HARBOR REFRESH

This fall, Baltimore City approved a $17-million redevelopment of Inner Harbor’s Rash Field Park between the Maryland Science Center and the Rusty Scupper restaurant. The first phase of the urban greenspace’s major makeover will include the creation of a children’s nature park, kinetic playground, shade lawn, a dedicated skatepark, and a pavilion with an overlook and outdoor café. Construction is set to begin in January 2020 and completed by spring 2021. Fundraising efforts are also underway for Phase II, which is slated to include an updated beach volleyball court and beach, jogging lanes, and a bird and butterfly lab. The goal is to create “a safe and central place for families city-wide,” according to the Waterfront Partnership website. The nonprofit has been working on this 7.5-acre project since 2015.

NO BAGGAGE

In late November, the Baltimore City Council approved a citywide plastic-bag ban, which will prohibit single-use plastic bags at retail locations. Shoppers will now be chargeda five-cent fee per bag taken at checkout, including plastic, paper, and compostable bags, which lawmakers hope will reduce plastic bag waste and encourage the use of reusable bags. After eight prior attempts at plastic bag reduction ordinances since 2006, the current bill passed 13 to 1, and it now advances to the desk of Mayor Jack Young, who has expressed support for the initiative.

FOAM FREE

In late October, Baltimore’s ban on Styrofoam containers went into effect, prohibiting the use of polystyrene foam to-go boxes, trays, bowls, cups—we’re looking at you, snowballs—and more, with fines for restaurants, grocery stores, and other food providers failing to comply starting at $200. Maryland will become the first state in the country to take such measures when its statewide ban, approved in late May, goes into effect next year on July 1, 2020. Maine passed similar legislature a few weeks prior, with its bill going into effect on January 1, 2021. The moves are seen as a win for environmental advocates as the material often ends up in the Chesapeake Bay and does not break down.

UP, UP, AND AWAY?

Months after the Eastern Shore’s Queen Anne’s County passed a legislation that imposed a civil fine of $250 on the release of helium-filled balloons, becoming to the first county in Maryland to approve such measures, Senator Clarence Lam of Baltimore and Howard counties introduced legislation in late November that would impose similar sanctions statewide. Advocates argue that released balloons are an environmental hazard, often polluting nature and waterways, with the potential for harming wildlife if ingested. The bill will be considered during the next legislative session, beginning in January 2020.

BIRDS IN FLIGHT

Shortly after it was announced that the Trump administration is considering dramatic cuts to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, a new study published in the journal Science reported that North American bird populations have plummeted by nearly 30 percentsince 1970. That’s the loss of some three billion birds over the past half century, which avian experts have called a “full-blown crisis.” Myriad causes likely include habitat loss, building construction design, and use of pesticides. The Endangered Species Act is noted for helping to recover wildlife such as the bald eagle—an icon of the Chesapeake Bay whose populations had been dramatically impacted by the use of pesticide DDT. According to the study, two out of five Baltimore orioles have disappeared.

TREES OF LIFE

In late October, Blue Water Baltimore planted more than 70 trees in honor of late Baltimore native, Congressman Elijah Cummings, who passed away in October. In collaboration with the Port of Baltimore and the HeartSmiles youth program, nearly as many volunteers, including the likes of Congressman John Sarbanes, planted oak and evergreen saplings along Broening Highway. “Congressman Cummings advocated for all of Baltimore and for a greater degree of civility and compassion in all our collective work,” said BWB executive director Jenn Aiosa. “Coming together for this tree planting represents his vision and what he stood for.”

The city’s Trash Wheel family that already includes a Mister, Professor, and Captain will soon welcome a new member to its crew.

Waterfront Partnership’s Healthy Harbor Initiative announced this week that a fourth trash wheel—the largest of its kind—will be added to the stable—focusing on the Gwynns Falls area that spreads 60 square miles from Baltimore County to West Baltimore, and flowing into Ridgely’s Cove into the Middle Branch of the harbor. It will eventually make its way to the Patapsco River and Chesapeake Bay. This project is a communal one, too, as it’s the first time the city and the county are coming together to help fund a trash wheel.

“The watershed stretches across the city and county,” says Adam Lindquist, director of the Healthy Harbor Initiative. “The solution to clean up the harbor has always included both. This is going to help with the restoration of Middle Branch, which is such a unique asset.”

In a press release, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski emphasized that the Gwynns Falls flows from Reisterstown all the way to the Baltimore Harbor, adding that litter and water quality are regional issues that require this kind of partnership.

“[The new Trash Wheel] will remove trash while also calling attention to the fact that litter doesn’t stop where it drops,” he said. “So we need to prevent littering in the first place.”

With each trash wheel comes specific modifications designed to best handle the area it will be cleaning. This particular model will have a grappling arm, in essence a claw machine, to clear the large logs that often pervade the waterways in that area.

It will remove trash from the water and deposit it into a dumpster barge. And thanks to Wheelabrator Technologies, located on the property adjacent to the project, the interceptor will offload trash from the river and convert it into electricity for Maryland homes. The new wheel will also have 72 solar panels to capture sunlight that is often scarce in the area due to an overhead highway overpass.

“One nice thing about Baltimore is the three trash wheels we do have all have their own sort of unique environmental conditions,” says John Kellett, founder of Clearwater Mills, the company tasked with designing and building the wheels. TK.

There is, of course, the wonderful and unexpected cult following that the wheels have garnered throughout the city—they each have their own clever Twitter accounts—which have inspired a general sense of civic pride. Other cities are seeing what is happening in Baltimore and wanting in. Kellett says he gets calls all the time and is working on implementations in other parts of the country.

In an effort to to make ownership of this trash wheel feel truly communal, those involved are calling for name submissions for the fourth member of the “species.”

“I never dreamed the trash wheel would have sort of following it does,” Kellett says. “When I first came up with the idea, the most rewarding thing would be to see a much cleaner harbor. It turns out, just as rewarding is seeing all the people that it inspires to become part of the solution and the opportunity it presents for educating people about what they can do.”

There isn’t much variation when it comes to the type of waste that the trash wheel collects—namely, cigarette butts and all different kinds of plastic. The goal, of course, is to eradicate it all to the point where the trash wheel will no longer be needed. Lindquist sees a future in which Middle Branch is used for recreational activities like kayaking and swimming.

“Our goal to put these trash wheels on a diet,” Lindquist says. “We’re trying to reduce the amount of plastic so that we don’t need trash wheels forever.”

EAT

May 12: Mother’s Day Brunches

Locations, times, and prices vary.

The last few days before Mother’s Day mark the annual scramble for last-minute bouquets, sentimental cards, and—if you’re really behind—brunch reservations at her favorite local spot. If you’re still searching for a table, we recommend snagging seats for the first-ever brunch service at popular Italian restaurant Orto, indulging in a three-course mid-morning meal at Minnow, or any of the other Sunday specials listed in our roundup of mom-worthy spots.

DRINK

May 11: Classy Trashy Birthday Bashy

Peabody Heights Brewery, 401 E. 30th St. 7-10 p.m. $35-40.

