Baltimore Prepares For The Preakness

Saturday, the first leg of the famed “Triple Crown” was run in Louisville, Kentucky at legendary venue, Churchill Downs.

“Orb,” ridden by jockey Joel Rosario, was the most powerful among the three late surging horses – Golden Soul and Revolutionary – and took home a two and a half length victory.

Hall of fame trainer, and first time Derby winner Shug McGaughey said, “It means everything to me. I’ve always dreamed of this day and it finally came.”

With the Derby come and gone, the next event for the horse racing world is the middle leg of the Triple Crown: The Preakness. The event is, of course, held at Pimlico racetrack in western Baltimore.

What separates the Preakness from the other legs of the crown is the length of the track. It is by far the shortest of the three races (the other race being the Belmont in New York). For example, If the Kentucky Derby was to have been at Pimlico, early pace-setter Palice Malice would have ended the race with the lead.

It will be interesting to see how the horses from the Derby, and any new horses that are entered in the race adjust to a shorter track.

Surprisingly every horse that place second through sixth appears to be opting out of the Preakness. The trainers of horses such as 32-1 longshot-runer-up Golden Soul and Revolutionary have said they will rest their three-year-old colts for the Belmont stakes – a much longer race – two weeks after the Preakness.

Abstraction, a horse that would be given high odds due to the fact that he won the Preakness Prep Race last week, is most likely not to run due to late entry fees.

Baltimore-based Under Armour owner’s Kevin Plank is bound to put one of his Sagamore Farms’ horses in the race – most likely Heat Press. Heat Press is a pace-setting Long Shot, but Plank is known for taking chances, and the Preakness is certainly a place to take a shot.

Look for Orb to be the obvious favorite. Mylute, (ridden by female rider  Rosie Napravnik, who started her career in Maryland), Departed and new Governor Charlie (who was held out of the Kentucky Derby) as contenders.

It will be interesting to see how horses that ran in the derby fare in Baltimore, especially if the weather in Baltimore is any better than the mud that engulfed Churchill Downs last Saturday.

The winner is guaranteed at least a 1,000,000 million dollar payout, quite the incentive to make the trip to Baltimore.

Anything could happen come Saturday, May 18th at Pimlico.

 

SJ Tuohy | Loyola Maryland Reporter

Attman’s Deli, the best in Baltimore

By Toni Gasparis

The smell of pickles and corned beef permeate the walls of Attman’s Deli located at 1019 E. Lombard St. Hidden on a side street near apartment buildings you’d never know it was there unless you went looking for it. But, tucked away minutes from the Inner Harbor is the best corned beef sandwich in Baltimore, as deemed by the locals and USA Today, as well as a legacy.

Jewish immigrants Harry and Ida Attman founded Attman’s Deli in 1915. They raised three sons Edward, the founder of Acme Paper & Supply Co., Seymour, and Leonard. After Harry, Seymour was the one who owned and operated the deli. Harry and Ida’s grandson, Marc Attman, now runs the deli.

In it’s third generation of family operation, Attman’s is considered one of the oldest delis to be still run by the original founding family. The legacy of serving the best corned beef and customer service for nearly 100 years does not go unnoticed.

“You could not compete with Harry. He had great customer service, a great feeling for the people and community,” reflected John Goldberg on his youthful days coming into the deli, “and the best damn corned beef sandwich around!” he adds with a smile as he takes a sip of his orange soda.

“We come here every Friday after school,” said Rebecca Jordan, a local high school student sitting with her four friends.

“We love it because the food is so cheap, but so good!” exclaimed Rebecca’s friend Molly Brown.

“This is literally the best corned beef I’ve ever tasted,” proclaimed Loyola student Maureen Shannon as she took a bite into her enormous sandwich.“I’m so excited! I’ve been looking for a deli to go to in Baltimore, looks like I found one,” Shannon went on to say.

Attman’s Deli is open 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday.

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History added to the Fells Point Privateer Festival

By  Toni Gasparis

 

 

The bombastic sound of cannons and the smell of fried food invited Baltimoreans into the 9^th annual Fells Point Privateer Festival. But pirates were not the only focus on the streets this year; colonial soldiers were as well in order to bring a forgotten historical aspect to the festival.

 

Nine years ago the Fells Point Privateer Festival started out as a bar crawl organized by people who liked to dress up as pirates. In recent years, the festival has become more established with fun and food for the whole family to enjoy. But there was an aspect missing from the festival—the real history.

 

A few feet away from the tents selling crab cakes and crafts was the pier dedicated entirely to the history of Fells Point during the War of 1812.

 

Steven Lampredi, a greeter at the pier, informed festival-goers that the War of 1812 was the only time, aside from the Revolutionary War, where there were privateers in Fells Point.

