Email Archive
Click on the link at the bottom of the page to subscribe to our email blast list.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Annapolis Alive! News - November 7, 2007
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Fellow Annapolitan,
Before highlighting the exciting programs described below I would like to thank the volunteers who made the Queen Anne Ball such as success.
The event was truly a gala with lots of fun for everyone. But most important, it raised a substantial amount of money that is now in use to bring you innovative and educational programs to celebrate Annapolis' 300-year history and its promising future.
Speaking of the future, the cutting-edge artists of Art Between the Creeks bring their semi-annual show to Annapolis this weekend. The fall show, entitled Optical Delusion, is sure to challenge and delight art enthusiasts. Read more below about this interesting group – and its community-minded activities – below.
A week from Friday join me at St. John's College to hear a free talk by Former Ambassador Andrew Young. His topic is "“Race in America Today.” It is sure to be a relevant and thought-provoking evening.
Mark your calendar for the dedication of the new Clay Street Gateway kiosk on Sunday, Nov. 18. The colorful street marker highlights the lively "old fourth ward" and the people and traditions that gave the neighborhood life as an entertainment center "back in the day."
Thanks to a a National Endowment for the Arts grant, Annapolis will participate in the national program, The Big Read this spring. The community-wide read will enhance the reading experience and is sure to result in interesting and lively discussions next spring. Read more below.
Mark your calendars for the third enVISIONing Annapolis conversation will be held on Tuesday, November 27.The topic is one we face every days: Cars vs. People: Transportation in Annapolis’ Future. The goal of enVISIONing Annapolis is to empower Annapolitans and concerned citizens of the region to take an informed, creative and proactive role in defining a future for their historic city – a future that preserves the best of the past while enhancing the quality of life for later generations. Read more below.
And keep those calendars out to mark the December 1st production of the Grand Ole Osprey, a celebration of the Chesapeake Bay with a wonderfully unique evening of local music, photographic images of the Bay. It's a fun event for the whole family. Think of it as A Praire Home Companion meets the Chespeake. More information is below and you can hear details about the show on our radio show on Tuesday, Nov. 6, at 2 p.m. on 1430 WNAV.
I continue to be amazed at the range of events associated with Annapolis Alive! and how the list continues to grow. Stay up to date on our website and by listening to our radio show every Tuesday at 2 p.m. on 1430 WNAV.
Sincerely,
Chuck Weikel
Annapolis Alive! Committee
Art Between the Creeks' Fall Show "Optical Delusion"
Artists' Reception Friday, 6-9 p.m.
The Art Between the Creeks artists will bring new and exciting work to their temporary gallery space at the Annapolis Yacht Club’s Sailing Center (6th Street at Severn Avenue) in Eastport Nov. 9-11. Optical Delusion, the fall show, will feature the work of 16 local artists – and a new twist – The Painted Mirrors.
The mirrors will be sold during a silent auction at the artists' opening reception - open to the public - on November 9. Funds raised by the auction, plus patron donations, will be used to purchase art supplies for the art program at Eastport Elementary School. Funds raised by the artists in this manner have made a big impact on the school’s art supplies annual budget.
Known for challenging themselves and their audience ... and doing the unexpected ... the ABTC artists' fall show will feature the work of 16 local artists, most of whom live and work between Spa and Back Creeks -- hence, Art Between the Creeks.
Show hours: (Informal preview Thursday, Nov. 8: 12 - 6 p.m.) Friday, Nov. 9: 12 - 9 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday, Nov. 10 & 11: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Artists' Reception: Friday, Nov. 9, 6 - 9 p.m.; “Backroom Sunday ... Beyond the Show” tent sale: Sunday, Nov. 11, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. To read more about the show, the Painted Mirrors and the artists, see the Art Between the Creeks' website.
The Big Read Comes to Annapolis
Annapolis Alive! has been awarded a $40,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to conduct a city wide reading of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The program is to be conducted in the Spring of 2008 as part of the 300th anniversary of the city charter and the Big Read, a nationwide reading initiative.
The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents the Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum of Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest.
F. Scott Fitzgerald is related to, and named after, St. Johns College graduate Francis Scott Key. His Maryland roots are deep, spending parts of his life here and is buried in Rockville. The Humanities Council of Washington, DC, also will be conducting a Big Read of The Great Gatsby at approximately the same time. Events will be coordinated between the cities to promote a fuller experience of reading.
St Johns College, The Anne Arundel County Public Schools, Anne Arundel County Library System, the City of Annapolis [and the City of Annapolis Royal, Canada] will be joining in the programming.
