Events : Buzz

Are you good at answering multiple choice questions and phoning a friend.

"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" — yes, that show is apparently still on the air — is scouting potential candidates in Baltimore for its game show, Mix 106.5 reports. Host Cedric the Entertainer will hold auditions in Towson Sept. 12. 

"Contestant auditions consist of a timed multiple choice test and for those people who pass, an interview with one of the show’s producers," Mix 106.5 says. "Auditioners will be seen on a first-come, first-served basis and producers will audition as many people as they can throughout the day."

You must be at least 18 to audition. Read the entire story here. 

 

When Baltimore native Michael Phelps finished competing in the 2012 Olympics in London, he insisted that he was finished with competitive swimming for good.  However, NPR reports that the most-decorated Olympian's decision isn’t as cut and dry anymore.
 
While touring in Barcelona, Spain, for the World Swimming Championships, Phelps was asked about whether he'll compete at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, and he said he hasn't planned that far ahead in his life.  Far from a confirmation, but far from the black-and-white denial he offered after his time in the London games, as well.
           
While not currently training, NPR notes that there would be plenty of time to get into competitive shape for the 2016 games, were he to start preparing by 2015.

 
You can read NPR's full story here.

The Maryland Historical Society is inviting expert quilters and the public to help it recreate a copy of the American flag, USA Today writes.
 
The Mount Vernon museum recently assembled about 100 or so expert quilters to create a copy of the flag originally sewn by Mary Pickersgill in 1813—the same flag that would eventually inspire Francis Scott Key to write “The Star Spangled Banner.”
 
Staying true to Pickersgill's flag, the society is using wool bunting, rather than nylon, to craft the banner, USA Today writes.
 
And on Aug. 3 and Aug. 11, the historical society will open its project to the public, who will be able to add a stitch to the flag. Featuring several exhibits and costumed actors, the event will take place from noon-3 p.m..
 
Read more about the event here, and register for the event here.

Atlantic City is launching a promotional tour that will bring its famous boardwalk to Baltimore, Philly.com reports.

Entitled “Do AC,” the tour brings all the elements of Atlantic City's boardwalk—the photo booths, massage stations, games of chance, giveaways, and DJs—except they've all been stuffed into a 750-square-foot trailer that's on the move. The tour launched in Philadelphia's Penn Landing this past weekend and will be traveling to Baltimore July 19-21 at the Artscape festival, before packing up and rolling to New York.

The tour “was specifically created to introduce Atlantic City to people in a new way, create a social media buzz and represent all 12 casinos in key markets," Liza Cartmell, president of the Atlantic City Alliance tells Philly.com. The tour is sponsored by Atlantic City's casinos, and is part of the city's annual $30 million dollar “Live from AC” promotional campaign.

Read more about the portable boardwalk here.

A bar mitzvah is usually celebrated when a boy turns 13, but the Jewish Museum of Maryland is making a special exception for Superman.

The museum, located in Baltimore's Jonestown neighborhood, held a bar mitzvah on Sunday for the comic book superhero, who was created 75 years ago by Jewish artists. The superhero himself will be attending the event, which will also include dancing, music, food and a bar mitzvah cake, the Washington Post writes. 

The event will celebrate the new movie on the superhero as well as the museum's exhibit on Superman, which is on display through Aug. 18.
Read more about the exhibit here.

Which former BmoreMedia publisher won a total of $31,601 on "Jeopardy?"

The correct answer is Sam Hopkins, a Baltimore resident and 2013 graduate of the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. He won the total over two days, May 29 and May 30. 

The Prairie Village, Kansas, native gave a shout out to Kansas City barbeque on his second day. Meanwhile, the Twitterverse was buzzing about the multilingual Hopkins. @alliekmiller Tweeted the following: Ladies, there is a man named Sam Hopkins on #jeopardy right now. He speaks 11 languages. Start watching. #betterthanbachelorette. 

JHU put out a news release on the grad's silver-screen appearance. The release also contains highlights from an essay that Hopkins wrote for the school's ONE magazine. In the piece, Hopkins recalls his trip to Bangalore, India and experience collecting vinyl records from around the world. 

You can also see Sam Hopkins' video greeting on the Jeopardy website. 

Summer is a time to experience music in the great outdoors.

The New York Times features a list of classical music concerts, including one in California led by Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Music Director Marin Alsop. 