It’s been five years since Mr. Trash Wheel officially started churning trash from the Jones Falls, and we can barely remember what Baltimore was like before his googly eyes could be seen on every T-shirt, sticker, and plush toy. To celebrate the milestone birthday, Peabody Heights Brewery is throwing an all-out bash with live music, trash-themed games, and, of course, all-you-can-drink beer. Be one of the first fans to try the latest beer release in collaboration with the Healthy Harbor Initiative, Mr. Trash Wheel’s Solar Power Sour. And be sure to recycle the can!

SEE

May 8-12: Maryland Film Festival

Station North Arts & Entertainment District. Times vary. $8-450.

Baltimore might not be as glamorous as Hollywood, but according to film critic Richard Brody, it becomes the “center of cinematic gravity” each year during this five-day film celebration. Whether you’re a casual moviegoer or a full-blown cinephile, take advantage of this opportunity to watch more than 100 shorts, features, and documentaries, as well as attend Q&A sessions and workshops with acclaimed filmmakers at the historic Parkway Theatre in Station North. Pro tip: Make your movie-watching plan based on our reviews of eight of this year’s featured films.

HEAR

May 11: Welcome to Shakesville Saturday Morning Tunes

WTMD, 1 Olympic Place, Towson. 9-11 a.m. Free-$40.

Although the premiere of the Baltimore Rock Opera Society’s much-anticipated show Welcome to Shakesville is still two weeks away, the cast and crew will perform a sneak preview of the colorful opera for their toughest critics: local music-loving kids. With throwback nods to 1960s psychedelia, this puppet-filled performance will transport audiences of all ages to the magical world of Shakesville with tons of surf jams along the way. If dancing is not enough to tire out your little one, there will be bike rides by Race Pace Bicycles, a reading corner, and cake from Eddie’s of Roland Park to knock them out by noon.

DO

May 11: Remfest

Remington Ave. and 28th St. 12-9 p.m. Free.

Despite the smash-hit success of the first-ever RemFest, Remington-based businesses and neighbors are gunning to make this year’s festival even bigger and better. Along with more than 75 local artisan vendors, drool-worthy bites from area restaurants, and libations by Union Craft Brewing and R. Bar, the outdoor festival boasts a killer lineup of local acts that can’t be beat. Stake out a spot near the 27th Street stage to hear the likes of indie-pop stars Super City, soul sensation Brooks Long, singer-songwriter Bobbi Rush, pop-opera duo Outcalls, and be sure to stick around for an end-of-the-night Save Your Soul dance party with DJ Rob Macy.

When local artist Matt Muirhead finds a piece of casted-off art at a thrift store, he doesn’t see trash—he sees an opportunity to improve the piece and bring new life to it. So when he thought about what to add to a waterscape painting that he found at the Salvation Army in Cockeysville, he realized that Mr. Trash Wheel—the downtown water wheel that captures debris from the Jones Falls River—does the same thing for Baltimore’s waterways.

“I love the the idea that Mr. Trash Wheel stands between our civilization and nature,” says Muirhead. “He filters out all of the waste and helps keep nature in her pure state.”

It’s locals like Muirhead and the water wheels’ hordes of other adoring fans that inspired the first-ever Trash Wheel Fan Fest. After four years of people honoring the city’s googly-eyed mascots through songs, murals, beer, pledges to the Order Of The Wheel, plush toys, and everything in between, the trash-guzzling family is returning the love with a downright kooky night to remember.

“When people started getting tattoos of the trash wheels,” says Adam Lindquist, director of the Waterfront Partnership’s Healthy Harbor Initiative, “that’s when we said, ‘We need to do something to celebrate how amazing our fans are.’”

This Saturday at Peabody Heights Brewery, fans of all ages will pack the Abell taproom for a party filled with trash-tastic activities like a costume contest, a Jeopardy-style trivia show, and a mini-exhibit of fan art, featuring Muirhead’s “Guardian” painting. In between enjoying all-you-can-drink brews and singing along to the trash wheels’ theme song, attendees can walk through a museum made up of one-of-a-kind novelties like Mr. Trash Wheel’s first pair of googly eyes and some of its strangest snacks. (Spot the football that was taken from Mr. Trash Wheel’s belly and then signed by Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker.)

Since Peabody Heights started brewing its first of two trash wheel-inspired beers last year, it’s raised close to $40,000 for the Healthy Harbor Initiative through fundraisers and beer profits. Eddie O’Keefe, the marketing director of the brewery, says that, through Peabody Heights’ work with the Waterfront Partnership, he’s seen how passionate Baltimoreans are about advancing the health of the harbor.

“People from here really care about small businesses and they care about cleaning up the waterways,” he says. “They really want to see the city be the best it can be.”

Along with giving trash wheel devotees the chance to celebrate their fandom with others who share it, Lindquist says the fan fest is a way to thank the community that’s rallied behind the Waterfront Partnership and its message. Although it’s yet to be determined whether the Trash Wheel Fan Fest will become an annual affair, he says this is the kind of event that could only work in Baltimore.

“Baltimore has a great community that embraces kitsch and the sillier side of art,” Lindquist says. “It’s clear that there’s a culture and a place in this city for unique ideas.”

Baltimore was making a bad impression. John Kellett was sure of that. Walking to his job as the director of the Baltimore Maritime Museum, his path took him across the footbridge connecting Harbor East and Pier Six. And most days, the Jones Falls flowing underneath looked like a conveyor belt of trash, full of debris sucked downstream from the river’s 40-square-mile watershed.

As an environmental scientist, marine educator, shipwright, sailor, and general Chesapeake Bay-niac, Kellett knew better than most how fouled local waterways were. But it still pained him to see the region’s economic and cultural anchor so degraded. And he could tell that others noticed, too.

“Every day, I’d hear the tourists say, ‘Ugh, this harbor is full of trash. It’s disgusting,’” he recalls, now more than a decade removed from this galvanizing moment. “And I actually called the city and said, ‘We have to do something about this.’ And they said, ‘Well, we’re open to ideas.’”

In truth, the city was trying to do something. It’s just that its efforts weren’t particularly effective. A boom had been installed at the mouth of the Jones Falls to corral debris. But every time it rained, trash would overwhelm the boom and escape into the harbor. Once the trash was in the harbor, the city would sometimes send out trash-skimming boats. But these boats were able to gather only a small fraction of the trash at a time, and they required human operators, making them costly to run.

There had to be a better way, Kellett reasoned, so he began brainstorming. Then he hit upon an idea so simple that he couldn’t believe it hadn’t been tried before.

“All you really need to do is get the trash out of the water and put it somewhere where it can be transported,” he explains. “So it sort of dawned on me that we could use the flow of the river that brings the trash as the power to pick the trash out of the river. And that’s where the idea of the waterwheel came from.”

Twelve years and a few pairs of googly eyes later, Kellett’s crude waterwheel idea has begat three lean, green, trash-collecting machines known to Baltimoreans as Mr. Trash Wheel, Professor Trash Wheel, and Captain Trash Wheel. Stationed throughout the Inner Harbor at the outflows of the Jones Falls, Harris Creek, and a stream in Masonville Cove, respectively, these contraptions function much as Kellett envisioned: Booms funnel trash toward the “mouth” of the machine while the current, supplemented by solar-powered motors, turns a wheel. Power from the wheel then activates a conveyor belt, which, in turn, slowly lifts the trash out of the water and drops it into a dumpster. The trash is then transported by the city and burned in the incinerator, generating electricity. It’s remarkably low-tech—and remarkably effective. Collectively, the trash wheels have removed more than 859 tons of trash from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor since 2014.

