Baltimore Convention Center

Ellicott City artist Theodora "Teddi" Fine has been going to the annual American Craft Council Show at the Baltimore Convention Center for the past 20 years. This faithful visitor finally will be one of the more than 650 artists from around the country exhibiting there. She's thrilled to have her own booth at the 36th annual craft show running Friday, Feb. 24, through Sunday, Feb. 26. "The idea of being among people whose work I have coveted for years is both gratifying and mind boggling," Fine, 62, says of the opportunity to exhibit.

They came to the Motor Trend International Auto Show in Baltimore with five cars on their list and a plan to narrow it down to three. "We're moving out of the minivan category because we're now 50-somethings with no kids to haul," said Mindy Doring, who was checking out the inside of a Hyundai Elantra with a sticker price of $16,445 and 40 miles per gallon on the highway. "It's now about comfort and the ability to throw down the seats and move a piece of furniture. " Doring and her husband, Mark, came from their home in Catonsville to shop and were part of the all-business category among attendees of the show, which runs through Sunday at the Baltimore Convention Center.

Despite wintry conditions, the 2012 edition of the Orioles' annual FanFest is under way at the Baltimore Convention Center. While plenty of fans are here to collect autographs and participate in Q&As sessions with Orioles players, the event doesn't seem to have the same buzz as last year, when fans were still glowing from a hot finish under manager Buck Showalter. While the fans I talked to praised FanFest for the access it gave them to Orioles players and personalities, they weren't as positive when talking about their expectations for the team this coming season.

Rev. Millard Byrd Knowles, pastor of Old Otterbein United Methodist Church from 1992 through 2006 and later pastor of visitation/pastor emeritus at Perry Hall United Methodist Church, died Thursday following a series of strokes. He was 82. "He could tell any biblical story with an emotion and a passion that made you feel like you were right there," said Rev. Jeff Paulson, a longtime friend and colleague of Mr. Knowles, who had a doctorate in biblical storytelling from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.

The dust has settled on the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix, an event that I and several others lived and breathed over the past two-plus years. I acknowledge that I am not objective, having invested substantial money, effort and reputation as the "face of the race" since I began working on this challenging project in 2008. Like most of my investor partners, my primary goal was to bring a world-class event to Baltimore in the hope of changing certain perceptions about our city. Despite the many naysayers, I think it is fair to say that the great majority of the 160,000 people who attended over Labor Day weekend viewed the event as a fantastic success.

The Greater Baltimore Committee's idea for an expansion of the downtown convention center coupled with a new, attached arena and expanded Sheraton hotel tower is generating understandable excitement among the group's leaders. It would solve a number of downtown Baltimore's issues at once, come with a major commitment of private financing, and boost the city's lucrative tourism industry. GBC President Donald C. Fry said this week that he expects the feasibility study being conducted by the Maryland Stadium Authority will support the project and that his group will ask the General Assembly to approve $2 million to $3 million in planning money next year.

Baltimore's party is over - and it was a grand one. A Grand Prix one, to be exact. But now it is time to put the carpet and the furniture back where they belong. Even before the last fan made it home from Baltimore's inaugural three-day IndyCar racing festival Sunday evening, the city and race organizers had begun the daunting task of removing 16 grandstands, several miles of concrete barriers topped with fencing - plus countless tents - in order to open downtown streets and sidewalks for the beginning of the workweek.

If Baltimore manages to build the $900 million convention center expansion and arena proposed for the Inner Harbor, business and civic leaders say, the city will join a growing list of destinations competing to woo lucrative convention business with bigger, better facilities. If it cannot, they warn, the city could fall off the map as a potential convention choice. Those are the stakes officials likely will weigh in considering the proposal, which has appeared to gain momentum with the announcement last week that more than half the project cost could be privately financed.

Elaine and Bill Phillips already own seven cars, but they may be in the market for another. The Millersville couple came to the 2011 Motor Trend International Auto Show at the Baltimore Convention Center on Saturday to get a look at the Chevrolet Volt, the plug-in electric vehicle recently introduced by General Motors. "We're car people," said Elaine Phillips, adding that she and her husband visit the show every winter and liked what they saw this time. "It's more exciting this year because of all the hybrids and the electric car," she said.