Creative Arts

The number three has a special significance at Bridgeway Community Church in east Columbia these days, one that has nothing to do with religious doctrine. While the Rev. David A. Anderson does deliver sermons dealing with the Holy Trinity, three happens to be the number of Sunday services held each week to accommodate nearly 3,000 worshippers at the church off Route 108, as well as the number of parking lots leased from neighboring industrial firms on Red Branch Road to handle parking overflow.

Sunday, March 25 Fundraiser The Goshen Farm Preservation Society's annual "Java & Jazz Event," a fundraiser to benefit the restoration and preservation of Goshen Farm in Cape St. Claire, will be held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church, 1601 Pleasant Plains Road in Annapolis. Information: goshenfarm.org. ArtFest From performances to art demonstrations, hands-on projects to gallery happenings, this free event will run from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, 801 Chase St. in Annapolis.

Mission: To provide a broad range of creative experiences through quality arts education and culturally diverse programs in the visual and performing arts. Maryland Hall is home to three art galleries - the Cardinal Gallery, the AIR (Artists in Residence) Gallery, and exhibition space in the foyer. The focus is to exhibit artworks from the Mid-Atlantic region, with an emphasis on artists from the immediate area. The Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Ballet Theatre of Annapolis, the Annapolis Opera and the Annapolis Chorale also are residents of Maryland Hall.

The Anne Arundel County School System on Tuesday night fielded questions from parents and students about the county's upcoming Performance Visual Arts magnet program for high schools, a first-time endeavor that will offer students a chance to work with arts professionals while extending their school day four times a week. About 100 parents from throughout the county listened to the school system's presentation at Old Mill High School in Millersville. The program is set to launch for ninth- and 10th-graders in August and will be housed at Annapolis and Broadneck high schools.

If the mission of the Chesapeake Center for the Creative Arts is to encourage artistic expression, the center's opening gala certainly set a good example. Some 250 guests were treated to tours of the old Brooklyn Park High School -- newly converted to hold classes in arts like dance, theater, painting and ceramics. The building's main gallery offered a feast for the eyes, displaying not only the work of some of the country's top artisans but also a bounteous hors d'oeuvres buffet. It all helped whet the appetite for music and dance performances in the building's main theater.

I CAN'T BELIEVE we did this," my friend Janie Ballard whispered as the curtain rose Saturday night on a preview presentation at the Chesapeake Center for the Creative Arts.We sat in the back of the auditorium of what was once Brooklyn Park High School and what would one day be the performance arena of the center.My friend was radiant, drawing energy from the applause of the enthusiastic audience. For months she had worked with the North County arts community toward a common goal of providing classes, a performance area and gallery space for the artists of northern Anne Arundel county.

I BEGAN to get excited as I walked toward the building and saw cars parked everywhere and crowds of people walking toward the same destination as if we were all attached by strings and being reeled in.Those of us who attended the Chesapeake Center for the Creative Arts know that something wonderful happened in Brooklyn Park from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Jan. 10.We wonder why people aren't shouting it from the rooftops, why it didn't make front-page news. The stage came alive again in the former Brooklyn Park High School.

Judging by the amount of activity going on at Chesapeake Center for the Creative Arts, you might think the grand opening was next month rather than the beginning of next year. The center office in the 7400 block of Baltimore-Annapolis Blvd. in Glen Burnie reflects multilevel planning for a wide range of activities. Volunteer Charlene Servey of Linthicum keeps things moving, tracking dates for a variety of activities on giant calendars that nearly cover two walls. The calendars reflect the planning for fund raising, community outreach, cooperative ventures, and large and small performing arts activities to benefit the center and keep its name alive during the final phase of construction.

The Chesapeake Center for the Creative Arts is taking its show on the road to keep its name before the public while renovations continue at the building that will be its home, the old Brooklyn Park High School on Hammonds Lane. The center is to open in fall 2000.Organizers have scheduled a show called "A Celebration of Dance" at Glen Burnie High School March 6 and are planning "A Celebration of the Written Word," focusing on poetry, in Pasadena in April.Wayne Shipley, a center board member and guiding force behind its opening celebration last January, said the board is also considering celebrations of song and the fine arts as well as co-sponsoring a high school drama festival if members can find the money.

Musical and theatrical offerings ebb and flow over the course of a season, as do contributions from most performing arts organizations. But at flourishing centers of culture such as Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, aesthetic "down time" is unheard of. Take this weekend. For baby boomer rock `n' rollers who still crave joy with their beat, Maryland Hall is presenting the "Doo Wop Reunion Show" featuring Charlie Thomas' ever-popular group, the Drifters. This tuneful walk down memory lane at 7 p.m. Sunday comes from an enormously popular PBS show seen around the country.

For Demetrios "Dimitri" Fotos, the challenge could not have felt more natural. An Annapolis photographer, he learned the power of reading as a child when his father took dozens of adult-education courses at St. John's College. Yet it was the visual arts Dimitri fell in love with at age 13, and that passion has never waned. So when organizers at the Mitchell Gallery at St. John's told him of their latest plan — to stage an exhibit for which artists would create works "inspired by books" — his mind went off like a strobe flash.

The number three has a special significance at Bridgeway Community Church in east Columbia these days, one that has nothing to do with religious doctrine. While the Rev. David A. Anderson does deliver sermons dealing with the Holy Trinity, three happens to be the number of Sunday services held each week to accommodate nearly 3,000 worshippers at the church off Route 108, as well as the number of parking lots leased from neighboring industrial firms on Red Branch Road to handle parking overflow.

The Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts is offering group guitar lessons and music appreciation classes for the spring semester. Beginning and intermediate lessons are available for teens and adults as well as classical music appreciation classes for adults. All classes will be taught by Morgan Fiddler. The Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts is at 801 Chase St. in Annapolis. To register or for more information, call 410-263-5544 or go to marylandhall.org. div.talkforum #creditfooter { display: none; }

Applications and CDs are being accepted for the annual Annapolis Opera Vocal Competition. All applicants must complete the online form at annapolisopera.org under auditions and vocal competition, and submit a CD. The deadline has been extended to Feb. 12. Applicants should label the CD with name, date of birth, contact information and titles of the arias, and mail to Annapolis Opera Vocal Competition, Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, c/o Carmen Balthrop, 801 Chase St., Annapolis 21401.

Pasadena Theatre Company's production of Lerner and Loewe's "Camelot" opens tomorrow night at Chesapeake Center for the Creative Arts in Brooklyn Park -- the first show in the main theater of the new arts center to have an extended run. "Camelot" boasts a cast of 45, with a 14-piece orchestra in the pit, for its four-weekend stand. The 23-year-old Pasadena Theatre Company has staged shows over the past five years at Baldwin Hall, Woods Community Center, and Humanities Hall at Anne Arundel Community College -- at the latter, PTC President Sharon Steele produced shows such as "Jekyll and Hyde," "Godspell," "I Hate Hamlet" and "It's a Wonderful Life."

By the time the 45-minute class was nearing its end, the babies were getting restless. Some were crawling with straight-line determination toward the row of pocketbooks and diaper bags along one wall, while others were beginning to whimper as their mothers jiggled them and whispered soothing words. Instructor Laurie Berman, who has been teaching music classes to babies for 10 years, was undisturbed by the gentle chaos as she led the mothers and their chubby-cheeked youngsters through the pages of a book, showing them illustrations that went with the soothing music coming from a CD player behind her. When the song was over, Berman stood up. "OK. Do we have our energy restored?"