Glen Avenue Fire Station Holiday Train Garden

Holiday Train Garden
Daily through Jan. 5 from 10 am to 9 pm

For entertainment, for nostalgia, for timeless themes, for contemporary commentary, for action, for adventure, for day, for night, for a private laugh, and for great eavesdropping on children and families, you won't find much (if anything) better than the Glen Avenue Fire Station Holiday Train Garden.

When Jimbo walked into the dark station, the first thing he heard was the sound of electric model trains and a four-year-old child laughing heartily. Then he saw several of the child's relatives scrunched around him, smiling and pointing at one of the amusement park scenes near the end of the exhibit.

This train garden provides plenty of fun for people of all ages in virtually every scene. From the start, you learn that the garden rewards careful looks: in the circus's petting zoo all of the action figures are shovelling manure from the back end of animals and there is a corral with a sign "Lost Parents Area."

Then there's the stacked "Daisy Dukes" babe holding a naked baby in one arm and hanging diapers on a clothesline with the other and two other babies on the ground at her feet. Outside this ramshackle Appalachian homestead with a car engine strung from branch, the Glen Avenue Firemen set you up for a recurring visual joke.

Sponge Bob, Teletubbies, Woody from Toy Story, ET, Shrek, Mickey Mouse, striking NHL players, Ladder 49, Ruth Buzzard on a park bench and Artie Johnson standing by, dogs sniffing each other, cows gathering, Indians roasting cowboys, cops and robbers, and a few mysteries (what's the bare-chested, blond hunk doing in the back seat of an Edsel convertible in the middle of the winter town scene) just begin the list of this productive garden.

Kids' favorite characters, animals, firemen's favorite cars and trucks, parking lot antics, cheerful holiday songs, winter sports, sardonic irony for the jaded sophisticate, plus the occasional real-life fire truck pulling in or out of the station with sirens sounding just add to the mix.

This is not about precision craftsmanship, exacting scale, or a dust-free environment; it's about more important things: visual fun, story-telling, wit, and a partnership of the creators' and the visitors' imaginations. Fun and perfect. Go, it's free, make a donation, and tell them Jimbo sent you!
http://www.ci.baltimore.md.us/government/fire/pr031203.html
Glen Avenue Fire Station
17 Glen Avenue
410-396-0171

DEC 23--DEC 29

Thursday, Dec. 23 at 7:00 pm Documentary & Talk
Imelda and Director Ramona Diaz
Baltimore never ceases to amaze: who could imagine that there would be such a great offering for the price of a movie? See the fascinating documentary Imelda and then meet director Ramona Diaz immediately after the film. She will give a brief talk and answer your questions. Fringe is definitely year-round in Baltimore! Admission $8
www.thecharles.com
The Charles Theater
1711 N. Charles Street
410-727-3456

Now through the New Year's Holiday Train Gardens
Holiday Train Gardens and Festivals
As a boy, Jimbo loved his Lionel trains. He loves the idea of adult men 'playing' with their trains, building train layouts, expressing their creativity in a masculine way, and showing their love for children by making something kids love. The nurturing makes me teary-eyed. While I don't know what people in other cities do, Baltimore seems to have a special affection for holiday train gardens, perhaps because so many railroad workers live here and because it's the home of the B&O Railroad. The two big train gardens in Baltimore are:

Thru Jan. 5 from 10 am to 9 pm. Firemen & Trains!
Holiday Train Garden
For 48 years, Baltimore City Firemen have been making this train garden bigger and better than ever. Don't miss it; open seven days a week, and it's free! Website below is a year out of date, but the garden is not!
http://www.ci.baltimore.md.us/government/fire/pr031203.html
Glen Avenue Fire Station
17 Glenn Avenue
410-396-5616

Thru Jan. 2, various hours Pro/Am Trains
Wednesday Night Train Club
This is part of the B&O Railroad Museum's Festival of Trains. See the Wednesday Night Club's recreation of the 1949 Lionel Showroom Layout, an O-gauge layout by the National Capital Trackers (through Dec. 30) along with the B&O Museum's year-round train layouts. Definitely spectacular, but not as fringe as the Glen Avenue Station experience. And more expensive: $14 for adults, $10 for senior citizens, and $8 for children 2-12. Includes museum visit. Reservations advised.
http://www.borail.org/tickets/holidayfestivaltrains.asp
B&O Railroad Museum
901 W. Pratt Street
410-752-2490

