Cowles, assistant director of the school’s high-energy, animated comedy, “The Commedia: Princess and the Pea,” which opens Thursday at Liberty High in Eldersburg, was looking for students with cartwheeling abilities to entertain audiences at the top of the show.

Cast members — consisting of 25 students — wore costumes decked out in rainbow patches and had their hair in bubble braids tied with multicolored ribbons. A crew of about 50 students supports the show.

Performances will be held Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m., and Saturday at 11 a.m., 2 p.m., and 7 p.m. Each runs for about an hour.

The show is a unique retelling of the classic fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea,” in the style of old Italian theater, leaning heavily on physical comedy. The show is undoubtedly engaging for kids and adults alike.

Danielle Dickstein, theater teacher and director of Liberty’s drama program, said she wants her students to have experience performing a wide array of themes and styles.

This show, which has a captivating set design and impressive ensemble,  gives the Liberty students an opportunity to perform children’s theater.

Student designers were involved in every element of the show, said Dickstein: “My goal is for students to be able to walk away with as many skills as possible. That doesn’t have to be in theater, but transfers to all kinds of different walks of life and careers.”

Jamie Poczekaj, 16, is an 11th grade sound designer for the show. She worked on the soundboard for last year’s productions of “Cinderella” and “Eurydice,” but this is her first time doing sound design. She appreciates the opportunity to learn new skills and said she wants to work in sound design again for the school’s next production, “Guys and Dolls.”

This production makes use of Kelsey Alexander’s crochet and theater skills. Alexander, 16, is a junior who plays Columbine, one of the show’s narrators. She volunteered to crochet the pea for the show. She said that Liberty’s theater company is the best one she’s ever been a part of. “We just have so much fun doing everything,” she said.

“There’s a notion about bad high school theater,” Dickstein said, but she rejects that as a premise for high school shows. She wants her students to be proud of the work they’ve done, and she knows the students can achieve high standards of performance, she said.

Her students agree and appreciate the quality of the shows and the energy and enthusiasm of the participants.

“It’s so fun and bright and colorful,” said Connor Reinartz, 15, who plays the prince, describing the show and the environment. “If I’m feeling like sad in class, I look forward to coming to rehearsal afterwards,” he said.

Maxwell Karper, 17, is a junior who initially started performing theater in first grade. He plays Punchin and Mezzetino in the show, the “absent-minded” adviser to the queen. He was one of the students chosen to perform a cartwheel and round-off. “This drama program is so fun. One of my favorite parts is absolutely just how accepting everybody is,” he said.

Zoe Layton, 17, is a senior who plays the queen. “I love being a different role than I am in real life. I love being evil. Like evil roles are my favorite kind of roles because I’m usually super sweet in real life,” Layton said.

Unlike Karper and Layton, Brooklyn McCulloh, 14, has never performed theater before. “I’ve definitely found out that I love acting, and I want to be an actress when I grow up.” She said she learns a lot by observing her fellow students who have years of experience, and was thrilled when she was accepted to the program. She encourages all students to try performing.

Show performances will be held at the Liberty High School auditorium at 5855 Bartholow Road in Eldersburg. Tickets can be purchased online at libertylionsprideplayers.com/tickets. Priority access tickets cost $15 and allow ticket holders auditorium admission 40 minutes before the show time and 10 minutes ahead of general admission. General admission tickets cost $10 and allow entrance 30 minutes before showtime. $12 general admission tickets can be purchased at the door.

Have a news tip? Contact Gabriella Fine at gfine@baltsun.com or at 443-900-1296. 

We host Thanksgiving at our house each year and, while I don’t particularly care for this couple, I have always invited them to join us. I do this to make things easier for my daughter, so she doesn’t have to trek to both our homes. I realize she could also alternate holidays, but to be honest, I would miss celebrating Thanksgiving with her and my son-in-law and grandkids, so I have just sucked it up each year and try not to get grossed out at the dinner table.

Is there an alternative solution I haven’t thought of? I’m assuming it would not be appropriate for me to make the request that he trim his nose hair before coming over

– Grossed Out

Dear Grossed Out: Often, we work through major and minor holiday conflicts and quibbles by reminding ourselves, “it’s only one day.” Sometimes that works. Other times… one day is too much. And, in a case like yours, it’s not just one day; it’s the cumulation of years of one days. In short, you’ve had your fill of nose hair.

