Maryland Theatre

Spring is finally here. The birds are singing. Flowers are blooming. People are getting outside more and more. Warming air and longer days brighten spirits. Little League is now in full swing and Thursday was opening day for the Suns.   Thursday was also the opening of the Maryland International Film Festival. I hope my friends in the Suns Fan Club understand, but we opted for the Film Festival. The feature film that evening was “Argo.” The movie tells the story of Tony Mendez and his successful rescue of six American diplomats from Tehran, Iran, in January 1980.

Genevieve A. Wagner, 85, of Hagerstown, Md., died Friday, April 12, 2013, at Meritus Medical Center. Born Nov. 26, 1927, in Mercersburg, Pa., she was the daughter of the late Ruth Strait. Genevieve was a graduate of Boonsboro High School. She was preceded in death by her husband of 62 years, George A. Wagner Sr. She was previously employed as a cafeteria worker at St. Mary School, St. Maria Goretti High School and with the Washington County School System. She began her career as a sales clerk at Hays Stationary Store.

Spring arts and craft show Arts and crafts vendors will sell handcrafted furniture and primitives, scroll saw wooden pieces, silk flower arrangements, Bolivian textiles, oil paintings and more. Several authors will sign and sell copies of their books. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. St. Paul United Methodist Church, 750 Norland Ave., Chambersburg, Pa. Proceeds benefit St. Paul United Methodist Church. Call 717-261-1095. International Film Festival Saturday at Bridge of Life and Academy Theater in downtown Hagerstown.

The first night of the second annual Maryland International Film Festival-Hagerstown was capped off Wednesday at The Maryland Theatre when Tony Mendez was awarded the festival's first Mendez Award. Thomas B. Riford, president of the film festival's board of directors, said the Mendez Award will be presented at the festival every year as the event's top film award. Mendez thrust the award in the air after it was handed to him by Riford. Mendez had been invited on stage after the screening of the movie “Argo,” which depicts Mendez's actions in 1979, when he helped six Americans escape from Iran.

The excitement began building for the second Maryland International Film Festival-Hagerstown on Thursday afternoon as people crowded into the new location of the Washington County Arts Council for an opening reception and a chance to rub elbows with one of the stars of this year's festival - Tony Mendez. Mendez, the former CIA agent whose work to free six Americans in Iran provided the storyline for the Academy Award-winning movie “Argo,” arrived at the arts council at 34-36 S. Potomac St., dressed in a black tuxedo and in the company of his wife Jonna.

The Hagerstown City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the allocation of $22,411 to The Maryland Theatre for its sound system upgrade project. The total cost of the project is $44,822, according to an April 5 memo from John Lestitian, the city's director of economic and community development, to Bruce Zimmerman, city administrator. Drawing from its general fund revenue, the city is funding half of the project, the other half will be funded by the Washington County Office of Community Grant Management, the memo states.

It's a cinephile's dream: three days, 54 films from 11 countries. And it all takes place in downtown Hagerstown. The second Maryland International Film Festival-Hagerstown kicks off Thursday, April 11, and continues through Saturday, April 13, with films shown at three downtown venues - The Maryland Theatre, Bridge of Life and Academy Theater. Nearly 220 movies were submitted to the festival, of which only 54 made the cut, according to Tom Riford, president of the festival's board of directors.

The story is a fairy tale classic. Girl sweeps floor, then magically appears at royal ball and sweeps prince off his feet. There are fairy godmothers, magic pumpkins and a race against the clock — a surreal series of events all told with romance, humor and drama, as well as a happy ending. Throughout the years, the story of the peasant-turned-princess who loses a glass slipper has never lost its luster or appeal. And, today, the shoe still fits. For some, the enchantment of "Cinderella" has come from the pages of a book.

Organizers of the second annual Maryland International Film Festival in Hagerstown announced plans Tuesday for the April 11-13 event, which will feature a Washington County man who was at the center of the Academy Award-winning movie “Argo.” Tony Mendez, who lives in Pleasant Valley in the southern part of the county, is expected to play a part in the festival, which will have an emphasis on student-produced movies. On the festival's second day, four movies produced by Washington County students will be shown at Bridge of Life Center on South Potomac Street, where high school students are expected to be bused to see the films, Thomas B. Riford, president of the film festival's board of directors, said Tuesday during a news conference in Hagerstown City Council chambers.