Karen Rishar

Watch the qualifying races for the National Offshore One-Design Regatta race which is the longest running sailboar race in the United States. Sat & Sun, 9am - 4pm each day at the Annapolis Yacht Club. 410-263-9279

Plant sale and free tours of London Town's grounds. Saturday 8am - Noon at Historic London Town and Gardens, Edgewater. 410-222-1919; www.historiclondontown.org

Learn about the ecology of Bay tributaries while paddling the Muddy Creek and the Rhone River. Sat 9am - 11:30am at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater. 301-238-2737.

Take part in the Edible Gardening Weekend at Homestead Gardens, Davidsonville. Demonstrations and informative talks Sat & Sun 10am - 4pm. 410-798-5000; www.homesteadgardens.com

Weekend craft show and plant sale at the Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds. Alson includes an antique tractor pull at noon on Sat, Sat & Sun 9:30am - 5pm; 410-923-3400

Historical Annapolis Foundation offers a tour of a dozen residential and commercial buildings in Annapolis and Anne Arundel county to see examples of enerty-saving tecnology and sustainable building materials. Sat Noon - 6pm 410-626-1033.

Lecture on the wide variety of native plants that attract, feed and protect wildlife, making your garden more Bay-friendly. Sat 1pm-3pm at Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, 301-238-2737.

Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary in Lothian will be offering fun facts about snakes, observing and searching for them on a hike. Sat 1pm-3pm 410-741-9330.

Saturday is Community Connections Day for Anne Arundel county. County Executive John Leopold offers a day long event highlighting county services and agencies. 1pm-4pm at Waugh Chapel Community Room, The Village, Gambrills. 410-222-2222; www.aacounty.org

Community Observing Night led by the AACC Astronomy Club Sat night at the Astronomy Lab, Anne Arundel Community College, Arnold. 410-777-1820

Spring to Street Festival, the first street festival of the year, will be held Sunday from 10am-6pm on Maryland Avenue and State Circle, Annapolis. 410-280-8891, www.marylandave.com

Farmers Market, featuring Maryland grown and produced food including eggs, chicken, beef, pork,produce, greens, baked goods, honey, jewelry and alpace products. Sun 12:30pm - 2:30pm at the first level of Nordstrom parking garage, Westfield Annapolis Mall. 410-222-7410.

St. John's College Community Chorus performs Bach's Mass in B Minor Sunday at 3pm. Great Hall, St. John's College, Annapolis; 443-716-4011

I was holding an open house on Sunday for a woman who is anxious to sell, or rent, the home she bought 2 years ago but lived in only a few months. Why? Because even though it was only a couple of miles away from the elementary school in the school district that she thought her children would go to . . . her children would have to go to a different school district. So after closing she found herself in a rental in the next town that was in the district she wanted her children to go to and she was trying to rent out the home she just bought. Crazy, yes? No!

This is an easy mistake to make and an easy mistake to avoid. One click - that's all it takes . . . one click. One click of your mouse and you can easily find out what schools your children will attend in Anne Arundel County. The Anne Arundel County Public Schools have a web page that allows you to enter a street address and it will list the schools that will serve that address. As easy as that! Just go to http://mapinfo.aacps.org to get started.

This is a great place to start doing your due diligence regarding schools. Your next step should then be (as the site recommends) to verify the school assignment by calling the Planning Office.

For other great sources of information on Anne Arundel County, homes available for sale, and loan programs and rates come see me at www.KarenRishar.com.