Alas, short of changing the seating arrangements so that you’re never catching a glance at it, I think your hands are tied as long as he remains on the invitation list. This, like so many other aspects of people’s bodies, falls into the category of personal preference. It’s not endangering him or others. While nose hairs, in general, trap dirt and pollen, overly long nose hair can accumulate debris and cause problems if not properly maintained. But it sounds like that’s not the concern here.

If he’s unmoved by his wife and kids’ requests, I daresay that your ask will probably also go unanswered. You mentioned that you don’t really care for the couple anyway, so your energy may be better spent focusing on enjoying your grandkids, your daughter and your son-in-law..

Dear Eric: Regarding the letter writer who was giving a $100 gift card for patching up the injured friend of her daughter (“Mom of a Wild Child”). I was taught during Community Emergency Response Training that bystanders are protected under Good Samaritan laws if we voluntarily provide emergency assistance to others – they cannot be sued for anything they do or attempt to do. However, the Good Samaritan cannot accept any compensation whatsoever to be covered by the law. We were told not to accept a stick of gum or a nickel for our help, or we could potentially be sued for damages. I doubt this person would be sued by the grateful mom, but it is possible.

The $100 gift card should be returned.

– Good Samaritan

Dear Good Samaritan: Thank you for this insight. It will definitely help in the future when/if I want to express my gratitude. The letter below is also in response to this question and offers a lovely alternative to monetary gifts.

Dear Eric: I had to smile when I read your article about the Good Samaritan receiving $100 for helping an injured child. While growing up in the ‘40s and ’50s I lived on a single block long, dead-end street where we must have had at least 15 or 20 kids. Someone was always getting hurt, mostly scratches and bruises, but once in a while a broken bone. My mother, the only nurse on the block, was the local emergency room.

I don’t believe she ever received money for her efforts, and I doubt if she would have accepted it, if offered.

Although she didn’t reap the benefits of her work, I was the beneficiary. At her death I received a number of letters telling me how grateful they were for what she had done. She also was the den mother of a cub scout pack that was so popular that she had to restrict the number of kids. She ran a disciplined pack that included crafts, games and learning and not the typical baby-sitting den. I also received letters from mothers telling me what an influence she had had on their son’s life. Talk about being rewarded. No amount of money could replace the thanks she received even though I was the beneficiary.

– Grateful Son

Dear Son: Thank you for sharing. And what a beautiful reminder to us all: it can be so impactful to tell those who mean something to us what they mean while they’re alive, and it can be equally impactful to share those stories with those they leave behind.

Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at eric@askingeric.com.

Copyright 2025 Tribune Content Agency

In 1936, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opened as President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key in Washington, D.C., and gave the green light to traffic.

In 1936, American playwright Eugene O’Neill received the Nobel Prize in Literature.

In 1948, Japanese general and former Prime Minister Hideki Tojo and several other World War II Japanese leaders were sentenced to death by a war crimes tribunal; he was executed in December 1948.

In 1954, Ellis Island officially closed as an immigration station and detention center. More than 12 million immigrants arrived in the United States via Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954.

In 1970, the Bhola cyclone struck East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. The deadliest tropical cyclone on record claimed the lives of an estimated 300,000-500,000 people.

In 2001, American Airlines Flight 587, en route to the Dominican Republic, crashed after takeoff from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 260 people on board and five people on the ground.

In 2019, Venice saw its worst flooding in more than 50 years, with the water reaching 6.14 feet (1.87 meters) above average sea level; damage was estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

In 2021, a judge in Los Angeles ended the conservatorship that had controlled the life and money of pop star Britney Spears for nearly 14 years.

In 2024, a federal judge sentenced Jack Teixeira, a Massachusetts Air National Guard member, to 15 years in prison for leaking classified military documents about the war in Ukraine; Teixeira had pleaded guilty to willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act, nearly a year after his arrest in the most consequential national security breach in years.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor-playwright Wallace Shawn is 82. Rock musician Booker T. Jones is 81. Sportscaster Al Michaels is 81. Singer-songwriter Neil Young is 80. Author Tracy Kidder is 80. Democratic Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island is 76. Actor Megan Mullally is 67. Olympic gold medal gymnast Nadia Comăneci is 64. Olympic gold medal swimmer Jason Lezak is 50. Pakistani filmmaker and journalist Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is 47. Actor Ryan Gosling is 45. Actor Anne Hathaway is 43. Golfer Jason Day is 38. NBA point guard Russell Westbrook is 37.

