After Dark: Holiday Edition

Gee Willickers, the city has aplenty to offer for holiday entertainment after 5 p.m.! Fortunately most of it is free but unfortunately it seems a lot of it is happening this weekend as Saturday marks the first day of December.

34th St. after 6 p.m. is already aglow . The grand lighting was on November 24 and the street will stay alight through the end of the year. 34th St. is in Hampden between Keswick and Chestnut; last year 30,000 people strolled the streets during the 28 days the street was lit. The streets are so crowded that police direct traffic but the snail's pace you drive is worth the glory of thousands of lit bulbs. The "event" is free--because really, who charges money to walk up and down one block?

Saturday will mark the Fells Point Miracle on Main Street. Now that Santa has arrived for the season with reindeer by way of the Macy's Parade, he will arrive in Baltimore by tugboat. Except that's at 9 a.m., so it's better to keep in the spirit of this project and head over for the other miracle: tree lighting. That's at 5 p.m., after the sun in this city has set, thanks to daylight savings. Guess what: this is free too!

Down the street the harbor will be filled for the 20th Annual Parade of Boats. The Parade starts at 6 p.m.; boats, yachts, and I hope tugboats, will float across Baltimore's giant pond, forcing the water to glitter with more than the Domino Sugar Sign. Presented by the Fells Point Yacht Club, there will be more than 30 boats.

Next Thursday, December 6, the Monument will light up like a Christmas tree for Mount Vernon Place's "A Monumental Occasion."I watched the other tree lightings this week but didn't see any fireworks. What we lack in greens we make up with explosives. This is also free. Parking can be scarce in Mount Vernon and you can get there hassle free on the Light Rail using the Center Street stop. Pre-events activities begin at 5:30 p.m. and the monument will glow at 6:50 p.m. If you miss out fear not, the monument will glow through New Year's. Maybe longer--it was lit well past the first of the year in 2k6. I can't believe I've scheduled myself that night to see GWAR over fireworks.

There's another tree lighting in Little Italy the next evening at 6 p.m. Carolers, Santa and a real tree will try and ease the pain caused over theatrical blood and missing fireworks "timed to music." But there are also cookies, hot cider and roasted chestnuts (really! Despite the shortage!) too, so I suppose I will find a way to drown my sorrows.

Also all-lit-up is the BMI in Federal Hill, starting, of course, on Saturday. You can walk or drive after dark through Christmas Eve through the campus and admire an artistic display of lights. The BMI is a fascinating place so these lights will go on the typical yard display. There are other events here too during the day.

Finally, what seems the most night-related--and perhaps most interesting--is a winter solstice hike in Oregon Ridge on December 21. Most Oregon Ridge hikes are $2 (non-refundable) and geared for adults (who genuinely enjoy the great outdoors). This one however, will be free! Oregon Ridge also regularly has full moon hikes (which would have been nice to know before the semester ended). This hike will examine winter hibernation which sounds good to MCOM 407 students...

For Things to Do during daylight I recommend City Paper's Holiday Guide. I wrote some of it, so there is a level of bias attached to my recommendation. The city's webpage has a holiday guide--which includes Santa-free holidays--and the Baltimore Fun Guide, a website based solely on planning a weekend out, has a list of holiday activities too.

If that doesn't work for you there's always ABC Family, which is diligently airing holiday thematic movies for their yearly 25 Days of Christmas. I'm not sure what last night's A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969) had to do with Christmas, but it was followed by Home Alone 4 (2002) and I suppose that all can be redeemed. In defense of ol' Chuck, when I tuned in, Snoopy was pirouetting via rotoscoping on the ice and that's marginally Christmas-like. Ribbing aside, Frosty's Winter Wonderland airs tonight, The Year Without a Santa Claus on Monday, a Christmas "classics" marathon Saturday, December 8, Jack Frost on the 11th, and another marathon on the 24th. In between these days is a borderline-tasteless nearly-sexual romp starring Melissa Joan Hart and Mario Lopez , The Incredibles (holidayish for its wholesomeness?) and miscellaneous live action cinema gems. If Hallmark holiday movies are your thing the schedule is online here. Or take my word for it and watch just the stop-action classics post-finals.
The other networks are on the bandwagon too--next Wednesday ABC will air Santa Claus is Coming to Town during the Pushing Daisies time slot (which was filled this week by Shrek the Halls). Given ABC's extensive line-up it looks like the best way to cover for repeats during the writers' strike is with Christmas nostalgia. This is fine by me--I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown is slated to air too. Parades will air too--but until those network parades are in the Harbor they're not worth mentioning or watching, are they?