Charm City Roller Girls – Baltimore Magazine

Down and Derby

Jess Mayhugh — Thu, 15 Feb 2018 08:30:00 +0000

On a Sunday night in December, it’s hard to find a parking spot in the Skateland lot in Dundalk. Inside the old skate hall, the arena is filled with eager spectators, all waiting to see a pack of elbow- and knee-padded women on wheels skate onto the oval track.

Soon enough, the scoreboard activates, the audience erupts in applause, and an organized chaos ensues as these fearless females strategically slam into one another and sprawl across the laminated floor.

This is a typical bout for the Charm City Roller Girls, Baltimore’s all-female roller derby league, now in its 13th year. While lesser known than the city’s big-name sports teams, these underdog athletes have garnered a loyal following for their serious athleticism and diehard commitment to this throwback full-contact sport.

“Players have to be on both offense and defense,” explains Boom Shocka Latke, last season’s fan favorite player.

Some 20 athletes make up each of the league’s six teams, with five on the track at a time: three blockers, one pivot, and one jammer. To win, a jammer must rack up points by passing her opponents during a series of short matches, or “jams.”

The games are rigorous and intense, but so is the process of joining the local league, with each player enduring a weeks-long boot camp and then, once they’ve made the cut, up to four practices a week and scrimmages throughout the off-season.

But newbies are still encouraged to tryout as women of all ages, shapes, skill levels, and professions form the league. It’s not unusual to see an attorney, a butcher, and a software engineer skating side-by-side under playful monikers.

“This sport allows people to embrace the badassery of what women can do with their bodies,” says Shema Toma, who joined the league at age 42. Adds Marv E Lust, a first-time member of the all-star team, “It doesn’t matter what your age, race, or sexuality is. If you want to skate, then join us.”

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City Paper Photographer Documents “Last Days in Paper City”

Michelle Evans — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 09:30:00 +0000

This summer, the Baltimore Sun Media Group announced that it would be closing City Paper after 40 years. Since that announcement and subsequent layoffs, the alt-weekly’s downtown offices have become increasingly deserted, with empty cubicles and piles of old newspapers.

While the remaining editorial staff are hard at work on the last four issues, City Paper photographer and co-host of photojournalism podcast 10 Frames Per Second Joe Giordano is documenting his “last days in paper city” on Instagram, giving his followers a sense of what it’s like when a publication shutters.

“I’m not trying to flood my Instagram with depressing pictures,” he told Baltimore recently. “But I want to use well-crafted photos that show what’s going on now.”

From photos of City Paper’s art director, Athena Towery, to a mini Divine perched upon an empty bookcase, Giordano promises to update his Instagram series until the release of the paper’s final issue on November 1. Here, he reflects on some of his favorites so far.

City Paper art director @athenatowery in front of Charm City Roller Girls (@charmcityrollergirls) by Sam Holden. #lastdaysinpapercity #color #portrait #baltimore #photojournalism

A post shared by J.M. Giordano (@jmgiordanophoto) on Sep 29, 2017 at 1:17pm PDT

“Athena has been at the paper for quite a while—since [the publication’s offices were on] Park Avenue. This photo really represents the bridge between the old City Paper and the new City Paper. I put Athena in front of the roller girls, one because of the composition, and two because she seemed to fit with that era of City Paper—’90s to the early 2000s.”

City Paper photographer @reginaldthomas in his cube. #lastdaysinpapercity #baltimore #sunset #portrait #photojournalism

A post shared by J.M. Giordano (@jmgiordanophoto) on Sep 28, 2017 at 12:05pm PDT

“Reggie came to us as an intern and he’s skyrocketed up there. . . . Those are his clips behind him. I’m immensely proud of everything that he’s done. He represents how I see the paper as mentoring young photographers and journalist—giving them the space they need to go on and do great things.”

Bookshelf of a former ad exec at City Paper. #lastdaysinpapercity #baltimore #colorphotography #divine #photojournalism #theend

A post shared by J.M. Giordano (@jmgiordanophoto) on Sep 22, 2017 at 3:44pm PDT

“That was in our former ad exec’s office—he’d been there for maybe 20 years, I think. That’s old-school City Paper—it represents what City Paper is about. They’re in a pretty conservative building, so the fact that he has Divine, the boob, and the butt plug all on one shelf, it represents sticking your tongue out to the establishment. I couldn’t stop looking at this arrangement.”

Crumpled flag in the City Paper office. #lastdaysinpapercity #sunset #photojournalism #color #photojournalism

A post shared by J.M. Giordano (@jmgiordanophoto) on Sep 28, 2017 at 4:40pm PDT

“The crumpled American flag represents journalism right now. It’s a flag with corporate symbols on it instead of stars, if you look closely. Without getting too deep—with everything that’s going on in the country right now—this crumpled flag, discarded and thrown in the corner, caught my eye. It was just a very potent symbol for journalism.”

