🍦Renn Fest tickets!

Good morning, Annapolis. Shark Week kicked off last night, so here’s the local angle nobody asked for: the Chesapeake Bay is one of the most important sandbar shark nurseries on the East Coast. Thousands of baby sharks spend their summers right here. Sleep tight, paddleboarders.

JK, there has never been a recorded, unprovoked shark attack on the Bay.

In today’s Naptown Scoop:

Let’s get to it.

— Ryan Sneddon

America's 250th birthday only comes once. And this July, Dr. Murthy is marking the occasion with something worth celebrating — 25% off Botox treatments for the entire month.

Time is running out though. The special ends July 31st, so if you've been thinking about it, now's the time.

New patient? Mention the Naptown Scoop when you book and we'll waive your consultation fee. Our gift to you this summer.

Every treatment is administered personally by Dr. Murthy, a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon known for natural, refreshed results that are never overdone. No frozen looks. No guessing. Just you, looking like the best version of yourself.

Don't let the deadline sneak up on you. Book your appointment before the month is out.

Hear ye, hear ye: Maryland Renaissance Festival tickets go on sale today at 10 AM. Revel Grove opens its 50th season on August 29 and runs weekends through October 25 in Crownsville.

If you’ve spent past summers stuck in an online queue behind thousands of fellow revelers, good news: the festival switched to a new ticket vendor, Big Tickets, with anti-bot protection, a 10-ticket-per-order limit, and staggered releases. All tickets are date-specific, sold online only, and delivered 24 hours before your visit.

This year’s storyline: it’s 1540, and King Henry VIII is crashing the village’s 50th annual Harvest Festival with wife number four, Anne of Cleves. The marriage is reportedly rocky. The turkey legs are not.

Get tickets!

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Team Naptown Scoop Coast 2 Coast 4 ALS progress: $12,823/$20,000

The City Council meets tonight at 7 PM at City Hall (160 Duke of Gloucester) – its last meeting before the Council and its committees take all of August off.

The two biggest items:

There’s also a public hearing on shrinking Special Residential Parking District 5 (removing stretches of Forbes Street and Monterey Avenue), first readers on adding statements about the environment, civil rights, and climate to the City Charter’s preamble and on the city’s union contract for FY2027–28, and second readers on forest conservation rules and updated FY2027 fees for parking, moorings, rental licenses, and alcohol permits.

Mayor Littmann will also present a citation to Dr. Charlestine Fairley, the retiring CEO of the Anne Arundel County Community Action Agency.

The meeting is open to the public. If you would like to testify, arrive a half-hour before the meeting to sign up. Alternatively you can submit written testimony online. Can’t make it? Watch live on YouTube.

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🎈🎶 Annapolis Opera Presents: Stories Through Music - A professional opera singer shares favorite pieces that celebrate storytelling through music at Eastport-Annapolis Neck Community Library.

🎶 Yachtley Crew - The Titans of Soft Rock bring their nautical-suited show of late ’70s and early ’80s yacht rock hits to Maryland Hall.

🌙 Full Moon Paddle - Experience the magic of paddling under the full moon at Capital SUP Eastport, complete with vessel lights and a peaceful evening on the water.

🎈🎶 Tunesday: Ryan Keith - Free floating concert on Back Creek, performed from a 40-foot catamaran stage. Starts 90 minutes before sunset – listen from a kayak, paddleboard, or boat, or from the dock at Ellen O. Moyer Nature Park.

🍽️ Dinner Under the Stars - Outdoor dining and live music on the first block of West Street every Wednesday through September.

🎈🎶 Tides & Tunes: John Frase Project - Free outdoor concert at Annapolis Maritime Museum & Park with food trucks and drinks. Zero waste event – bring or buy a cup.

🎈🎶 Thursday Night LIVE! - Dan Heely performs rock and blues at Annapolis Town Center’s free weekly outdoor concert series.