Radar Review and Positioning "Athena's Daughters"

Radar
After a six-month hiatus, Radar Review is back! Issue number twelve, free, 30,000 in circulation. It's indispensible for lovers of Baltimore art and culture. Check the website for places you can pick up the tiny but significant 4" x 5" booklet. Support the advertisers; tell them you read about them in Radar.
www.radarreview.net

Positioning Athena's Daughters
Mina Cheon, Jessica C. Damen, Espi Frazier, Tonya Ingersol, Allyson Smith, and Grace Hartigan
Maryland Art Place
Through January 8, 2005

Maryland Art Place publicized this exhibit of artists selected by Grace Hartigan as exploring "issues faced by artists who have specifically chosen to create outside the mainstream marketplace." Ergo, the JBYRFF listing last week. And I was curious to learn what MAP considers outside mainstream. MAP is one of Baltimore's finest galleries, normally showing works by challenging, sometimes emerging, but always mainstream, artists.

Then Grace Hartigan's statement:

It has taken centuries but at last women artists are regarded as seriously as men.

I have chosen, first of all for excellence, five women who for reasons of race, color, age or sexual orientation are not welcomed into the "main stream" art world. What is interesting is that their works could only be done by women--black women icons, lesbian marriages, motherhood.

For me this gives the work seen here a special excitement.

As I think about the exhibit and reread the above, I keep thinking "Bushspeak!"

The artworks exhibited do not differ from those shown in the mainstream marketplace. Women artists are not yet regarded as seriously as men: there is still a 'canvas' ceiling at the very top. Except for that canvas ceiling, the mainstream art world is one of the more welcoming places in our society to women of race, color, age or sexual orientation. Male artists have done some psychologically challenging and excellent work on black women icons and motherhood. Granted, these are the first works I have seen explicitly addressing lesbian marriage.

But this has nothing to do with the artists, just the positioning of the exhibit. Athena's Daughters are former students and assistants of Hartigan, they clearly merit an exhibition at MAP. As a group they are excellent, at or near the top of their careers, with many reviews, publications, awards, fellowships, and degrees. And with the exception of one POR, three NFS, and the single Hartigan, prices were from $2,400 to $10,800.

Definitely mainstream market prices. How could Jimbo have been so naive? Again! He confused the fact that it is art that is about truth, not the artmarketplace, which is frequently bushspeak.
www.mdartplace.org

DEC 16--DEC 22 CALENDAR

Friday, Dec. 17 at 7 pm Dance
Work-in-progress Movement/Addiction: *Blink*
This is a great opportunity to watch the creation of performance and talk with the performers of Movement/Addiction. Then go see the world premier at the Creative Alliance on February 4 & 5. The UMBC Imaging Research Center, original interactive digital sound and real-time video, dance, and text by Noel Jones. Free (including hors d' oeuvres), but limited seating. Make your reservation by email info@irc.umbc.edu http://www.umbc.edu/newsevents/arts/calendar/
UMBC Imaging Research Center
1000 Hilltop Circle
ITE Building, Room 108

Friday & Saturday, Dec. 17 & 18 at 11 pm Theatre
Rudolph the Red-Hosed Reindeer (Adults only)
Rapidly becoming yet another of fringe Baltimore's holiday traditions, this musical spoof about a transvestite reindeer captures the true messages of the holidays about love, inclusiveness and acceptance. $15 with usual discounts. Make a reservation.
http://www.spotlighters.org
Spotlighters Theatre
817 St. Paul Street
410-752-1225

Saturday, Dec. 18 from 9 pm to 2 am Samba
Bahia Unleashed: The Afro Brazilian Samba Party
Jimbo knows some residents who are upset by the parties held in the Belvedere's lower lobby. A good sign this will be one hot evening with live Samba band, Samba dancers, Brazilian drummers, Capoeira Angola Ruda, and a special guest world music DJ. Samba lessons provided. Tickets $10 in advance, phone below
http://www.ipanema-lounge.de/capoeiraangola.html
The Belvedere Lower Lobby @ Exclusive Inc.
1 E. Chase Street
443-804-2847

Sunday, Dec. 19 at 3 pm Mainstream Kwanzaa
Sankofa Dance Theater
Enrich your life with candle lighting, story telling, and African Dance & Drum at this holiday performance. $5 donation
www.sankofadancetheater.org
Sankofa Center for Cultural Enrichment
2901 Druid Park Drive
(410) 669-DRUM