But what Kellett couldn’t envision when he conceived of the trash wheels was just what a source of fascination they would become. Thanks to savvy marketing and the public’s hunger for environmental success stories, the machines have attracted the kind of following usually reserved for human celebrities—or at least Apple products.

Besides glowing coverage in outlets ranging from NPR and National Geographic to Business Insider and Gizmodo, the trash wheels have accrued tens of thousands of followers on their various social media accounts. Additionally, they have inspired two local beers, several novelty T-shirts (“Stay Trashy, Baltimore,” “Feel the Churn”), a holiday sweatshirt (“Trashing Through the Snow”), a theme song, and, as of this spring, an official do-gooding fan club (The Order of the Wheel). In short, they have become the region’s most unlikely aquatic icons since soft-shell crabs.

“It’s kind of become a national and international sensation, which is not what I expected,” admits Kellett, a 55-year-old father of two with a laconic drawl and steely blue eyes. “I thought, ‘Hey, we’re going to clean up Baltimore Harbor and try to make a difference right here.’ It’s sort of like, ‘Act locally, think globally’—although I wasn’t even thinking globally. I had global thinking thrust upon me.”

Most days, you can find John Kellett puttering around Locust Cove Marina, the tiny boatyard he and his wife, Pamela, co-own in Pasadena. Here, amongst the clutter of boats, trailers, and assorted spare parts, is the headquarters of Clearwater Mills, the company Kellett founded soon after his a-ha moment in 2006. These days, business is booming. There is talk of a fourth trash wheel for the city, to be stationed where the Gywnns Falls empties into the Middle Branch of the Patapsco. And beyond Baltimore, there are projects brewing in locales from New York City to Newport Beach, California.

But Kellett acknowledges that arriving at this point was not easy. After his initial flash of inspiration, he constructed a six-foot-long working model that he tested in the Inner Harbor. He invited employees from then-mayor Martin O’Malley’s office and the Department of Public Works out to see it, and they agreed it had potential.

“So it sort of dawned on me that we could use the flow of the river that brings the trash as the power to pick the trash out of the river.”

“They looked at it and said, ‘Yeah, it’s a pretty cool idea, but since it has never been done before, we don’t feel like we can finance an experiment,’” Kellett recalls. So Kellett went in search of funding, landing in front of Bob Embry, president of the Abell Foundation, the area’s largest private foundation with a focus on funding local projects. A meeting with Embry went well, although Kellett wasn’t so sure at first. “I thought he was thoroughly unimpressed, but, the next day, I got a call saying, ‘We’d like to work it out so we can finance your idea.’”

Behind his poker face, Embry says he saw the project as “an appealing experiment” with “the potential to be marketed to other cities.” He offered Kellett $375,000 to build a prototype with the agreement that, if it were successful, the city would purchase it and the Abell Foundation would recoup its investment.

Kellett and his business partner, Daniel Chase, built the first full-scale trash wheel in six months, producing a 32-foot-long contraption with the machine’s inner workings concealed underneath a shed-like structure.

It made its inauspicious debut in the Jones Falls in February 2008. “The prototype didn’t receive a tremendous amount of attention,” Kellett remembers. “People thought it was kind of interesting, but they didn’t think it was any big deal.”

Included in the not “any big deal” camp were some members of city government, who felt that the trash wheel was underperforming and unreliable. Kellett, meanwhile, argued it was performing admirably, given that it was handling approximately four times more trash than had been anticipated.

After eight months, the city relocated the trash wheel to the outflow of the Harris Creek in Canton—a move Kellett likened to putting it out to pasture—and a years-long tussle about its efficacy ensued.

Kellett refers to this time as “the lean years.” Still, he never lost faith in his invention. And he had some key allies in his corner.

Among those allies was the team at Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore, a nonprofit that promotes the Inner Harbor and its adjacent neighborhoods.

“They said, ‘This machine is doing a great job. We’ve never seen the harbor cleaner. We want a waterwheel back at Jones Falls,’” Kellett recalls. So in 2013, armed with lessons learned from the prototype and $750,000 in funding from various public and private sources—including Waterfront Partnership—Kellett and Chase set out to reinvent the trash wheel. (Waterfront Partnership owns and operates both Mr. Trash Wheel and Professor Trash Wheel. Captain Trash Wheel is owned and operated by the Maryland Port Administration.) They added more heft (wooden and plastic dock floats were replaced by steel pontoons), more solar panels (three panels ballooned to 30), and, with the help of Ziger/Snead Architects, adopted a sleeker, more eye-catching design. Gone was the Unabomber cabin-ish garden shed. The new model was all exoskeleton, a primitivism that somehow read as futuristic.

On May 9, 2014, the new-and-improved trash wheel went into the Jones Falls next to Pier Six. Two weeks later, it was famous.

Adam Lindquist just wanted to make a little video. As director of Waterfront Partnership’s Healthy Harbor Initiative, Lindquist leads efforts to make the Inner Harbor swimmable and fishable by 2020, and he wanted his family and friends to see his newest pollution-fighting tool. So on May 16, 2014, he climbed aboard the trash wheel and filmed a short clip of it in action.

“I put it up on my YouTube page, and over the course of a week, that video went to number one on Reddit and received over a million views,” Lindquist says, still incredulous four years later. “It was at that point that we realized that we need to do something more to capture the viral nature of the device.”

Waterfront Partnership solicited ideas from local marketing agencies. One firm, What Works, suggested anthropomorphizing the trash wheel and giving it a Twitter account. One of the company’s then-employees assumed the Mr. Trash Wheel persona, and on July 15, 2014, Mr. Trash Wheel sent his first tweet: “I love it when kayakers come visit me in the Harbor! Just don’t get too close or you could end up in my belly!” (Since 2015, Robyn Stegman has been the voice of Mr. Trash Wheel. She now voices Professor Trash Wheel, too.)

The feeds provide a steady stream of water quality factoids, silly memes (Mr. Trash Wheel wielded a lightsaber on Star Wars Day), and cheerfully irreverent asides (“Do people really still drink diet root beer? If you’re going to litter, please send something tastier.”)

And, occasionally, internet gold just falls into their laps.

Headlines ensued after the trash wheel picked up a live ball python in August 2015. A few months later, a drawing of the trash wheel sporting a pair of googly eyes proved so popular that Waterfront Partnership added the peepers to the actual machine. In 2017, inspired by the snake incident, Peabody Heights Brewery created Mr. Trash Wheel’s Lost Python Ale, with proceeds benefiting the Healthy Harbor Initiative.

On May 9, 2014, the new-and-improved trash wheel went into the Jones Falls next to Pier Six. Two weeks later, it was famous.

“We keep thinking, ‘Oh, we’ve got our 15 minutes of fame,’” says Kellett, “But we’ve had that like a dozen times. You never know where it’s going to come from.”

With each new round of publicity comes another chance to raise money, discourage pollution, and improve water quality.

Waterfront Partnership keeps a running tally of the debris collected by the wheels on its website. So far, the machines have munched more than 10 million cigarette butts, 796,214 polystyrene cups, and 852,261 chip bags—among other items.

Having such exact data has been useful for policymakers, says Del. Brooke Lierman, who represents much of waterfront Baltimore in the 46th District and has spent the past two legislative sessions championing a statewide ban of expanded polystyrene foam food containers. Though a statewide ban has yet to pass, Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, and Baltimore City have approved local bans.

