Members of the South Baltimore Improvement Committee filled a dumpster with old exercise equipment, scrap lumber, spare parts and a severely out-of-date Christmas tree Saturday during the Super Spring Sweep Thing.

Photo by Bill Lear

by Mary Helen Sprecher
newsroom@baltimoreguide.com

The discovery of elevated levels of arsenic in the soil of Swann Park in South Baltimore continues to have repercussions throughout the area. In addition to the myriad questions surrounding the problem (for detailed information, see page 11), the discovery has left some organizations scrambling to find new ball fields and recreational space.
Digital Harbor High School is one of these. With the closure of Swann Park, Digital Harbor lost its baseball diamond

by Mary Helen Sprecher
newsroom@baltimoreguide.com

Okay, SoBo. Consider yourself warned. You have a week and a half to reroute any driving plans you might have for Saturday, May 5. That is, unless you really want to share road space with a paddle boat with an intentionally misspelled name, a sugar-eating alien, an enomous pink poodle or an elephant bearing Gandhi.
Um, right, you’re thinking. I’m either having a Salvador Dali-influenced nightmare or it’s time for the Kinetic Sculpture

Boats! The Bay Bridge Boat Show is held on April 26, 27 and 28 at the Bay Bridge Marina in Kent Island, Maryland. Adult admission $12, kids under 12 $6. Kids can enjoy knot tying lessons and there are demo boat rides for all. Info: 410-268-8828 or www.usboat.com.
Shore Thing: Want an Eastern Shore experience? Head to the Fifth Annual St. Michaels Food and Wine Festival, to be held April 26-29 on the grounds of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime

There will be plenty of costumed reenactors, music, and battle scenes during this weekend’s encampment at Fort McHenry.
Photo courtesy Fort McHenry National Monument

by Mary Helen Sprecher
newsroom@baltimoreguide.com

What happened at Fort McHenry more than a century ago might be a matter of historical record, but that doesn’t mean it’s ancient history, according to Vince Vaise, chief ranger at the park. The facility’s annual Civil War Weekend, to be held Saturday and Sunday, will bring live demonstrations not just of combat, but of life at the fort during the time of the Civil War.

by Mary Helen Sprecher
newsroom@baltimoreguide.com

“It’s My Job” is an occasional feature in The Baltimore Guide, highlighting residents with unusual and interesting jobs. Have a suggestion for an It’s My Job feature? E-mail newsroom@baltimoreguide.com.

There’s something Tim McFadden wants to make clear at the outset. Martini glasses? They’re hard work. Not to mix, not to fill, certainly not to drain—but to create.
“Stemware is the hardest, most technical thing to make,” said McFadden. “It’s something that takes a

“It’s My Job” is an occasional feature highlighting individuals in the area with interesting or unique jobs. Have a suggestion for a future It’s My Job feature? E-mail newsroom@baltimoreguide.com.

by Mary Helen Sprecher
newsroom@baltimoreguide.com

Every budding entrepreneur remembers his or her a-ha moment—that exact point when the light bulb clicks on and he or she realizes that the perfect opportunity has presented itself. For Zoey Robinson, though, the a-ha moment was less of a light bulb and more of

Prom Possible: The Princess Gown Project provides free prom dresses and accessories to high school girls who cannot otherwise afford them. The project is seeking clean, new and nearly new gowns (2002 and newer) as well as accessories, such as costume jewelry, wraps, etc. Monetary donations and donations of services are also appreciated. Info: slprice@vfstrategies.com or call 410-523-8150.
Clarinet: Love the jazzy, mellow sound of the clarinet? Come to Towson University’s “Clarinetime Clarinet Recital” at the Recital Hall, Center

by Mary Helen Sprecher
newsroom@baltimoreguide.com

The checks are in the mail.

The Southside Marketplace grants for 2007 have been announced, and the recipients—and the projects they intend to fund—are as diverse as the community itself.

The grant provides $10,000 in funds a year to organizations that offer services to the South Baltimore Peninsula. The grant’s history goes back to 1992, when the developers of the Southside Marketplace agreed that the shopping center would make payments to benefit the community

by Mary Helen Sprecher
newsroom@baltimoreguide.com

Now that the weather’s warming up, it’s time for two things: getting outdoors and doing home improvement work.