NEW YORK (AP) — Sally Kirkland, a one-time model who became a regular on stage, film and TV, best known for sharing the screen with Paul Newman and Robert Redford in “The Sting” and her Oscar-nominated title role in the 1987 movie “Anna,” has died. She was 84.

Her representative, Michael Greene, said Kirkland died Tuesday morning at a hospice in Palm Springs, California.

Friends established a GoFundMe account this fall for her medical care. They said she had fractured four bones in her neck, right wrist and left hip. While recovering, she also developed infections, requiring hospitalization and rehab.

“She was funny, feisty, vulnerable and self deprecating,” actor Jennifer Tilly, who co-starred with Kirkland in “Sallywood,” wrote on X. “She never wanted anyone to say she was gone. ‘Don’t say Sally died, say Sally passed on into the spirits.’ Safe passage beautiful lady.”

Kirkland acted in such films as “The Way We Were” with Barbra Streisand, “Revenge” with Kevin Costner, “Cold Feet” with Keith Carradine and Tom Waits, Ron Howard’s “EDtv,” Oliver Stone’s “JFK,” “Heatwave” with Cicely Tyson, “High Stakes” with Kathy Bates, “Bruce Almighty” with Jim Carrey and the 1991 TV movie “The Haunted,” about a family dealing with paranormal activity. She had a cameo in Mel Brooks’ “Blazing Saddles.”

Her biggest role was in 1987’s “Anna” as a fading Czech movie star remaking her life in the United States and mentoring to a younger actor, Paulina Porizkova. Kirkland won a Golden Globe and earned an Oscar nomination along with Cher in “Moonstruck,” Glenn Close in “Fatal Attraction, Holly Hunter in “Broadcast News” and Meryl Streep in “Ironweed.”

“Kirkland is one of those performers whose talent has been an open secret to her fellow actors but something of a mystery to the general public,” The Los Angeles Times critic wrote in her review. “There should be no confusion about her identity after this blazing comet of a performance.”

Kirkland’s small-screen acting credits include stints on “Criminal Minds,” “Roseanne,” “Head Case” and she was a series regular on the TV shows “Valley of the Dolls” and “Charlie’s Angels.”

Born in New York City, Kirkland’s mother was a fashion editor at Vogue and Life magazine who encouraged her daughter to start modeling at age 5. Kirkland graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and studied with Philip Burton, Richard Burton’s mentor, and Lee Strasberg, the master of the Method school of acting. An early breakout was appearing in Andy Warhol’s “13 Most Beautiful Women” in 1964. She appeared naked as a kidnapped rape victim in Terrence McNally’s off-Broadway “Sweet Eros.”

Some of her early roles were Shakespeare, including the lovesick Helena in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” for New York Shakespeare Festival producer Joseph Papp and Miranda in an off-Broadway production of “The Tempest.”

“I don’t think any actor can really call him or herself an actor unless he or she puts in time with Shakespeare,” she told the Los Angeles Times in 1991. “It shows up, it always shows up in the work, at some point, whether it’s just not being able to have breath control, or not being able to appreciate language as poetry and music, or not having the power that Shakespeare automatically instills you with when you take on one of his characters.”

Kirkland was a member of several New Age groups, taught Insight Transformational Seminars and was a longtime member of the affiliated Church of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, whose followers believe in soul transcendence.

She reached a career nadir while riding nude on a pig in the 1969 film “Futz,” which a Guardian reviewer dubbed the worst film he had ever seen. “It was about a man who fell in love with a pig, and even by the dismal standards of the era, it was dismal,” he wrote.

Kirkland was also known for disrobing for so many other roles and social causes that Time magazine dubbed her “the latter-day Isadora Duncan of nudothespianism.”

Kirkland volunteered for people with AIDS, cancer and heart disease, fed homeless people via the American Red Cross, participated in telethons for hospices and was an advocate for prisoners, especially young people.

