitney owns and runs the spa in partnership with her husband, Billy, who owned the building and helped create the elegant new salon. ” I just wanted to do a salon where you could come and be relaxed,” says Whitney, “nothing too pretentious, but where you could get good services.”

While not an owner, longtime friend and stylist, Lesley Bunker is also part of the new business venture. “Lesley and I are really good friends,” explains Whitney, “and this was just something we wanted to do.”

Lesley worked at Chester’s Classic Hair Salon before moving to Whit’s End. When stylist Kathy Dautel, also from Classic Hair, wanted to join the team, the three decided to start the business together.  Lesley and Kathy bring 20 years of salon experience to Whit’s End.

Whitney, a licensed aesthetician, personally designed and decorated the new spa. “I just thought about what I’ve experienced going to salons and what I like and what I would change,” she says.

With Lesley’s and Kathy’s established clientele as well as new customers coming in for services every day, business has been good despite the economic climate, says Whitney.

Whit’s End offers full hair services for men, women and children from shampoo, haircut and blow dry to traditional and spiral perms,  color, highlighting and formal up-dos. Skin services include European Facials, Acne Facials, Age Smart Facials and Back Facials. “A facial is a cleansing of the skin,” explains Whitney. “During the treatment any issues such as acne or hyper pigmentation can be corrected.”

Whit’s End also offers full waxing and make-up application services. Tanning services include both spray-on tanning, which is professionally applied with an airbrush applicator and UV tanning. The Infinity product used at Whit’s end is the same spray-on tanner used in Hollywood to provide actors’ tans for red-carpet events and movies. Whit’s End UV tanning beds also include “Red Light Rejuvenation”. These tanning beds include red lights in the facial area, which stimulate collagen production. Collagen plumps up skin decreasing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, according to Whitney.

Massage services performed by on-staff massage therapist Andrea Miller include private Deep Tissue, Relaxation, Maternity, Aroma Therapy and Back Massages ranging from $40 to $70 for one-hour sessions. Nail services including manicures and pedicures will soon be available at Whit’s End as well. Whit’s End accepts walk-in customers, but recommends making an appointment to guarantee timely service.

For more information on Whit’s End Salon & Spa, visit www.whitsendsalon.com. To make an appointment, call 410-643-4488.

The crew spent a week scraping, sanding and painting the hull and sides of the skipjack, getting her ready for the second half of her sailing season, which runs through early November. The Nathan is now back at her dock at Long Wharf, where she offers public sails on weekends and private charters for any occasion.

In addition to sails from her Cambridge home port, the Nathan will travel to Baltimore for that city’s Defenders Day Celebration in September and to Solomons Island for Patuxent River Appreciation Days in October.

She will also participate in both the Deal Island Skipjack Race on Labor Day and the Choptank Heritage Skipjack Race in Cambridge September 25.

The nonprofit Dorchester Skipjack Committee owns, operates and maintains the Nathan, which was built in 1994 by volunteers in Cambridge. She is the last skipjack on the Chesapeake Bay that was built to be a dredge boat.

For more information, to charter the boat or to volunteer, contact the Dorchester Skipjack Committee at 410-228-7141 or visit its website, www.skipjack-nathan.org.

O’Shea joined the Memorial Hospital Auxiliary as a volunteer in January 2005, a few months after he and his wife, Pat, moved to Easton from Richmond, Virginia. “I saw this as a great opportunity to meet people in our new community and to do some good at the same time,” he says. He volunteers several days a week at the hospital Information Desk in addition to serving as Auxiliary president.

Before he retired from full-time employment in 1992, O’Shea was senior vice president for the International division of Jiffy Lube. He lived in Paris for three years and oversaw operations in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Prior to his 12-year career with Jiffy Lube, O’Shea held financial management positions with Concord Fibers in Columbia, Maryland and the Coating Division of Dutch Boy Paint, Inc. in Baltimore. He also worked in public accounting for 10 years in the New York City area. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Bryant College in Providence, Rhode Island and earned an MBA from Loyola College in Baltimore.

The Memorial Hospital Auxiliary volunteers work in patient care areas in the hospital and at outpatient facilities around the Mid-Shore region. The Auxiliary makes a substantial contribution to Shore Health System and Memorial Hospital through a variety of fundraising activities including the annual Tree of Lights campaign and Maggie’s Gift Shop at the hospital. The Auxiliary also operates the Bazaar at 121 Federal Street, an upscale retail shop in Easton that generates over $100,000 in sales every year.

“Our volunteers work hard to make sure that we have resources to give to the hospital for equipment purchases and programs that support the community,” O’Shea says. “One of my goals is to help the Auxiliary’s board of governors learn more about the hospital’s services so that we can make good decisions when we are asked to fund a project or new technology.”

O’Shea is pleased that people who are moving to the Eastern Shore are choosing the Memorial Hospital Auxiliary when they are looking for a way to contribute to the community. He says, “When I moved to Easton, several organizations contacted me about becoming a volunteer. I want the Memorial Hospital Auxiliary to be the first choice for newcomers who are ready to get involved.”

