Maryland Traditions Heritage Awards

Maryland Traditions, the folklife program of the Maryland State Arts Council, honors the state’s outstanding stewards of traditional arts at the 2016 Maryland Traditions Heritage Awards Ceremony and Concert, hosted Friday, Nov. 11, at 7:30 p.m. at the Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center, 7995 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring. On hand to receive awards and share their art are: Cambodian master traditional musician Chum Ngek of Montgomery County; members of the Trimper family, owners of Ocean City’s Trimper’s Rides and Amusements, the nation’s oldest family-owned amusement park; and members of the Steyer and Shinholt families of Western Maryland, whose maple syrup making practices are generational traditions in Garrett and Allegany counties.

Also featured will be a conversation with maritime culture advocate Mike Vlahovich of St. Michaels and Tacoma, Washington; and a concert by Baltimore’s master of the Irish button accordion, Billy McComiskey, who will perform with several of his friends. Mike and Billy are 2016 recipients of NEA National Heritage Fellowships, the nation’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. A reception, which will include an Irish traditional music session, will follow the awards ceremony and concert.