The actors union SAG-AFTRA called her “a fearless performer whose artistry and advocacy spanned more than six decades,” adding that as “a true mentor and champion for actors, her generosity and spirit will continue to inspire.”

NASHVILLE (AP) — Richard Casper shakes his head as he touches one of the boarded-up windows in the once-abandoned church he plans to transform into a new 24-hour arts center for veterans.

The U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Purple Heart recipient said he was an arm’s length away from military officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, at Marine Barracks Washington when he learned the former church his nonprofit CreatiVets just purchased had been vandalized.

The physical damage to the building and its stained glass windows saddened Casper. But what worried him more was that the church had remained empty since 2017 without damage. That vandalism came just weeks after CreatiVets bought it, suggesting that maybe he and the veterans in his program were not welcome.

“I almost just left,” Casper said. “It put me in a weird headspace.”

However, Casper, 40, a CNN Heroes winner and Elevate Prize winner, needed more support for the center — “a place to go when the PTSD hits.” Like so many veterans, he said his PTSD, caused by seeing a close friend die on patrol in Iraq, would generally come in the middle of the night, when the only places open are bars and other spaces that can be ”destructive.”

He figured a 24-hour center where veterans could engage in music, painting, sculpture, theater and other arts could help. It could “turn all that pain into something beautiful.” The artistic element factored in when Casper, who suffered a traumatic brain injury while serving in Iraq, returned home and found it hard to be in public — unless he was listening to live music.

So he completed his mission that night in Washington, introducing new people to CreatiVets’ work. Then, Casper returned to Nashville to practice what he has preached to hundreds of veterans since his nonprofit opened in 2013. He asked for help.

And help came.

Within weeks, CreatiVets’ Art Director Tim Brown was teaching a roomful of volunteers how to create stained glass pieces to replace those that were vandalized. Brown said the volunteers wanted to give back to the organization, “but also because of the impact that these activities have had on them.”

Gary Sinise believes in art’s impact

Gary Sinise values that impact. The actor, musician and philanthropist had already signed on to donate $1 million through his foundation to help CreatiVets purchase the building. Sinise’s involvement encouraged two other donors to help finalize the purchase.

The “CSI: NY” star said he believed in CreatiVets’ work and had already seen a similar program in his hometown of Chicago help veterans process their wartime experiences.

“In the military, you’re trained to do serious work to protect our country, right?” Sinise said. “If you’re in the infantry, you’re being trained to kill. You’re being trained to contain any emotion and be strong.”

Those skills are important when fighting the enemy, but they also take a toll, especially when veterans aren’t taught how to discuss their feelings once the war is over.

“Quite often, our veterans don’t want any help,” Sinise said. “But through art – and with theater as well – acting out what they are going through can be very, very beneficial.”

David Booth says he is living proof of how CreatiVets can help. And the retired master sergeant, who served 20 years in the U.S. Army as a medic and a counterintelligence agent, wishes he participated in the program sooner.

“For me, this was more important than the last year and a half of counseling that I’ve gone through,” said Booth. “It has been so therapeutic.”

After years of being asked, Booth, 53, finally joined CreatiVets’ songwriting program in September. He traveled from his home in The Villages, Florida, to the historic Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, to meet with two successful songwriters – Brian White, who co-wrote Jason Aldean’s “Blame It on You,” and Craig Campbell, of “Outskirts of Heaven” fame – to help him write a song about his life.

Booth told them about his service, including his injury in Iraq in 2006 when the vehicle he was in struck an improvised explosive device and detonated it.

He suffered a traumatic brain injury in the explosion, and it took months of rehab before he could walk again. His entire cervical spine is fused. He still gets epidurals to relieve the nerve pain. And he still suffers from nightmares and PTSD.

In Iraq, Booth’s unit was once surrounded by kids because American soldiers used to give them Jolly Rancher candies. Snipers shot the children in hopes the soldiers would become easier targets when they tried to help.

“Things like that stick in my head,” Booth said. “How do you get them out?”

He also told them about his desire for a positive message and Combat Veterans to Careers, the veteran support nonprofit he founded. Those experiences became the song “What’s Next.”