“The trash wheels make understanding the amount of trash more accessible. . . . That is an important part of proving to skeptical policymakers that there’s a real need to act,” says Lierman.

Because the trash wheels are such effective anti-littering ambassadors, there is a small chance that they could one day render themselves obsolete. Until then though, Kellett and others are happy to have them.

“To see the trash come down the river . . . and realize that before this machine was in, that trash would have been scattered around the harbor,” Kellet says. “That’s really rewarding.”

Baltimore’s favorite trash wheel has it all: a daily diet of litter, a namesake beer from Peabody Heights Brewery, and now, a not-so-secret national society dedicated to ridding the world of trash.

Inspired by Mr. Trash Wheel—the downtown water wheel that captures debris from the Jones Falls River—and its thousands of internet fans, the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore has launched a social media campaign to muster grassroots environmental action. This March, with the help of grants from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Chesapeake Bay Trust, the Order of the Wheel was born.

The exclusive club comes with a fictional centuries-old backstory and benefits like a secret handshake, special merchandise, and quirky code names such as Garbage McTrashface and Barnacle Churnerton. But joining is not so easy; applicants have to be selected by a board of “Great Grand Wheelers” to become a pledge. Then, pledges have to complete five assigned tasks—like decorating oil receptacles and purging plasticware—and share their completed missions on social media with the hashtag #OrderOfTheWheel to be inducted as an official member. So far, there are more than 1,600 people pledging across the U.S.

Zoe Ubaldo, a special education teacher at Gilmor Elementary School in Sandtown-Winchester, pledged to learn more about local environmental issues, even encouraging her fourth and fifth grade students to get involved by collecting litter on school grounds. “I made it a game, where the more trash they picked up, the more playtime they got afterward,” she says. “They were annoyed with how much litter had accumulated, but they were excited to help clean up.”

After the induction ceremony this spring, members will act as ambassadors within their communities to create clean, trash-free environments. “After all,” says Allison Fomich, who is pledging to inspire eco-conscious habits in others, “our voices and efforts have more impact when we’re together.”

EC STRONG
This past Sunday, an estimated 8.4 inches of rain fell in less than three hours in Ellicott City, causing another devastating flood less than two years after another catastrophic storm left a path of local destruction in July 2016—then considered a one-in-a-thousand-year event. This time, the waters gutted businesses, submerged cars, and in some cases rose as high as the first-floor ceilings. One Maryland National Guardsman, Sgt. Eddison A. Hermond, lost his life while trying to rescue a local shopkeeper. Buildings are still being assessed for structural damage, but many residents and business owners have vowed to rebuild, as they did after the last storm. Fundraisers and donation drives are now being organized to help the town in its recovery. Located in a valley at the confluence of three substantial streams feeding into the Patapsco River, experts are now assessing the impact of development and climate change on this already flood-prone geography.

GOOD CATCH
In early May, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources released the results of the 2018 winter survey, which shows that the blue crab’s population remains stable. The overall population is down, with increased mortality for adult females due in part by a cold winter but remains near its long-term average. Meanwhile, the number of juveniles has increased by 34 percent. The study suggests that these numbers may lead to a slow start for the harvest in the spring and early summer months, followed by improvements later in the season.

SLIM PICKINGS
At the same time, the Maryland seafood industry has felt the ripple effects of the Trump administration’s immigration stance, with nearly half of the Eastern Shore’s crab-picking houses left with no workers to pick the meat. Since the 1980s, the seasonal workforce has largely consisted of Latin American women who arrive by the hundreds on guest work visas. This year, for the first time, those H-2B visas were awarded by lottery, compared to the traditional first-come, first-served basis, with federal labor officials receiving some 81,000 applications nationwide while only 33,000 were approved. In Maryland, at least 200 applications were denied. With the local crab season nearly two months underway, it is unclear what impact this could have on prices. Some within the industry fear a sharp increase in picked meat prices, due to a decreased supply from the worker shortage, doubled with a decrease price for steamed crabs because of surplus of hard shells that would have otherwise been picked. According to Rep. Andy Harris, the Trump administration has agreed to approve more visas, but no update has been given at this time. Gov. Larry Hogan has requested the federal government take immediate action to increase the cap.

HAPPY SWIMMING
In late May, the Waterfront Partnership’s Healthy Harbor Initiative announced dramatic progress documented in an annual report on the Baltimore Harbor, making the nonprofit’s goal of a swimmable, fishable harbor by 2020 all the more realistic. Thirty-two out of 49 monitoring stations showed substantial improvement, including every stream, with parts of the Jones Falls now considered safe for swimming. They hope that a new $430 million infrastructure upgrade to reduce sewer overflows by 80 percent will also have a dramatic impact by its completion in 2020. An overhaul of the storm water system is also in the works, with an expected completion by 2021. In 2017, 150 tons less trash was collected in the harbor, and bacteria scores have shown signs of improvement as well.

AQUATIC TLC
On Thursday, the National Aquarium opened its new Animal Care and Rescue Center on East Fayette Street in Jonestown. Previously located in an anonymous Fells Point warehouse, the $20 million state-of-the-art facility will now be open for limited tours to the public. Starting this summer, visitors will be allowed a behind-the-scenes look at the aquarium’s 50,000-square-foot space that will provide animal care and veterinary services for up to 5,000 creatures, ranging from fish and sea turtles to stingrays and seals. New features include individually temperature-controlled tanks, specialized lighting that mimics natural sunrises and sunsets, and the ability to produce some 15,000 gallons of saltwater. The space will also be used to fabricate the aquarium’s intricate animal habitats.

SHELL GAME
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources and local scientists are working to bring freshwater mussels back to the state’s rivers and streams where the bivalves were once prolific along local waterways. These tiny filter-feeders have all but disappeared, due to pollution, runoff, dams, and the loss of host fish, but efforts are underway to propagate 10,000 baby Eastern Elliptio mussels to be planted in the Patapsco River. Once established, they can live for up to 20 or 30 years. As oysters are being used to help restore the Chesapeake Bay, scientists hope these native mussels will help clean the rebounding river, which runs from central Maryland to Baltimore before flowing into the estuary. Similarly, volunteers from The Great Baltimore Oyster Partnership planted more than 200,000 oysters this month along a protected reef near Fort Carroll on the Patapsco, part of its ongoing mission to plant 5 million oysters on by the year 2020.

FINDING FLIPPER
With increased sightings taking place along local waterways, researchers have confirmed that dolphins are now appearing in the Chesapeake Bay by the hundreds. While such reports are not new for the estuary, with records dating back to the 1800s, it is leading to increased efforts to track the sea mammals and study the role of improved water quality and rebounding fisheries. Last June, researchers launched the Chesapeake Dolphin Watch website for citizens to submit their sightings. They plan to release a mobile app version of the website in the future.

FORWARD THINKING
The Friends School of Baltimore has announced plans to start using 100 percent renewable energy starting by July 1, 2018. Using CleanChoice Energy, the Quaker school will now receive electricity from regional wind and solar farms, with the move being inspired in part by the upper school’s student-faculty Green Club. Committed to environmental stewardship, Friends was named an official Maryland Green School in 2017.

