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May 2008
 FIRST THURSDAYS 2008
First Thursdays in Mt. Vernon are great summer events! Check the schedule every month here!
This Week:
Jukebox the Ghost
and
The XYZ Affair
May 1st, 2008
Music Starts at 5:30 pm
More Info
For directions to West Mount Vernon Park, click here.
BALTIMORE HERITAGE WALKING TOURS
College of Notre Dame - May 3, 10 a.m. to noon
Academic Architecture Galore
The Institute of Notre Dame moved to its present location in north Baltimore just after the Civil War. Today, the College of Notre Dame of Maryland campus features Federal, Art Deco, Spanish Renaissance, and Beaux-Arts buildings designed by J. Crawford Neilsen, Thomas C. Kennedy, Baldwin & Pennington, and Frederick V. Murphy. The Marikle Chapel of the Annunciation stands as the college's crown jewel. A master plan by Robert A.M. Stern has guided Notre Dame's growth and renewal over the last decade. Join architect Jim Suttner, AIA, and Mary Beth Lennon, Notre Dame alumna, on an insider's tour of one of Baltimore's most charming and distinctive campuses.
Meet on the first floor of the Noyes Alumnae House. Park in the lot behind the Noyes House. Enter the campus at 4701 North Charles Street (just south of Homeland Avenue) and follow the signs.
Homeland - May 10, 10 a.m. to noon
Baltimore's Lake District
Getting away from Victorian architecture, the Roland Park-Homeland Company began developing the former Perine Estate into Homeland in the 1920s. Tudor, French Country, and Early American styles combine with Colonial architecture to give this historic neighborhood a decidedly English flavor and special charm. The Olmsted Brothers landscaping and series of miniature lakes at its center impart a romantic touch. Join Barbara Stevens, who literally wrote the book on the history of Homeland, and her husband, Jim, on a stroll through this neighborhood filled with architectural jewels.
Meet at the park on the southeast corner of Charles Street and St. Albans Way (about ¼ mile south of Northern Parkway). Park on the street.
Franklintown - May 17, 10 a.m. to noon
From Mill Village to Planned Community Circa 1830
Begun in the 1830s, Franklintown is one of the first planned communities in the country. The brainchild of William H. Freeman, this historic district is designed around a central wooded oval with radiating lots and includes a hotel and commercial district, all set adjacent to an even older mill village. Join Bill Eberhart and Anne Gossett, longtime Franklintown residents, to walk through the collection of mill buildings and houses in this quaint rural village that may be the oldest planned suburb in the country.
Meet at the parking lot of the Mill Race Tavern (5201 North Franklintown Road, 21207). Park in the lot.
AT HARBOR, AN '80S-TINGED FLASH
For 3 minutes, about 50 people meet at a Web-driven event to sing Rick Astley
By Madison Park | Sun Reporter
May 4, 2008
They came. They bobbed - some awkwardly. They sang. "Never gonna give you up. Never gonna let you down. Never gonna run around and desert you."
Then after three minutes and three seconds, the young fans of 1980s British pop star Rick Astley dispersed.
Yesterday, about 50 people - some dressed in 1980s garb such as torn sweatshirts, bright high-tops, and oversized plastic sunglasses - swarmed to a bridge at the Inner Harbor to "rickroll" Baltimore.
Rickrolling is an Internet prank in which users click on a supposedly serious link that instead takes them to a music video of Astley performing his 1987 bubble-gum pop song "Never Gonna Give You Up."
About 50 Astley devotees belted out the catchy lyrics. Tourists and onlookers stared, some pulled out their cameras, and others shrugged and joined in the singing.
After the song ended, participants dispersed immediately as if nothing had happened. The gathering was what is known as a "flash mob" - a brief public spectacle loosely organized over the Internet or by word of mouth.
Flash mobs in cities such as New York and Toronto have gathered to freeze in place at a train station, break into dance, or have a huge pillow fight for a few minutes. Then the participants scatter.
Last month, about 300 people invaded a London train station for a live rickroll, singing along to Astley's song. That event inspired 23-year-old Baltimore resident Ryan Goff to organize what he believes is the first American rickroll.
"I'm in love with this song," Goff said. "I thought I'd be absolutely sick of it, but I like it more. I'm working on singing it backward."
Rickrolling has become a popular prank, used by YouTube to trick Web surfers on April Fool's Day. Users who clicked on the site's "featured videos" were instead taken to the Astley music video.
