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Calling all parents, educators and caregivers , Overlea ArtsFest invites your young artists to contribute their artwork to our next exhibition! We are hosting a Youth Art Show for kids and teens at the start of the summer, generously sponsored by our friends at Rosedale Federal Savings & Loan. Details with Rec & Parks are still being worked out, but we hope to hold the Youth Art Show at the picturesque Holt Park & Center for the Arts on June 7th and 8th, for a whole weekend of family fun and community engagement.
Artists can be aged 6 thru 17, but all skill levels and mediums are welcome! There is no fee to enter the show and no formal submission process. Art can be dropped off at Holt Park during the week before the show. Prizes will be given to winners in each category. More info is available at https://overleaartsfest.org/youth-art-show/. Let your child’s imagination soar with an array of unique art & craft activities while you enjoy a beautiful day together at the park, complete with snacks from Pappas Seafood Co.! Learn how you can help support Overlea’s young and emerging artists at this event and beyond by visiting OverleaArtsFest.org.
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Want to stay up to date on all the happenings in our neighborhood? The OCA members bulletin is emailed monthly to all dues paying members! Stay informed on important issues and events in Overlea. If you have paid your dues but have not provided the OCA with your email address (or if you do not have one) please contact Debi Brocht, Membership Chair at brochtdebi@gmail.com. Membership is PER PERSON, paid yearly, (July 1, 2024-June 30, 2025). Please Submit your dues using the coupon below or online. Thank you for your support!
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Dozens of residents joined DPWT staff last month at the Overlea-Fullerton Senior Center to learn more about the design plans for the proposed West- East Pedestrian and Bicycle Trail.
The approximately 3-mile West-East Trail would help connect Overlea and Parkville communities. The planned trail will run from Hiss Avenue and Harford Road through Lillian Holt Drive. It will connect communities on Harford and Belair Roads, allow entry to Double Rock Park from the east entrance of the communities, (on Belair Road) and connect them to the proposed North East Trail and on to White Marsh. The project will add road markings and signage to create the trail thereby increasing safety and accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists. The OCA has voted to support this project.
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English Ivy will strangle and kill a healthy tree! Winter is a great time to remove it. Using a hand saw, carefully cut out a 6-12” band around the tree trunk, near the base, then pull up as much from the ground as possible. The ivy above the cut out section will die off and fall from the tree.
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34 Elmont Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21206
Leprechaun Quest – Sunday, Mar 16, 1-4pm Come hunt for the leprechaun’s treasure! For all ages. Cost: $6. per Treasure Hunter
Egg Roll and Egg-stravaganza! – Sunday, Apr 13, Noon-4pm Crafts, games, treats and family fun. Bring yor own eggs to decorate in the historic cabin. For all ages. FREE.
Program registrations are on CivicRec: recandparks.baltimorecountymd.gov/MD/baltimore-co-md
Please visit www.overleafrc.com/programs/holtpark to find out more about programs and volunteer opportunities!
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The Fall/Winter Season
The fall/winter season is here and with it, lots of fun family friendly events. This is our ninth year of the Overlea Tree Lighting and we are excited to continue this awesome tradition. Anthony Medina has done a fantastic job this year organizing this event, and I for one am excited to attend. Save the date for Saturday, December 14th at 7 pm. Holiday songs, tasty treats, and most importantly SANTA will all be in attendance.
The end of October marked the end of the season for our Overlea Farmers Market. What an amazingly successful year! I’d like to thank all of the volunteers, vendors and customers who have supported us. We truly could not do this without the hard working group of volunteers who show up two Saturdays a month and make this event run. If you are interested in becoming a vendor next season (or volunteer), please reach out to overleafarmersmarket@gmail.com. Your community association is always looking for new ways to bring makers and food vendors into our community. Next year The Natural History Society will begin exterior renovations to their building in Spring 2025. Stay tuned for information about the location of our tenth year of Overlea Farmer’s Market. There has been talk of a party to celebrate this milestone with our volunteers and vendors. Look for details in our upcoming newsletters.
One Final Appeal
One final appeal. The Overlea Community Association is always looking for volunteers. When I mention to people that I am the president of my community association, they say, “Oh, boy. Nobody likes the HOA.” But that’s not a very accurate analogy. The Overlea Community Association is a group of neighborhood boosters, people who love their neighborhood and want it to be cleaner, safer, better. There are many opportunities to participate. If you are passionate about gardening, cleanups, neighborhood events, or contributing to a potluck, the OCA has a place to put your talents to work. The Overlea Community Association aspires to be an inclusive and representative association for all of you. Your voice and talents are important.