Adam Lindquist, director of the Waterfront Partnership’s Healthy Harbor Initiative, cautioned that one year’s data is not enough to make a trend. Still, he could not help but smile over the apparently dramatic progress—documented in today’s annual report of the Baltimore Harbor—the city appears to making in cleaning up its most treasured asset.

At the beginning of the decade, the nonprofit Waterfront Partnership set a goal of making the harbor swimmable and fishable by 2020. At the time, it seemed an impossible task—a literal pipe dream given the state of the city’s century-old underground sewage system.

“[Waterfront board member] Michael Hankin said he’s planning to jump in right outside here,” Lindquist said after the release of 2018 report in Fells Point this morning. “We may need to find a bigger location for a public swim if things keep heading in this direction.

“There is phenomenal improvement,” Lindquist added. “Thirty-two out of 49 monitoring stations showed improvement, including every stream. There are parts of the Jones Falls [a key Inner Harbor feeder stream] that previously received a ‘0,’ in terms of meeting fecal bacteria standards for safe swimming, that met those standards 100 percent of the time in 2017.”

Lindquist and state officials on hand pointed to the start of a new $430 million infrastructure effort that will eventually reduce sewer overflows by 80 percent—the target for completion is 2020—as well numerous volunteer-intensive restoration projects around Baltimore’s harbor and streams. The target of the $430 million Back River Waste Water Treatment project is a 10-mile backup of raw sewage, first reported in 2015, from Charles Village to the city’s treatment facility in eastern Baltimore County.

State delegate Brooke Lierman, a leading environmental advocate in Annapolis, praised local volunteer efforts—which include the restoration of the Gwynn Falls and Harlem Park bio-retention and asphalt removal projects—with a quote from The Lorax, the environmentally conscious Dr. Seuss character: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

She also touted the city’s recent ban on polystyrene foam, an effort, which she noted was led by city high school students and the youth group Baltimore Beyond Plastic.

Rudy Chow, director of the Baltimore Department of Public Works, said the city has been making significant progress in terms of repairs to the city’s storm water and sewage systems. Last year, the city finalized a renegotiation of an EPA consent decree order to overhaul its antiquated water sanitation infrastructure. “It was pushed off for decades, way too long,” said Chow, who has served as director since 2014. “It’s the prime reason water bills are now going up.”

The overhaul is projected to cost $2 billion when completed in 2031, but Phase I of the effort, repairing and relining the storm water pipes, is underway and expected to be done by 2021. Additional hydraulic improvements are planned after that. According to this year’s harbor water quality report, the number of city-resolved pollution investigations has doubled over the past three years. The 2016 Waterfront Partnership report gave the harbor’s today waters an “F” grade and streams a “D-.” This year’s report did not include grades as in the past, but instead offered more nuanced information.

Chow also pointed to the discovery and removal last year of an estimated 140-ton mass of congealed fat, oil, and trash under midtown—dubbed the “fatberg”—which was causing sewer overflows in the area, as a step in the direction. Education efforts have begun to inform local restaurants and other businesses about prevention

The top five takeaways from Harbor Heartbeat Report, from the Waterfront Partnership release:

1. Fecal bacteria levels in Baltimore’s streams and harbor, monitored by Blue Water Baltimore, substantially improved in 2017. Sewer repairs in the City and County are ongoing and there has been a 20 percent reduction in the number of reported sewer overflows since 2015.

2. Although data shows improved bacteria scores, Waterfront Partnership cannot state what specific actions caused these improvements. More years of data are needed to determine if changes are part of a larger trend.

3. Less trash—150 tons less—was collected from the Harbor in 2017, compared in 2016, which advocates attribute to less rainfall as well as the City’s decision to provide trash cans to all residents and increase street sweeping.

4. Conductivity in the streams continues to be the worst performing indicator with a score of eight percent. Salts and other pollutants are carried into our streams when it rains, raising the conductivity to unsafe levels for fish and other wildlife.

5. Over the last four years, Baltimore City DPW found and repaired 279 pollution sources in the city’s sewer and storm pipes and more than doubled its capacity to perform pollution investigations.

*The third annual Baltimore Floatilla, a fundraiser for the Waterfront Partnership’s Healthy Harbor Initiative, is slated for June 9 at Canton Waterfront Park.

On Monday, a coalition of Chesapeake Bay advocates launched a lofty new commitment: adding 10 billion new oysters to the Chesapeake Bay by 2025.

Local oyster populations are currently said to be less than 1 percent of their historic peak, which some estimate included as many as one trillion oysters only 150 years ago. Numbers started to plummet in the late 1800s, with current estimates as low as one billion, due in part to overharvesting, habitat loss, pollution, and disease.

In a Herculean effort, the Chesapeake 10 Billion Oysters Partnership—made up of some 20 nonprofits, scientific organizations, community groups, and oystermen from Maryland and Virginia—wants to bring the oyster back, and, in doing so, the health of the Chesapeake Bay.

“As a bay community, we have come a long way—oysters are doing much better, but they’re nowhere near where they could be,” says Will Baker, president of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF). “We hope that setting a numeric goal can have a real effect on accelerating that restoration.”

Over the course of the next seven years, this collaborative initiative has three priorities: restore oyster sanctuaries, or traditional oyster reefs restricted from harvest; promote science-based fishery management, as more than 75 percent of the bay’s oyster bottom is open to commercial fishing; and increase oyster aquaculture, a fast-growing industry that involves cultivating seafood in an aquatic environment.

The end-goals start with water quality. In recent years, the Chesapeake Bay has shown signs of improved health, including increased water clarity and the resurgence of underwater grasses, but it still earns a C on its annual environmental report card. One mature oyster can filter as much as 50 gallons of water each day, with local lore claiming that the historic bivalves were once able to filter the entire 18-trillion-gallon estuary in as little as one week. Ten billion oysters could eventually mean as much as 500 billion gallons every 24 hours.

Oyster restoration is nothing new for the Chesapeake Bay, where efforts have been in place for decades and some 1 billion spat, or baby oysters, are now planted each year. Currently, the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement has been working since 2014 to restore and protect oyster sanctuaries in 10 regional tributaries by the same deadline of 2025. In Baltimore, the CBF and Waterfront Partnership’s Great Baltimore Oyster Partnership are growing an annual 250,000 oysters in five oyster gardens around the harbor that are then transferred to an oyster sanctuary on the Patapsco River.

In addition to water quality, oyster reefs act as habitat for small fish, invertebrates, as well as their own young. Oyster larvae latch onto these hardy, intricate structures, often made up of the shells of adult oysters, where they can then safely grow. Through organizations like the Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP), oyster shells are now being regularly recycled throughout the region to help rebuild depleted reefs, with each bushel of shell able to produce some 6,000 baby oysters. One such location is at the National Aquarium, where an artificial reef sits near Pier 3.

Reefs also help protect shorelines, acting as a buffer from inclement or, these days, extreme weather. After Hurricane Sandy, the state of New York approved a $60-million restoration project to add oyster beds back into the New York City harbor, where some 200,000 acres of reef once protected against erosion, storm damage, and flooding. The city’s similar Billion Oyster Project also has the goal of adding one billion oysters to the waters by 2035. “Oysters are increasingly being seen as a relatively inexpensive way to gird the environment against natural catastrophes which we know are coming with climate change,” says Rona Kobell, science writer for the Maryland Sea Grant and former reporter for the Chesapeake Bay Journal where she covered the oyster industry. “You can also use volunteers and make it an educational tool.”