🎈🍽️ Food Truck Fridays - Over 12 food trucks serving diverse cuisines at 275 Harry S. Truman Pkwy, 4–8 PM. Free admission, family-friendly.

🎈🎭 A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Interactive outdoor Shakespeare continues at Historic London Town & Gardens Saturday & Sunday. Compass Rose Theater’s student actors bring the comedy to life.

🎈🎨 First Sunday Arts Festival - Over 150 artisan vendors, live music on multiple stages, and local food take over West Street and Calvert Street Sunday.

🎈🐮 Anne Arundel County Farmers Market - Fresh local produce, meats, dairy, baked goods, coffee, and tacos Saturday 7 AM–noon at 275 Harry S. Truman Pkwy. Sunday market runs 9 AM–noon.

🎈🧸 Annapolis Toy Show - Vintage action figures, trading cards, comics, LEGO, and Funko Pops fill the DoubleTree’s Mainsail Ballroom Saturday, 9 AM–2 PM. Free admission.

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🐢 Pump the Brakes – Starting today, the speed limit on Forest Drive between Bywater Road and Arundel on the Bay Road drops from 40 to 35 mph, one of several changes coming out of the Forest Drive Safety Study. Police will issue warnings – not tickets – for the first 15 days. Consider this your warning about the warnings.

🏫 Choose Your Cluster – Families zoned for Nantucket Elementary can pick between the Arundel and Crofton school clusters for 2026–27 after a court order paused part of AACPS’ redistricting plan. Choices are due Thursday, July 30, and AACPS will run buses for families who pick the Arundel feeder schools. Students already enrolled in Crofton schools for the fall don’t need to do anything.

💍 The Final Polish – Blanca Flor Silver Jewelry has officially closed at 34 Market Space after more than 30 years downtown. The sign came down last week, and longtime customers streamed in to say goodbye – including one whose love of the shop’s fishbone necklace runs so deep she has it tattooed on her neck. Next up: a pop-up and the hunt for a new location.

🦀 Crab Content – NPR went crabbing with two of the Bay’s youngest watermen: Annapolis’ own Jack Torney, 23, who works the Bay solo and sells his catch directly to customers on Facebook, and Luke McFadden, 30, whose videos have won him millions of followers (and got him a backseat ride with the Blue Angels). It’s a great look at how the next generation is keeping the industry alive.

⚓ Walkout Song – Morgan Wallen’s famous celebrity walkout took a Navy turn at M&T Bank Stadium earlier this month: Naval Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Michael Borgschulte and Commandant of Midshipmen Capt. Clint Cornell walked the country star out on stage in front of a roaring Baltimore crowd. The next night’s guest? Ray Lewis, squirrel dance included.

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84 🌡️ 72 | ⛈️ | 54% ☔ | 💨 S 9 mph (8 knots)

82 🌡️ 70 | ⛈️ | 94% ☔ | 💨 S 14 mph (12 knots)

💧🌡️ Water temperature = 81ºF
Temperature readings taken from the mouth of the Severn River the night before publication

49 West | Rehaash- Retrospective | 7:30–10 PM
The Admiral's Cup | Aidan Ewald | 7–10 PM

49 West | Uku-Nanny | 7:30–10 PM
The Admiral's Cup | Daphne Eckman | 7–10 PM
Captain's Daughter | TBA | 5–7 PM
🌳🎵Chronic Sailing | Ryan Keith | TBA
Maryland Hall | Yachtley Crew | 8 PM | Tickets
Middleton Tavern | Angie Miller & Komosa | 6 PM
Pirates Cove | Phil Pieraldi | 6–9 PM
The Point | Kavoossi | 5–8 PM
Rams Head On Stage | Bilal | 8 PM | Tickets

Thanks for reading Naptown Scoop today. If you found something useful, please share it with the friend who watches every minute of Shark Week and won’t put a toe in the ocean on vacation because of it.