Baltimore: Post-Holiday Adventures

Fun for Grinches (and Non-Grinches) in Charm City

By Quail Bell Social Butterfly
QuailBellMagazine.com

Let's be real: Not everyone's gung-ho about the holidays. And sometimes even the most sociable of us butterflies just want the parties to die down. It'd be nice to kick off the red velvet dress and matching heels and just lounge around in reg clothes on a Saturday night. Putting up the Christmas tree is such a hassle. Buying gifts for everyone? What's the point if half of them will end up in a Salvation Army donation bin within weeks? Caroling--are you kidding? Grinchy Mr. Grincherson here and not ashamed to admit it. It's SO tempting to just daydream about post-holiday bliss. THANK EVERYTHING THAT IS HOLY (and unholy) that there's a lot of it to be had in the ever charming Charm City not too long after the tinsel comes down. Examples, snatched with permission from Baltimore.org, the city's offish tourism site, in a kinda curated way:

Roads to Rails: Early Railroading Month
B&O Railroad Museum
January 2-31, 2014

Join the B&O Railroad Museum as it celebrates the birth and development of railroading from its inception in 1827 to 1860. Learn how the B&O Railroad overcame incredible physical and technological challenges to become an early success story during America's transportation revolution and why it was widely known as "the Railroad University of the United States." Programs will highlight the role of the B&O during this transformative period and feature the Museum's one-of-a-kind collection of early 19th century locomotives. Borail.org


Absolutely Febulous
Citywide
February 14-23, 2014

Hibernation is out and celebration is in this winter in Baltimore. Visit Baltimore and the city’s tourism partners are teaming up to combine the great offers of Hotel Week, Restaurant Week and Museum Week into more than a week of savings. Look for money-saving hotel packages, fixed price menus at a host of restaurants and special offers and programs at museums and attractions. Baltimore.org
 
2014 CAA Men’s Basketball Championship
Baltimore Arena
March 7-10, 2014

The road to March Madness starts in Baltimore with 9 games, 8 teams in 4 days! Baltimore will crown another champion when the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Men's Basketball Championship takes place at the Baltimore Arena. The win-or-go-home event will crown one champion who will represent the CAA as its automatic qualifier to the NCAA Championship and the Big Dance. CAASports.com
 
The Amazing Johnny Eck
Maryland Institute College of Art
December 13, 2013-March 16, 2014

The Maryland Institute College of Art will present a never-before-seen exhibition of personal objects, artifacts and artworks by sideshow performer Johnny Eck (1911–1991), one of Baltimore’s most famous citizens. Perhaps best known for his role as “the half-man” in Tod Browning’s film Freaks (1932), Eck later achieved worldwide fame as Robert Ripley’s “most remarkable man alive” and was a skilled performer, artist, actor, magician, puppeteer and woodcarver, amassing a cult following that exists to this day. The exhibition is the first ever of its size, showing hundreds of Eck’s works on paper, sculptures, drawings and paintings—including painted screens, a Baltimore folk art tradition. Mica.edu
 
Milestones: African Americans in Comics, Pop Culture, and Beyond
Geppi’s Entertainment Museum
December 14, 2013-April 2014

Milestones: African Americans in Comics, Pop Culture and Beyond showcases the vast talent and wonderful innovation that came from or was influenced by African Americans, including the important contributions of publishing executives at companies such as Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics and Marvel Comics. This special exhibit will embrace the totality of Black comics. With a significant focus on Black creators and their art, the exhibit will pull together experts, essayists, filmmakers and creators from inside and outside the world of comic books to fully explore the successes, triumphs, failures and expectations for the future of this vital component of our national fabric. GeppisMuseum.com
 
German Expressionism
Baltimore Museum of Art
January 29-October 2014

More than 30 vivid paintings, drawings, prints, watercolors, and sculpture present an overview of the revolutionary art movement that flourished in Germany during the first three decades of the 20th century. Artbma.org

 
Designed for Flowers: Contemporary Japanese Ceramics
The Walters Art Museum
February 23-May 11, 2014

The Japanese art of flower arranging, or ikebana, has inspired the creation of extraordinary ceramic containers. This exhibition outlines the history of some of Japan’s major schools of ikebana and displays a wide variety of contemporary ceramics created in harmony with the most modern floral conventions. TheWalters.org