Tag: Baltimore

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Baltimore Floatilla 2016

https://youtu.be/kHKEbAHQ3_g

Saturday morning, the 1st Annual Baltimore Floatilla took place. Kayakers from all over the state converged on the Baltimore Inner Harbor and paddled from Canton to Federal Hill to draw attention to cleaning up the waterways of Charm City.

Full story at the Blatimore Sun page: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-baltimore-flotilla-20160611-story.html

Even Mr. Trash Wheel was in attendance! If you’re unfamiliar with the trash collector that normally resides in Canton, here’s a video of the great work it’s doing:

My experience level isn’t such that I could participate (I’ve only had my kayak for 3 weeks!) but I hope to see the event return next year!

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Ordinary Stories, Extraordinary Beauty

Cohesion Theatre Company and The Strand Theatre Company have joined forces to present the Baltimore premiere of The Pillow Book by Anna Moench. The play runs through July 12 at The Church on the Square in Canton. Recently, I chatted with director Jonas David Grey about his production of this challenging, non-linear, haunting piece.

 

pillowbook

Cohesion Theatre Company is also presenting ParityFest Baltimore 2015, a series of readings whose goal is to bring the work of female playwrights to local audiences. Information on The Pillow Book and ParityFest Baltimore 2015 is available at http://www.cohesiontheatre.org/

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Baltimoments of a Different Kind

When I first moved here, I was told that Baltimore is a big small town. It certainly did seem as if everyone I met knew many of my other acquaintances, either through old school ties, professional connections, or having been neighbors or romantically linked at some point. Given the number of Peabody grads and faculty members I met through my work, the musical community proved to be even more interconnected than the city! I began hearing my new hometown called “Smalltimore”, and although I’m not sure I actually coined the phrase, began referring to occasions on which one encounters someone with unexpected ties to a friend or colleague as “Baltimoments.”

Since I’d never lived in a metropolitan area before, I found this phenomenon very odd. I’d expected to be able to remain somewhat anonymous in a city this size (when off the air, anyway.) Having longed to escape the claustrophobic feel of small-town life, had I merely transferred myself to a larger fishbowl? As time passed, I realized it’s not a bad thing to be able to go to almost any concert, play, antiques show, or other artsy event and see people you know. That’s what happens when you’re part of a community… or two, or three, or four.

Over the past week, I’ve a couple of great Baltimoments. On Wednesday evening, a friend and I went roller skating. I take a tough Spin class on Wednesday mornings and my legs reminded me of that after a while, so I sat down on a bench next to two ladies, one of whom complimented me on my dress and asked “Weren’t you and I at the same audition last weekend?” Indeed, we had been! I  just hadn’t expected to see anyone from that audition for a while – I didn’t get the role – and besides, that event had taken place south of the city; the rink we were at was up north. She seemed as surprised as I was to meet someone from the theater world in such a different context.

This morning, I opened my work email to find a message from a local author who was on faculty at the University of Iowa (a/k/a my alma mater) during my time there. Having read my bio on this site, he felt compelled to drop me a note, which I was very glad to receive; it’s been a while since I met anyone familiar with that school or Iowa City, and I have fond memories of both. Perhaps our lives are all far more intertwined that we realize!

Yum - Berger Cookies!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Time Really Does Fly…

 

Nineteen years ago today, I began working at WBJC.  I can’t believe I’ve been here that long, yet it seems very strange to think I ever lived anywhere else but Baltimore. Prior to my big move (I drove 900 miles in 2 days, alone, to get here) I resided in Iowa City, where I’d attended the University of Iowa. Great place to go to school & spend a bit of time post-grad, but I’d always wanted to live in a city, so when I began to search for full-time radio work, I applied mostly to stations in metropolitan areas. I threw in a few college towns for good measure, figuring I could live & work in another Iowa City-type community for a few years if the big city wasn’t ready for me yet.

It took a year of sending resumes & aircheck tapes (those were they days of cassettes!) all over the country before I finally got a call from a guy named Jonathan Palevsky –  perhaps you’ve heard of him? – asking if I’d like to interview for a job at WBJC. A phone interview was arranged, & I guess all went well, because I got an offer, which I immediately accepted. I reluctantly said goodbye to my colleagues at WSUI & KSUI, where I’d worked for four years. My college friends had already begun to scatter around the world for work or grad school, but leaving those who remained was difficult. Still, I was headed for a full-time radio gig in a real city, so I was thrilled!

Much has changed in broadcasting over the years & I am very grateful that WBJC is still around, still playing great classical music. The fact that I’m still on the air here is the icing on the cake. Thanks to my colleagues & WBJC’s listeners for nineteen years (& counting) of support & encouragement – stay tuned!

