Charles St

theater 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang': It has a cast of 50, a pack of eight dogs and a car that magically "flies" over everyone's heads. If you can still hum the words from the 1968 film, you won't want to miss this two-week run. Oh, and you also might want to bring the grandkids. See Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Tuesday through Jan. 18 at the Hippodrome Theatre, 12 N. Eutaw St. Showtimes vary. Tickets are $20-$65. Call 410-547-7328 or go to france-merrickpac.com. Mary CaroleMcCauley art 'Asterism': Paintings and sculpture by artists from Chicago, New York, Washington and Baltimore are featured in Asterism, running through Jan. 10 at Gallery Four, 405 W. Franklin St., on Baltimore's west side.

The Maryland Film Festival in Baltimore winds up today. Here are a few highlights from the program: 11 a.m.: Nosferatu (1922), Charles Theatre 1, 1711 N. Charles St. German master F.W. Murnau's superbly creepy, silent vampire movie set the ghoul standard. The Alloy Orchestra will augment it with its seductive, clangorous score. 11:30 a.m.: A Sense of Loss, MICA Brown Center, 1301 W. Mount Royal Ave. Marcel Ophuls' engulfing 1972 documentary about Northern Ireland rarely plays on the big screen.

McDermott at Loyola Alice McDermott will read from her books at Loyola Col lege at 5 p.m. today. She will also accept the college's An drew White Medal for her con tributions to Maryland's literary tradition. The event will be held in the fourth-floor program room at the Andrew White Stu dent Center, Loyola College, 4501 N. Charles St. Informa tion: 410-617-5025.

Persona, the first of many fruitful collaborations between director Ingmar Bergman and actress Liv Ullmann, is the next scheduled film in the Charles Theatre's 13-week Bergman retrospective. The 1966 film stars Ullmann as a nurse who develops a strong identification with a mute patient. Said Bergman, "I touched wordless secrets that only the cinema can discover." Showtime is noon tomorrow, followed by encores at 7 p.m. Monday and 9 p.m. Thursday. Tickets are $6 tomorrow, $8 other times for the show at 1711 N. Charles St. Information: 410-727-FILM or thecharles.

Baltimore City Acropolis -- 4718 Eastern Ave., 410-675-7882. Greek and seafood. Entrees $12.95-$24.95. L, D daily. Akbar -- 823 N. Charles St., 410-539-0944. Northern Indian. Entrees $8-$15. L, D daily. Al Pacino Cafe -- 900 Cathedral St., 410-962-8859. Middle Eastern cuisine and a variety of pizzas. Entrees $7.95-$18.95. L, D daily. Alabama BBQ Company -- 4311 Harford Road, 410-254-1440. Memphis barbecue. Entrees $5.99-$20.95. L, D Tuesday-Sunday. Aldo's -- 306 S. High St., 410-727-0700.

A police-run sting of downtown, Bolton Hill and Mount Vernon bars and liquor stores netted 17 on charges of selling to underage buyers.Police community service officers Eric Pettus, 19, and Jill Blueford, 20, visited 23 liquor outlets Thursday and Friday for the city's Central Police District Vice Enforcement Unit."

Police Blotter is a sampling of crimes in Baltimore City and Baltimore County.Baltimore CitySoutheastern DistrictShooting: A male, 17, was playing basketball in the 100 block of S. Bethel St. about 5: 15 p.m. Sunday when he heard a gunshot and felt a pain in his left leg. The boy ran to the 200 block of Herring Court, where he was found by police and taken by ambulance to Johns Hopkins Hospital for treatment. No arrest has been made.Northwestern DistrictCarjacking/arrest: A woman, 41, picked up a man downtown early yesterday and drove him to the 2300 block of Wichita Ave., where a boy got into the car. The woman was told to drive to Park Heights and Woodland avenues, where she was struck with a metal object, robbed and forced out of her 1990 Oldsmobile.

