as opportunities for community kids (and their grownups, too) to join in social and sporting events. In the works are such community events as intramural basketball, yoga and aerobics classes, parent-child art classes and local theatrical productions.

Were thrilled, says Summit development director Jennifer Lapan, because this multipurpose building is already attracting lots of interest from the community.

Finally, Summit special events that have been on hold can begin. As the holidays approach, guest artist Mary Ann Howard will work with eighth-grade students to create winter wreaths in the sunny new art studio. And in January, local music trio Mosaic will perform two assembly programs on the new stages in part of a week-long residency funded by the Maryland State Arts Council.

Chesapeake Bay is a small step closer to becominga national landmark, if not a national park.

The Bay is too big, with too much else already going on, to become a national park, like Shenandoah or Yellowstone.

But there might be some value  and some money  in getting national attention for the Bay. That line of thought brought $235,000 from Congress for a Special Resources Study. This fall, Baysiders sat down with the National Park Service to talk about how.

To the table, the Park Service team brought ideas ranging from a Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Center to a series of parks on uninhabited islands. Their goal was to encompass many aspects of the region, from underwater life to town life.

Workshops in the four corners of the Bay, including Annapolis, were well attended and filled with creative brainstorming.