Sunday Dec 19 at 10 pm Blues
Little Howlin' Wolf
Twig Harper says "Wolf is so complex and separating the facts from his brain is real difficult..." so Jimbo won't try. She (he?) goes on to say " he is the master of mind-blowing lo-fi off-kilterweird jam rooted in down-to-earth soul." and that sounds cool to me. Stop by Hamden's spectacular 34th Street at Chestnut on your way to the show for an awesome Baltimore Fringe disjunction. And don't leave that Sun Ra vinyl on the shelves.
The True Vine
1123 West 36th Street
410-235-4500

Tuesday, Dec. 21 at 7 pm Pagan Unitarian
Winter Solstice Ritual
"Join in turning the Wheel of the Year, in honoring the evergreen, giving thanks for seasonal blessings, tasting seasonal sweets, and celebrating creativity." Pat Montley (montley@mindspring.com) wrote this ritual in the book, Nature's Honor: Myths and Rituals Celebrating the Earth. Plus, the church is beautiful. Free (donation?)
http://www.firstunitarian.net/
First Unitarian Church of Baltimore
1 West Hamilton Street
410-685-2330

Tuesdays through Saturdays to January 8 from 11 to 5 Art
Athena's Daughters
Five artists who studied with Grace Hartigan at mica and are now working outside the mainstream, Mina Cheon, Jessica C. Damen, Espi Frazier, Tonya Ingersol and Allyson Smith, show recent works along with Athena. Wonderfully challenging, non-holiday excellence. Free
http://www.mdartplace.org
Maryland Art Place
8 Market Place, Suite 100
410-962-8565

REVIEW: Current Gallery and Artists Cooperative

Grand Opening--Current Gallery
30 South Calvert Street
www.currentspace.com
Opens January 6, 2005 7-10 pm

'Current' associations: electric, now, flow. Fringe: not really, these artists come from mainstream artist producers--Maryland Institute, Pratt, etc. Mainstream: not yet.

But if you would like an introduction to youthful, ambitious, idealistic, well-schooled, serious, energetic, talented, artists moving from the academic world into the arts market, this is a good starting place.

Jimbo infers from the artists' biographies that more than a million dollars worth of tuition is represented in this exhibit, as well as a century of study. Then there are the persistence, sweat, coordination, negotiations, hours, diplomacy, and money that starting a new cooperative gallery requires. Does the public have any idea how hard artists must work to become professionals?

The result: a flexible, centrally-located, and neutral space for advantageous display of art and an intriguing group of artists who merit more complete exhibitions of their work.

Where to start? The boutique, named 'bored?' This consisted of a small clothes rack with maybe ten items of tops and bottoms left of the entrance, and an unexpected display of perhaps twenty, postcard-sized, photographs on one of the window piers. Spare, it fit seamlessly into the gallery.

The photographs by Adam Pollard show shirts designed by... Adam Pollard (!) and Ryan Jedlicka http://www.boredstudio.com/studio/artists/. They represent the largest "body of work" in the exhibit. Witty, cool, silk-screened, fun, wonderful colors, shirts on attractive models. Is Pollard a fashion designer, a photographer, or an artist? It doesn't matter. The images work in all of these ways. In one image the word bored? was printed over the model's abdomen, making the image hot, sexy, ironic, electric.

These photographs are a good introduction to some of the other work in the exhibit which ignores any fine art/utilitarian distinctions.

Ana Zavaljevski showed diaphanous cloth panels hung in groups from the ceiling. They could be read as fabric sculpture: rectangular, vertical planes hand-dyed or painted with abstract shapes, and positioned about foot apart, flowing with the ambient motion of the air. Or perhaps they could be worn as scarves or wraps. Simple, beautiful, planar, sculptural, abstract, translucent, motion. Perhaps they could be worn as scarves or wraps and then re-hung. But they are simply good enough to be signs for themselves.

The other artists in the show were represented by only one work each. Of special interest: Alyssa Dennis (painting, mixed media) and Erin Fostel (charcoal drawing) demonstrated fine technical expertise used in the service of psychology. Works by painter Ryan Jedlicka and sculptor/painter Dale Thomas Ihnken also made me want to see more of their work and how it develops.

Current Gallery and Artists Cooperative has much to be proud of and merits watching in the future. Given the professionalism of this entire group of artists, there should be a listing of the artists, works, materials, and dates of creation available along with labels soon. More than compensating for this lapse, the artists staffing the gallery were gracious and informative.