Booth hopes “What’s Next” becomes available on music streaming services so others can hear his story. CreatiVets has released compilations of its veterans’ songs since 2020 in cooperation with Big Machine Label Group, Taylor Swift’s first record label. This year’s collection was released Friday.

“It’s almost like they could feel what I was feeling and put it into the lyrics,” said Booth, after hearing the finished version. “It was pretty surreal and pretty awesome.”

Why Lt. Dan from ‘Forrest Gump’ launched a nonprofit

Sinise has seen the unexpected impact of art throughout his career. His Oscar-nominated role as wounded Vietnam veteran Lt. Dan Taylor in “Forrest Gump” in 1994 deepened his connection to veterans. His music with the Lt. Dan Band expanded it. In 2011, he launched the Gary Sinise Foundation to broadly serve veterans, first responders and their families.

“I think citizens have a responsibility to take care of their defenders,” he said. “There are opportunities out there for all of us to do that and one of the ways to do it is through multiple nonprofits that are out there.”

Sinise immediately connected with CreatiVets’ mission. When the idea came to dedicate the performance space at the new center to his late son Mac, who died last year after a long battle with cancer, Sinise saw it as “a perfect synergy.”

“Mac was a great artist,” he said. “And he was a humble, kind of quiet, creative force… If Mac would have survived and not gone through what he went through, he’d be one of our young leaders here at the foundation. He would be composing music and he’d be helping veterans.”

Mac Sinise is still helping veterans, as proceeds of his album “Resurrection & Revival” and its sequel completed after his death, are going to the Gary Sinise Foundation. And Gary Sinise said he discovered more compositions from his son that he plans to record later this year for a third album.

After the new center was vandalized, Casper said he was heartbroken, but also inspired knowing part of the center was destined to become the Mac Sinise Auditorium. He decided to take pieces of the broken stained glass windows and transform them into new artwork inspired by Mac Sinise’s music.

“I told you we’re going to go above and beyond to make sure everyone knows Mac lived,” Casper told Sinise as he handed him stained glass panes inspired by Mac Sinise’s songs “Arctic Circles” and “Penguin Dance,” “not that he died, but that he lived.”

Sinise fought back tears as he said, “My gosh, that’s beautiful.”

As he examined the pieces more closely, Sinise added, “I’m honored that we’re going to have this place over there and that Mac is going to be supporting Richard and helping veterans.”

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

In 1918, fighting in World War I ended as the Allies and Germany signed an armistice aboard a railroad car in the Forest of Compiègne (kohm-PYEHN’-yeh) in northern France.

In 1921, the remains of an unidentified American service member were interred in a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in a ceremony presided over by President Warren G. Harding.

In 1938, Irish-born cook Mary Mallon, who’d gained notoriety as the disease-carrying “Typhoid Mary” blamed for the deaths of three people, died on North Brother Island in New York’s East River at age 69 after 23 years of mandatory quarantine.

In 1966, Gemini 12 blasted off on a four-day mission with astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. aboard; it was the 10th and final crewed flight of NASA’s Gemini program.

In 1987, following the failure of two Supreme Court nominations, President Ronald Reagan announced his choice of Judge Anthony M. Kennedy, who went on to win confirmation.

In 2020, Georgia’s secretary of state announced an audit of presidential election results that he said would be done with a full hand count of ballots because the margin was so tight; Democratic President-elect Joe Biden led Republican President Donald Trump by about 14,000 votes out of nearly 5 million votes counted in the state. (The audit would affirm Biden’s win.)

In 2022, Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX crypto exchange platform filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid a collapse of its assets; Bankman-Fried was convicted in November 2023 of seven counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Today’s Birthdays: Music producer Mutt Lange is 77. Actor Stanley Tucci is 65. Actor Demi Moore is 63. Actor Calista Flockhart is 61. TV personality Carson Kressley is 56. Actor David DeLuise is 54. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio is 51. Musician Jon Batiste is 39. Retired American figure skater Adam Rippon is 36. Actor Tye Sheridan is 29.

I asked them to stop processing this other friendship of theirs with me; it felt toxic. I told them I felt sad to spend the little time we have together talking about someone, when we could be talking with and supporting each other.