 

 

 

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Riding the Tour du Port

Though somewhat daunted by the prospect of riding in last year’s Tour du Port, I got up the courage and had a blast! Actually, it was WBJC’s Jonathan Palevsky who persuaded me to ride with him in Bike Maryland’s Tour du Port which is a fundraiser and an awareness-raiser.  Not only do you get to explore parts of Baltimore and learn new bike routes, but there is also a strong sense of camaraderie to be enjoyed.  Who can ride in the Tour du Port? Just about anyone can participate as there are different rides from 13 to 65 miles.  This year I signed up for the 65 mile tour, but it’s a relief to know that I can change my mind at the last minute or during the ride and switch to the 50, 40, 28 or 13 mile tour.  Whew, that’s a weight off of my mind! After all, it’s about having fun.

 

Aside from taking in the scenery of Baltimore, it is a hoot seeing all different types of these ingenious, human driven vehicles.  There are people of all ages and levels riding a variety of bicycles from adorable granny bikes with baskets, recumbent, tandem, mountain and racing bikes.

The Tour du Port takes place Sunday, September 30th.  This is Bike Maryland’s website with more information: bikemd.org

Here is just about everything you ever wanted to know about this year’s Tour de Port with Bike Maryland’s Carol Silldorff. Tour de Port 2012 Interview

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Baltimore’s Rite of Spring

It seems spring may finally have sprung for good in Baltimore, & just in time – FlowerMart 2012 is taking place in the city’s Mount Vernon neighborhood this Friday & Saturday, May 4th & 5th. I love spring, flowers, & any excuse to don a fancy hat, so when FlowerMart’s Arts & Crafts Chair, Amy Snyder, asked me to be onstage during the event’s opening ceremonies, I said yes immediately. If you’re in the area this Friday, May 4th, at noon, stop by & say hello. I’ll be wearing this fabulous vintage chapeau, purchased last weekend at The Hope Chest in Kensington, MD:

 

 

As in years past, FlowerMart 2012 will feature over 130 vendors selling flowers, garden accessories, & gifts. There will also be live music, food booths, & contests open to all ages – pets as well as humans.  Hope to see you there!

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Current TV: great for cooking shows, not much else.

A variation on Mark Malinkowski’s TV-themed post from this morning…

Jim & I watch almost no TV. He’ll check out the occasional sporting event, especially college basketball (the first two days of March Madness count as a religious holiday for him, on which it would be very foolish of me to try to schedule anything else, but the Baltimore Summer Antiques Show has the same level of importance for me, so I can’t complain.) We also watch Cooking Channel sometimes, especially “Bitchin’ Kitchen” & “Extra Virgin”, & view a few movies on Turner Classics & other channels, but honestly, our TV gathers a good bit of dust.

Both of us grew up as regular TV viewers, so what changed? To an extent, our lifestyles did – as we got further into high school & college, our academic pursuits demanded more of our time, & then we graduated & got jobs, which, when added to our passions for performing & working out, leave only so many hours for other activities – but I really don’t think that’s all. There simply isn’t much on the tube that we feel is worth our time. I’ve sneaked a peek at a few “reality” shows just for the train wreck factor (“Big Rich Texas” – there are simply no words to describe it adequately…) but can’t imagine making a commitment to viewing them regularly. Just this morning, I shocked a colleague by stating that I’ve never seen a single episode of “Project Runway”. I’d much rather read blogs or visit chat boards about clothes than watch a cast of stock characters design them on the small screen, thanks.

My tele-commitment-phobia has applied to recent comedy & drama series as well. Crazy as I am about both fashion & New York, I didn’t even watch “Sex & the City” on its first go-round, although I will confess to becoming quite hooked on it in syndication. Nor has “Glee” managed to pull us into its orbit; we saw one episode, & while we thought it was well-done, there seemed to be more commercials than program, & we actually felt insulted by the number & frequency of ads. (Yes, we’re aware of the existence of TiVo; we’re just too lazy to buy & use one!)

So what would get us to watch more TV? Great question. A few months ago, I told a friend I wish there was a show set in Baltimore that didn’t revolve around crime (his reply: “good luck with that!”) As longtime city residents, trust us, Jim & I have firsthand experience of Baltimore’s crime issues. It’s just that there is so much more to Charm City than chalk outlines on the sidewalk. I went on to say that the show would be even better if it revolved around people who work in the arts (& yes, that got another “dream on” out of my friend, who just happens to be a professional musician!)

Failing that, I might watch more TV if there were an intelligent series or two about characters I could relate to, even if I didn’t like them all the time.  That’s one of the things I loved about SATC; I found some of  the ladies’ antics all too familiar & they often made me laugh – while cringing – at my own behavior, especially with regard to shopping. Will such shows ever exist?

Probably not, so I’m going back to my books, blogs, performing, & cooking.  If you know of any TV shows that are actually worth a look, please comment about them here!