Note: Judge bored? clothing for yourself by checking out the link above. Clicking on Adam Pollard's head will take you to an on-line catalog. The images of the clothing reflect the shirts shown in the photographs exhibited, but the photographs in the exhibit are much better. In the exhibit photographs more of the model is shown and each image has its own life.

DEC 9--DEC 15

Thursday, Dec. 9—Jan 3 Gallery
Grand Opening
Current Gallery (and boutique!) may be the artist cooperative to watch in Baltimore. It has some big shoes to fill: the fine Chela Gallery and Mission Space. The boutique features 'bored?' clothing by Adam Pollard and Ryan Jedicka. Opening reception Dec. 9 from 5 PM to midnight. Free
www.currentspace.com
Current
30 S. Calvert Street

Friday, Dec. 10 7:30 PM Flute Fringe
Jan Seiden
Native American flute compositions from the CD Woodland Winds for a mystical connection with earth. Maybe you can get dessert, too. $10
http://www.gopherp.com/janseiden.htm
Edelweiss Bakery
6000 Harford Road
410-426-3100

Saturday, Dec. 11 from noon to 5 Crafts (Fringe Fringe)
Women of Power
Artisans and crafts women from many traditions exhibit and sell their work. Contact Lya_nemi@msn.com for advance tickets. $10; $8 advance.
http://www.stationnorth.org/events.html
Cork Factory
1601 Guilford Avenue
410-862-5210

Saturday, Dec. 11 at 3:30 PM Tuba
Merry Tuba Christmas
If you’ve never heard 200 tubas and euphoniums playing Christmas songs, and if you have a spare moment on Saturday, stop by the Harborplace for this annual Baltimore (and national) event. Free
http://www.bop.org/events/eventdetail.aspx?eventId=1475
Harborplace Amphitheater
Pratt & Light Streets

Sunday, Dec. 12 at 10:30 AM Not Talk Radio
“Still, Our Problems Stem From Our Acceptance of This ‘Filthy Rotten System’”
Willa Bickham and Brendan Walsh of Viva House are amazing and dedicated people working with individual humans on behalf of all humanity. Learn from them live and in person. Free
http://www.baltimoreethicalsociety.org/
Baltimore Ethical Society
306 W. Franklin Street
4100-581-2322

Tuesday, Dec. 14 from noon to noon Dec. 16 Horror
48 Hour Horror Movie Marathon
Just what it says. Without interruptions. Classics and then some. Hosted by Jeremy Zombie. Free
http://www.defekto.com/horrorthon.htm
Station Building
Maryland Institute of the Arts
1400 Cathedral Street


Tuesday, Dec. 14 at 7:30 PM Questionable Fringe
Trans-Siberian 2004 Christmas Tour
What is this? The Trans-Siberian Orchestra? At the Arena? Seats from $32.5 $42.50? It must be mainstream! Jimbo won’t be there, but maybe he’s missing something great.
http://www.trans-siberian.com/index-main.php
1st Mariner Arena
201 W. Baltimore Street
410-481-7328

Wednesday, Dec. 15 at 8:00 p.m. Potluck Film
Annual Creative Alliance Holiday Home Hoo-Hah
If you cringe at those 50 years-old 8 mm films showing you in b.v.d.'s on Christmas morning by the tree (easier to try new things on)... If you hate watching yourself greedily opening one quickly-forgotten present after another... then you might enjoy watching other families' holiday movies. Or you might develop a deep appreciation for the Buddha's second noble truth--that craving is the source of all suffering. Bring your own films to share if you like. Non-members $5; free for members (with a potluck dish) plus 1 guest
www.creativealliance.org
Creative Alliance at The Patterson
3134 Eastern Avenue
410-276-1651

SUBSCRIBERS

Delayed Emails Cyber Fringe
Bloglet
Jimbo loves his nineteen (19) subscribers. No, you are not alone!
Early Thursday morning Bloglet should have sent you the two posts written on Wednesday. On checking, there was a mystery with the Bloglet Account (some find all cyber problems mysteries).
I followed instructions to correct, but not de-mystify, and Bloglet indicated I succeeded. However there was no email today (Friday) and Bloglet maintains all systems are go. So this hopes that you will receive it on Saturday morning and read the two previous posts. My apologies for the inconvenience and my thanks for your patience and patronage.
http://jimbosbalto.blogspot.com/
James Beau
Center of the Fringe Universe
311

