Courtesy Greater Green Bay and the Lakeshore CVB
Where is Wicomico County, Md.?
Wicomico County (population 100,000) is near the southern end of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Between the Atlantic and the Chesapeake Bay, Wicomico County is 107 miles from Baltimore, 138 miles from Philadelphia and 116 miles from Washington. Ocean City is 30 miles east. Its largest town is Salisbury.
How do we get there?
Three international airports — Baltimore-Washington, Dulles and Philadelphia — are within a three-hour drive. Salisbury-Ocean City: Wicomico Regional Airport, served by US Airways, is 10 miles from Salisbury. Routes 13 and 50 intersect in Salisbury.
Tell me about some sites worth seeing.
• “Duck, duck, decoy” could be the game played at the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art. Decoys and waterfowl art made by brothers Steve and Lem Ward are the soul of this museum. A pond where ducks and geese paddle is next to the museum.
• Country House claims to be the largest country store in the East, and at 24,000 square feet of sales floor, it might live up to that claim. But a typical “country store” it is not. Country House sells country-style home furnishings and decor; a cafe supplies sustenance for shoppers.
• Wicomico County is the place for parties. Its springtime Pork in the Park BBQ Fest is the largest sanctioned Kansas City BBZ Society competition east of the Mississippi. October’s Good Beer Festival showcases more than 100 craft brews.
Where will we meet?
Wicomico County has 1,000 hotel rooms in 22 properties; eight have meeting space.
• The largest meeting space is the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center, with a 30,000-square-foot arena that seats 5,200, a 10,000-square-foot secondary arena, 10 meeting rooms and 1,000 free parking spaces. Some 400 events are held there every year.
• Shade trees shelter the Henry S. Parker Athletic Complex. The complex has four softball fields, all but one lighted; one lighted baseball field; two lighted Bermuda Turf utility fields; a playground; and parking for 720 vehicles.
• Crown Sports Center is an all-season sports complex with 10.5 acres of turf for outdoor soccer, lacrosse and field hockey; indoors there are five turf fields, a multisurface court, two volleyball courts and batting cages. The facility is used for all types of tournaments, as well as dog shows and agility competitions.
