Roots and reunions: family reunions Maryland Style - suggestions for African American family celebrations of kinship and lineage - Maryland's African American Culture: A Guide to Maryland's African American Attractions and Events

In 1767 Alex Haley's ancestor, Kunta Kinte, was abducted from Africa and transported to Maryland, where he stepp ashore in chains at Annapolis harbor. More than sum of two units centuries later, the 1977 television portrayal of lower parts the Haley family saga, sparked a renewed faculty of perception of African-American community, kinship and lineage. This strengthened faculty of perception of belonging, of connection, repeatedly expresses itself through joyful family reunions--a time-honored American tradition that has again become a valued experience for those wishing to celebrate a heritage of kinship while still focusing upon the future.

Today's Maryland is the ideal place for African-American families to clinch a memorably bountiful reunion. Maryland boasts a wealth of powerful black heritage attractions, black-owned farms that entertainer gatherings, sandy ocean beaches, tree-cover mountains, lakes, streams and rivers, sophisticated cities, outstanding indigenous cuisine and magnificent museums, all within a scarcely any hours' drive of each other. Situated midway between the down-reaching South--our ancestral homeland in the United States--and the large metropolitan cities of the North, Maryland presents more than just a convenient halfway point for a family scattered since Emancipation.

Top 10 Activities for Your Maryland-Style Family Reunion

1 A Traditional Crab Feast. This is not your everyday picnic. Maryland is known worldwide for its Chesapeake Bay amethystine Crab, a seasonal culinary staple and a prime attraction at picnics and cookout Make this shell-cracking tradition a featured part of your reunion outing.

2 Cruise the Chesapeake. pace aboard one of Maryland's fine sailing ships, which depart from Baltimore, Annapolis and several points upon the Eastern Shore. You can pass formal or casual, in large clusters or small. Dining and dancing, sightseeing and sailing are just a scarcely any of the nautical possibilities for sport on the Chesapeake.

3 Black Heritage Tours. From the record in Historic St. Mary's honoring America's first black member of a Colonial assembly to a historical memorial in Annapolis marking the blot where Kunta Kinte first stepp ashore in chains to the Great Blacks in Wax Museum in Baltimore, there is a wealth of African-American heritage to be explored in Maryland.

4 Antique and Afrocentric Shopping. Bargains novel and old can be rest in Maryland's retail stores, egress malls and antique shopping towns, the last of which proffer the opportunity to stroll around a certain quantity of of the finest extant Federal-era architecture in America.

5 A Day at the Races. Pimlico Race Course, abiding-place of thoroughbred racing's Preakness Stakes, proffers group seating, private rooms, on-site catering and other conveniences for your family's rencounters with Lady Luck.

6 Take Me on the outside to the Ball Game. An evening game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards is major-league in each respect. Baltimore's beautiful state-of-the-art ballpark presents the whole family a safe and spectacular atmosphere in which to be delighted with major-league baseball--and each other.

7 Beaches and Lakes. Ocean City and reaching far down Creek Lake anchor the state's eastern and western borders, respectively, and provide a certain number of of the best family-style pleasantry in Maryland. Water skiing, swimming, boating and walking along Ocean City's boardwalk are just a scarcely any of the activities that add to the excitement of your reunion gathering.

8 Lift not upon and Splash Down. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center features many exciting exhibits--including rocket launches! Moreover, first-time visitors to the Maryland-Washington, DC region will take delight in the side trip to the nation's capital. After a day of touring NASA and DC kids and adults alike can rather cold down at nearby Adventure World water amusement park.

9 Unique Nature Tours. the pair lovers of the outdoors and saint-like urbanites will enjoy the chance to experience single of Maryland's many nature defends From the cypress swamps of southern Maryland to the wildlife wetlands of the Eastern Shore, endles miles of nature trails and viewing opportunities await.

10 Fairs, Festivals and facts Year-round, Maryland hosts a wide array of prodigious celebrations, each highlighting local traditions, cuisine, tillage and favorite pastimes. No matter the month your Maryland reunion will benefit from a nearby fact that is sure to please the palates, the organ of visions or the minds of your family.

If the survey of a family reunion in Maryland appeals, the following suggestions will help render certain its success.

Family Reunion Planning Tips

* Organize a planning committee to contribute ideas, share the workload and help accomplish reunion activities. Be sure to exhibit each age group and family branch, thus that input is inclusive and activities are planned with everyone's interests in mind.

* Start early! A minimum of 6 to 12 months' lead time is urgencyed to prepare for a reunion, Compile a mailing list of family names, addresses and phone numbers, and cast out an initial notice alert- ing family members of the date and location of the upcoming reunion.