Cool little place in Easton, MD.

After accepting a Ward Wildfowl Museum / NEA grant to teach a bird carving class back in July, the wife and I traveled to Maryland last week to transport the class projects to the Ward Museum in Salisbury, take part in the instructors seminars, and attend the show held there over weekend. On Friday afternoon, we drove up to Easton, MD and had lunch in a little bar next to the Avalon Theatre.

While we were there, I went next door and walked around the old theatre building. One of those cool little slices of Americana with a small stage & theatre downstairs, a "listening room" venue on the second floor, and all the walls lined with pictures of some great musicians that have played the Avalon throughout many years. Couldn't begin to take photo's of them all, but here's a small sampling:










A few more in next post....

Bob

Link to their website: http://www.avalonfoundation.org/

More:

I've shot at (notice the "at") a whole lot of geese in the fields around Easton, and eaten at Bannings a number of times. My wife's parents used to live there, and I still have a sister-in-law in residence. Great town, though maybe a little too close to DC. Gotta say, though, that in all the times I've been there I've never set foot in the Avalon. I will next time, though.

It's obvious that those walls have absorbed some pretty good music over the years. :friendly_wink:

Thanks for the tour,
Joe

We were just there this weekend! Spent Saturday night at The Tidewater Inn, just across the street from The Avalon. We saw Michael Franks at the Ram's Head Tavern in Annapolis, but it was an USNA football weekend, and we couldn't find a room in Annapolis.

The wife's from Easton, and we've spent time down there. I looked at the marquee (same is in your photo), and resolved to pay more attention to upcoming shows at The Avalon as excuses for weekend getaways. We saw Los Lobos earlier this year at The Ram's Head (yes, it was fantastic), so I'm not sure we need to see them so soon.

If you go, I recommend Portofino for fine Italian dining, The Tidewater Inn for the convenience and atmosphere, Rise Up Coffee for excellent brew and beans, and Triple Creek Winery for some nice white wines.

The Eastern Shore is a pretty part of the country, particularly in the golden light of autumn.

gjmalcyon,

Who knows, we might have seen you walking through the Tidewater. 29 years ago we spent our honeymoon there during the Christmas season. Agreeably, one of my favorite parts of the country; but each time we have the opportunity to return, I'm a bit surprised at how built up all stretches of Rt. 50 have become. One needs to get off the main roads to "prog" around all the quaint little communities that are the real representation of life on the Eastern Shore. Pity the weather this past weekend wasn't more conducive to getting out. I wanted to get over to the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge and perhaps even ride the Mail Boat out to Smith Island again. The constant drizzle coupled with our pretty tight schedule of events at the museum kept all that to a minimum.

Talked with one of the locals on the street in Easton, and he told us that the Tidewater has changed hands twice recently. Guy bought it but passed away; and a new owner has just taken over. He seemed relieved that it had all been settled. Should've picked up a Banning's T-shirt for my retired-guy "formal wear" collection.
Wish we lived closer so that visits could be more frequent, but if we have plans in the future I'll be checking the Avalon playbill ahead of time for sure.

Bob

We were actually down there on Saturday - the weather got really nice later in the day.

Route 50 in the summer is hellish: It seems that ALL of Washington D.C. is on Route 50 at the same time heading to Ocean City, MD, Rehoboth Beach, DE, or anywhere in between. I made that mistake once in my life and will never do it again.

Route 50 in October is better, but still ugly. That's how we found Triple Creek Winery; I bailed out to some back roads, eventually saw the vineyard, then the sign, and we spent an enjoyable hour yakking with with three owners and tasting wines.

We like old hotels like The Tidewater a lot - they have so much more character than the corporate luxury hotels.

That was a fun visit! Thanks for that.

Good ol Easton! I'm sure it's nothing like it was when I lived there. I attended Calhoon MEBA Engineering School just to the South of Easton on the road to St Michaels and lived on Tilghman Island from 1981 to 84. I don't recall any live music venues in Easton back then but then again I was a poor marine engineering student who had to settle for the local canned beer and play guitar for myself if I wanted live music. I worked on the crab docks sorting when the watermen brought them in to the buyer. Oysters on the half shell, $4.00 all you can eat at the Knapps Narrows restaurant in Tilghman. Good times.

Easton is a terrific town, usually not as hectic as St.Michaels. Oxford was always our go to port, did a lot of sailing out of there. My current favorites are Chestertown and Rock Hall, great bike riding in that area, awesome food, nice people and a land that time forgot!