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Weekend Lineup: Feb. 26-28

Lydia Woolever — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 16:33:00 +0000

Five things to eat, drink, see, hear, and do with your Charm City weekend.

EAT

Feb. 27-28: Sugarvale Brunch

Sugarvale, 4 W.
Madison St. 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. 410-609-3162.
sugarvalebmore.com.

After last weekend’s announcement of Parts & Labor brunch, we thought we had our Saturday mornings set for life. But here comes Sugarvale—the kid
sister spot to the ramen den that is Dooby’s in Mt. Vernon—adding eggs and extra-special
drinks to its menu of cocktails and charcuterie. This weekend, the tiny eatery is
having a soft open but its certainly not weak. Not with house-cured duck bacon
avocado toast; buttermilk biscuits and gravy with garlic-sage sausage; or eggs
Benedict with Tasso ham, hollandaise, and grits. That blood orange mimosa? Done and done. On top of that, if you stay
awhile on Sunday night, guest bartender Perez Klebahn (formerly of Mr. Rain’s Fun House) will be
serving craft concoctions with ingredients like mezcal, sake,
tamarind, and peach, all served with hand-cut ice.

DRINK

Feb. 28: Union Pinewood Derby

Union Craft Brewing,
1700 Union Ave. 12-5 p.m. Free. 410-467-0290.
unioncraftbrewing.com.

Whether you were a cub, boy, Eagle scout or not, there’s a good chance that you remember the small toy race cars of 1950s America. Union Craft certainly does, and for one Sunday fun-day, the Woodberry brewery is paying homage to that old pastime with a throwback pinewood derby. Get a build kit, make a car, and race it on the brewery’s 40-foot track. Consider it a bonding experience, though prizes will be awarded for style and speed, with swag ranging from back-pats and beer to T-shirts and trophies. But everyone’s a winner at UCB, with food on hand from Alewife and award-winning Duckpin on draft all afternoon. The taproom opens at noon, the race begins at 3, and beers will be flowing until they close at 5 o’clock.

SEE

Feb. 27: Charm City Roller Girls

Skateland North Point, 1113 N. Point Rd., Dundalk. 7 p.m. $5-15. 443-475-0088. charmcityrollergirls.com.

Anyone who has ever said that girls aren’t tough clearly hasn’t seen the live action of ladies’ roller derby. Rip-roaring and rough-and-tumble, this fast-paced sport is a badass bout with high energy, necessary helmets, and eight little wheels. This Saturday, it’s back in Baltimore for an all-new season of the Charm City Roller Girls league, and to kick things off, they’re throwing a triple-header at the old skate hall in Dundalk. With football finally over and baseball just around the corner, spend your night with friends and family at this action-packed event, featuring meet-and-greets with the athletes, Maryland beers by Fin City Brewing, and an after-party at Angle Inn in Southeast Baltimore.

HEAR

Feb. 26-27: Charm City Django Jazz Fest

Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave. 8 p.m. $22-28. 410-276-1651. creativealliance.org.

Django Reinhardt might not be a household name, but his influence on jazz music is unmistakable. The Belgium native was born to entertainer parents, picking up an ear for music—and then a guitar—at a very early age. By the 1940s, he had become a European sensation and even made his way to America to tour with legends like the late, great Duke Ellington. This weekend, celebrate the musician’s legacy at the Creative Alliance during its first-ever Django festival. For two music-filled nights, hear tribute performances by multiple bands, including our very own Ultrafaux, a rip-roaring local gypsy swing group, and Stephane Wremble, a French-born jazz guitarist who was recruited by Woody Allen to score Midnight in Paris, his 2011 Oscar-winning film.

DO

Feb. 27: Bromo Art Walk

Bromo Arts District, 218 W. Saratoga St. 12-4 p.m. Free. 410-528-7710. bromodistrict.org.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of the workweek, it’s sometimes easy to forget that we live in a pretty awesome city, ripe with history, art, delicious food, and culture. This weekend, get a good dose of that metropolitan vibe and visit some places you’ve never been before. On Saturday afternoon, the Bromo Arts District is throwing an impromptu gallery hop, with nine participating venues from the dozen-plus block stretch. Follow Franklin Street from Open Space to First Continent. Swing down Howard for a stop in Current Space. Turn onto Saratoga for Maryland Art Place (which currently has an awesome juried show with the Maryland Artist Registry) and Jordan Faye Contemporary (we love the barren landscapes of the Dorit Feldman exhibit). While you’re at each, grab a drink, snack on small bites, and absorb all the artwork—for free.

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