Andrew Young, Former Ambassador & Noted Civil Rights Leader
to Speak at St. John’s College
Friday, November 16
Andrew Young, former ambassador to the United Nations, former two-term mayor of Atlanta, and a noted civil rights leader, will speak at St. John’s College.Young’s lecture, “Race in America Today,” is free and open to the public. The lecture will be held in the Francis Scott Key Auditorium on Nov. 16, at 8:15 p.m.
In recent years Young has championed his long-held mission of facilitating economic development in the Caribbean and in Africa through his role as Chairman of GoodWorks International. Young travels extensively to meet with officials and other individuals interested in improving the economic situation in Africa and the Caribbean. He has headed numerous missions to the continent of Africa and continues to use his extensive network to facilitate new business developments.
Young began his career as an ordained minister and top aide to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in the civil rights movement. He went on to be elected to three terms as a United States Congressman before being appointed United States’ Ambassador to the United Nations. Subsequently, he served two terms as the Mayor of Atlanta and assumed a leadership position as Co-Chairman of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games. In 1994, President Bill Clinton appointed Young as Chairman of the $100 million Southern Africa Enterprise Development Fund.
Young also is active in local and regional communities; he often sets time aside to talk with students, faculty, and staff at various schools and universities on a range of issues. He participates in events that foster sound public policy, economic development, human rights, and education.
Dedication of the Clay Street Gateway Kiosk
Sunday, November 18
This new gateway kiosk defines one of the major entryways into the Clay Street Neighborhood to celebrate the rich legacy of what was once the "Old Fourth Ward." The kiosk was designed to highlight the entertainment venues of old Washington Street and the people and traditions that brought it to life. The dedication ceremony will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Corner of West and Washington Streets. A reception will follow at the First baptist Church, West Washington Street.
enVISIONing Annapolis - a look to the future
Cars vs. People: Transportation in Annapolis’ Future
Tuesday, November 27, NEW VENUE: Boys & Girls Club, Bates Heritage Center, 122 South Villa Avenue, Annapolis, 7 p.m.
For the half century, cities have focused on getting more cars with more people to more places in our urban environment. The results have been traffic congestion, longer commute times, ever expanding roadway infrastructure, and a deterioration of the urban environment. Jane Holtz Kay, architectural critic for The Nation and renowned author of Asphalt Nation, will discuss the economic, emotional, and physical gridlock caused by cars in American cities and propose ways to get where we need to go without destroying where we live. Jane Holtz Kay, Architectural Critic for The Nation, will present "A New Paradigm for Getting People Where They Want to Go in a Livable City."
All “Conversations” are free and open to the public. This series of public Conversations is sponsored by the Envisioning Annapolis Foundation, St. John’s College, and Annapolis Charter 300. For more information and links to the Envisioning Annapolis Foundation, see our website.
The Grand Ole Osprey
The Annapolis Maritime Museum will host the first annual “Grand Ole Osprey” music and arts program and live auction at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2007. The event will kick off with a VIP Reception from 5 - 6:30 p.m. followed by a musical program from 7 - 9 p.m. The program is a celebration of the Chesapeake Bay with a wonderfully unique evening of local music, photographic images of the Bay and fun for the whole family. It will support of the Museum’s ongoing education programs, which serve to connect students, residents and visitors alike with the maritime heritage of the Chesapeake Bay.
The program will feature Tom Wisner, the “Bard of the Bay,” whose classic Bay song “Chesapeake Born,” inspired a National Geographic documentary. Tom will be joined by the musicians he’s mentored over the years, Janie Meneely and Paul DiBlasi, and Them Eastport Oyster Boys, who will perform their original songs inspired by the Bay. The Annapolis Chorale, the Annapolis Youth Chorus, the George Fox Middle School Ukulele Ensemble, and the Mt. Zion U.M. Church Gospel Choir will also be on tap, along with a woodwind quintet, which will perform the original classical composition “Thomas Point Suite” by Randy Neilson. The backdrop for all the great music will be provided by award-winning photographer David Harp, whose images of the Bay will be projected onto the screen above the stage.
Actors from Annapolis I Remember will interpret the oral histories of watermen and workers at the McNasby Oyster Company, the last oyster-packing plant in the City. The Museum is currently renovating the historic structure, which will serve as a world-class waterfront educational facility to be called the Bay Experience Center. Proceeds from the event will help support the Maritime Museum’s educational programs and future development. For more information or to purchase event tickets, visit www.annapolismaritimemuseum.org or call 410-295-0104.
300 Tapestry Project
An Annapolis Alive! Signature event, the 300 Tapestry Project will create three large tapestries and several smaller pieces depicting 300 years of Annapolis’ development. They will be displayed throughout the city. The project is community based and all are welcome to stitch under the guidance of a skilled needlepoint craftsperson. Read more on our website.
