The Maryland Humanities Council is pleased to announce the award of seven fall 2008 Major Grants toMaryland non-profit organizations to bring humanities programming to their communities. Grant recipients, representing the state’s diverse regions, will enrich the role of the humanities in Maryland by offering programs that stimulate thoughtful, issues-driven conversation.

Following are descriptions of the selected projects:

· From Marsh to Table: Hunting, Trapping, and Eating Traditions on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, at theWard Museum in Salisbury will explore the art, history, foodways, and land heritage of the Eastern Shore.

· Stone Soup Productions in Washington, D.C. will produce The Soul of a People Digital Chautauqua, an interactive, web-based exploration of Maryland’s experience with the Depression-era Federal Writers’ Project.

· Montgomery College’s Paul Peck Institute for American Culture and Civic Engagement will offer a series of multi-disciplinary events to commemorate Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday.

· The fourth annual “Frederick Reads” program will host author Clyde Edgerton speaking about his most recent work, The Bible Salesman, at three Frederick locations. Folk music will accompany the presentations.

· WYPR 88.1FM public radio will offer Tapestry of the Times, an hour-long weekly tour through the Smithsonian’s Folkways Recordings archive, taking listeners around the globe and back in time with its musical exploration of original and one-of-a-kind recordings.

· In Baltimore, the Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and Cultural Center explores the construction and emancipation of a race in America in an exhibition titled Mammy’s, Watermelons and Coons, which will provide items that provoke discussion of America’s past and present attitudes about race and its images.

· Also in Baltimore, CENTERSTAGE will offer expanded community and educational programming for two productions of their 2008–09 Mainstage season: “Caroline, or Change” by Tony Kushner, and “Fabulation or The Re-education of Undine” by Lynn Nottage. Both of these complex theatrical works—with their socially relevant thematic content—provide ideal departure points to engage audiences in productive dialogue around issues raised onstage.

“The innovative way in which these organizations will develop public dialogue about critical issues makes them outstanding choices for amplifying the mission of the Maryland Humanities Council,” notes Phoebe Stein Davis, Executive Director of the Maryland Humanities Council.

The Maryland Humanities Council is a statewide, educational, nonprofit organization that is affiliated with the National Endowment for the Humanities. The purpose of the Council is to stimulate and promote informed dialogue and civic engagement on issues critical to Marylanders.