Festival

Organic Soul The lowdown -- Spice up Tuesday night with a trip to 218 W. Saratoga St. Organic Soul Tuesdays, the acclaimed hip-hop, jazz and spoken-word poetry open mike night, is throwing a Caribbean-themed party. Roots poet Ainsley Burrows, the featured performer, is releasing his new CD, Rockstar. The usual lineup of talented local comedians performs first. If you go -- Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 at the door. Basement level, 218 W. Saratoga St. For more information, go to myspace.

Celebrate Black History Month at the Urban Film Series Tour's Film and Discussion Series in Washington on Wednesday through Feb. 11. More than 20 urban-themed feature films, short films and young-adult films, including The Tenants, starring Snoop Dogg (pictured at right) and Dylan McDermott, will be screened at the festival, which is presented by Next Generation Awareness Foundation. The event also features panel discussions, poetry readings, book signings and more. Guests scheduled to appear include filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles, musician Roy Ayers, actress Yvette Freeman, actor Joseph Marcel and NBA player and poet Etan Thomas.

INSIDE TODAY WHAT THEY'RE SAYING TODAY'S SUN COLUMNISTS SO SORRY ... Time for another edition of Who Wants to Apologize?, in which the audience gets to vote on which public figure makes the most insincere attempt to stop a deluge of career-threatening publicity. Today baltimoresun.com/cowherd Historic lows Give the Orioles credit for one thing during the current slump: When it comes to being really, really bad, the team is remarkably good. Sports baltimoresun.com/schmuck 5 THINGS TO DO TODAY Skipjack Race and Land Festival -- Today's events include a fishing tournament, the race and other contests.

The culture of Nigeria will be on display when Naija Fest 2007 returns to Patterson Park this month. The two-day festival - this Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 11-12 - is sponsored by the Nigerian Youth Association of Maryland and will showcase staples of Nigerian culture such as music, dance, food and art to bring African descendants together to celebrate their heritage. "We want people to be familiar with and educated about our culture," said Adetoun Olumide, Nigerian Youth Association of Maryland president.

Baltimore City Community College marked its 60th anniversary last week with an International Festival featuring food, flags and artifacts from the more than 50 nations represented in the campus community. The event was one of three held as part of the celebration. A Literary Festival included book signings and discussions, and an Arts Festival featured student and professional artists. The college offers 31 degree and 28 certificate programs, according to its Web site.

Even before the inaugural Paetec Jazz Festival ended yesterday, organizers said they planned to bring it back for a second year. "I've already spoken with the CEO of Paetec, who likes what he sees," festival producer Marc Iacona said of the event's sponsor, a business communications company. "We are already talking about next year." This year's festival featured nearly 30 free and ticketed performances over three days. The roster spanned R&B, rock, funk, blues and jazz, and was spread out over the Pier Six Pavilion, Power Plant Live plaza, Bond Street Wharf Landing, Rams Head Live and Harbor Pointe.

Wine lovers can savor a sweet evening at the Philadelphia Wine Festival on Friday. The sixth annual festival features a Grand Tasting Event of more than 100 wines from around the world, 7:30 p.m.-10 p.m. at the Marriott Philadelphia Downtown. Winemakers, winery presidents and other winery representatives will pour samples and discuss their wines with attendees. Participating wineries will include La Chablisienne, Robert Mondavi, Marchesi de Frescobaldi and Clos du Bois. The festival also includes other events, such as the Winemaker Dinner Series at fine Philadelphia restaurants Wednesday and the VIP Tasting Event 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Friday.

The heavy aroma of incense, funnel cake and fresh paint permeated the streets of Southwest Baltimore yesterday for the 22nd annual Sowebohemian Arts and Music Festival. But it was mostly art that was the order of the day with an eclectic array of creators - such as a whimsical Baltimore hon with a beehive hairdo who was selling painted light switch plates. A local artist showed a collage made of old tennis shoes, and jewelers who twisted wires displayed their latest designs on the pavement.

As it wrapped up its 20th season Saturday, the Columbia Festival of the Arts reached a record for attendance at its ticketed events. From June 6 through June 23, the festival filled just over 80 percent of the roughly 8,000 seats available at the 12 ticketed events, according to the festival's executive director, Nichole Hickey. "We've never gotten there [before]," Hickey said, estimating attendance to be about 15 percent higher than in previous years. Thousands more people attended free and paid art exhibits, lectures, master classes and readings as well as the free, three-day LakeFest event.

Lutes tinkled, knights jousted, arrows flew and bodices strained. Comely wenches giggled and rogues sang bawdy songs. Leather mugs abounded, thees and thys flowed like mead, turkey legs came in kingly sizes, and if it could be served on a stick - whether cheesecake or steak - it was. All those jesters, monks, princes, queens, soldiers, wobbly English accents and acres of heaving chests could mean only one thing. To the delight of enthusiasts who wait all year to shimmy into embroidered tunics and meet friends at the Boar's Head Tavern, the Maryland Renaissance Festival, now in its 31st year, opened over the weekend in Crownsville.

