Frederick, MD: Winter holiday events with free cookies, movies and more

November 14, 3:41 PMDC Ireland & UK Travel ExaminerLaura Harrison McBride

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the DC Ireland & UK Travel Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Frederick, MD, sparkles in winter

First in a series of articles about DC-area places to go this holiday season

Gas prices are down, but you’ll need that “found money” for other things, like paying your share of our national debt. So hitting the road, but not too hard, might be a fine idea this holiday season. As it happens, Frederick—which seems to be bucking to surpass Annapolis as a close-to-DC quick-getaway spot with charm—offers lots of things to do. Better yet, if you like walking, you’ll really like walking in Frederick. Unlike Annapolis, it’s not hilly.

December 6^th offers a great deal of charm for visitors, with lots of free stuff to fill the day, and a truly well priced theatre experience to top it off.

Here’s a plan:

Movie and a sing-along   Begin with the Weinberg Winterfest. Holiday movies begin at 2 p.m. at the Weinberg Center for the Arts, 20 W. Patrick Street. There’s also a sing-along with Santa, and it’s all free with a donation of canned food for the Frederick Community Action Agency.

Eat your way around town Just about when you’re done there, it will be time for the Holiday Cookie Tour.  The festivities begin about 5 p.m., and last until 9 p.m. And it’s all FREE.  There’s a gingerbread house competition to view, with entries at a number of downtown shop locations.

(Yes, Virginia, this is a pretty brilliant marketing ploy, one worthy of the Big Guy in Red because it also gives you stuff…including free hot cocoa and cookies and free carriage rides.  Bring your wallet; you’ve got to open it a bit this year, despite all the bad news, or you’ll just be making it a home for moths. View shopping as pest control.)

Bring your camera, too. The streets will be lit with luminaria.  Since Frederick boasts truly pedestrian-friendly buildings and sidewalks, you can get some atmospheric shots for those home-made holiday greeting cards you’re going to whack the economic Scrooge with this year.

Prepare to laugh  Grab a bite to eat to pack down the cookies (Frederick has tons of restaurants from exotic Ethiopian to Italian to plain old American), then head over to the Maryland Ensemble Theatre’s production of The Santaland Diaries at 8 p.m.  It’s billed as “an irreverent tale of America’s fascination with all things Santa Claus.”  Frankly, I’m booking tickets online at www.marylandensemble.org as soon as I’m done here.  As cute as they are, I’ve had my fill of old Arles Struvie and Thurston Wheelock, whom theatre buffs may recall as the two main geezers in A Tuna Christmas, which is presented far and wide, badly and well. However, I, for one, have chowed down on about enough Tuna, Texas. (Is it close to Crawford?)

You will have to pay for this holiday treat, but not much.  Adult tickets are only $15.00, plus an incredibly reasonable $1.50 handing charge per ticket.

And don’t be afraid of parking; Frederick has on-street parking (generally, two hours for two dollars, but you’ll have to move the buggy after that), and several downtown parking garages that are almost as cheap, and sometimes cheaper. Sensibly, the city tends to make them free on celebratory occasions, and the First Saturday—which is when these events occur—is typically a free-parking day each month.

For those who want free stuff in another country:

If you want real adventure—much of it free except the air fare, car rental, lodging and food (OK, only the sightseeing is free)—take a look at this: http://www.examiner.com/x-895-DC-Travel-Examiner~y2008m11d11-Visit-Plymouth-for-Thanksgivingthe-REAL-Plymouth. 

It’s about Thanksgiving, but the same things are available all year, and winter holiday time is a great time to avoid crowds.  Southwest England is the most temperate climate in that nation, so you probably can dress about as warmly—or not—as you would at home in DC.