And those are just the two things the organizers of the 11th Annual Port-to-Fort 6K Run and Walk are counting on to make their event go.

The Port-to-Fort, which takes place on Sunday, April 22 at 9 a.m., runs from the waterfront Baltimore Museum of Industry to, yes, Fort McHenry and back again, and benefits the

by Mary Helen Sprecher
newsroom@baltimoreguide.com

There are the typical sightings that mean spring. The first glimpse of robins hopping along in Riverside Park. The flash of yard sales cropping up in front of houses. The signs advertising bull roast fundraisers.

Then there are the appearances by Basshound, Buzzy’s Cousins, The Cheaters, Kendra Banks Chocolate Soul, The Reserves and Soul’d Out.

All of the latter are bands. They, plus a few more of their kind, can be seen at the

The Southern District Police Community Relations Council has honored Officer Jarron Jackson as its SDPCRC Officer of the Month.
Jackson is assigned to the Cherry Hill Crime Reduction Team. His duties include policing the Cherry Hill community. Cherry Hill has historically been one of the most violent areas of the Southern District. Since the creation of the Cherry Hill Crime Reduction Team there have been zero incidents of gun-related violence in the community.
During the past month, Jackson

by Mary Helen Sprecher
newsroom@baltimoreguide.com

How does your garden grow? It’s a question those living in Federal Hill and thereabouts will be able to answer soon, thanks to the City Farms Program. The program recently gave its approval for the formation of a new public farm, to be located in Riverside Park.

“Everyone’s really excited about it,” said Coleen McCarty, a horticulturalist at Cylburn Arboretum who acts as the City Farms coordinator. “This is the first new city farm

by Mary Helen Sprecher
newsroom@baltimoreguide.com

Is the Middle Branch area the new Inner Harbor? The folks in charge of putting together the Middle Branch Master Plan say it is. In fact, they’re convinced of it. They say the area is poised to take off, and that all it needs is a push – from the right hands.

“This isn’t the first time people have talked about the potential of the park,” said Douglas McCoach, director of planning, “and about

by Mary Helen Sprecher
mhsprecher@baltimoreguide.com

If the first harbinger of spring is the robin’s red breast, the second might be the bluegill’s blue gills, or maybe the largemouth bass and its large mouth.

At least that’s what Bob Wall is hoping as the Patterson Park Boat Lake gears up for its Spring Kids’ Fishing Rodeo, to be held on Saturday, March 31, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Enoch Pratt Free Library hosts children’s Fairy Tale Festival

by Jenny Wierschem

In a land not far away at all, in a city sometimes called the Monumental City, and at a library called the Enoch Pratt, something magical is about to happen. The city’s children will become princes or princesses for a weekend.

The Enoch Pratt Free Library is holding its fifth annual Fairy Tale Festival at the Central Library this weekend, March 31-April 1. Enoch Pratt staff expect roughly

by Mary Helen Sprecher
newsroom@baltimoreguide.com

If you want to read the plain old black and white facts about Baltimore photographer A. Aubrey Bodine, you can find them in the biography on his website.

If you want a color portrait, talk to his daughter. Jennifer Bodine, who as biographer and custodian of her dad’s complete works, can add dimension and background to just about every photo in the collection. She’ll be sharing some of those insights when

The annual Maryland Centenarians Recognition Luncheon, for state residents who are 100 years of age and older, is held on Thursday, May 10, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. at Martin’s West, 6821 Dogwood Road, free to those age 100 and older (by Dec. 31, 2007), $23/person all others. Reservation deadline is March 30. Info: 410-664-0911.

Are you a fan (six points) of Scrabble (11 points?) Then wander over to the Calvert School, 4300 N. Charles St., and the Greater Homewood Community Corp.’s sixth (15 points) annual Scrabble Fundraiser for Literacy, to be held Friday, March 30, 5:30-9:30 p.m. Entry fee is $30, $20 for seniors and students; entrants can opt (five points) to play competitively or socially. All proceeds go to Greater Homewood’s adult literacy and English as a Second Language programs. To register, donate or get info call Todd Elliott, 410-261-3520.