Beyond environmental impacts, another goal of the 10 Billion Oysters Partnership is to engage new constituencies and inspire government action in uncertain political times. “We realistically believe this is an attainable goal,” says Baker, noting that a formal population study won’t be complete until the end of the year, “but there’s one wild card, and that’s federal funding.”

The Trump Administration has proposed budget cuts that would dramatically impact restoration efforts on the Chesapeake Bay, including eliminating the Environmental Protection Agency’s funding for cleanup efforts via the Chesapeake Bay Program, as well as support for other critical programs led by the Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), like the Sea Grant. “One of the big parts of this partnership will be lobbying for federal and state money,” says Baker. “We’re very concerned that those resources will not be available without a real fight.”

The coalition also hopes to drive economic growth throughout the watershed. Maryland and Virginia have lost more than $4 billion in the last three decades due to oyster population decline. “More oysters are going to mean more jobs,” says Baker. “Jobs occur at every level of the species. The wild harvest clearly involves commercial watermen who for centuries have caught oysters along the Chesapeake Bay. Those are really important jobs, especially for local, rural communities. But that only tells part of the story. Once an oyster hits the dock, it takes many people to process, ship, and prepare it, so there are economic multipliers that people don’t often think of.”

The same notion applies to oyster aquaculture, commonly referred to as oyster farming, which raises native Eastern, or crassotrea virginica, oysters around the bay. As the wild harvest continues to struggle, oyster farming has grown into a $30-million industry. Virginia leads the charge, having adopted the practice as far back as the 19th century. Maryland, on the other hand, took until 2009 to fully support it across the state, but since 2012, the number of aquaculture leases has jumped by 1,000 percent.

As the owner of the Orchard Point Oyster Company on the Eastern Shore, Scott Budden sees the coalition’s large network as a major advantage for both new and established oyster farmers. “For new growers, the coalition provides a big resource,” he says, as starting an oyster farm requires not only financial capital but also technical know-how and state approval. “For those of us who have been around a little while, it gives us political clout. There’s currently no unified shellfish growers’ association in Maryland, so we don’t have a political arm to lean on when things come through Annapolis that are potentially detrimental to our industry.” 

With previously individual efforts uniting for this common goal, it’s a matter of strength in numbers, with each of the 20 partners able to benefit from the other, be it a local university, NGO, or federal agency—a recreational oyster gardener, professional oyster farmer, or traditional waterman. There has long been a contentious, somewhat territorial relationship between the latter two, but programs like OysterFutures, run by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) and the likes of waterman-turned-aquaculturist Johnny Shockley of Hoopers Island Oyster Company, have been working to bring those communities together and encourage both to succeed.

“The goal here is to build oyster populations, increase their ecological role in the sanctuaries, and really promote and develop aquaculture into its full potential,” says Donald Boesch, president emeritus of UMCES and one of the partnership’s scientific advisors, “but also to use good science to find more sustainable ways to allow a public fishery.”

But the question remains: Is this ambitious objective even realistic? “What makes this partnership unique is the audacity of the number,” says John Racanelli, CEO of the National Aquarium. “Growing our oyster population tenfold by 2025 is a bold, yet attainable goal.”

Boesch points to the UMCES-run Horn Point Laboratory oyster hatchery on the Eastern Shore, where nearly 2 billion spat-on-shell are now produced each year. “My colleagues and I looked at this and said, ‘Why limit it to 10 billion?’”

And if they hit that mark before their deadline? “You can rest assured,” says Baker, “we’re going to set a higher goal and keep on working.” 

Beginning on January 1, 2018, visitors to Fells Point will notice cleaner streets, security patrol, and a few newly planted shrubs as they stroll down Broadway. As a part of Waterfront Partnership’s mission to create a “cleaner, greener future” for Baltimore, it has expanded its reach to one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods.

Waterfront Management Authority (WMA)—a business improvement district under the umbrella of Waterfront Partnership—provides maintenance, beautification, and security waterfront locations Harbor East, Harbor Point, and the Inner Harbor and will now do the same for Fells Point. 

“This big expansion really addresses some of the root problems in Fells Point, like safety and cleanliness,” said Nick Johnson, president of Fells Point Main Street Association (FPMSA) and owner of Su Casa. “It demonstrates that the neighborhood is headed in a new direction.”

About a year ago, Fells Point business leaders initially wanted to develop a plan to address the rising concerns. But they knew the issues were too big to tackle without outside assistance. 

“We needed to join and work with the local government to get where we wanted to be,” said Kelley Heuisler, owner of Poppy & Stella and president of Fells Point District. “It’s been proven that, in Baltimore, having these private-public partnerships is successful. It is a way to really expand upon the services individual communities need and Fells Point is certainly no exception to that.”

After vetting all possible options, FPMSA decided that working with Waterfront Partnership made the most sense—citing the success of WMA’s placement in Harbor East and Harbor Point. 

In order to make the expansion possible, Councilman Zeke Cohen and Councilman Eric Costello introduced a bill to the city council in May, which would allow WMA to expand its boundaries to include commercial properties in Fells Point. 

After the required hearings, the bill was passed and signed by Mayor Catherine Pugh in August and, then, 58 percent of Fells Point property owners needed to agree on the expansion. With 79 percent of the votes in support, Waterfront Partnership was able to move forward with the plan.

Although the majority of business and property owners in Fells Point support the expansion, the increase in annual tax bills was a factor for the opposition. Johnson estimates that the taxes for Su Casa may increase to roughly $2500 a year, but sees it as an investment for the long term.

“No one likes to have taxes or fees imposed,” said Waterfront Partnership executive director Laurie Schwartz. “At the end of the day, I believe the owners saw that the services they receive are well worth the amount they’ll pay. They’ll need the additional services to remain a competitive neighborhood in the city.”

Some business owners also believe that the city should be responsible for providing a safe, clean place for residents to visit and seeking outside sources to fulfill those needs should not be necessary.

“You can’t argue with that—it’s absolutely, 100-percent true,” Johnson said. “Yes, we shouldn’t have to pay above and beyond what we are already paying in taxes, but we have to think of it as an investment in our neighborhood.”

Although the expansion is focused on the commercial portion of Fells Point, some residents with homes within neighborhood boundaries will benefit from the improvements. Schwartz said that some have even gone so far as to call Waterfront Partnership to offer financial contributions for the expansion.

“This expansion is about giving the people that come a better experience,” Heuisler said. “We’re all very excited about what this means overall for Fells Point—it’s going to be huge.”

Lost Python Ale is a slow sipper, clocking it at just 4.5 percent ABV, with a blend of hops that gives off lemon-lime and stone fruit flavors. The beer was brewed earlier this week and will debut at an Earth Day event at Peabody Heights on April 22.

“After a hard day of cleaning up a stream or gardening oysters, this is just the kind of beer I want to drink while kicking back with my volunteers,” Lindquist says. “And then recycling the cans, of course.”

In fact, the decision to put the beers in environmental-friendly cans was intentional, O’Keefe explains. He elaborates by saying that, aside from being a contract brewery for start-ups, Peabody Heights has made it its mission to give back to the community, raising nearly $100,000 for nonprofits last year alone.

