The City That Breeds » Events

Polish Christmas caroling this Friday: you should go

Evan The Mayor — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:09:41 +0000

This Friday at 7pm marks the Polish Home Club’s (510-12 S Broadway, Fells Point) annual Christmas Caroling extravaganza in Fells Point, an event I was introduced to by a highschool friend of mine some time ago and have grown to enjoy thoroughly. It’s an event that amounts to almost pure tradition, fortunately without feeling the slightest bit milk toast or boring (more on that in a second). Carolers essentially do a lap around Fells Point proper, led by a full blown Polka band while singing traditional carols in English and Polish, with phonetic pronunciation available for the 99.99% of us that no longer know any other languages other than high school Spanish – thanks public school!

Most of the streets around the route are blocked off momentarily by police for the throngs to pass through, so carolers can revel in the knowledge that they’re probably pissing off some Harbor East resident who’s attempting to get home by way of Canton, so that’s pretty satisfying. Also in the satisfying department, a lot of Fells Point is shockingly still inhabited by people who legitimately decorate their houses and apartments; legitimate citizens of Baltimore who’ve been here long enough to remember when the Polish Home Club probably had over a handful of members, they sit by their windows and populate their stoops, actually waving to people as they stroll by singing off-key, occasionally even handing out a cookie or three. It’s down right heart warming. The sing-walkathon ends with an after party at the Home Club itself, featuring even more Polka and cheap as hell booze.

Speaking of booze, the aforementioned “Not all boring” aspect of this whole caroling experience: Lots of booze. Lots of Medovukha/Krupnikas, lots of Vodka, lots and lots of hot, boozy cider to warm your throat and loosen your vocal cords enough to let yourself hear yourself sing poorly. Even if someone hands you a cup of hot cocoa and swears it contains no alcohol, *do not bring it near an open flame*. So at the very least, a fun boozy time with friends and Polka in the middle of the street should be enough to get you there.

But more importantly, the Home Club could use a hand. Like most lodges and homes of its kind, the Polish Club is populated by die hard Polish Baltimoreans who’ve been here through the worst, whose numbers have been steadily dwindling due to the draw of the suburban safety net, a lack of interest in heritage-based social clubs among the younger set, and just plain old age. The Club’s numbers and financing have trickled to the point to where their annual Polish festival was cancelled this past year primarily due to the city increasing its fees (SHOCKER) for permits, with the hopes of moving to Timonium in 2012 – but losing the festival is a symbolic blow to the city’s culture.

Having said that, why not come down and join in the fun this coming Friday and think of having a cheap night out once in a while with friends at the Home Club. It’s like Blob’s Park, but it’s in the city, and ….it’s Polish, not German, but there’s still Polka and booze!

Two moustache related charity events this weekend

Evan The Mayor — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:48:54 +0000

It’s December 1st, and the annual movement to change the face of men’s health – Movember – is pretty much over. The Baltimore area truly rocked the ‘stache this year, nabbed itself a feature in the Baltimore Sun, TV interviews, and raised over $14,000 (and counting) for a great cause.

But the month is over, and it is time to bid adieu to said ‘staches. And so, this Friday at Field House (2400 Boston St., Canton) marks the Goodbye Stache Bash, here’s the release from team Patapsco High School’s leader, Ryan W:

Good afternoon Patriots,

On behalf of the Mo Bros, I would like to thank you all for your support throughout the entire month of Movember and especially during our Big Finish on Tuesday. What started out as a funny idea really grew into a month-long celebration of not only mustaches, but also the great community we have here at Patapsco. As a result of your help and support, we as a school were able to raise awareness about men’s health issues and over $4,700 towards cancer research!
In order to stretch out the celebration for just a few more days, we would like to invite you all to our “Goodbye Stache Bash” at the Field House in Canton to help us send off our creepy ‘mos the right way. In exchange for a donation *of any amount* you will receive a wristband that will get you great food and drink specials starting at 3:00 tomorrow. The bar is located on Boston St. and there is plenty of free parking available in the lot and the garage.

Again, thank you all so much for your support, we truly could not have done this without you. Hope to see you on Friday!

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL!

Another highly well known and moustache related charity, Mustaches for Kids – whose primary target for raising funds is aimed squarely at Baltimore City schools, is having an event of their own on Saturday, December 3rd at PBR Baltimore (34 Market Pl., Downtown) from 6-9pm:

Come out and support the brave volunteer mustache growers of Mustaches for Kids as they compete for the title of “Sweetest Stache” during the 4th annual Stache Bash, Baltimore’s famous (mustachioed) mock beauty pageant! You will never witness a funnier night for such a great cause – proceeds benefit Baltimore City Schools. Since 2008, Mustaches for Kids Baltimore has raised over $80,000 for local Baltimore classrooms. Ages 21+. $5 suggested donation per person.

Great stuff. The ‘stache is truly powerful, that fact cannot be denied. If you’ve got a ‘stache story to tell about this year’s Movember/Mustaches for Kids, leave it in the comments!

