Artscape

As of 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, the westbound lane of U.S. 40 was closed at Johnnycake Road for emergency repair of a water main leak. City Public Works employees are trying to repair the leak in the 36-inch main without shutting off water service to nearby customers, spokesman Kurt Kocher said. Otherwise, no major accidents were reported on Maryland highways. A few streets around the Mount Royal cultural district in midtown Baltimore remain closed due to the Artscape festival last weekend and are expected to reopen by 4 p.m. today.

In Friday's paper, you wrote that various prizes "make Artscape a magnet for high-quality entries from artists across the region and raise the city's profile as a cultural destination. " Huh? I was at Artscape on Saturday. I estimate that about one-third of all booths were selling commercial products, including two home improvement companies peddling new windows, two auto companies displaying new cars, at least two banks (neither were local), a booth displaying electric fans and vacuum cleaners, and trucks promoting razor blades and hot dogs.

One of the many costumed people at Artscape over the weekend, by flickr user @rockndroll . To see your nightlife and music photos on Midnight Sun, join our flickr pool or e-mail me directly. A longer gallery of Artscape photos can be found here .

This week is a lot more low-key than last, but then again last week was pretty packed. It wasn't just because of Artscape. On Saturday alone, Cass McCombs gave a beautiful show at Golden West Cafe; Scottie B. killed at Metro Gallery, right after all the Artscape madness had ended; there was DYAO at Dionysus, and a tribute to Nina Hagen on the Charles St. bridge. Alas, there probably won't be anyone running around in "Blade Runner" costumes this week. What's happening: Wiz Khalifa and Gang Gang Dance are the best bets for the week; elsewhere there is Thank You, a beer dinner, and a couple of dance parties.

When Garrett "G. Love" Dutton walked onstage and greeted the Artscape audience with "What's up, Baltimore," it was 8:15 p.m. but the sun was still shining bright. Before long, the sun had set, and Dutton and his band were ready to party until the 10 p.m. curfew. The Philadelphia-based singer/songwriter and backing band known as G. Love & Special Sauce headlined Artscape Saturday night on the Wells Fargo Main Stage on Mount Royal Avenue. And while they may not be one of the more famous names to grace Artscape over the years, with just a handful of modern rock radio hits and no album charting higher than No. 63 on the Billboard 200, G. Love & Special Sauce was perhaps the most appropriately summery act of the weekend's festivities.

Artscape kicked off its lineup of headlining acts with Fantasia Barrino, an R&B singer who found fame and a solid fan base on the third season of popular show “American Idol.”  Barrino kept her set-up simple; rather than trick out the stage with nifty high tech gadgets, the R&B singer ensured that all audience attention was on her. The stripped down stage suited her and kept the atmosphere intimate, despite the mass of eager fans and families...

It's 3:37 p.m., and 2-year-old Hattie's right leg is covered in melted SpongeBob SquarePants. She came by the cartoon-shaped ice cream less than 10 minutes before at a roving stand near the intersection of Mount Royal and Lafayette avenues. Hattie hadn't eaten much when the treat puddled in her lap, devoured by the sun's mid-80s heat. Behind her in a two-kid stroller, her brother Will, 4, was doing a bit better with his ice cream sandwich, as were their cousins, Zeb and Fiona, ages 3 and 5, respectively, who were stumbling alongside their mother and aunt.

If you're still looking for more events for toddlers, kids and young adults at this year's Artscape, here are a few other options: Forty-five minute art workshops at Target Make It at Artscape will teach children to create beaded art and button jewelry. There will also be musical instrument lessons. Sessions will take place at noon, 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Children must pre-register for these workshops, and space is limited. An '80s fashion show at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Charles Street bridge will cater to the family fashionista.

With a kiddy Grand Prix race, a gathering of videogame programmers and artists, and plenty of hands-on arts and crafts, this year's Artscape will offer plenty of family-friendly activities. In fact, Artscape director Kathy Hornig has made it a mission to offer families plenty of free options at the three-day event. "They've evolved over the years," Hornig said about the offerings. "When I first started, there were things for kids to do, but they cost money. We've worked very hard to make sure that parents can come down and have something the whole family can do for free.

Artscape stopped taking online reservations for ticketed events today. Those tickets are now only available at Guest Services at Lyric Opera House, or at the ticket stations on site. Some readers had complained about glitches on the ticketing website today. Tracy Baskerville, spokeswoman for the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, said the website's server was overwhelmed. "We have had a high a volume of folks on the web site [sic]... and our web company is increasing our space," she wrote over e-mail.  But as for the tickets, all pre-event reservations have sold out, Baskerville said.