Urban Discoveries Baltimore

Welcome to that magical time of year when the noun ‘holiday’ can be used as an adjective to modify any event, product, or activity, regardless of its relevance to any historical or current holy day. It may not feel much like December––so much as an interminable pre-dawn shower with no hot water when the power’s out––but I’ll help get you into a holiday mood (see?) with a few timely recommendations:

1.    Christ Lutheran Church in the Inner Harbor (701 S. Charles Street) continues its Bach concert series with a performance on Sunday, December 6 at 4:00 p.m. The piece of the day will be the Second Cantata from the Christmas Oratorio. The show is free. Besides, you look like you could use a little culture.

2.    The Central Branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Mount Vernon (400 Cathedral Street) is holding a massive used book sale this weekend from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. Hardbacks go for a fifty cents. That should give you some notion of the pricing. CDs and DVDs will also be sold. It is harder to think of an easier way to support a better cause in the next seventy-two hours. I’m going with this one.

3.    Miracle on 34th Street is, in addition to being the title of a celebrated and somewhat stale Christmas movie, a stubborn Hampden tradition. The residents of the strip of 34th street that runs from Chesnut Avenue to Keswick Road have for the past sixty-odd years celebrated the coming of the Messiah with massive and garish displays of electrical might in their front yards. Think of the most excessive, parodic arrangement of Christmas lights you’ve ever encountered. Now imagine a laser pointer fired at the surface of the sun. That’s basically the difference between what you’re imagining and what this is. It is tasteless; it may even be sacrilegious. But it’s definitely worth the trip. The spectacle runs through December 31.

In what preliminary holiday rituals will you participate this week?

Posted in: Hampden, Inner Harbor, Mount Vernon, Things To Do This WeekendNo Comments