Festival

The Howard County Student Film Festival is seeking original film submissions from high schoolers. The festival is open to students from public and private schools. Films must be three to 10 minutes in length, original and family friendly. Submission deadline is Feb. 26. For more information, go to hocofilmfestival.com. div.talkforum #creditfooter { display: none; } div.talkforum .feedItemAuthor { display: none; } div.talkforum div.feedburnerFeedBlock ul li span.headline { font-weight:bold; margin:0; font-size: 12px; }

If you lived downtown, you could be eating by now. The annual Let's Eat Charles Street Festival is noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday. Look for B&O American Brasserie, Ban Thai, Beef Brothers, Cazbar, Home Slyce and Mick O'Shea's among the food vendors. Located on the 300 block of Charles Street, between Saratoga and Mulberry, the street festival includes craft vendors, live music from Flashback, children's activities, and beer and wine tents. The new Pratt Street Farmers' Market , which was originally scheduled to debut on June 13, will instead launch on June 20 because of concerns about the weather.

Laurel Board of Trade members will help celebrate the different cultures represented in Laurel's population at this year's International Riverfest. Held for 15 years, the outdoor festival is scheduled this year for Saturday, Oct. 1 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Riverfront Park, one block north of Main Street at Avondale Street. The festival includes arts and crafts vendors, food, displays by community groups, continuous live entertainment, children's games and pony rides.. Local artists and craftors can apply to participate by calling the Laurel Board of Trade, 301-483-0838.

Go to the usual exhibit and you'll visualize how the artwork hanging on the gallery wall would look hanging on your living room wall. An exhibit installed at both the Columbia Art Center and Howard Community College, "Wear Art," encourages one to contemplate how women would look wearing the exhibited clothing and jewelry. Although this Columbia Festival of the Arts-connected exhibit includes its share of whimsical creations, everything is functional. One might not be inclined to wear these items while mowing the lawn, but they'd make a lady look fashionably distinctive for a night on the town.

High Zero is the anti-Virgin Mobile FreeFest. Although the experimental music festival is older by seven years (it began in 1999), it coincides this year with one of the area's biggest music festivals. For every Dan Deacon at High Zero, there is a Ludacris at FreeFest. The FreeFest might have M.I.A., but High Zero has bassoonist Karen Borca. But that's just how High Zero organizers, the High Zero Foundation, like it. They feel they are going after different audiences. It's unlikely, for instance, that there'll be noise installations at the corporate gig as there will be at this DIY festival.

The recent Art Outside at Druid Hill Park returned the park, Baltimore, and its environs to a rare and nostalgic experience ("Arts patron revives Druid Hill outdoor festival," May 17). To see the diversity of attendees melding among the art, entertainment and sheer fun - all within a unique, and naturally picturesque setting in the city - was a welcome breath of fresh air! The happening not only commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Druid Hill Park Reservoir, it also inspired people to pause, take a relaxed break from the distresses of the world and have an old-fashioned good time.

Fred Rasmussen wrote a terrific article about Sunday's inaugural Art Outside at Druid Hill Park ("Arts patron revives Druid Hill outdoor festival," May 17). The event was outstanding, bringing the city back together in a beautiful setting. Many communities came together to support this wonderful day. Just like the art show of the '60s, Art Outside was festive, entertaining, relaxing and social. People got to enjoy special artists work in various medium - music, magic, painting, jewelry, clay, etc. It was a wonderful and special event that I hope will continue.

Devil horns, tattoos and black T-shirts don't begin to describe the scene at this weekend's Maryland DeathFest. Thousands of hard-rock lovers are expected to cram inside Sonar for the annual celebration of eardrum-shredding death metal and hardcore. The lineup is stuffed with nearly 60 bands, performing on multiple stages inside and outside Sonar over the course of three days. Where does Maryland DeathFest rank in terms of metal festivals? "Ask most people, and they'll tell you this is the only one worth going to," said co-founder Ryan Taylor.

These 12 choices are at the top of my want-to-see list, but there are a score more I'd like to see. Friday: 'WUSS' Forget "Waiting for Superman. " This sounds like "Waiting for Clark Kent": An adult returns as a substitute teacher to that scene of adolescent trauma, his high school, only to find that the student body has the whip hand. 11:30 a.m., Charles 2. 'Frankenstein' Director Danny Boyle has gone from a man who cut off his arm, in "127 Hours," to a man who stitches together all sorts of limbs and organs in this stage rendering of Mary Shelley's novel.

