Sail Baltimore

Beer, Boats & Ballads

Phillips Foods World Headquarters was bustling with activity long after work hours on a Friday evening. The activity was also of the after-work sort - drinking, eating and listening to good music - all in the name of raising money for Sail Baltimore. This was the organization's fourth annual "Beer, Boats & Ballads" celebration, already a tradition for some of the guests. And everyone had his or her favorite part.

"Raw oysters. Cold and salty," said Jim Stevens, a University of Maryland accountant.

For others, it was the company.

"I see a lot of friends here I don't see all the time. Everybody meets and hangs out here," said Jenny Duffy, an office manager and medical assistant for Dr. Jeff Alexander.

"I'm seeing friends I haven't seen in eons," noted Ralph Rizzo, R&R Events president.

Sail Baltimore's executive director, Laura Stevenson, said she was particularly looking forward to the live auction later that evening, when some lucky person would win a ride on a tall ship in Europe next summer.

Tall ships are what the party is really all about, explained board president Paul Swenson.

"We try to raise enough money tonight to support the annual arrivals of tall ships that like to come to the Port of Baltimore," he said. "We had a great year this year. We had about 12 tall ships [come to visit]."

ONLINE

To read more of the interview with Luisa Bieri de Rios go to baltimoresun.com/drink