By ADELIA MCGUIRE
The upbeat sound of music and the smell of Old Bay filled the air at McKeldin Mall as University of Maryland (UMD) students and alumni, and city residents celebrated Maryland Day on April 27.
Cloudy skies and intermittent drizzle did not get in the way of the 2024 celebration, which took place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The campus bustled with energy as attendees of all ages and backgrounds explored tents and tables featuring activities, food and information about the campus and surrounding community.
Event organizers split the campus into five learning neighborhoods with nearly 400 free events, including the iconic White vs. Red Maryland football game.
The City of College Park capitalized on Maryland Day to offer information about local resources to attendees. According to College Park City Manager Kenny Young, the city has participated in Maryland Day for well over 20 years.
“I think it’s an important event just to showcase what the University of Maryland offers to the community,” Young said. “It gives people a chance to come in and really have an experience of the University of Maryland and its sense of community.”
The city set up a tent in the heart of the mall that was staffed by employees ready to engage with attendees. City staff distributed brochures, stickers and other free materials and oversaw an array of lawn games, including life-size checkers and chess.
“We’re here to answer questions for a lot of our residents,” Young said. “We have everything from our animal control folks here, our communications team and event folks. We always try to provide something for the kids to do.”
Attendees also had an opportunity to meet the mayor and city councilmembers.
Carson Peters, a doctoral student at the UMD School of Public Health, volunteered to run one of the city’s tables, where families could pick up a free book, courtesy of the city’s Education Advisory Committee.
“I think Maryland Day is a really good testament in terms of … academics, partnerships in the community [and] community engagement,” Peters said.
The city’s tabling tent was one of many located around the perimeter of McKeldin Mall. Live music energized the campus, with four student groups, including 32 Bars and the UMD School of Music’s jazz studies program, performing. Grammy Award-winning trombonist Mark Williams, director of the jazz studies program, was on hand to lead his students’ performances.
The UMD Office of Sustainability was one of the various groups representing the university in Maryland Day’s Terp Town Center, one of the five learning neighborhoods.
Megan Ravert represented the Sustainable Terps, acting as a liaison between attendees and the Office of Sustainability.
“We have a variety of activities and hands-on educational things to show what we’re doing in the office and then also encourage people to recognize what they do sustainably,” Ravert said.
Activities at the SustainableUMD tent included creating air fresheners out of T-shirts and a seed-planting craft.
“It’s cool to see all the clubs, activities and schools showcase what they’re doing,” Ravert said. There’s so many things you don’t think about, day to day, that walking the vicinity of the mall teaches you.”