Baltimore's first-ever Aerial Festival will take place this weekend somewhere in the visually sumptuous, surreal intersection between a three-ring circus and high art. Picture this: an alley in the Station North district in which the walls are spray-painted from pavement to rooftop in graffiti, each design more elaborate than the next. It's shortly after sunset, and strings of flickering Italian lights throw patches of dark and light on those colorful walls. On the ground, two performers on a spinning teeter-totter form a moving sculpture.

SATURDAY FELLS POINT FUN FESTIVAL: Normally, during the first weekend in October, hundreds of thousands of Baltimoreans converge on Fells Point for two days of festival food, beer garden revelry, craft browsing and Latin culture. This year's festival takes place from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The festival will be on Fells Point's main streets, including Broadway and Thames. Go to preserva tionsociety.com. TASTE OF BETHESDA: Maybe you're in the mood for a red snapper taco, a roast beef slider or some shepherd's pie. Maybe you want all three, plus lots of other goodies.

Tens of thousands of people will converge on the city in October to watch or participate in the Baltimore Running Festival. But if all goes according to plan, they won't leave much of a footprint. Organizers of the marathon and the day's other races will recycle cups, hand out reduced-plastic bottles, compost food and waste, collect discarded shoes, and use alternative-energy cars. They'll hand out race shirts made from 100 percent recycled materials. And they'll plant 100 trees along the race course.

SATURDAY LEGACY CHASE AT SHAWAN DOWNS: The ninth annual Legacy Chase at Shawan Downs, 1401 Shawan Road in Cockeysville, has added a new feature to this year's festivities with a family-friendly tailgating spot, live music by Smooth Kentucky, food and wine vendors, a raw bar, a petting zoo and crafts. Gates open at 10 a.m. Activities begin at 11 a.m. The steeplechase races get under way at 1 p.m. Entrance is $30 per car. General Legacy Chase tickets are $30 each. Go to shawandowns.org. CANTON WINE AND JAZZ FESTIVAL: Wine and jazz unite in festival form for the first time ever in Canton from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. The festival offers visitors the opportunity to taste complex varietals while enjoying music by the Larry Brown Quartet, Cold Spring Jazz Quartet and Carl Filipiak and the Jimi Jazz Band.

It's hard out there for a book fan. In an economic recession, bibliophiles face a tough decision: to purchase or not to purchase. Books borrowed from libraries cost nothing, but you've got to give them back. Fortunately, it's time again for the Baltimore Book Festival. While many books are available for sale at the festival, the City Paper Book Swap tent affords readers an opportunity to unload unwanted tomes while acquiring new literary adventures for free. Even festival-goers who don't leave a book for trade are encouraged to take selections from the expansive piles.

Cardin calls for Senate infrastructure investment Just days after a water main break caused major flooding near Baltimore, Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin has called on the Senate to invest more in America's infrastructure. Cardin said Tuesday that the rupture of a 6-foot water main in Dundalk was a reminder that infrastructure here "is in dire straits." The water flooded homes and businesses, washed out a main road and turned other streets into rivers, stranding dozens of people. He said the situation in Maryland caused by infrastructure that has outlived its 50-year-life span is not unique.

SUNDAY GWAR: The thrash-metal band from Richmond, Va., has been around so long that its original intent as a satirical band with punk roots has given way to a louder, heavier outfit with a strong cult fan base. The group is now known more for its outlandish and somewhat horrifying costumes than its musical stylings and lyrics. It hits the stage at Sonar, 407 E. Saratoga St., at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20. Go to ticketmaster.com. STREET BEAT FESTIVAL: This Federal Hill community festival includes activities for the little ones, a new area for dogs on leashes and live music from Cold Cold Heartbreakers, Digital Elvis, School of Rock All Stars, Psycho Killers and many more from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The event is free.

It's been a busy summer and in less than 10 days, fall takes over with foliage tours, wine trails and scenic hikes. Here's a quick wrap up and a look ahead to autumn: JetBlue lands at BWI. Last Wednesday marked the beginning of the airfare wars for the Baltimore-to-Boston route. Three major low-cost carriers are now battling for your buck. If you visit Boston often, then you're in luck. Round-trip fares from BWI to Boston have dropped as low as $39. (Last week, JetBlue ran a one-day sale with midweek flights $9 each way.)

Nearly everything about yesterday's Virgin Mobile FreeFest was smaller than in previous years. The location, Merriweather Post Pavilion, was about half the size of Pimlico Race Course. The festival was scaled back from a weekend-long spectacle to a one-day event. Even the traditionally diverse lineup was pared down to include mostly rock bands and DJs. But this year's festival, which featured headliners Blink-182, Weezer and Franz Ferdinand, was free. And free goes a long way. As a result, tickets went fast, and tens of thousands of energetic fans flooded Merriweather for the festival.

SATURDAY MARYLAND RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL: Hear ye, hear ye, it's time once again to drink mead, feast on food on sticks and flaunt your best chain mail. Surely, we joust on the festival grounds in Crownsville Saturdays, Sundays and Labor Day Monday through Oct. 25, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Go to rennfest.com. BEAT THE HEAT: The Summer Massive dance party helps you chill out with cranking A.C., free snowballs and some other cool surprises at Paradox Nightclub, 1310 Russell St., from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Spinning the chill tunes are Charles Feelgood, DJ Dara, Tittsworth, Benny Page, Swarm, ODI, Cannon Boys, DJ 2Rip and others.