“Most of our proceeds for this upcoming event will go to the Healthy Harbor,” O’Keefe says. “Long before the Trash Wheel came along, they’ve been working to improve the the waterfront. We are really proud of this town and the harbor is an incredibly important part of that.”

As for Mr. Trash Wheel himself, who now has more than 10,000 followers on Twitter, he couldn’t be more excited to have a beer named after his “one and only pet.” Lindquist said he wouldn’t rule out creating something similar for his counterpart, Professor Trash Wheel, down the line and that people’s interest in the water wheels has been really inspiring.

“Many things came together to make Mr. Trash Wheel a success,” Lindquist says. “It’s not a computer rendering that people will have to wait 10 years to see. Day one it stopped trash from floating in the harbor. And people can see that. Plus, humor is compelling. That is what has engaged so many people to care about activism.”

O’Keefe echoes the environmental sentiment and adds: “Anything with googly eyes works for me.”

FAMILY FRIGHTS

WITCHES & WIZARDS WEEKEND
10/22-10/23: Take the kids to this Halloween celebration featuring potion-making, wand-decorating, and a Wizard Show in the roundhouse. B&O Railroad Museum, 901 W. Pratt St., 410-752-2490

ZOO BOO
10/28-30: Costumes are encouraged for treat-or-treating, carnival fun, and contests at the zoo. The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, 1876 Mansion House Drive, 410-396-7102

GREAT LANTERN PARADE NIGHT
10/29: Follow the bright lights of the 17th lantern parade through the rolling hills of Patterson Park. Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave., 410-276-1651

SPOOKY SCIENCE
10/29: Make your own slime, carve your own pumpkin, and decorate trick-or-treat bags with activities, crafts, and demonstrations. Maryland Science Center, 601 Light St., 410-685-5225

HEATHER L. HURD 5K & TRICK OR TREAT WALK
10/29: Adults and kids alike can take part in this benefit run/walk with face painting and activities for the kids. Harford Community College, 401 Thomas Run Road, Bel Air, 443-412-2000

KIDSPEACE TRICK OR TROT
10/29: Don your orange and black for this seventh annual 5K run or 1K walk through the Inner Harbor to the baseball field. Oriole Park at Camden Yards, 333 W. Camden St.

FALL-O-WEEN FAMILY FESTIVAL
10/29: Bring your mini mummies and witches for face-painting, activities, and treats at the museum. Port Discovery, 35 Market Place, 410-727-8120

LANTERN NIGHT
10/29: Show up in costume to receive half-priced admission to this family-friendly celebration featuring glowing antique lamps and lanterns, and stories from actors in period attire.The Fire Museum of Maryland, 1301 York Road, Lutherville, 410-321-7500

TRICK OR TREAT AT THE MARKET
10/29: Bring the family to sit-in on cooking tutorials led by Charm City’s own Chef Egg, dance to the steel drum sounds of Orlando Phillips, and gather treats from the merchants of Lexington Market at this second annual soiree. Lexington Market, 400 W. Lexington St., 410-685-6169

TRICK-OR-TREAT AT THE SQUARE
10/30: With pillow cases and plastic jack-o-lanterns in tow, round up the kids and head to Belvedere Square to receive treats from all of the merchants, partake in a “Thriller” dance tutorial, and see which outfit reigns supreme in the annual costume contest. 540 E. Belvedere Ave., 410-464-9773

SPIRITED SOIREES

PUMPKINFEST AT VICTORIA GASTRO PUB
10/10-10/11: Sip flights of local pumpkin beers paired with fall-inspired game dishes from executive chef Chad Wells at this Halloween-themed tasting event. 8201 Snowden River Parkway, 410-750-1880

FRIGHT NIGHT
10/20: Join the Stoop Storytellers for tales of nightmares, phobias, and old-fashion ghosts, alongside cocktails and karaoke. Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave., 410-276-1651

FEDERAL HILL-O-WEEN
10/29: Embark on this creepy crawl around Federal Hill to take advantage of devilish drink deals including $3 Miller Lites, $4 Blue Moons, and $4 Leinenkugel’s Harvest Patch Shandy’s at more than 10 participating spots. Registration at Mother’s, 1113 S. Charles St., 410-244-8686

SAINTS & SINNERS BLOCK PARTY
10/29: Show off your costume and stroll around O’Donnell Square at this annual moonlit meet up, where bars like Looney’s, El Bufalo, and Claddagh Pub will feature festive drink specials. Registration at Portside Tavern 2821 O’Donnell St., 410-522-7678

HALLOWEEN 2016: DEAD OR ALIVE
10/29: Cue the fog machine—the mainstage dance floor at Power Plant Live is transforming into a full-on tombstone graveyard in honor of the haunted holiday.Get down to the live sounds of DJ Janko and DJ Sal Flip all night long, while entering to win cash prizes in the costume contest. Power Plant Live, 34 Market Place, 410-727-5483

HALLOWEEN PARTY AT THE BREWER’S ART
10/29: Show up in costume to enter to win prizes and sip drink specials, like $3.75 craft drafts, at The Brewer’s Art’s annual basement bash. 1106 N. Charles St., 410-547-6925

SPOOKY SIGHTS

BALTIMORE BIKE PARTY: HALLOWEEN RIDE
10/28: Suit up in your Halloween best to join hundreds of other local cyclists on this annual glow-in-the-dark ride, complete with candy, costumes, and a post-ride party with plenty of Heavy Seas beer to go around. Ride departs from St. Mary’s Park, 600 N. Paca St.

MICA HAUNTED HOUSE: TIMESTREAM
10/20-10/22: MICA’s annual student-run haunted house is back with another eerie experience that is guaranteed to give you goosebumps. Take a walk around this year’s time travel-themed production to catch a glimpse of strobe lights, fog machines, and other mind-altering mischief. 1601 W. Mount Royal Ave.

AVAM FREE FALL HALLOWEEN CELEBRATION
10/27: Create a DIY lantern, embark on a glow-in-the-dark bicycle ride around Federal Hill, and kick back under the stars to enjoy a special screening of Young Frankenstein at the AVAM’s annual free event. 800 Key Highway, 410-244-1900

FELLS POINT GHOST TOURS
TO 11/22: Apparitions abound on this walking tour of historic Fells Point. Stop by a number of supernatural sites while learning about the neighborhood’s history as a rowdy seaport town along the way. Tours depart from Max’s Taphouse, 735 S. Broadway.

