Arion Band is a community band based in Frostburg. Established in 1877, the band has now been performing for 148 years. The band gives five to ten performances in the Frostburg and Cumberland areas during the summer. During prohibition, the Arion band helped the speakeasy in the basement of the Hotel Gunter sneak in booze. While the band would play music on the balcony, liquor was smuggled into the back.
Frostburg Art Walk In the spring of each year, Frostburg sponsors an art walk through the arts and entertainment district. Visitors are invited for a self-guided tour through the district. Local businesses open their doors with special exhibits and demonstrations.
Performing Arts Center Located on the
Frostburg State University campus, the Performing Arts Center (PAC) has regular programs held in one of their three theaters. The Cultural Events Series is open to students, faculty, and the general public. The students who are studying dance, music, theater and communication can excel in the Performing Arts Center because it has the basic essentials plus more needed for these majors. It has three main theaters: Pealer Recital Hall, Drama Theater and the Studio Theater. This building also has rehearsal spaces, music practice rooms and electronic labs, shops, offices, classrooms and facilities for the hearing impaired. The community and the campus audiences are welcome to a variety of concerts and many performances. Also many famous comedians and jazz artists that perform there as well.
Roper Gallery Located in the Fine Arts building on
Frostburg State University's campus, the Roper gallery hosts fine art exhibits from both senior year art students and traveling exhibits.
Planetarium The
Frostburg State University planetarium is located in GIRA CCIT. The planetarium offers a different show every month, which are shown on Sundays at 4PM and 7PM.
Appalachian Festival The Appalachian Festival occurs every year on the third weekend in September on
Frostburg State University's upper quad. The festival highlights music, food, and crafts of the Appalachian region. Artisans from the area come and sell their wares in areas of woodworking, quilts, and glasswork. There are children's activities offered and educational opportunities. There are often live animals in a petting zoo format. There are tents that offer instruction in folk skills such as dancing, soap making, and basket making.
The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad train at Frostburg station in 2011 The
Western Maryland Scenic Railroad runs between Cumberland at
Canal Place and
Frostburg. The depot at Frostburg was originally designed for the
Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad by architect
Ephraim Francis Baldwin and built in 1891. The train stops at the Frostburg Depot for ninety minutes so passengers may shop or eat lunch. Occasionally a locomotive is detached, rotated on the turntable and run around and reattached to the other end of the train for its journey back to Cumberland. These maneuvers takes about fifteen minutes and attract a lot of attention from the passengers, most of whom are tourists. Surrounding the depot are Linns Bar and Grill, The Trail Inn and Cafe, The Great Allegheny Passage Hiking/Biking Trail, and the Thrasher Carriage Museum. The standard train ride departs at 11:30 a.m. from the Cumberland station and lasts approximately 3.5 hours. The railroad also offers a variety of specialty trains such as a Murder Mystery train, a Christmas themed train, an Easter train, and a pumpkin patch train.
Thrasher Carriage Museum The museum gives visitors the chance to take a look back in time to the nineteenth century to see how the people in that century were transported. There are examples of the different types of vehicles there. For example, there are funeral wagons, carts, pleasure vehicles, carts a milkman would have used and a lot more. There are docents who dress up in the Victorian American clothing from that time. It gives the visitors the feeling that they are going back in time. This museum really gives visitors a chance to look into the life of a person from the 19th century. The Thrasher Carriage Museum was named after James Richard Thrasher. He lived in Midland, Maryland and was born in 1913. Mr. Thrasher developed a love of horses at a very early age which led him into collecting carriages and participating in various parades just to show off his collection. He died in 1987.
Historic Downtown Frostburg Historical Downtown Frostburg was constructed between the years of 1870–1915 when the town was entrenched in the mining and brick making industry. The Princess Restaurant, located on Main St., has been in business since 1939. Former
President Truman visited the restaurant shortly after he left office; a framed sign hangs above the booth in which he sat. The Hotel Gunter, located on Main St across the street from the Princess Restaurant, opened in 1897. Originally named Hotel Gladstone, the original hotel had 100 rooms, a cafe, a barbershop, and a sample room for displaying traveling salesmen's wares. The hotel tanked and was sold in 1903 to William Gunter, who renamed it the Hotel Gunter in 1925. He installed a jail for prisoners being transferred and a
cock-fighting ring in the basement. The hotel's basement was also used as a speakeasy during prohibition.
Municipal activities The Frostburg Community Swimming Pool is located at 200 South Water St. The Frostburg Public Rifle Range is located at Clifton Terrace just off Rt. 40. The range has four 100 yard firing lanes, one 200 yard firing lane, and a 6 lane 25 meter pistol range. The Frostburg Dog Park is a large open space with separate fenced sections for large and small dogs to let dogs socialize with each other, play, and roam off-leash.
Parks •
Parris N. Glendening Recreation Complex, named for a previous Governor of Maryland, is located at Shaw St. and Rynex Ave. The park offers 7 athletic fields, two basketball courts, two pavilions, a playground, two fishing ponds, and a half-mile walking trail. • Frostburg Community Park is located on South Water St. The park has two baseball fields, two pavilions, a basketball court, a playground, and a pool. • Mount Pleasant Street Park is located on Maryland Ave. and Mt. Pleasant St. The park has a basketball court, a playground, and a small baseball field. • East End Park is located at Cemetery Road and McCulloh St. The park offers a playground and an indoor pavilion with a kitchen area. • West End Park is located on Mechanic St. and Wenck's Lane. The park has a large pavilion and a field. • Calhoun Park, on Willow Lane, is home to the Frostburg Dog Park.
Center for Creative Writing Located on Main Street, the Center for Creative Writing aims to bring creative writers to Frostburg and to expand the writing ability and exposure to literature of the residents and students of Frostburg. They host a variety of events open to the public. There are also workshops that can be attended for a small fee. They sponsor the 3 AM Society, an organization of student writers.
Films about Frostburg As part of the 2012 Bicentennial Celebrations, the City of Frostburg commissioned a documentary production titled
A Day in the Life of Frostburg. Directed and edited by Frostburg resident and filmmaker, Michael Snyder, the film was shot by a group of 37 "citizen filmmakers" (residents of the city) working independently and together; a unique approach to filmmaking that lets people tell the story of life in their town from the inside out. Over 2,200 clips (nearly 30 hrs of video) were shot during a two-week filming period and then edited together in three weeks to make a 30-minute documentary. ==Media and information==