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Annapolis Alive! News - April 1, 2008
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The Big Read
Thanks to a $20,000 matching grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Annapolis Alive! will conduct a citywide reading of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The program kicked off last weekend and will continue through April as part of the 300th anniversary of the city charter. The program is part of The Big Read, a nationwide reading 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. Below are this week's Big Read initiative in Annapolis. For a full schedule and more about The Great Gatsby, click here.
"The Great Gatsby" Dust Jacket Contest
At The Annapolis Bookstore, 68 Maryland Avenue, they know there are many ways to approach a great story. Dust Jacket art is one. Francis Cugat's painting for the cover of The Great Gatsby is arguably the most notable dust jacket of the 20th century. In a 1924 letter to his editor, Fitzgerald said that he had 'written it [the painting] into' his story. Local artists are invited to submit a new dust jacket design for Gatsby and include a brief paragraph (a sentence or two will suffice) writing their design into Gatsby's story. There will be a $200 prize for the winner. Deadline for submissions is April 25 to the The Annapolis Bookstore, Info: 410 280-2339.
Jazz from the '20s at 49 West
Friday, April 4, 8 p.m. - 49 West Coffeehouse & Winebar, 49 West Street
Tom Mitchell and his quartet will perform jazz and blues from the 1920s. Cover charge of $10 to $15. Reservations: 410 626-9796
Read-A-Thon
Saturday, April 5, 1 p.m. - Barnes & Noble, Harbor Center, Annapolis, Maryland 21401
The Read-A-Thon of The Great Gatsby will include a review of the text at the end of each session. Join us for the fun! Free event.
Big Read Annapolis Read-A-Thon
Saturday, April 5, 1 p.m. - Barnes & Noble, Harbor Center, 2516 Solomon's Island Road
The Read-A-Thon of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald will include a review of the text at the end of each session. Next one is scheduled for April 19. Free event.
“The Berries” for Kids
Saturday, April 5, 2-5 p.m. - Chesapeake Children's Museum, 25 Silopanna Road
This is an event to engage kids with music and culture from 1920s America. Come join us as we learn what life was like for kids during this time. We'll also help organize reading groups at this event. Free event.
Information: 410 990-1993 or info@theccm.org
The Mayor's Weekly Read
Sunday, April 6, 9:30 - 10 a.m. - WNAV Radio, 1430 AM
This is Mayor Ellen Moyer's seven-program weekly Big Read conversations on WNAV and the City PEG channel. The 30-minute conversations will include readers, local and national writers and others who have read and been influenced by The Great Gatsby. The next one is is scheduled for April 13.
Other Annapolis Alive! Events this Week
Thursday, April 3 - Annapolis Maritime Museum Winter Maritime Seminar Series
Chesapeake Sailing Craft
Annapolis Maritime Museum's Barge House, Second Street at Back Creek
7 - 8:30 p.m.
Naval Architect William Fox presents a rare photographic record of sailing craft from log canoes to four-mated schooners, showing the vessels in all phases of their activities on the Bay, including loading and unloading cargoes; under sail and in port; in shipyards; details of rigging, fittings, and decks; interior views; as powerboats; and abandoned hulks. The photographs were taken between 1925 and 1975 by Robert Burgess, curator of the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Va., and published by Cornell Maritime Press in 1975. The recently re-released edition, edited by William Fox, brings alive the author's photographs and recollections for a new generation of readers. Admission.
Information and tickets: www.annapolismaritimemuseum.org or 410 295-0104
Sunday, April 6 - Annapolis Subscription Plate at Roedown
Gates open 10 a.m. - First race at noon
Roedown Farm, Davidsonville
The annual Marlborough Hunt Races at Roedown in South County are synonymous with the start of spring in Maryland and follow in the tradition of Race Week, and the festivities surrounding it, which brought enthusiasts from all over the colonies to Annapolis to watch and wager on thoroughbred horses. A new feature has been added to the 2008 program. As part of the Annapolis 300th anniversary celebration, Roedown is reviving the Annapolis Subscription Plate, the first recorded formal horse race in Maryland. Mayor Ellen Moyer will present the Annapolis Subscription Plate trophy to the winner of this special race commemorating the first formal horse race in Maryland in 1743. Roedown are encouraged to wear colonial costume and incorporate this theme in their tailgate parties. Enjoy tailgate competitions, costumed interpreters, and great horse racing. Learn more about colonial horse racing, which began here in Annapolis on a West Street track. Steeple-chasing began more than 300 years ago when two Irishmen set up a race between two church steeples – hence the name. The Maryland Hunt Cup steeplechase was founded in the 1830s. A group of equine enthusiasts In Southern Maryland got together in the early 1970s to organize the Marlborough Hunt Races; this is its 34th year.
For information, ticket prices and directions go to marlboroughhuntraces.com and click on Marlborough Hunt Races.