The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music takes place in Santa Cruz and San Juan Bautista Aug. 2-11. "The lineup this season includes world premieres by Kevin Puts and Sean Friar, as well as recent works by Brett Dean, Philip Glass, Christopher Rouse and George Walker," the Times writes.

Read the entire story here. 

The Baltimore Pride festival will host a mass same-sex wedding with Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake presiding over the ceremony, writes the AP in a story that ran in the Washington Post. The June 16 event will take place in Druid Hill Park.

The mayor has officiated other same-sex marriages since gay marriage became legal Jan. 1. Event planners and marketers in the wedding industry said last year that legalizing gay marriage would boost business. 

 





 

Ah summer. It's the time to slap some meat – or tofu burgers — on the grill.

Forbes features a rundown of some of the best places to brush up on your grilling technique, including a class in Baltimore. "Despite how simple it looks, grilling isn’t the easiest of cooking methods," Forbes writes.

Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore BBQ 101 "is a fun way to kick off the summer barbecue season," Forbes writes. Executive Chef Oliver Beckert will demonstrate a variety of tailgating and barbecuing techniques at the $65 event. Read the entire story here. 

Crabs, scenic roads and Artscape are among the reasons travelers should visit Maryland this summer, according to Fodor's. The travel guide recently posted 5 Reasons to Go to Maryland this Summer. Visiting the Eastern Shore and celebrating American history on the Civil War Trail were the other two reasons. 

"Warmer weather means getting outside and enjoying the more than 3,100 miles of coastline along the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean, taking in the various outdoor street festivals, and cracking into some blue crabs," Fodor's writes. 

In addition to Artscape, Fodor's highlights two other festivals: the Maryland Renaissance Festival and the Maryland Craft Beer Festival in Frederick. Read the entire story here. 

Spring is when glorious private homes and gardens open up to the public, with the proceeds often going to a good cause. 

The New York Times listed a number of these house-and-garden tours from New York to San Francisco, including several in Maryland.

Sherwood Gardens in Guilford, "where an astonishing 80,000 tulips grow every spring," and a 1932 stucco home in Timonium that once belonged to quarterback Johnny Unitas are among the local sights.

Read the entire story here. 

Runners in Baltimore and around the country paid tribute to the victims of the deadly bomb that exploded during the Boston marathon April 15, USA Today reports.

"Five days after the nation's most storied race for runners was shattered by terrorists' bombs, marathons and 10Ks across the country dedicated their runs and directed their donations to the victims in Boston," the newspaper writes. 

The April 20 Sole of the City 10K in Federal Hill began with a moment of silence and many runners sported Boston Red Sox hats.

"People may conclude that the running community has bounced back or that 'we will run again,' " Baltimore Sun Editor Olivia Hubert-Allen posted on her Facebook page, writes USA Today.

Read the entire story here.

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra presented an abridged symphonic version of Wagner's famous "The Ring of the Nibelung", reviewed by the Washington Post.

"That the experience — a grouping of greatest hits, arranged into a single piece by Henk de Vlieger — felt like Wagner Lite is also unfair to both Alsop and the orchestra, who did some heavy lifting in some significant music," the Post writes of the performance led by BSO Music Director Marin Alsop. "It was a nice idea for a program."

Read the rest here. 

Cubist painter was taught by Henri Matisse and friends with Pablo Picasso and Henri Rousseau.

And he is now the focus of a new exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Art, which is featuring drawings, prints and paintings from the 20th century artist.

The Wall Street Journal highlights the exhibit, along with two others in Seattle and Miami.  

" 'Max Weber: Bringing Paris to New York,' chronicles in 40 works from 1908 through 1928 how he moved from a classical to a cubist style," the Journal writes. 

The exhibit started March 1 and runs through June 23. It features several Weber paintings from 1909 to 1915 that are part of the  BMA's collection along with many pieces on loan from the Estate of Max Weber. 

Before Under Armour debuted its Brand House Feb. 16, CEO Kevin Plank and other executives gave New York media a preview of the 8,000-square-foot shop and what's in store for the Baltimore sportswear company. 

"The first item Plank introduced wasn’t a product after all, but a place where Under Armour will display its goods," Forbes writes about the Harbor East store.

Execs also talked about "Infrared, part of Under Armour’s innovative ColdGear line," new running shoes the company will unveil this summer, and a digital training monitor, Forbes says.

"There must be, among rival companies like Columbia and even Nike, to a degree, a bit of jealousy regarding Under Armour and its founder," writes Forbes of the company that pulled in $1.2 billion in sales last year.