DEC 2--DEC 8

Thursday, Dec. 2 at 11:30 AM Gallery Walk
An Artist’s Viewpoint
Folks, this is worth taking a half-day off from work. (Are you sure you're feeling well?) Joyce Scott, a creative genius, looks at the BMA. Check out her gallery web page and google her. Go if you can. Free.
http://www.marylandartsource.org/artists/detail_000000136.html
www.artbma.org
Baltimore Museum of Art
Art Museum Drive
410-396-7100
[Disclosure: My art collection includes art by Joyce Scott and she is a personal friend.]

Thursday, Dec. 2 through Dec. 19 Theater
A Dickens of a Carol
Anna Ditkoff, City Paper, called this production of the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival last year “deeply moving and engrossing.” High praise for anything holiday-related. A one-man show performed by James Kinstle. Various days and times, $15-$20
www.baltimoreshakespeare.org
St. Mary’s Outreach Center
3900 Roland Avenue
410-366-8596

Saturday, Dec 4 through Dec. 11 Performance
Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity
Morgan State University Choir, Dance Ensemble, and Theatre Morgan collaborate. The holidays are unavoidable so try something interesting. Various days and times, $5-$15
www.murphyfineartscenter.org
Murphy Fine Arts Center
2201 Argonne Drive
443-885-4440

Saturday, Dec. 4 around 6 P.M. Nautical
Parade of Lighted Boats
Jimbo has watched this annual Baltimore tradition virtually alone in a cold drizzle, among crowds on a unseasonably warm day, and with the love of his life in a gently falling snow. Boaters decorate their crafts, and ‘parade’ around the Inner Harbor at a stately pace. Some are beautiful, some are just party, some are tacky, some are over-decorated, and a few may list. But it’s fun and free, best from outside on the promenade so you can hear as well as see.
www.geocities.com/fpycc/
410-321-0409

Tuesday, Dec. 7 from 5-7 PM War
Silent Vigil against Violence
Join members of the American Friends Field Service Committee in their weekly quiet quest for peace during this era of religious wars. It can be your holiday gift to the community. Free
http://www.afsc.org/midatlantic/baltimore.htm
4806 York Road
410-323-7200

Wednesday, Dec. 8 at 7:30 PM Music
Peabody Chamber Percussion Ensemble
The future is here and now. Robert van Sice directs. And it's free!
http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/
Friedberg Hall
1 E. Mt. Vernon Place
410/659-8100, ext. 2

README: Two Cautions

Reader Beware Elusive Fringe
One: Please pin down your fringe first
Unless you can go with the flow, call in advance to confirm date, time, and particulars. Jimbo makes mistakes; the sources he relies on sometimes make mistakes, and sometimes (albeit rarely) the fringe event itself is hard to find or disappears altogether.

Case in point: On November 23, James Beau planned to review the exhibit of work by Maryland Institute College of Art members of the American Institute of Graphic Artists as listed in the last Events posting. He didn’t know where mica’s Meyerhoff Private Dining Room Gallery was located, so he checked the mica website. Three (3!) phone calls later (Special Events, Exhibits, Student activities) he learned something like, “It’s in the Meyerhoff residence hall on Lafayette Street a block from the main building, ask for directions to the room at the entrance desk.”

About 5:15, the receptionist directed me to the room, which was empty except for a few tables and chairs. I returned to the desk and asked about the opening and show. The student at the desk said there is supposed to be an exhibit. He knew the organizer of the show and was looking forward to it, but couldn’t help me further.

I checked mica's website calendar when I returned home. It indicated the show would be in the dining room beginning on November 24, but it also said the show's opening was on December 2. The mica calenar on December 1 shows the exhibit in the dining room from today through Dec. 17, with the opening reception on Dec. 9.

Illuminated by streets and interiors, the architecture in Bolton Hill and along Mt. Royal Avenue was spectacular in the misty, late autumn evening. I was glad to talk to a student equally interested in the Exhibit and I enjoyed the evening. However, readers, please use the links and telephone numbers to confirm, especially if you are a person who hates disappointment.

Two: Please don't pin down my fringe
A definition of “Baltimore Fringe” eludes me, as does my goal of weekly posts of events and at least one review a week. So readers, beware, but enjoy whenever and wherever possible.