Upper Marlboro Celebrates Marlborough Day

For Joe Hourcle, the 35th annual Marlborough Day served as a reminder of Upper Marlboro's rich history.

"We have lost so many local farms in Upper Marlboro," said Hourcle, town liaison and secretary of the Marlborough Day Committee. "I wanted to remind people that we span the county’s developing and rural tiers, and that Upper Marlboro had once been a major center for agriculture and agricultural commerce."

During the Saturday celebration, local farms -- like Montpelier Farms, for example -- were on hand to celebrate the theme. The day also included sand art, balloon making and a moon bounce. The Justin Trawick Group and the Southbound Band performed, and the stages had dance and martial arts performances.  

Located off Crain Highway in Upper Marlboro, Montpelier Farms offer things like corn mazes and animals. They also grow their own produce to sell at their market. At their stand on Saturday, Montpelier Farms sold their homemade jellies and jams.

While Adrianne Dunn said the farm had a great time throughout the day, it was tough for people to find the booth because the location was a little off the beaten track.

The same goes for Lewis Gross, owner of Alaye Sportswear in Fort Washington, who said his booth was not "where all the action was."

Outside the library, however, Pat Warman sold books and said they were much busier than last year.

But this year's Marlborough Day seemed smaller, said Roxanne Jordan, an Upper Marlboro resident for eight years. This was her first time back in about five years.

Still, the event allowed future business owner, Dawn Lawson, to showcase her cake pops. Lawson plans on opening a deli and bakery in downtown Upper Marlboro. While she needs to work on the space, Lawson said she plans to open her business in September. For her, Marlborough Day was an avenue to get the word out.

Local government groups and non-profits also wanted to relay their messages.

The Community Emergency Response group was there, which is an organization  that trains citizens for disasters, said Adan Carabello, the representative working the booth. It was the group's fourth year at Marlborough Day, and they saw a lot of traffic, Carabello said.