MIDNIGHT MUSIC

ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW
10/27-31: Head to the Motor House for eight performances of this cult classic musical. 120 W. North Ave., 410-637-8300

SINATRA 101
10/28: Dress in your favorite Sinatra-era getup and snap along to Ol’ Blue Eyes classics at this special pre-Halloween show featuring Baltimore native Angelo Divino. Cabaret at Germano’s Piattini, 300 S. High St., 410-752-4515

WITCHES, WIZARDS, GHOSTS AND GOBLINS
10/29: Celebrate Halloween with the spooky sounds of Fantasia-famous Night on Bald Mountain and the score of Harry Potter. Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St., 410-783-8000

THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS
10/29-30: The BSO performs a live score alongside a screening of Tim Burton’s cult classic, holiday-clashing film. Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St., 410-783-8000

PUMPKIN PARTIES

MARYLAND PUMPKIN FESTIVAL
10/8-9: Don’t miss this giant fall fiesta in Frederick with a corn maze, farm animals, hayrides, and all things pumpkin. Summers Farm, 5620 Butterfly Lane, 301-620-9316

PUMPKINFEST
10/15: Bring the family for pumpkin painting, sack races, hayrides, and more in Owings Mills. Irvine Nature Center, 11201 Garrison Forest Road, Owings Mills, 443-738-9200

FAMILY & FRIENDS PUMPKIN CARVING NIGHT
10/19-10/20: Watch
your little witches and warlocks learn how to carve pumpkins like a pro
at this event featuring candy-cornhole and a caramel apple fondue bar.
Adult activities will include boozy apple-bobbing and bottomless hot
toddies.
Das Bier Haus, 1542 Light St., 443-708-8854

HARBOR HARVEST
10/22: Celebrate fall with a family fun day of pumpkin patches, pumpkin decorating, face painting, and a petting zoo. West Shore Park, 401 Light St., 410-779-4700

WESTMINSTER HALLOWEEN PARADE
10/22: Head to Carroll County for this annual Halloween parade and town-wide celebration. East Main St., Downtown Westminster, 410-751-5501

Sharpen your skates and tighten the laces, Baltimore’s Inner Harbor ice rink is officially open for the season.

The new ice rink opened Friday in its new location at the top of the Inner Harbor Amphitheater, providing this year’s patrons with waterfront views overlooking the harbor. Thanks to the slight change in venue (last year’s rink was located across the street at McKeldin Square) there’s more space to skate with 6,000 square feet of ice.

With a bigger area to accommodate skaters and a new location more accessible to foot traffic, Waterfront Partnership hopes the new rink will attract even more visitors.

“In 2014, we welcomed over 20,000 people and saw marriage proposals, appearances from Santa and Navy midshipmen, Special Olympics activities and lots more. We look forward to welcoming even more visitors to the Waterfront this year,” said Laurie Schwartz, president of Waterfront Partnership.

Plenty of holiday-themed events and programs are planned throughout the season, including Costume Skates, Frost Fest, Pajama Skate, and SkateFest, benefitting Special Olympics Maryland. Visitors can find a full lineup of events and details on discounts, parking, skates, and more on the rink’s website.

The rink will remain open through Monday, January 18. Skates are available to rent on site for $4 and season passes are also available. Open hours are Mondays, 3:00-7:00 p.m.; Tuesdays through Thursdays, 3:00-8:00 p.m.; Saturdays, 11:00 a.m.–11:00 p.m.; and Sundays, 11:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m.

Walk past the Washington Monument on a Saturday morning and you’ll see a group practicing yoga on the grass of East Mt. Vernon Place. The weekly class is one in a selection of free group fitness activities, like swing dance and African line dancing, sponsored by the Mount Vernon Place Conservancy to encourage fitness and show off the neighborhood.

While group fitness classes at gyms can be expensive and intimidating, free group activities tend to appeal to a wide range of fitness levels.

“The instructors are very attuned to tailoring the class to meet the participants’ needs,” says Mount Vernon Place Conservancy’s administrator Cathy Rosenbaum. “The yoga instructor also accommodates those with physical limitations and provides alternate poses to meet their needs.”

Other neighborhoods are catching onto the free summer activity trend. With the annual Waterfront Wellness Series, Inner Harbor’s Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore provides free group classes taught by well-known Baltimore studios (think Charm City Yoga, MAC, and Canton Club) four days a week.

“Waterfront Wellness began in 2012 as an initiative to make fitness accessible to everyone, especially those who may not be able to afford an expensive gym membership,” says Laurie Schwartz, president of Waterfront Partnership.

Want to burn calories while enjoying the fresh air even during the winter months? November Project (NP)—a movement that started in Boston and now operates in various cities across the US—meets year-round for early-morning workouts in Federal Hill and Patterson Park.

“I am not a gym person. I enjoy working out outdoors,” says Sam Gutner, a nurse and member of NP. “We want people to take the headphones out, put the phones down, and come enjoy their city together,” says Nick Rodricks, an NP group leader. “We believe that if people want to step up, make a change, and try something fun, they should never be impeded by the cost or accessibility.”

If you find yourself—like most shopping malls, drug stores, and Starbucks—already over Thanksgiving and eager to skip straight to snowmen and hot chocolate, then you’re in luck. Here are nine early holiday happenings to get you that festive fix. 

THE POLAR EXPRESS IN 4-D
NOV. 14-JAN. 4, 2015: National Aquarium, 501 E. Pratt St. Showtimes vary. $5-35. 410-576-3800. This festive film goes 4-D with special effects and sensory details like mist, wind, and the smell of hot chocolate.

WINDOW WONDERLAND
NOV. 19: Harbor East. 5:30-8:30 p.m. Free. The unveiling event for this month-long holiday arts exhibit features seasonal storefronts decorated by local artists, plus carolers, stilt walkers, acrobats, and refreshments.

INNER HARBOR ICE SKATING
NOV. 21-JAN. 19: Inner Harbor Ice Rink, McKeldin Sq. Open daily. Times subject to change. $7-12. 443-743-3306. For the first time in a decade, ice skating returns to the Inner Harbor with this seasonal, outdoor rink, so grab a sweater (and your beau) and take advantage while it lasts.

CHRISTMAS VILLAGE IN BALTIMORE
NOV. 27-DEC. 24: West Shore Park, 501 Light St. Sun.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Free-$5. 443-760-0686. This outdoor German Christmas market boasts 45 vendors of arts, crafts, and goods, plus a Bavarian beer garden for brews, bratwurst, and mulled wine. 

THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA CHRISTMAS SHOW
NOV. 28: Weinberg Center for the Arts, 20 W. Patrick St., Frederick. 8 p.m. $20-30. 301-600-2828. The Grammy-winning Blind Boys of Alabama perform their creative take on classic holiday hits. 

25TH ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF TREES
NOV. 28-30: Maryland State Fairgrounds, 2200 York Rd., Timonium. Fri.-Sat. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Sun. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Free-$13. 443-923-7300. This holiday extravaganza includes gingerbread towns, toy trains, live music, festive food, and over 100 craft boutiques.

HOLIDAY FESTIVAL OF TRAINS AND TOYS
NOV. 28-JAN. 25, 2015: B&O Railroad Museum at Ellicott City Station, 2711 Maryland Ave., Ellicott City. Wed.-Sun. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Free-$16. 410-461-1945. For post-Thanksgiving family fun, head to the B&O Museum for its annual holiday celebration of toy trains and model railroads. 

A CHRISTMAS CAROL
NOV. 29-DEC. 23: Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, 7 S. Calvert St. Thurs.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 & 7 p.m. $15-48. 410-244-8570. Kick off the holiday season with this Charles Dickens classic. Set in 19th-century Baltimore, the play gets a Charm City twist and features a cast of local ghosts. 

50K

Pounds of trash that the Waterfront Partnership’s new solar-powered wheel is able to remove from the Inner Harbor per day.

1788

Year that masonry company Spectra Group Cos. was founded, making it the longest family-run business in town, according to the Baltimore Business Journal.

147

Number of rooms at the Radisson Hotel at Cross Keys that were completely updated, thanks to the hotel’s multimillion dollar renovation.

$123

Cost, in millions, of a new life sciences building at UMBC, to be completed by March 2019.