Beach to Bay News

There's a lot going on in the Beach to Bay Heritage Area. From launching our museum passport program to the unveiling of a new interactive StoryMap to guide visitors on their journey through the Shore, there is always something happening. Stay caught up on the latest with our newsletter!

Beach to Bay Heritage Area 2024

Somerset County Selected to Co-Host Smithsonian Exhibition ​

​The Smithsonian heads to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore with Maryland Humanities’ next Museum on Main Street tour on January 17, 2026! This is the second stop on Maryland’s tour of "Spark! Places of Inspiration," a traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibition focused on innovation. This tour is possible through Maryland Humanities’ Museum on Main Street (MoMS) program, our collaboration with Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, which teams up with state humanities councils like Maryland Humanities to bring high-quality Smithsonian traveling exhibitions to museums, historical societies, and other small-town cultural venues across the country.

​Beach to Bay Receives Rural Maryland Council Funding for Indian Trail

​BBHA has recently been awarded funding from the Rural Maryland Council, Maryland Agricultural Education Rural Development Assistance Fund (MAERDAF) program for the redevelopment of the Beach to Bay Indian Trail. The Beach to Bay Indian Trail was designated a National Recreation Trail by the Department of the Interior in 1993. The trail is highlighted with stops at museums and parks throughout Worcester and Somerset counties. We are planning to re-image the trail, not just in name, but with expanded content and interpretation. While it was intended to recreate the native pathways and migration patterns from the beach to the bay by Native Americans, it lacked accuracy due to insufficient consultation with the area’s Indigenous People. We will be consulting with the Pocomoke Indian Nation to create new interpretive materials.

6 Organizations Awarded $25,000 in Mini-Grant Funding for FY25

​​The Beach to Bay Heritage Area is pleased to announce the newest round of mini-grant recipients. Six organizations were awarded funding from a competitive pool of applicants.
  • Crisfield Arts & Entertainment District
  • MD Coastal Bays
  • Worcester County Tourism and Economic Development
  • Ocean City Museum Society
  • The Community Players of Salisbury
  • The Delmarva Discovery Museum

Beach to Bay Heritage Area 2023

Another successful and eventful year here on the Shore! We have continued to strive to expand our programs, special projects and offerings to our region. It’s our mission to promote, preserve and protect the cultural heritage, historical linkages and natural assets of Maryland’s lower eastern shore. Some of our achievements include: 
  • Created and expanded African American interpretive materials
  • Received record funding from federal, state and local government and private foundations
  • Took advantage of marketing dollars to create positive awareness
  • Hired a half-time AmeriCorps Volunteer

2023 Annual Report

2023 - 2028 Strategic Plan

​In the coming years, it is our goal to strengthen heritage tourism, build partnerships, develop heritage products, increase awareness, and strengthen infrastructure. This five-year action plan is intended to elevate, celebrate, and sustain the stories, traditions, and natural heritage of Maryland's Lower Eastern Shore. 

​Beach to Bay Heritage Area 2020

Economic Impact

Rebranding!

We rebranded our heritage area, created a new website, re-started a monthly e-newsletter, gave away $15,000 in mini grant funding to popular heritage organizations, created our first of 10 virtual video tours of museums and historic sites, and worked with the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority to quantify the impact of our heritage area. 
We have a new look and a new name! 

Thanks to a generous grant from the Maryland Agricultural Education and Rural Development Assistance Fund (MAERDAF) through the Rural Maryland Council in the fall of FY20, we have undergone a Phase II process to redefine ourselves in today's world to better implement our mission to preserve, protect, and promote our lower shore region and the heritage assets here. Utilizing a professional consulting firm, Choptank Communications, we have undergone a yearlong process to provide us with a strategy moving forward that satisfies the needs and desires of our stakeholders for this heritage area. We are proud of our fresh new approach and bright, distinctive look. Formerly known as the Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Area,  we are now the Beach to Bay Heritage Area, and branding as Beaches, Bays and Water Ways.

More documents from our rebranding process:

beachtobay_logostyleguide_draft1.pdf
File Size: 707 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
 Press Release Nov 2019
  Press  Release Dec 2019
Contact Us:
 14 South Main Street
Berlin, MD 21811
410-251-3163

[email protected]

Beach to Bay Heritage Area Mission

Our mission is to promote, preserve and protect the cultural heritage, historical linkages and natural assets of Maryland's Lower Eastern Shore.

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Funded in part by the Rural Maryland Council