Police Blotter is a sampling of crimes in Baltimore City and Baltimore County.Baltimore CityStabbing: A man, 19, who was stabbed in the abdomen in the 800 block of N. Wolfe St. about 5: 30 p.m. Sunday was in stable condition yesterday at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Police recovered a quantity of marijuana from one of the man's pockets, and drug charges were pending.Burglary: A female pit bull terrier and its food were stolen Sunday from an enclosed porch of a house in the 200 block of S. Augusta Ave.Theft: L uggage, compact discs, a wallet containing an undisclosed sum of cash and other property, all valued at more than $3,500, were stolen Sunday from a 1998 Mazda parked in an alley in the 2100 block of N. Charles St. Property valued at $900 was recovered nearby.

Four recently completed projects have been selected for 1999 Preservation Awards from Baltimore Heritage, to be presented during the preservation advocacy group's awards dinner and annual meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Masonic Temple, 225 N. Charles St.Awards will be given to the Can Co. for its conversion of the former American Can Co. complex in Canton to a $30 million commercial center; Mount Calvary Episcopal Church, whose sanctuary at 816 N....

Peter G. Angelos is considering acquiring the Fidelity Building at 210 N. Charles St. and turning the 15-story office structure into apartments.If the purchase goes through, the 168,000-square-foot building -- which dates to the 1890s -- would become the latest building block in Angelos' effort to revitalize the financial district and the area around his flagship One Charles Center skyscraper.The 22-story office tower, which Angelos bought for $6 million in late 1996, is next door to the Fidelity Building.

SATURDAY MENCKEN DAY CELEBRATION: The Enoch Pratt Free Library, 400 Cathedral St., celebrates a major influence on American culture and a favorite son of Charm City. See pieces from the library's extensive collection and join discussions about the "Sage of Baltimore," H.L. Mencken, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 410-396-5430 or go to prattlibrary.org. HAMPDENFEST: Hon Fest's lesser-known sibling attracts more of a local crowd to the Avenue in Hampden for a relatively beehive-free Saturday featuring live music, art, crafts and food.

'Watchmen' returns : Watchmen, the big-screen adaptation of Alan Moore's graphic-novel exploits of a group of outlawed superheroes, will return this weekend for a limited run at Bengies Drive-In Theatre, 3417 Eastern Blvd. Showtime through Sunday is 10:45 p.m. on what is not only the last surviving drive-in screen in Maryland but also the biggest screen in the U.S., at 52 by 120 feet. Information: bengies.com, 410-687-5627 or 410-391-1956. Free 'Millionaire' : Reigning Oscar champion Slumdog Millionaire, director Danny Boyle's tale of undying love and unexpected riches among India's poor, will be shown at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institute's Mountcastle Auditorium, 725 N. Wolfe St. Admission is free.

SUNDAY Citizen Cope Go see American musician Citizen Cope perform tunes at 9 p.m. Sunday at Rams Head Live, 20 Market Place. Doors open at 8 p.m. Cope's music is a fusion of hip-hop, folk and blues, complemented by his rugged voice. Tickets are $35. Call 410-244-1131 or go to tickets.rams headlive.com. The Jolley Twins Trio The Jolley Twins Trio, composed of three brothers who hail from Washington, play as part of a Community Concerts at Second show, beginning at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Second Presbyterian Church, 4200 St. Paul St. There will also be a silent auction to benefit Govans Ecumenical Development Corp.

theater 'Rock 'n' Roll': This work by the brilliant dramatist Tom Stoppard spans two countries, three generations and 22 years, beginning in 1968, when Soviet tanks rolled into Czechoslovakia. Rock 'n' Roll follows a Czech student, an English professor and a female flower child. Through May 31 at the Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. N.W., Washington. Showtimes vary. Tickets are $45-$61. Call 202-332-3300 or go to studiotheatre.org. Mary Carole McCauley art 'East Side Stories': The changing face of East Baltimore is the subject of the photography exhibit East Side Stories: Portraits of a Baltimore Neighborhood, Then and Now, on view Saturday to July 26 at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture, Pratt and President streets.