Casserole and Urban Farming enthusiasts want you to eat casseroles

Evan The Mayor — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:07:49 +0000

When I received the email the other day with a subject line that read “Could you promote a food event for charity–that isn’t stupid?” My eyebrow pricked a little, and began reading about this Saturday’s Casserole Cookoff to benefit Whitelock Community Farm. At first I was like, “Casseroles? Don’t British people really like casseroles? I don’t trust British people very much.”

But the moment passed and I realized that despite my distrust for the British, $10 to eat all the casserole you like and a $50 prize to benefit a community farm sounds pretty nice, so what the hell, I’ll shed some light on the matter. Observe, this handy flier:

Interested in eating casseroles, or entering the contest? Get your tickets here. Interested in learning how to make great casseroles? http://www.accredited-online-colleges.org/ is a resource with info on cooking classes.

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Guzzle and Gobble 7 (to benefit Movember) tickets are on sale

Evan The Mayor — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 18:56:23 +0000

Save the date and get your credit cards out, coz on Saturday, Movember 19th Guzzle and Gobble 7 is not only happening but will also benefit Movember and the most prestigious of Baltimore area Movember teams, Boh Knows Movember (tip of the hat to Baltimore Network member teams Patapsco High School and Visit Baltimo’), the throwdown occuring at Noble’s in Federal Hill. Tickets are available now at www.guzzleandgobble.com, your donation will nab you an incredible array of fun things:

~ Games and prizes – stickers, wristbands, 50/50 raffles and more
~ 4 Hours AUCD (Rails and Domestics)
~ Full Thanksgiving Turkey Buffet
~ A Guzzle and Gobble 7 Commemorative Tee Shirt

don’t feel like paying online? Our ace staff will also be at No Idea Tavern this weekend for the Movember Baltimore Kickoff Goodtime Happy Hours, ready and willing to take your cash or credit card payment. There will also be lots of fun prizes and swag there as well, and special celebrity guest @baltobeerbaron (not a guarantee)!

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE. AT THE PARTIES.

(Movember Baltimore is on Facebook and Twitter)

Moustache Season is upon us – Movember 2011!

Evan The Mayor — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 18:10:31 +0000

For several years now, blogmaster Evan has participated in the charitable month formerly known as November – currently known as Movember – growing a fresh, fluffy moustache throughout the month in an effort to raise funds and awareness for men’s health issues – specifically, Prostate and Testicular Cancers. The Movember Foundation splits its funding between the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the LiveSTRONG campaign to support their ongoing battle against life threatening men’s health issues.

What began in 2003 Australia with 30 participants has now become an international movement, raising over $174 million for the cause in its 8 years. Over 64,000 US men and women participated in last year’s campaign and raised over $7.5 million in the United States, making a REAL IMPACT on current cancer research endeavors!

And it’s a good thing too, as one in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, claiming the lives of nearly 34,000 men annually.

Big steps have been taken towards changing attitudes and habits relating to men’s health around the world, but there is still much to be done to catch up with the women’s health movement. Via the moustache, Movember aims to fulfill its vision of having an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health by continuing to spark conversation and spread awareness of men’s health issues each year.

Does growing a moustache for a month sound like something you’d be interested in? Would you like to join the greatest men’s health movement in the history of the world? Then maybe you should think about joining our team. Don’t feel like joining, but would love to support us anyway? You can donate to the team here. EVERY SINGLE PENNY IS GREATLY APPRECIATED.

Throughout the month our team members will display their ‘staches and post enjoyable entries of all things moustache related on our Facebook page, as well as our Twitter feed.

But wait, that ain’t all: Because Movember wouldn’t be complete without fun events!

November 4th-5th @No Idea Tavern – the Movember Kickoff Goodtime Happy Hour(s)

(FB) – Enjoy all you can drink Milla’s and rail for $10 4-8pm on Friday, $20 8pm-12am Saturday. We’ll have free party moustaches, buttons, stickers, wristbands and all manner of other fun stuff to help kick off Movember in style.

November 19th @Nobles Bar & Grill – Guzzle and Gobble 7 to Benefit Movember

(FB) – The masterminds behind the wildly successful annual Thanksgiving-and-charity themed party Guzzle and Gobble have graciously turned their charitable eyes toward Movember and will be donating a chunk of change from their bash to the fund. Included in the event: touch football, all you can eat buffet, all you can drink, raffles, t-shirts, free stuff, and a fantastic time had by all. *HIGHLY RECOMMENDED* Tickets/donations for registration will be available shortly. Don’t miss this one!

If you’re an area vendor and you’d like to contribute your goods/services for silent auctions or door prizes, we’d love to have you. Email Evan or Neal, you contribution is incredibly appreciated!

