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La Plata plans Maryland 250 activities: school projects, a scavenger hunt, living history booths and train‑museum tie‑ins
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Summary
Town staff and a special projects coordinator outlined a Maryland 250 strategy to integrate commemorative programming into existing festivals (Celebrate La Plata April 25, Fourth of July, Oct. 4 fall festival and the December tree lighting), including a multi-month electronic scavenger hunt and living-history booths; commissioners discussed staffing, data ownership and train-museum logistics.
Lucinda Anderson, the town's special projects coordinator, told the Historic Preservation Commission the town will "sprinkle the Maryland 2 50 throughout our existing events" to maximize budget impact and community reach. The plan pairs Maryland 250 activities with four major festivals: Celebrate La Plata (April 25), the Fourth of July concert, a fall festival on Oct. 4 and the December tree lighting.
Anderson described school partnerships, a traveling mural/canvas project, living-history reenactments and a townwide scavenger hunt as core elements. "We're going to incorporate a Maryland 2 50 activity into the major festivals," she said, and proposed that subcommittee members serve as liaisons and staffing leads for festival booths.
On the scavenger hunt, Anderson and commissioners discussed an electronic QR/GPS-based system run by a private vendor that would allow participants to "check in" at sites and unlock content. The plan would run from spring through October and culminate on Oct. 4; Anderson suggested 20 potential stops with smaller "complete quest" lists for different neighborhoods. Commissioners emphasized inclusion for people without smartphones and said printed alternatives would be available.
Commissioners raised questions about ownership and reuse of content created through a vendor's platform. Anderson said some vendor platforms make hunts public and explained the vendor subscription model: "So with your fee, you are subscribing so that you can do more than 1 hunt or do it whenever," and she noted the commission should clarify data and rights with any contractor.
The commission also discussed integrating Maryland 250 activities with train-museum openings and other volunteer-run programming. The train museum will open for the season in late April/early May (schedule to be confirmed), and commissioners asked staff to confirm parking, ADA access and building-condition details before public openings. Staff said they had met with Vice Chair Boling and Public Works Director Wilson Cochran to route volunteer maintenance concerns to Public Works: "Wilson Cochran, public works director. He's responsible for the maintenance of the building the grounds," staff said.
Next steps: subcommittee members and staff will finalize event roles, confirm vendor agreements and settle data‑ownership questions before launching the scavenger hunt and festival booths; the commission scheduled a subcommittee meeting prior to the April 25 Celebrate La Plata event to firm up details.
