Frost Fair Revives Centuries-Old Winter Market Traditions And Brings New Winter Tourism To Southern Maryland

ST. MARY’S CITY, Md. — Historic St. Mary’s City opened its inaugural Frost Fair Saturday, transforming Maryland’s largest living museum grounds into a family focused winter celebration that added a new annual tradition for St. Mary’s County. The event brought visitors through a holiday village with crafts, local vendors, fire pits, s’mores and activities inspired by centuries-old winter markets once held in England on the frozen River Thames.

The Frost Fair featured stations across the site including the Gingerbread Zone inside the State House, a Kids’ Secret Shop, local craft vendors, food trucks, hot cocoa and an outdoor showing of the movie “Elf.” There was a snow globe play area, and the museum promoted the fair to kick off the season while offering families a local low-cost celebration.

Caitlin Armsworthy, strategic engagement and gift giving manager at Historic St. Mary’s City, said the museum created the Frost Fair to fill a gap in the local community after learning another event and light display nearby would not be offered this year.

“Events like this really broaden who can come see us,” Armsworthy told The BayNet. “Not everybody can go up to Gaylord National or D.C. for the big Christmas celebration, so we wanted to offer that at a really low-ticket entry and provide families an opportunity to celebrate the holiday.”

Activities on site included ornament making, gingerbread crafts and family photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus. A food court offered food trucks, hot chocolate, local farm beverages and holiday treats.

The museum tied the Frost Fair to a longer history of winter festivals. Between 1607 and 1814, when the River Thames sometimes froze solid for months, Londoners built temporary markets on the ice with booths, games and printed broadsides celebrating what became known as Frost Fairs. Historic St. Mary’s City adapted that idea for its modern event with artisans, carolers and seasonal displays.

Volunteer Effort Strengthens Frost Fair Operations

Brooke Moe, marketing, communication and volunteer engagement coordinator for Historic St. Mary’s City, said the success of the Frost Fair depended on the volunteers who spent the week preparing the grounds and running activities throughout the event. Inside the Historic State House, Moe organized a volunteer lounge stocked with snacks, drinks and comfortable seating, creating a place for volunteers to take breaks and connect with one another.

“I like to set up opportunities to get to know them on a human level, and for them to sort of bond with each other,” Moe said. “Because that relationship is really important, and it is what keeps volunteers coming back if they know that they are going to see me, or their friends, and have that human connection.”

Volunteer David Nettleton said supporting Historic St. Mary’s City has become an important part of his retirement, and that helping prepare the Frost Fair was one way to contribute to the community.

“My wife and I helped make snowflakes and the stars, and then we set up the entire inside [of the vendors court],” Nettleton said. “We lit the Christmas trees, and set up the little entrance way, and we did a number of things.”

Nettleton said he volunteers because the St. Mary’s City history is significant to the region, and that history continues to be uncovered by archaeological digs on site. Those digs, past and present, reveal new details about early settlement and the cultural exchanges that shaped the region.

“In 1634, Maryland was founded, and this is where Maryland’s first capital was, right here where we stand,” Nettleton said. “I also volunteer on the Dove, which is the replica of the original vessel from 1634.”

Gail Wilt arrived at Historic St. Mary’s City’s Frost Fair with a unique distinction. She is the mother of Captain Angela Laaro, who is the captain for the Maryland Dove, a replica of the seventeenth century vessel that brought Maryland’s first colonists to St. Mary’s City in 1634. The Maryland Dove is a fully functional boat that was docked on a pier on the St. Mary’s River and served as a primary tourist attraction for the living museum.

“Mrs. Claus is the mother of the captain of the Maryland Dove,” Wilt said. “She started with Captain Will Gates, he was her mentor when she was 15 [years-old], and she was a volunteer here.”

Wilt said her family’s connection to the site runs even deeper, and that her father, a St. Mary’s County tobacco farmer and Waterman, lived long enough to see his granddaughter inducted as captain of the Maryland Dove.

“He was here to see her be inducted as the captain of the Maryland Dove,” Wilt said. “We are pretty certain, heritage wise, that our family came over on the Ark and the Dove.”

During the Frost Fair, Wilt portrayed Mrs. Claus, greeting children inside the Gingerbread Zone set up in the historic State House of 1676.

“I am portraying Mrs. Claus so I can help the little ones feel comfortable,” Wilt said. “Lots of times they are a little intimidated by Mr. Claus.”

Advancement Director Sees Frost Fair Growing Into A Southern Maryland Tradition

Mike Bellis, director of advancement and communications at Historic St. Mary’s City, said the inaugural Frost Fair was created to give local families a new holiday tradition on the museum’s grounds.

“Today is our inaugural Frost Fair, the idea was to fill a gap in the community of where we are,” Bellis said. “We are a nine-month operation at Historic St. Mary’s City, and we wanted to have some type of holiday experience for families to come and have a great time.”

Bellis described Historic St. Mary’s City as an 835-acre living history museum, the only full-time living history museum in the state of Maryland where people can experience interpreters on the landscape educating folks about early pre-colonial life and the story of Indigenous peoples who lived on the land. Historic St. Mary’s City also has active archaeology digs on site, where, according to Bellis, professionals and students of the trade continue to discover artifacts.

“We have two active archaeology projects on site,” Bellis said. “It is a great way for people who are interested in that field to see what is happening and what it looks like to be a professional archaeologist right here in St. Mary’s County.”

Bellis said he wanted residents to see the museum as both a history site and an easy day out for local families and St. Mary’s County visitors.

St. Mary’s County Library’s Mobile Branch Extends Frost Fair Outreach

Parked beside the food trucks in the Frost Fair food court, the St. Mary’s County Library Mobile Library turned the festival into a chance for families to discover new services and have some hot chocolate with snacks. Mobile Library and Outreach Coordinator Sandy Kleist said the vehicle functions as a full library branch that brings books and resources directly into neighborhoods and community spaces.

“So we are a fourth library, we are the Mobile Library, and our whole goal is to go out and bring services to people in the community who might not be able to come to one of our brick-and-mortar locations to find library services,” Kleist said. “We really hope to reduce any accessibility issues for folks.”

The mobile library mixes regular monthly stops with special events like the Frost Fair. Public stops include senior centers, shopping areas and medical daycare, while private stops bring carts of books and media into schools, veterans homes and rehabilitation centers. Kleist said she wants residents to view the mobile library as a flexible way to connect with the library system.

“We are here for you, we want to know what you want more of, and we want to come and visit your neighborhoods,” Kleist said. “Anybody can ask and have us come to their location.”

The staff at Historic St. Mary’s City said the crowds that showed up to the Frost Fair affirmed that a new seasonal tradition may be taking shape.

“I can certainly see this becoming a tradition for South County families,” Bellis said.

With more archaeology unfolding and more stories surfacing from the landscape, Historic St. Mary’s City keeps pairing history with experiences that bring the community back to the grounds.

Facts About Historic St. Mary’s City

• 18751 Hogaboom Lane, St. Mary’s City, Maryland 20686, (240) 895-4980
• Open seasonally March–November. Trails on the grounds open all year.
• Closed winter months, except for events like Frost Fair (exact hours vary each year)

---