My friend responded by cutting me off. They said that they felt not being able to process their other friendship with me felt oppressive. As far as I know, they don’t burden others over this toxic friendship, as they have burdened our friendship.

I’ve been feeling sad and upset. I feel judged for setting a boundary. I feel relieved that I no longer need to hear about my friend’s toxic friendship. I am feeling shocked that my generally self-aware friend doesn’t realize they were using me for free therapy.

I am grieving what feels like the end of a close friendship. I want to talk this over with them, but I’m respecting their boundary in the text they sent about not wanting to go back and forth on the matter.

I want to maintain clarity in my friendships and not to talk about people when they’re not present. I’m having a sad time with the grief of this loss, and I need to talk about it, yet can’t work through it directly with my friend. I have safe spaces to grieve, and I will turn there. I wonder if you have any helpful insights to shed light on this situation.

– Dumped On, Then Dumped

Dear Dumped On, Then Dumped: Your letter paints a picture of someone (you) who is quite emotionally aware, who has resources and options for processing, and who is interested in taking responsibility for what’s on your side of the street. This is what we all should aspire to. And it’s no wonder that your friend saw you as such a great person to talk to.

But it also sounds like your friend doesn’t have many of these qualities yet. Hence their response. Now, there’s a world where your friend feels that you’ve changed the rules of the friendship with your ask. Your friend may think what makes your friendship special is that they can talk about this so-called toxic other friendship with you. But friendship is a meadow that we meet in the middle of. The middle is a wide place; it’s not always 50/50. But if one person is standing on one side saying, “Come over here,” it’s not going to work.

Ask yourself what your expectations and hopes are. In an ideal world, you’d be able to have a mature, self-aware conversation with your friend. Part of your grief may involve acknowledging that you also had an expectation of your friendship that didn’t meet reality. You’re not wrong for holding your boundary or wanting a healthier dynamic, but you’ll find some freedom in also releasing your friend from this expectation.

Dear Eric: I was raised on the West Coast in a wonderful, loving family with two siblings I have always been close with. My sister moved to the Midwest decades ago and came back to spend all of her holiday breaks with our parents and visit my brother and me.

Our parents have passed, and then my brother passed. My sister tries to stay close through frequent visits.

The problem is that she assumes she has the same open invitation that she had with our parents. We are all weary of these visits. I love them and enjoy spending time with them, in small doses.

Thinking it would negate their need for a Christmas trip (since they’ve been to the West Coast multiple times already this year), my husband and I are visiting my sister and her husband at their home this fall.

I was recently texting with my sister, and she referred to their “visit at Christmas.” I immediately felt anxious.

I don’t want to alienate her. We are all aging, and I know a day will come when we can no longer travel. I don’t want to have regrets. Friends have suggested that I tell her that we’re traveling during the holidays and won’t be available. I don’t want to lie. What are your thoughts?

– Conflicted Sister

Dear Sister: You’re right – telling the truth is the better option. But keep it focused on what’s true about yourself: you’re finding your capacity is changing; you love her and like spending time with her; and you need to take a year off this Christmas. Traditions sometimes pop up without our intentions. A pattern becomes something that “we always do.” It’s all right to interrupt the pattern with a request, a need, or simply a break.

Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at eric@askingeric.com.

Copyright 2025 Tribune Content Agency

Want to ensure you throw a good birthday party? Make sure you’ve got great entertainment. For Pathfinders for Autism, that meant bringing in the Goo Goo Dolls for a private concert as it celebrated its 25th year.

Some 300 folks turned out for the event, first gathering in the lobby of the M&T Bank Exchange for a cocktail hour. There, they mingled with friends and offered congrats to B.J. Surhoff and his wife, Polly Winde Surhoff, who co-founded the nonprofit to provide support to people with autism and their families.

[ MORE of Sloane Brown’s coverage of Baltimore’s party scene ]

Then, it was into the hall for the concert, which kept most of the crowd on their feet… and maybe even dancing.

As far as birthday presents went, Pathfinders scored big on that front – collecting some $1.4 million for its new Community Connections program, which will expand the organization’s efforts throughout the state.