theater 'A Bronx Tale': Chazz Palminteri reprises his touching semi-autobiographical story about a boy torn between two "fathers": his upright, bus-driving dad and a charismatic gangster. Palminteri portrays 18 characters in the one-actor show, which runs Tuesday through April 26 at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, 12 N. Eutaw St. Showtimes vary. Tickets are $20-$60. Call 410-547-7328 or go to france-merrickpac.com. Mary Carole McCauley art 'Recent Acquisitions': Since it was founded nearly 80 years ago, the Textile Museum in Washington has seen its collection grow from 335 pieces to nearly 18,000 handwoven textiles from around the world.

THEATER ' 'Tis Pity' : Some critics consider John Ford's poetic, potent tragedy 'Tis Pity She's A Whore as the 17th-century equivalent of a slasher flick. But the drama's moral ambiguity, rich language and flash of redemptive grace elevates it above the shocker genre. The play runs through April 5 at Center Stage, 700 N. Calvert St. Showtimes vary. Tickets cost $10-$60. Call 410-332-0033 or go to centerstage.org. Mary Carole McCauley ART 'Painterly Obsessions': Custer's Last Stand & Other Painterly Obsessions is a survey of "past and present" paintings by Raoul Middleman, on display through April 11 at the C. Grimaldis Gallery, 523 N. Charles St. The show includes watercolor landscapes, self-portraits and erotic drawings.

POP MUSIC Black Lips The Georgia band the Black Lips filters punk-rock sentiments through a blues lens. On its new album, 200 Million Thousand, the band plays music that remains appealingly ragged and loose. The band plays at 8 tonight at the Black Cat, 1811 14th St. N.W., Washington. Tickets are $13. Call 410-547-7328 or go to ticketmaster.com. FILM 'Barking Dogs' The new Hopkins film series, "Lovers and Liars: Contemporary Films From Korea," kicks off tonight with Barking Dogs Never Bite, a dark comedy about an adjunct college teacher with time on his hands who decides to quiet an irritating barking dog. Presented by the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions Office of Cultural Affairs, the screening starts at 7:15 p.m. at the Mountcastle Auditorium, 725 N. Wolfe St. Admission is free.

POP MUSIC Singing jazz Kurt Elling is one of the most daring male vocalists working in jazz today. A sharply intelligent stylist with an expansive range, he pays tribute to Johnny Hartman and John Coltrane in a show of graceful standards at 9:30 p.m. Saturday at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St. N.W., Washington. Tickets are $30. Call 800-444-1324 or 202-467-4600 or go to kennedy-center.org. FILM At the Charles You've seen the winners of America's Oscars; now take a chance on the movie that won four top Cesar Awards (the French Oscars)

TIP 35 Free art, music and more around Baltimore You gotta have art, even if money is tight. And you can in Baltimore. The Walters Art Museum's permanent collection at 600 N. Charles St. is free. And special exhibitions are free in the summer. Similarly, general admission at the Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive, is free. And from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. every Sunday, the museum offers family activities. State employees who buy a ticket to the coming exhibition, A Circus Family: Picasso to Leger, can get one free.

theater 'Fabulation': Though Fabulation is written by Lynn Nottage, author of Intimate Apparel, this satiric comedy about an upwardly mobile black woman who gets her comeuppance couldn't be more different in tone. Once the title character becomes bankrupt and pregnant, the story couldn't be more timely. See Fabulation or, The Re-Education of Undine, through March 8 at Center Stage, 700 N. Calvert St. Tickets are $15-$60. Call 410-332-0033 or go to centerstage.org. Mary Carole McCauley history A slice of black Baltimore: Baltimore historian and author Philip J. Merrill shares his vast collection of African-American artifacts and memorabilia in A Slice of Historic Black Baltimore, an exhibit on display through March 1 at the Top of the World Observation Level, on the 27th floor of Baltimore's World Trade Center, 401 E. Pratt St. Merrill's exhibit highlights Baltimore residents, churches, schools and entertainment spots.