Martin Nibali
president@overleaonline.org
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Here are just a few…
- Direct downspouts and gutters to drain onto the lawn, planted beds or rain gardens where rain will soak into the soil rather than run off.
- Recycle yard waste for mulching and fertilizing – Use fallen leaves, dried grass clippings and pine needles found in your yard as mulch under trees, shrubs, and in flower beds. They’re free!
- Leave grass clippings on your lawn. In the fall, mow when lawn is lightly covered with leaves – allow the grass clippings and shredded leaves on the lawn to decompose and fertilize the soil.
- Test your soil every 3-5 years and only add fertilizers as needed.
- Avoid synthetic fertilizers when possible. Instead, use compost, slow release or natural organic fertilizers. Excess fertilizer pollutes groundwater as well as streams and rivers.
- Design and maintain a landscape that will survive on natural rainfall amounts by planting trees, shrubs, and perennials that are native to our area.
- Replace unneeded lawn areas with beds of native groundcovers, grasses, perennials, shrubs, and trees.
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The developers from Haven Coworking bought the old Overlea Event Center at 6809 Belair Road and renovations are underway now! If you grew up in this area, you either had your wedding reception at this building or knew someone who did! You may have attended a few New Year’s Eve parties or a Zumba class there. This new building project is a big investment in the neighborhood, with great things coming to the community and the building! Haven will be offering private offices, dedicated desks, artists’ studios, working space memberships, all with access to services, amenities, events, coworking memberships, and benefits. Check out their Towson location at https://havenspace.com/.
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Troop 16 meets every Wednesday at Kenwood Presbyterian Church at the intersection of Fullerton and Kenwood Avenues. On December 4th, they are inviting boys ages 11-18 who are curious about scouting to join them for a unique opportunity to make a one-of-a-kind glass piece with their own hands and get to know members of the Troop. Contact troop16overlea@gmail.com for more details and to reserve a spot.
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A special thanks to the great volunteers who help to bring this newsletter to your door four times a year. Providing periodic neighborhood news in print and getting it to the front door of every house in Overlea is no small feat.
Thanks to Mary and Amber Harrison (Madeleine), Cory Scott (Linden), Susan Wachter (Linden), Jenie Walter (Fullerton), Curt Phillips (Beech), Shirley Revelle (Willow), Jennifer Schmidt (Willowdale), Sue Porembski (Greenwood), Jacob Bender (Fuller), Paul and Jean Bender (Taylor), Kathy Fernandez (Highview), Martin Nibali (Elm), Joe Allen and Liz Mullan (Manor), Ralph and Norma Secoura (Belair Road), Kim King (Chesley), Christi Loranzo (Walnut), Joe and Julie Ducay (Chesley), Carol Stover (Northern Parkway), Nate and Erin Poff (Everall), Chris and Nicole Hood (W. Overlea), Jess Loveless (W. Overlea). Tom and Debi Brocht sort and drop off newsletters to each of our distributors, and deliver a couple of routes themselves. Doris Poling also makes sure this newsletter gets to the Overlea Senior Center. We have some routes that are particularly long, and some volunteers are covering more than one route. If you can spare an afternoon four times a year delivering newsletters, please let us know!
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Thanks to everyone who came out to enjoy ArtsFest’s amazing lineup of music & dance performers, art vendors, activities and the juried art show at Holt Park & Center for the Arts this year! We hope you had a great time. While we wait for Baltimore County to finalize the renovation schedule at Holt Park, we will be working on expanding our board and developing new committees to further our mission of connecting art and the community. If you like being involved in fun, creative things that help your community grow, send a message to Judith Clark at development@overleaartsfest.org to learn what you can do. And if you’d simply like to contribute to our programs for youth artists and emerging adult artists, you can send a donation of any size through Givebutter, Venmo or snail mail from this page: https://overleaartsfest.org/donate/. Overlea ArtsFest is a registered 501c3 non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible. Thanks for your support!
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Have you visited our little park in historic Cherry Heights, located at the intersection of Beech Avenue and East Elm? Cherry Heights was established in 1910 as the first African-American suburb in Baltimore County. The OCA teamed up with NeighborSpace Baltimore County to establish the park in 2019. The dividing line between Cherry Heights and Fullerton neighborhoods bisects the park. NeighborSpace and the OCA are pursuing grant opportunities for additional improvements to the park and to memorialize the history of Cherry Heights. Read about the history of Cherry Heights on the OCA website: overleaonline.org/news/overleas-newpocket-park. Our periodic cleanup in November entailed removing English Ivy and trash.