Eco-Festival 2008

An all electric car and its owner were just one of the green slights to see and experience at Baltimore's annual eco festival.

Earth Day 2008

One of my earliest memories of Earth Day was in kindergarten … Or was it first grade? Anyway, it was pretty close to the year the commemoration was begun, back in 1969. Nearly 40 years ago. I remember we planted seeds that grew into pretty red-orange flowers.

I will celebrate this year’s Earth Day at ReNew Organic Day Spa, a business that grew from an ideal. Everyone seems to be going green these days, but I know someone who’s lived it for years. And tonight my good friend Shelley Birnbaum, along with her business partner Sherrie Tennessee and their crew, are holding an open house at their 16-month-old “green” spa, located on The Avenue in Hampden. It’s a warm, inviting boutique day spa that caters to those who cater to the Earth. From their environmentally-friendly build-out and décor (cork flooring, low-toxic paints, etc…) to the organic products they have found, to their genuine commitment to being sustainable and encouraging other to do so, ReNew is a unique respite for the soul and a true friend of the Earth. And they’ve garnered much attention during their first year of operation. ReNew was named “Baltimore’s Best Green Spa” by Baltimore Magazine, and later “Baltimore’s Best Spa” by the City Paper!

Tonight, their signature warm tones and soft, relaxing music will be there, inviting new customers to schedule something special from their list of services. Plus, they will provide plenty of information on “going green” for the rest of us... In fact, ReNew is now purchasing wind power, so they’ll certainly be explaining that to us. There are no windmills in Hampden, but somehow they’re doing it!

And this evening they’ve partnered with The Wine Source, which will be providing samples of organic wines from their store nearby.

5th Annual CityLit Festival

Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library

10 Reasons for Pope Benedict to Visit Baltimore

I don't know why the Pope is by-passing us here Baltimore, which is so conveniently located between his stops in New York City and Washington, DC... After all, Baltimore is the birthplace of the Catholic church in America, and that alone should be enough to entice a Pope. Nevertheless, here are a few other reasons why his eminence should come to Charm City:

• To have a Phillips crab cake at Harborplace.
  
• To see tulips blooming at Sherwood Gardens, a short stroll from beloved Jesuit-run Loyola College.
  
• To see the ugly empty lot created by the Baltimore Archdiocese when they demolished the former Rochambeau Apartments on Charles Street, for a prayer garden yet to be built.
  
• To see the side of an ugly parking garage (once hidden by the Rochambeau) now exposed to the world.
  
• To visit the Basilica of the Assumption. (No joke here. They’re done a great job in restoring this architectural treasure.)
  
• To visit the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, the construction funds of which were bequeathed by a known racist upon his death in 1912.
  
• To pray for peace in our racially-divided, murder-strewn, fear-ravaged, drug-addicted streets… and in the tired hearts of everyone else still looking for answers.
  
• To ride the No. 8 MTA bus, where I thought I was about to experience the End of Days one fateful afternoon. (Who knew so much pestilence could exist in such a small space?)
  
• To pray for Baltimore City Public Schools, where many of the students may not know how to spell cathedral, let alone visit one… and where many teachers often face knife attacks and other horrors trying to do their jobs.
  
• To celebrate mass at Camden Yards.... Because The O’s need more help than the Nationals.