The video features a baby-faced Astley, wearing high-waisted jeans and a denim shirt, swaying side to side. He declares his unending devotion while two women dance and spin next to him. The video also pans to a bartender who twirls and cartwheels over a countertop.
Goff has targeted his friends and family for rickrolling - even his grandmother.
"I told her to check out the video of my little brother's piano recital, but it was a rickroll video on YouTube," Goff said. "So I rickrolled my grandma, but she's kind of into it now; she's singing along."
A few minutes before 1 p.m., a group of people in their 20s sat on the steps of the Barnes & Noble Booksellers store facing a bridge that connects it with the National Aquarium. Others shuffled around the bridge, glancing at their cell phones to check the time.
Goff, dressed in a trench coat, walked to the middle of the bridge. The boombox he had planned to bring wasn't working, so he brought an iPod, speaker, and bullhorn. Once he pulled the items from his backpack, people cheered, ran onto the bridge, and flocked around him.
But the speaker malfunctioned, so the crowd ended up singing a cappella. Crooning the song through the bullhorn, Goff pumped his fist in the air as the crowd danced and clapped around him.
"It's grass roots; you've got to make the best of it," Goff said after the event. "It's all in the spirit of Rick."
Yesterday's flash mob was expected to have 327 participants, according to a guest list on the social networking Web site Facebook, but about 50 showed.
"I guess not everyone is dedicated to rickrolling as we are," said Frank Short, 20, who drove from Fairfax, Va., to be part of the flash mob. "I would've flown here. I'm infected by this song every day."
When asked whether he was getting tired of "Never Gonna Give You Up," Short replied, "I don't think that's possible. I'm offended by the question."
Goff advertised the event on Facebook, Craigslist, and some Baltimore message boards. The word-of-mouth marketer from Fells Point invited his friends and urged them to tell their friends.
"The turnout was decent," he said. "I would've been happy had 10 people shown up."
Copyright © 2008, The Baltimore Sun
Actual Article
HELLO HOOPERS!
GET YOUR HOOP ON AT FLUID MOVEMENT'S THIRD ANNUAL HOOLA-HOOP-A-THON!
 Baltimore's super-duper hoopers will battle for the coveted Master of Hoops 2008 honors at Fluid Movement's 3rd annual Hoola-Hoop-A-Thon, to be held on Saturday, May 17 at St. John's Community Space in Baltimore from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m.
Come on down to cheer on your favorite hooper or start a revolution of your own! Hoopers will compete in endurance, tricks, and improv hooping for the coveted title of Master of Hoops 2008, a cash prize, and a trophy to boot. Fabulous costumes are encouraged and will be rewarded accordingly by the judges!
Participants will also enjoy refreshments, face painting, hooperformances, the musical stylings of DJ Rachel Dwiggins, and a sign-up for this summer's Fluid Movement water ballet.
Who: Fluid Movement, Baltimore's favorite community based performance troupe
What: 3rd annual Hoola-Hoop-A-Thon
When: Saturday, May 17, 1-4 pm
Where: St. John's Church Community Space, 2640 St. Paul Street Baltimore, MD 21218
How: Bring your own hoop - or buy or rent a hoop of your very own. No advance ticketing: $12 to dazzle the crowd and vie for the coveted crown; $6 to watch the HOT HOOPING action.
Why: Hooping is all the rage these days and you know you love it! Come support Baltimore's best community-arts organization, Fluid Movement, with your sweet revolutionary skills!
TASTE THE ARTS III - A WORLD TOUR OF TASTES, ARTS, & CULTURE
Young Audiences/Arts for Learning's annual fundraiser, Taste the Arts III, is only a few weeks away. Purchase your tickets today to support high quality and affordable arts education for all.
June 7, 2008
6:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Centerstage
Baltimore, MD
The evening includes:
- Arts, culture, and cuisine from the sunny beaches of Cuba to the colorful landscape of India
- Performances by YA artists, such as Ssuuna, the national YA artist of the year
- Menu tasting from top rated restaurants that include Tio Pepe and Ciao Bella
- A live and silent auction with spectacular items that range from a cottage in the south of France to weekend spa getaways
- An awards ceremony honoring arts champions in Maryland
- And more!
Bring your friends, family, and colleagues for this arts-packed evening of fun and delights. The more the merrier!
Click here to order your tickets online or call YA at 410-837-7577 ext. 13.
Click here to download the invitation and registration form.
Not able to attend? Click here to make a donation to support arts education.
-Tim
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