 

“They [the people who started the festival] used the words pirate and privateer interchangeably…there’s a really big difference,” stated Lampredi.

 

Lampredi went on to explain that a privateer “has a license from the government to participate in armed conflict” whereas a pirate “operates entirely independently” and is considered illegal everywhere.

 

This common misconception has led the Privateer Festival to realize the difference and therefore bring in the historical aspect to provide authenticity and clarity.

 

The history of Fells Point was brought into the festival this year in order to “bring awareness of, and celebrate, the bicentennial,” said Tim Ertel, Music Coordinator and ranger at Fort McHenry, who was hired to talk about history at the festival.

 

Both Lampredi and Ertel agreed that a majority of the people that come to the festival see it as just a pirate thing, not realizing the actual historic facts it’s rooted in. Both men are glad that the history was added and think that it will continue to be a part of the tradition of the festival for years to come.

 

“There is an actual treasure here and that’s the actual history of Fells Pointers who dared the wrath of Great Britain, sailed out on those dangerous vessels, and did damage to the British economy to help us in wartime—in our effort, in our struggle to become independent,” said Lampredi.

Locals flock to Sunday Morning Market

Local Baltimorians rise early on Sundays during the months of April and December to the smell of potatoes, eggs and a wide variety of breakfast foods.  They are all headed to the Farmer’s Market and Bazaar right off of exit 83 between Holliday and Gay streets.  It has become a Sunday morning routine for most, picking various fair trade, fresh foods and products for the week ahead while supporting the local Baltimore community.

Rihanna DeLyon, a local Baltimorian, has been coming every Sunday for years now. “Because we love the farmers market, we come every weekend. The vendors are great, the food is great so we just walk over here and we love it.” One of her favorites: “The fresh desserts!”

 

With the streets crowded and packed with different vendors selling everything from olive oil and spices, to bouquets of flowers with hanging baskets. Children and adults of all ages ran through the streets stopping at vendor to vendor, stopping on each line no matter how long the lines were.  The most popular vendor seemed to be a man, The Turkey Burger Man named Gary Cornell. “We’re always selling Baltimore’s best fresh grilled turkey burgers with all natural sauces.” Getting more and more excited as he continued to sell his product, it was hard to not get caught up in his spirit.  “The classic turkey burger’s the best seller.  We also make turkey and lamb and turkey and shrimp.” 

 

Along with the variety of different products, it is the quality that is the main attraction for the customers.  Not only do they accept food stamp cards if fresh produce is purchased, but most of the products are fair trade or organic. 

 

No matter what happens during the farmer’s market, one thing is clear about these vendors: “We come here every Sunday, rain or shine.  We have no life” says Kevin, selling Cajun food sandwiches. This dedication is important to the customers and communities, it has become a core part of the Baltimore cultural. As Gary promises “Even if the creek don’t rise, every Sunday we are here from April to December.”

BMA gets contemporary

By Sean Tuohy, Katie Krzaczek and Toni Gasparis

 

The first phase of the 24.5 million-dollar renovation to the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) is complete—22 months later, the Contemporary Wing is now reopen.

 

The wing, which originally opened in 1994, was in vast need of structural and visual upgrades. Six and a half million dollars later, the wing is now a masterpiece. The money is coming from an array of sources including state, city and private investments.

 

Kristen Hileman, in charge of the wing’s renovations, said the museum was in need of the improvements. “We decided this was a great a time to change the way the wing looks and feels to visitors,” she said.

 

More than 100 pieces were added to the collection, which was designed by Marshall Craft Associates, including a variety of contemporary paintings, sculpture, photographs, drawings and moving image works. However, with all the new additions, the classics— including the popular Andy Warhol collection—remain on display.

 

In addition to Warhol, the wing also features major work from artists such as Olafur Eliasson, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Franz West, Guyton Walker, Josephine Meckseper, Sarah Sze, Rirkrit Tiravanija, among others.

 

“Almost as impressive as the new works themselves, the state of the art lighting system that has been added is phenomenal,” said Hileman. “The lights make the works look even better, if that is possible.”

 

Another addition in the wing is a work of glass architecture designed by artist Sarah Oppenheimer that gives you unexpected views of other galleries—and provides interesting people watching vantages.

 

Coinciding with the wing’s opening, the museum is making strides technologically as well, with the launch of an application for mobile devices that is currently available for download.

 

“BMA Go Mobile” provides people an opportunity to view every work of art in the Contemporary Wing, and also includes exclusive content such as artist interviews, explanations and history behind pieces.

 

The reopening of the Contemporary Wing is just one of the many things that the Baltimore Museum of Art has on the horizon. The museum’s final renovation plans include updates to the American and African galleries as well as the gift shop and lobby. All the renovations are slated to be complete by 2014.