Maryland Students Challenged to Tell the Story of the “Star-Spangled Banner”
Pride of Baltimore and Port of Baltimore present first annual Maritime Day Contest

BALTIMORE, April 28, 2014 – In commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the penning of the national anthem, Pride of Baltimore and the Port of Baltimore have created a contest for Maryland K – 12th grade students, challenging them to help tell the story of the “Star-Spangled Banner.” Students have creative freedom to tell the story however they choose –through watercolor paintings, photography, poems, essays, videos, interpretive dances, dioramas, sculptures, and more.

IMG_1764Winners and one guest will be invited to sail aboard Pride on Sunday, May 18th during the National Maritime Day commemoration and wreath laying ceremony. The top projects will also be featured on the Pride of Baltimore website through December 2014.

Projects (or images of projects) can be submitted through the Pride of Baltimore website: https://pride2.org/tellthestory/ or via mail to:

Pride of Baltimore, Inc.
Star-Spangled Student Contest
2700 Lighthouse Point East, Suite 330
Baltimore, MD 21224

The project submission deadline is 5:00 PM on Friday, May 9, 2014. Fifteen winners will be announced on Thursday, May 15th. All K – 12th grade students residing in Maryland are welcome to apply.

The Pride of Baltimore is a reconstruction of an early 19th century Baltimore Clipper. These sleek, fast, and maneuverable vessels became famous as privateers during the War of 1812. Their success in capturing British merchant ships inspired the Royal Navy’s attack on Baltimore in 1812.  When Francis Scott Key saw the American flag still flying after the all-night bombardment of Fort McHenry, he was inspired to pen the “Star-Spangled Banner.”

2014 is the first year in many that Pride will remain in local waters – traveling to as many Maryland ports as possible throughout the Star-Spangled Summer of 2014, reaching between 50,000 and 100,000 people in her port visits throughout the state. Since her commissioning in October of 1988, Pride has traveled over 250,000 nautical miles, visited 40 countries, and docked in over 200 ports of call. For more information on Pride’s 2014 sailing schedule, education initiatives, or membership program, please visit www.pride2.org.

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