Book Escape Featured at Baltimore Book Festival

Baltimore's literary event is finally here! The Baltimore Book Festival will be held this weekend (starting today), rain or shine, in beautiful Mount Vernon.

Federal Hill's own THE BOOK ESCAPE has a bigger spot this year with even more books to browse! Come visit owner Andrew Stonebarger at the booth located on the Peabody side of Charles Street. just south of the monument. On Sunday from 1-3 pm, there will be a book signing for Wicked Baltimore by Lauren Silberman.

Adjacent to Book Escape's tent is the Federal Hill chapter of the Kurt Vonnegut Book Club. Stop by and say hello!

Info: www.thebookescape.com

~Leah Witter, intern

Federal Hill Fares Wells in CP's Best of Baltimore

Congratulations to the Federal Hill businesses named in City Paper's Best of Baltimore issue! Check out these and all the great shops and restaurants in the historic Federal Hill business district:

Best Men's Shoes: Dan Brothers Shoes (1032 S. Charles St

Best Place to Buy Furniture: Shofer's Furniture (930 S. Charles St): shofers.com

Best Comic Book Shop: Alliance Comics (904 Light St): alliancecomicsonline.com

Best Charcuterie: Bluegrass Tavern (1500 S. Hanover St): bluegrasstavern.com

Best Raw Bar: Nick's Oyster Bar at Cross Street Market (1065 S. Charles St.): nicksoysterbar.com

Best Chinese: Lucky Fortune (1116 Light St): luckyfortune.ucraa.org

Best Thai: Thai Arroy (1019 Light St): thaiarroy.com

Best Drunken Hook-Up Bar: Mother's Federal Hill Grille (1113 S. Charles St): mothersgrille.com

Best Happy Hour: Ropewalk-A Federal Hill Tavern (1209 S. Charles St): ropewalktavern.com

~Leah Witter, intern

Amy's Boutique Celebrates Fifth Anniversary

Amy's Boutique (1133 S. Charles) is 5 years old!! To celebrate the 5^th anniversary and thank the shop's customers owner, Amy Mutch is offering champagne on Saturdays this month. Customers who make a purchase also receive a gift of the popular Rosebud Lip Salve.

Amy's Boutique offers a variety of attractive and artistic clothing, accessories, jewelry and other items. Stop in and see all of the fabulous fall clothing and accessories and congratulate Amy on her success!

Info: www.loveamysboutique.com

~Leah Witter, intern

A Big Thank You for a Successful Street Beat Festival

Federal Hill Main Street would like to thank everyone for a great Street Beat Festival yesterday! The success of the festival was due to the great bands, vendors, and volunteers who made it all possible... as well as the crowds who made it fun! Without the help from the community, this would not be possible! Thank you!

See you next year for the kick-off of the street festival season with the Spring Block Party in April!

~Leah Witter, intern

Street Beat Festival: Band Schedule and More!

Sunday, September 18th 11 Am-7 PM

HAMBURG STREET STAGE

11:30-12:30 Jenny Leigh Band

12:45- 1:45 Cris Jacobs Band

2:10-3:00 Dawgone

3:20-4:00 The Congress

4:25-5:15 Soul Island Rebels

5:40-7:00 Cris Jacobs and John Gros Band

WEST STREET STAGE

11:30- 12:30 School of Rock All-Stars

12:45-1:40 Blue Collar Band

2:00-2:45 Benny Marchant Band

3:00-3:50 Damn Right

4:20-5:15 Psycho Killers: Talking Heads Tribute

5:45-7:00 The Pietasters

LIGHT STREET STAGE

1:00-2:00 Avalon Sky

2:20-3:00 The Close Talkers

3:20-4:20 The Petticoat Tea Room

4:35-5:30 Jamie McLean Band

5:45-7:00 Nelly's Echo

Check out the the 70-plus arts&crafts and food&drink vendors on Charles and Cross Streets. Don't miss the chance to step aboard the Fox TV "Terra Nova" bus and experience the new show first-hand.

And make sure to visit Kids' Kross Street for lots of fun and games, moonbounces, face painting, and a performance (around noon) by the popular Bubble Lady.

~Leah Witter, intern

Sunday’s Festival featured on Fox 45 Morning News

Fox 45 Morning News featured Sunday’s Street Beat Festival as its “Hometown Hotspot” today. Four spots aired live from Federal Hill Main Street and highlighted different aspect of the big event, including live music, arts&crafts, food&drink, children’s activities, and more.

Alexa Webb of Alexandra Webb Artisan Jewelry talked on air and showed some of her stunning original jewelry that will be available at her booth, in front of her shop at 1028 S. Charles Street, in the heart of the festival area. Also featured were framed originals by Federal Hill photographer Gail Goldner Green. They are two of the 70+ vendors offering a wide range of items this Sunday, such as scarves, purses, artwork, crafts, beauty products, home goods, clothing, and more. The food & drink offerings include something for everyone.

Jenny Leigh Freeman of Federal Hill (pictured here) talked about her band's performance (11:30-12:30 on the Hamburg Street stage) as well as all the other music groups in the line-up on the three stages. Among the 16 other bands are The Pietasters, Nelly's Echo, Jamie McLean Band, Cris Jacobs & Jon Gros, and many more.

Don't miss this FREE and FUN festival for all ages, this Sunday, September 18, 11 AM to 7 PM on the streets of Federal Hill!

Info and band schedule: www.historicfederalhill.org

~Leah Witter, Intern

Storefront "Facelifts" in Federal Hill

The “Open for Business” campaign is underway! The Federal Hill Business Association and Federal Hill Main Street are working together to improve the appearance of our business district to make it more appealing for residents, visitors, and potential business owners.

Volunteers from Main Street and the Business Association are focusing on the most visible storefronts first by sprucing up vacant properties with colored paper, attractive posters, and colorful maps (see photo), in effect turning them into information kiosks until a new business moves in. “We want our shop windows to look chic and inviting,” explained Committee Chair Will Runnebaum.

Artist Crystal Moll, whose gallery is at 1030 S. Charles, and Interior Designer Katie Destefano, whose shop is at 1033 S. Charles, are contributing their talents to the cause. Crystal designed the attractive "Historic Federal Hill" poster, and Katie is donating her talents to help business owners "stage" their windows to catch the eye of passers-by.

You don't have to be part of the committee to join in the effort! Like Will says, “Let's all do our part...pull those weeds, sweep your sidewalk, wash your windows and let's show our visitors the beautiful community where we live and work!”

~Leah Witter, intern

Federal Hill's Largest Festival: STREET BEAT!

Come join the fun on Sunday, September 18^th from 11 AM to 7 PM! The Street Beat Festival offers a variety of activities for all ages!

This FREE event on S. Charles and Cross Streets (around the Market) features LIVE music on 3 different stages all day, arts & crafts, food & drink, Kids' Kross Street with lots of activities for children, and much more!

There will be 18 different bands performing throughout the day, including Pietasters from DC, Baltimore favorite Nelly's Echo; Psycho Killers, the Talking Heads tribute band back by popular demand, Jamie McLean Band, Federal Hill's own Jenny Leigh Band, School of Rock, and many more!

More than 60 different vendors will offer a wide assortment of arts & crafts and food & drink options.

Federal Hill's Main Street's Street Beat Festival is exciting and enjoyable for any age! Don't miss this free event that you can share with your family, friends and neighbors!!

Interested in volunteering? Call 410-727-4500 or email admin@historicfederalhill.org

~Leah Witter, intern