The Cosby Sweater Bar Crawl recap, buttons still available

Evan The Mayor — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 18:42:28 +0000

Oh what a time was had by all, this past Saturday, at Baltimore’s (Earth’s?) first ever Cosby Sweater Bar Crawl. From 4pm on starting at Dark Horse in Canton, the sweaters came flowing through the door and by the time we had all jammed our sweatery bodies into Bad Decisions around 8pm there were at least 70 folks, some of which actually donated! Just kidding, pretty much everyone donated. Baltimore Area Rescue and Care Shelter will be receiving a tidy donation of $200 (after donating separately to some folks engaged in Strut Your Mutt, also benefiting BARCS) as soon as I ~~launder~~ deposit the cash. Kudos to all of the bars involved – Dark Horse, Gin Mill and Kisling’s – for being so attentive when 60+ people suddenly showed up at their establishments early on a Saturday! And a very special thanks to John at Bad Decisions for making a delicious menu of Jello-inspired booze creations, they were a huge success with the crowd, at least I think I remember people liking them.

With any luck, I’d like to make this an annual thing much like South Baltimore’s Snuggie Bar Crawl, so around this time next year I’ll start poking around to see if there’s any interest in a repeat.

In the meantime, a slew of folks who attended the event were curious about obtaining extra Cosby Buttons (a token for your donation, along with a free shot) and I’ve decided to open them up for reorder; since they’re relatively easy to make, I figure mailing a few off here and there for a nominal donation of $3 a pop couldn’t hurt – after this week (aside from right here) they’ll be available on the Yardsale page along with a few other designs. Stay tuned! For now, if you’d like a Cosby Button of your very own you can feel free to order one or more below, just specify which one you’d like in the cart. Come next year, they’ll be collector’s items!

Buttons!

Order:

Young, Broke and Beautiful book signing and dance party tonight

Evan The Mayor — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:05:46 +0000

Remember when IFC’s “Young, Broke and Beautiful” came to Baltimore and shed some love all over local favorites like Mink Stole and Dan Deacon? Well as it turns out, the host of the show, Stuart Schuffman, is taking his latest of the “Living Cheaply” series on a broke-ass book tour, and will be at The Get Down (701 S. Bond St., Fells Point) tonight.

The event is half book signing and half dance party, with DJ Landis Expandis spinning the iPods of steel and Atomic Books on hand to peddle some wares. So even if you can’t read, you can at least get your groove on! Doors open at 7pm, enjoy The Get Down’s always pretty awesome $3 domestics/rails/no cover special while the gettin’s good.

Cosby Sweater Bar Crawl “presale” is up – reserve your button and free pudding shot

Evan The Mayor — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 20:17:52 +0000

Baltimore’s first ever Cosby Sweater Bar Crawl benefiting BARCS is a mere 11 days away, I’m excited and so are you. In preparation for the event, a bunch of very attractive 2.25″ buttons featuring Dr. Cosby have been made (see below), and they’re very attractive! Thing is, I only made so many of them and what with Facebook events being what they are, there’s no way of telling whether 60 or 06 people will show up. That being said, if you plan on attending and want to make your $5 donation early, feel free to do so via the shiny PayPal button at the bottom of the post so you can reserve yours! You’ll also receive a free pudding shot at the start of the crawl, which is awesome, so you can feel extra specially good about looking like Cosby, supporting an animal shelter, and even getting a souvenir while you’re at it. Can’t wait!

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Art Cart Derby combines your love of art, old timey racing

Evan The Mayor — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:06:00 +0000

This Saturday the 8th, word has it that some zany folks at the Southeast Community Development Co. will be putting on an “old-fashioned” soap-box derby styled race with custom built, zany art derby cars (the one pictured will be a chocolate chip cookie and the rider will be dressed as a carton of milk):

On Sat., Oct 8, Gough St. in Highlandtown will transform from roadway into raceway as intergenerational teams compete in the first annual Art Cart Derby. Inspired by classic soapbox racing, the Art Cart Derby is a downhill race between gravity-powered carts with a single driver.

Cars will gather at 2pm, with the race starting at 3:30 at the corner of Gough and Conkling (at The Laughing Pint). There will be live music, beerz and lots of frivolity. A+ neighborhood bar Laughing Pint will also be putting on a restrospective art show entitled Art By The Pint in conjunction with the event, where local art seen previously on their walls will be featured. Hop to it kids!

(via)

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THE PEDAL PARTY IS FINALLY HERE!

Evan The Mayor — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 18:45:44 +0000

So remember last summer when I was going on about how a friend of mine that lives in Texas participated in an awesome, 15-man bike bar crawl? And how everyone said it would never work in Baltimore? Yeah well guess what, we have something ….mostly similar now in Baltimore, in the form of the Charm City Pedal Mill!

The premise is the same: people sit on a very large bar-shaped vehicle with 14+ seats and pedals at each seat, patrons sit down and power the vehicle while a captain steers it around and about. The primary difference from the Pedal Party, unfortunately, with this vehicle is an absence of alcohol but riders can pack food and beverages of any other kind along for the ride. The company currently has an “approved” route through Fells Point, hitting up several bars between James Joyce and Ale Mary’s, and it sounds like an absolute blast.

It also just so happens to be today’s Groupon, featuring a 2-hour tour from $12. WHO’S DOING THIS, I’M DOING THIS. Get some exercise and a bar crawl at the same time!