Naval Academy midshipmen have been busy screwing in thousands of bulbs that illuminate "Lights on the Bay," Anne Arundel Medical Center's (AAMC) annual holiday fundraiser on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. The drive-through display will run daily 5-10 p.m. from November 19-January 2 at Sandy Point State Park just off Route 50 on the west side of the Bay Bridge. Admission is $12 per car, with proceeds benefiting AAMC's "New Century of Caring" capital campaign.
"We couldn't do this without the help of the Naval Academy volunteers," said Vickie Fretwell, coordinator of the fundraiser since it started in 1995. "Every year a new crop of midshipmen come out in all kinds of weather to help set up the displays, each of which have to be hoisted into place along the 2.5 mile display." Fretwell estimates that this year more than 20,000 cars will go through, carrying approximately 100,000 people.
"Lights on the Bay" will have 62 displays this year, and new themes that include Santa's Workshop, Pirates and Noah's Ark. The Annapolis Chorale, under the direction of Ernie Green, has taped special holiday music that be enjoyed over the car radios of people driving through the course. Among the favorite exhibits are a Colonial village that resembles Annapolis at that time, and an electronically controlled reindeer that appear to leap over the roadway.
A popular feature for children is a Scavenger Hunt, with prizes donated by BeBeep Toy Shop in Annapolis and Severna Park.
Sponsors of "Lights on the Bay" are The Capital, Jones Communications, WMAR, Farmers Bank of Maryland, Graul's Market in Annapolis and Mills Wine and Liquor. Coupons worth $3 off the admission price on weekdays will appear in The Capital, the Pennysaver and in Valu-Paks. They will also be sent home with school children and will be available at doctors' offices, Senior Citizen Centers, public libraries and the Annapolis Visitors Center.
For additional information call (410) 295-3161 -- the information hotline for "Lights on the Bay."
Posted 11/29/99
Posted: 11-29-1999