Scene ahead

• Sunday, Nov. 16
  2nd Annual Art Show
  Benefits Art with a Heart
  HeARTwares, 1104 W. 36th St.
  2-4 p.m.
  Free admission baltimore.org/event/art-with-a-hearts-2nd-annual-art-show/
• Friday, Nov. 21
  Under $2500 Benefit Exhibition & Sale Event
  Benefits Maryland Art Place
  MAP, 218 W. Saratoga St.
  6-10 p.m
  Tickets $40 mdartplace.org/events
• Saturday, Nov. 22
  Holiday Party
  Benefits Sharp Dressed Man
  Baltimore Streetcar Museum, 1901 Falls Road
  7-11 p.m.
  Tickets $75 sharpdressedman.org/2025-holiday-party

Among the proposed uses is a data center — an idea already stirring debate in Prince George’s County, where new data center construction is currently on hold.

Prince George’s County Council Member Wala Blegay, whose district includes the Six Flags property, said Monday that a data center would contradict what she’s told her constituents: that the area would continue to host some kind of attraction.

She explained the county, which has met with Six Flags about the future of the property, hopes to replicate some of its success in its local entertainment industry. Whereas Six Flags brought in about $3 million in tax revenue every year, Blegay said Prince George’s wants to promote a venture that will come closer to the National Harbor’s success, which generates about $73 million annually.

Blegay said bidding closed on the Six Flags site in August and that county and state officials will soon meet with the leading developers.

A sale could be completed as early as January, she said.

“We think that it would have more of an entertainment center kind of thing,” Blegay said, “something along those lines.”

‘A signature project in Prince George’s County’

The CBRE flyer, posted on social media Thursday by the theme park content creator Amusement Insider, said any redevelopment would become “a signature project in Prince George’s County.” It outlined possible future uses including single-family homes, townhomes and apartments, noting that industrial development “would create an employment center” in a largely undeveloped area.

“With its large size and incredible location, the optimal long-term use for the site would likely be a mixed use development,” the flyer reads, “including low to mid-density residential, retail and commercial, and industrial or data centers.”

The flyer did not include an asking price, and as of Monday, the Bowie property was not listed on CBRE’s website.

A CBRE spokesperson declined to comment.

The Bowie theme park formally closed after the first weekend of November, months after Six Flags Entertainment determined it was “not a strategic fit with the company’s long-term growth plan.”

Its closure came at a time of struggle and recovery for the parent company.

Earlier this year, Six Flags reported a 9% drop in attendance along with a $319.4 million loss across the first half of 2025. The summer proved more fruitful, according to a quarterly update reported on Friday, but the company’s “efforts to stimulate demand did not achieve the desired returns,” said Six Flags President and CEO Richard Zimmerman.

“Our 2025 strategy has focused on investing ahead of attendance growth to lay the foundation for stronger guest satisfaction, which continues to improve across the portfolio,” Zimmerman said. “We are disciplined in our approach to capital allocation and prepared to prioritize investments in our highest return properties moving forward.”

Kelce gets involved

Late last month, an investor group including NFL player Travis Kelce said it had acquired a 9% stake in the company to improve its business strategy. Kelce, who has won three Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs, said he couldn’t pass on the chance to “make Six Flags special for the next generation.”

But it appears shuttering the Bowie amusement park fit into the company’s 2025 strategy. When announcing Six Flag America’s closure in May, the president and CEO said marketing the Maryland property for redevelopment “will generate the highest value and return on investment.”

Beyond the acreage, the extra-high-voltage electrical lines installed to operate Six Flags America were advertised by CBRE as “opening up the possibility of a data center” — a possibility that would likely face headwind in Prince George’s County.

In September, County Executive Aisha Braveboy ordered a temporary pause on construction permits for data centers after more than 20,000 community members signed a petition against a facility at the old Landover Mall site. The Change.org petition argued that center was proposed “with minimal transparency” and said as a “significant” polluter and user of energy resources, it presented “a continuation of the war on Black and brown communities by big tech and billionaire developers.”

The pause on data centers also looks to give a task force time to formulate suggestions on guiding their future development.

Blegay, who serves on that task force, told The Baltimore Sun that the zoning laws around the Six Flags property do not allow for a data center.

“It’s just too close to homes,” she said, “even within the 500 acres.”