Organizers of the Baltimore Running Festival and Baltimore Marathon announced today that Under Armour has extended its title sponsorship of the event through 2012. Under Armour has been title sponsor since 2003. As part of the agreement, Under Armour will provide state-of-the-art performance apparel to all participants. "Our goal is to create a premium, international race for serious runners surrounded by a festival that celebrates the voice of our brand and the city of Baltimore," said Amy Larkin, Under Armour senior director of events, sponsorships and community.

Members of the Harford County Liquor Control Board enthusiastically approved an outdoor event liquor license for the Lunar Bay Festival coming June 29-30 at Steppingstone Museum near Havre de Grace. All three organizers of the music, art and food festival – Kelley Duncan, Genevieve Britton and Margie Coakley – appeared before the board at its meeting in Bel Air on Wednesday afternoon. The trio calls itself Ladies of Locust because they are neighbors on Locust Street in Havre de Grace.

Film festivals do a heft amount of grandstanding about representing diverse perspectives and expanding the definition of cinema. But when it comes to LGBT characters and so-called queer cinema, the festival circuit has a mixed track record. Sure, the winning flick at this year's Cannes Film Festival -- the creme de la creme of the festival circuit -- was about a lesbian romance . But films depicting same-sex relationships often get swept into their own awards categories or themed sidebars, making them unlikely to get the exposure necessary to jump into American theaters.

The 26th annual Columbia Festival of the Arts once again brings an impressive roster of performers to Howard County from June 14 to 29. Some of these performers are returning favorites, while others are first-timers. Some will take a bow on their own, while others will collaborate with homegrown talent. All of them are booked by the festival in order to provide memorable artistic experiences for local audiences. "We have 16 days to present things you might not see anywhere else in the region," says Columbia Festival of the Arts executive director Nichole Hickey.

There's no one way to describe Sabrina Chap -- and that's what we love about her. She's a musician and songwriter - her latest album, "We Are the Parade" boasts a title track about marriage equality. She often performs with burlesque and variety shows. And she plays a mean kazoo. "Someone once called me a mix of Julie Andrews and Divine, which I love," said the 35-year-old, whose real last name is Chapadjiev. "I've also gotten 'Tom Waits with a hint of Phyllis Diller. And though she lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., Chap has often performed in Baltimore for the past few years.

She turns 70 later this month, but that's not slowing down R&B veteran Patti LaBelle. She, along with "American Idol" Season 3 winner Fantasia, will headline this year's African American Festival, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and event produced Shelona Stokes announced this morning at City Hall. The free, two-day event takes place at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday, July 6 from noon-10 p.m. and Sunday, July 7 from noon-9 p.m. More performers will be announced closer to the festival date, according to assistant producer Nika Watkins.  #sigshell { float: left; width: 320px; height: 52px; margin: 20px 0px; display: block; }

Howard County Democrats played it coy Thursday night at their bash honoring Howard County Executive Ken Ulman but were openly proud that their favorite son is poised to join Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown as No. 2 on the 2014 gubernatorial ticket. There were many oblique references, including from Ulman, to the announcement scheduled for Monday at the lakefront in Columbia. But at least from the podium, there were only veiled references to the worst-kept secret in Maryland politics. The four Democratic members of the Howard County Council all delivered teasing but affectionate recollections of their dealings with Ulman, their county executive since 2006, over the years.

Lavender lovers will find themselves in a floral wonderland next weekend at the Pennsylvania Lavender Festival. The three-day celebration of the aromatic, purple flower will bloom at Willow Pond Farm in Fairfield, Pa. Visitors can stroll through the farm's 2.5 acres of lavender; hear discussions on the plant's medicinal aspects; learn about growing, harvesting and cooking with lavender; and hear the lecture "Lavender Lore and Other Herbal Mysteries."...

Laurel Mill Playhouse invites directors and playwrights to submit resumes and one-act plays for the 2011 One-Act Festival, which will be held Sept. 2 through 18 at the playhouse, 508 Main St. Contact Maureen Rogers at maureencrogers@gmail.com or 301-452-2557.

The recent Art Outside at Druid Hill Park returned the park, Baltimore, and its environs to a rare and nostalgic experience ("Arts patron revives Druid Hill outdoor festival," May 17). To see the diversity of attendees melding among the art, entertainment and sheer fun - all within a unique, and naturally picturesque setting in the city - was a welcome breath of fresh air! The happening not only commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Druid Hill Park Reservoir, it also inspired people to pause, take a relaxed break from the distresses of the world and have an old-fashioned good time.