In addition to his work with the Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, O’Shea serves on the board of St. Mark’s Ministry to the Aged.

For more information about volunteering with the Auxiliary of Memorial Hospital, call 410-822-1000, ext. 5839.

Friday, July 30, 2010 – Sunday, August 01, 2010
40th St. & the Bay, Ocean City
Fri. & Sat., noon-11 p.m.; Sun., noon-9 p.m.
410-524-0990

http://www.ocean-city.com

Saturday, July 31, 2010
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels
10 a.m.-5 p.m.
$15 (free for members)
410-745-2916

http://www.cbmm.org

Saturday, July 31, 2010
Clark’s Landing, Chester River
Noon-7 p.m.
410-604-4300

http://www.aquapalooza.com

Friday, July 30, 2010 – Sunday, August 01, 2010
Civic Center, Princess Anne
Thurs., Noon-8:30 p.m.; Fri. & Sat., 8 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sun., Noon-4 p.m.
Somerset County Extension Office 410-651-1350

http://www.somersetcountyfair.org

Joining Dickins for this special event will be the talented Stef Scaggiari on the piano and popular singer-songwriter Kentavius Jones. A graduate of Washington College, Jones is scheduled to perform the opening set, which will begin at 8:00 PM.

Dickins promises an evening of jazz and sultry tunes to celebrate the release of her long-awaited first solo CD, which, she says with a laugh, has been in the works “since high school.”

It will be ‘Bette Midler meets Diana Krall’ when Erin performs her mix of elegant jazz, sultry ballads, original material and offbeat humor – beautifully accompanied by Scaggiari on piano and an all-star lineup of jazz musicians, many of whom can be heard on the new CD, Nice Girls.

A founding member of the original jazz vocal group Manhattan Transfer, Dickins has actually worked with Midler, and has extensive experience in the recording studio and on stage as a recording artist, singer, producer and performer. Dickins recently completed work in New York on her new CD, produced by Jesse Frederick and arranged by Rob Mounsey.

In addition to a dizzying array of commercial work for the likes of McDonalds, Dickins’ long list of credits includes performing/recording with James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Gregg Allman, Bette Midler, The Talking Heads, Yoko Ono, Melissa Manchester, Jim Croce, James Brown, Randy Newman, Laura Brannigan, Janis Ian, Roberta Flack, Peabo Bryson, Barry Manilow, Patti Austin, Ashford & Simpson, Leonard Cohen, Dr. John, Paul Butterfield, Levon Helm  and of course, the Manhattan Transfer.

Tim Hauser, a co-founder of that famous vocal group, said, “I have known Erin since 1969 . . . I have always thought she was a great singer. I thought so then, and I think that now . . . because she sings from her heart, and those kinds of singers are my favorites.”

Dickins is a well-known figure within the recording industry . . . but here at home on the Mid-Shore, she is perhaps best remembered for her work as one-half of the driving force behind three hilariously successful “Follies” live stage productions. Together with director Alex Handy, Dickins conceived and produced hilarious skits, spoofs and musical numbers – starring an amazing roster of local talent that reads like a Talbot county Who’s Who – for the benefit of Habitat for Humanity on the Mid-Shore.

In addition, Dickins served as board member, president and executive director of the Community Alliance for the Performing Arts (CAPA) for more than ten years. During her tenure, Dickins produced several wildly acclaimed theatrical productions – including High Society (2006), Little Shop of Horrors (2007) and Plaza Suite (2008) – and developed CAPA’s SummerFame theatre program for children and teens (2002-2008).

Proceeds will help homeless cats
Dickins has loved animals since her early childhood in Long Island, NY. She favors dogs, cats and horses, and participated in many equestrian activities in her younger days. The child of a Naval Academy graduate/musician/father and a Rockette/drama critic/mother, Dickins developed a passion for the arts at an early age. Now a philanthropist and a respected artist in her own right, she wanted her first solo project – her new CD and concert – to benefit animals in need. Accordingly, all net proceeds from the show will benefit TomCat Solutions, a new non-profit organization. TomCat Solutions’ mission is to reduce the number of free-roaming, abandoned and homeless cats on the Mid-Shore – a widespread problem created by humans, which can be fixed by humans. Details can be found at www.TomCatSolutionsOnline.org or www.Facebook.com/tomcatsolutions .

Save the date: Oct. 21
Tickets for this swanky, not-to-be-missed evening will be available through the Avalon and Ticketmaster beginning August 1. Call 410-822-7299 for further information.  There will be three levels of ticket prices: Limited general admission seating at $20.00, General Admission at $30.00, and Patron Tickets for $75.00. Patron tickets will include preferred seating, a champagne reception with the artists at Scossa Restaurant (following the concert) and a signed copy of Erin’s new CD, Nice Girls.

For more information, or to buy tickets please visit www.AvalonTheatre.com and www.ErinDickins.com .