A spokesperson in Braveboy’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Have a news tip? Contact Luke Parker at lparker@baltsun.com, 410-725-6214, on X as @lparkernews or on Signal as @parkerluke.34.

Brazil’s then President Jair Bolsonaro falsely claimed in November 2019 that actor Leonardo DiCaprio had funded nonprofit groups that he alleged were partly responsible for setting the fires. The accusation, though false, created risks for Scannavino and his work promoting sustainable development and citizens’ rights in a region along the Tapajos River popular with tourists for its blend of rainforest and beaches.

Four of Scannavino’s friends who volunteered as forest firefighters were jailed for two days and then prosecuted as alleged perpetrators of fires in the region, only to be cleared later. Police scrolled through documents of Scannavino’s Saúde e Alegria nonprofit for weeks. Scannavino received anonymous threats, and his car was set on fire.

DiCaprio takes notice
But Bolsonaro’s comments helped DiCaprio take notice of Scannavino’s work and decide to sponsor his work through Re:wild, a nonprofit conservation group that the actor helped found. Their partnership has already lasted five years, the Brazilian activist said.

“When the accusations emerged, DiCaprio came out to say he was not funding us, but added we deserved his support after he saw our work,” Scannavino told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “I’ve never been with him or spoken to him. But he gives us support, uses his social media to show what this partnership does.”

The 59-year-old Scannavino became the coordinator of Saude e Alegria, or Health and Happiness, in 1988 to promote integrated and sustainable community development in Para state, whose capital Belem will host the United Nations’ Conference of the Parties, or COP30, next week. Scannavino arrived in Belem on Tuesday from Santarem, the city where the initiative is based, after a two-day boat ride that featured broadcasts with journalists, activists and climate experts.

Local products hub
The project started as a health care initiative, but it has since grown to work with rural communities to improve their quality of life and exercise of citizenship.

One project sponsored by DiCaprio’s institute is the Forest Economy EcoCenter in Santarem, which serves as a hub for processing, storage and commercialization of products made by locals. Organizers said the facility enhances the economic viability of sustainable practices in the region.

The hub was opened a year ago, and is also supported by the governments of Brazil, Germany and Norway, all contributors of the Amazon Fund, a Brazilian initiative that pays for anti-deforestation and sustainable development efforts.

Scannavino said that the initiative cost about 5 million Brazilian reais ($938,000), mostly paid for by the Amazon Fund.

“Those first few days after Bolsonaro’s accusation were terrible. People insulted us and our families on the streets, the firefighters had to leave. But then a surprising thing happened,” Scannavino said.

“Usually people get away from you if such a big target appears on your back. It was the opposite with us. Eventually the accusations went away, the firefighters were released, and people were curious about us — including DiCaprio,” he added.

‘Meet the moment’
In an Instagram post this week, DiCaprio said the world leaders gathering in Brazil must ensure that those defending nature have the resources they need. He said Re:wild is pledging more money to protecting forests.

“I urge leaders to unite and meet the moment,” he said. “Our future depends on it.”

The AP emailed Re:wild seeking further comment on its work with Scannavino and at COP30.

Scannavino, who left the Brazilian metropolis Sao Paulo for the Amazon more than 37 years ago, said that DiCaprio and other backers of his nonprofit also came in support because he chose to show Bolsonaro he was working with the support of local police and armed forces instead of trying to score political points.

The former president was recently sentenced to 27 years in prison for a coup attempt in 2023 after losing his reelection bid.

“Our critics are specialists in hatred, and since that incident we chose to be polite, provide evidence we worked with all stakeholders, everyone who mattered in the region. We refused to leave our local communities without due health care assistance just because of an absurd accusation,” Scannavino said.

Many awards and acknowledgments later, Scannavino is expected to meet with Re:wild officials and perhaps DiCaprio himself at COP30.

Scannavino said that he nearly met DiCaprio about 20 years ago while setting up for a photo exhibition in New York. He said that the team preparing the photo exhibition didn’t recognize the actor under a cap and complained that he was getting in the way, so he left.

“Shortly later our producer raced to tell me that was Leonardo DiCaprio,” Scannavino said. “I told her to run after him and get him back. She caught him on his bike a few blocks away. He thanked her, but had to leave.

“I hope that the next encounter is a very different one, so we can thank him duly,” he added.