Jewish Museum

Food, puppets and a tour of the nation's third-oldest synagogue - that's how the Lubin family celebrated their Jewish heritage yesterday. The family from Reisterstown had a picnic lunch of gefilte fish and matzo at the Inner Harbor, attended a Passover puppet show at the Jewish Museum of Maryland, saw an exhibit on Jewish camping there and then went on a tour of Lloyd Street Synagogue. "It's a family day," said Brian Lubin, with his wife, Melanie, and son, Russell. "He's keeping Passover pretty good for a 4-year-old.

THEATER MORALITY WITH WIT At the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, the Royal Shakespeare Company will debut the first part of its two-part production of The Canterbury Tales. In this new adaptation of Geoffrey Chaucer's classic, a series of colorful characters tell spirited, bawdy tales that provide serious moral lessons as well as wit and humor. Co-directors Rebecca Gatward and Jonathan Munby will present the stories in different styles to reflect the variety of narrative voices presented in the original.

'DEAD MAN' DISCUSSION In light of the Baltimore Opera Company's coming production of Dead Man Walking, general director Michael Harrison is holding a public discussion on art, society and capital punishment. The panelists are Bishop Robert Ihloff, Episcopal Diocese of Baltimore; Bishop Dennis Madden, Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore; Rabbi Mark G. Loeb, Beth El Congregation; and John Packard, the lead in Dead Man Walking. James Wyda, federal public defender for the District of Maryland, moderates.

An electric permanent wave machine. A handmade Barbie doll dress that conforms to Orthodox Jewish standards of modesty. A 1900 wedding dress made and worn by Bertha Rose Manko, who worked at the Schoen Russell Millinery Shop on Charles Street. In the exhibition, Hello Gorgeous! Fashion, Beauty, and the Jewish-American Ideal, these objects and hundreds of others tell the story of how Jews in this country have both adapted to and defined standards of beauty. Opening today at the Jewish Museum of Maryland, Hello Gorgeous!

Sadie B. Feldman, a former art teacher and Baltimore philanthropist whose generosity endowed cultural, educational and medical institutions, died from stroke complications Tuesday at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. She was 95. Born in Baltimore, the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrant parents, Miss Feldman was raised on Roslyn Avenue. She was a 1926 graduate of Western High School and held undergraduate degrees from the Johns Hopkins University and what is now Maryland Institute College of Art. In 1940, she earned a master's degree in psychology from George Washington University.

The tale of Mary Pickersgill, the hardworking Baltimore seamstress who made the Star-Spangled Banner in 1814, will soon be told in signs outside her East Pratt Street house in 17 different languages. Following in Boston's Freedom Trail footsteps, Mayor Martin O'Malley unveiled a new Heritage Walk yesterday on the Inner Harbor promenade, near the trailhead of a 5-kilometer Baltimore history lesson that will be installed over the summer. O'Malley said the path would enable city dwellers and visitors to connect dots in a tapestry of time spanning four centuries.

Just for laughs If comedic variety shows are your cup of tea, then head to the Harborplace amphitheater Saturday, when comics will showcase their talents to vie for a spot among the 25-year-old Harborplace Street Performers at their annual auditions. Performers will have 10-15 minutes to juggle, tell family-friendly jokes or pull a rabbit out of a hat to impress the judges. Auditions are noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Harborplace amphitheater, between Light Street and Pratt Pavilion. Call 410-332-4191.