The Pikesville Summer Concert Series begins this Sunday, June 22 at 7 p.m. with a concert by Shades of Blue, a big band orchestra playing all of the swing and jazz favorites of the big band era. All concerts will be held at the Pikesville High School, air-conditioned auditorium, at 7621 Labyrinth Road. Tickets are $5 and available at the door or by calling the Pikesville Chamber of Commerce at 4l0-484-2337.

Two additional concerts will be held throughout the summer. On July 13 at 7 p.m., the Baltimore Klezmer Orchestra will be performing. This group is a summer favorite in Pikesville.

Manny and Kim will be performing popular Broadway tunes, standards and more on Aug. 3 at 7 p.m. Cantors Emanuel Perlman (Chizuk Amuno) and Kim Komrad (Kehilat Shalom, Gaithersburg) will delight audiences with their beautiful voices and harmonies.

The concerts are sponsored by North Oaks Retirement Community, David S. Brown Enterprises Ltd., Stevenson Commons and the Owings Mills Times. It is through the generous sponsorship of these companies that the Pikesville Chamber of Commerce is able to provide this entertainment for the community at the reduced price of $5.

Tickets are still available for all three concerts.

New shop on the block

Pikesville welcomed a new Barnes and Noble store last Tuesday when Barnes and Noble hosted a special preview night for the community. Hundreds of well-wishers and patrons came to see the redesigned store. A portion of all sales that night were donated to the Pikesville Library. This 26,000-square-foot store is the much needed and long-awaited addition of a major bookstore in Pikesville.

Thanks to the vision and perseverance of Stewart and Michael Greenebaum and their team at Greenebaum and Rose Associates, Barnes and Noble chose this site. The store is under the management of Chris Acly. Community relations manager Brad Sibel has done a great job of making sure that the community knows about this new store. Next on tap for Barnes and Noble - Harry Potter.

Adopt a Planter

Businesses, schools, neighborhood groups, families and individuals are invited to adopt a planter. For $112 per planter, the chamber will plant flowers to brighten the look of Pikesville. Each sponsor's name will be placed in a planter. This is a great way to improve Pikesville and get recognition. Help us to fill all of the planters with flowers. Call the Chamber for details, 410 484-2337.

Sun shines for 5-Mile race

Sunday, June 8 was a day for lots of excitement for Pikesville. The Lifebridge Health and Fitness 5-mile Distance Challenge took place with the sun shining and hundreds of runners. Thanks to all of the sponsors and volunteers who helped make the race a success.

The runners all said that the course, through the heart of Pikesville, was challenging and that the breakfast was terrific. Thanks to Howard Greenberg of Sysco, Larry Frank of Classic Catering People, Gary Van Hoven of Joan and Gary's Original Bagel Company, Suburban House, The Backfin Restaurant, Giant, Straight from Seattle's Best Espresso, McDonald's, Dunkin Donuts and Permalean for their donations. Joel Schlossberg and his staff did an excellent job of making Lifebridge Health and Fitness available for the race.

Center Court looks toward a fall opening

Center Court is a Giant-anchored shopping center at Town Center and Old Court Road. The center is currently under construction and is expected to open this Fall.

The site will feature several new restaurants for Pikesville, including Noodles, which is expected to be a favorite eatery. Stay tuned for additional announcements about other tenants for this 20,000 square foot site of retail space.

Upcoming Events

The chamber's fall schedule begins on Sept., 16 with a meeting featuring Tom Saquella, president of Maryland Retailers Association.

>The Oct. 21 meeting will feature Councilman Kevin Kamenetz and the managers of the three latest additions to Pikesville - Target, Safeway and Barnes and Noble. Find out what these retailers are planning for Pikesville.

>Be sure to save Nov. 19 as the date of our joint meeting with the Reisterstown-Owings Mills-Glyndon Chamber of Commerce. Col. Ed Norris of the Maryland State Police will be speaking about disaster preparedness for businesses.

How many individual business have a formalized plan in case of a disaster? The program will address the need for this and the way to go about creating such a plan. In addition, CCBC will be holding industry specific seminars to further address the issue. There will be a hotel industry session and a banking industry session. Several other sessions are in planning stages.

>Dec. 16 is the date for our annual Legislative Breakfast. All of our representatives from both the 11th and 42nd districts will be on had to discuss their agenda for the upcoming legislative session.

All chamber meetings are open to the public. For additional information, call the Pikesville Chamber of Commerce at 410- 484-2337.