Escape to Artscape

3 comments

July 18, 8:44 AM

by Mark Burlet, Baltimore Drink Examiner

 

 

Walking around Artscape. Join me this weekend!

However, there were times there at the beginning where I found myself stuck going to some touristy bar within walking distance of my house downtown (Inner Harbor, I'm looking at you), running into a bunch of Yankee or Red Sox fans who have nothing better to do in between games than continuously start drunken chants at out-of-town bars, and thinking Baltimore needed something more to offer. It was right around then I discovered the not-so-hidden treasure of Charm City... Artscape.

The first year I went was quite memorable. Almost immediately, my roommate decided to lose a few hundred bucks at one of those "charity" gambling booths, where you're always just about to win, although they would never let that actually happen. Several crying-into-our-beers later, we randomly stumbled upon this large crowd standing around, waiting for some guy named Ray Charles to start playing. I don't know about you, but I'm thinking somebody ought to give that fellow a recording contract! Blind or not, he really seemed to know what he was doing. Shame something as simple as the inability to see would keep a gem like that from the public for so long...

Anyway, my point is, Artscape opened my eyes (NPI) to the variety of eclectic arts, foods and music that Baltimore has to offer the average (or above average) denizen. After this initial foray onto the streets of Mt. Royal, I began to notice other opportunities for entertainment, with or without (more often with) booze... the street festivals in Fells Point, the art movies at the Charles Theatre, and even that little uniquely Baltimoronic Hon Fest in Hampden. That's when I finally began to stop wondering why I was here and decided to just shut up and enjoy myself while I am.

So this weekend, at what they are now billing as "America's largest, free public arts festival", get out there and forget about your own issues and just enjoy yourself, damnit! Keep the water handy, break out the sunscreen (if you're glow-in-the-dark white like myself) and brave the 90+ degree heat and check out some of the best this town has to offer. And if you're thirsty Sunday afternoon, you can find me volunteering at one of the many beer tents (I have no idea which one) on the grounds. I'll be happy to serve you... once I'm finished my own.

Oh, and here are just a few of the highlights, in my rarely-humble opinion.

Friday, July 18th
5:00 PM: The Oranges Band (indie rock) - Saturn Stage - Local boys doing it right.
8:00 PM: PLAY! A Video Game Symphony - Meyerhoff Symphony Hall - Yes, they're actually playing the Super Mario Bros. theme!
8:30 PM: Roberta Flack - Main Stage - She'll be "Killing Me Softly" right here in Baltimore.
8:30 PM: Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - Saturn Stage - Still rockin' after all these years!

Saturday, July 19th
3:00 PM: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Free Concert - Meyerhoff Symphony Hall - First come, first served!
7:00 PM: Mike Doughty - Saturn Stage - Former lead of Soul Coughing rocks out again.
8:30 PM: Dru Hill with SISQO - Main Stage - B-more hip-hop crew is back! Who's thinking "Thong Song" as an encore?
8:30 PM: Rusted Root - Saturn Stage - This is where I'll be Saturday night, gettin' my world music on.

Sunday, July 20th
1:30 PM: Victoria Vox - Saturn Stage - Recommended by a friend, get a little folk-y Sunday afternoon.
5:00 PM: My Baroquen Heart: Two 18th Century Tales of Lost Love (Opera Vivente) - Brown Center - Despite the cheesy name, I'll go see free opera anytime.
6:30 PM: The Wailers - Main Stage - Reggae royalty hits the stage on Sunday!

So there you go, just a hint of what's happening here in Baltimore this weekend. Guess I'll be seeing you at the corner of Mt. Royal Ave. and Charles St., at least while I can still see. So enjoy, Baltimore! And thanks for making me feel right at home... just try to refrain from flashing everyone this weekend, alright? You're better than that...

Mark Burlet
Drunken Intellectual

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