Leisure is the section where we highlight the intriguing, exciting and all-around fun events and activities happening in Baltimore over the weekend.
After a long 12 weeks, we are finally here. Thanksgiving break and the last issue of The News-Letter. This year, since Thanksgiving came so late in the semester, it seemed that many of us needed the break more than usual. Personally, I was exhausted from the unsustainable schedule I had established that usually works in other school years.
In this issue of The News-Letter, Your Weekend brings you a special theme: Taste of Home. In the other article, you will hear from Aubin, who has found a warm comfort in the homey stews and fried plantains from the newly opened Sobeachy Haitian Cuisine in the renovated Cross Street Market. I, on the other hand, will revisit one of the places I have loved to hate in the two-and-a-half years of my Hopkins undergraduate career: Orient Express.
Food is a large part of our lives, cultures and identities. Each culture has its own set of unique ingredients, cooking techniques and dishes that distinguish them and set them apart. It is those elements that let us feel closer to our families and ancestors. It is also the taste of those things that give us a sense of belonging and home.
Many students may believe that the extent of nature which can be found in Baltimore are the trees immediately surrounding campus. However, there are many places nearby full of outdoorsy opportunities for those who feel like exploring nature when they’re not studying for their exams. While not spectacularly expansive, there are areas nearby which are within walking distance from campus. These options provide opportunities for running, hiking or biking depending on what you prefer.
As any seasoned group chat veteran can attest to, the most difficult college endeavor is getting five friends to agree on a spot to wine and dine at on a Saturday night. It’s hard enough to burst the Hopkins bubble without a half-dozen stomachs and palates negotiating a balance between the K-BBQ cravings of one and the Whole30 ambitions of another.
When I first moved to Baltimore a little over two years ago, I knew very little about my new home. Everything was new to me, and it was at times daunting to even think about how to begin getting to know this University, let alone the city and the people who live in it. But I have found that there’s a lot to love here in Baltimore, and one of my very favorite things about this city is the food.
Not knowing much about it, I went to the Baltimore Light City Festival last weekend and initially thought it would be a display of various light installations in a small area of Inner Harbor. I guess I didn’t think much of the word “festival” because I hadn’t realized the light installations were just a small part of what seemed like nighttime Spring Fair on steroids.
Officially, Halloween takes place on Oct. 31. Unofficially, the days surrounding Halloween are also grouped with the holiday. Some enthusiasts have long been celebrating, but there are still plenty more activities to put you in the spooky spirit.
This past Friday I had the pleasure of taking a seat in the Parkway’s main theater — which is a pleasure in and of itself as the place is gorgeous — and watching some truly amazing work from TV writer, director and creator Terence Nance.
Where do you go when you are half an hour outside the city at Ikea, and you’re hungry and tired from all that furniture shopping? This past weekend, my roommate and I decided the correct answer to that question meant driving across the city to the Inner Harbor/Federal Hill area and leaving all of our new furniture in the back of the Zipcar pickup truck. Ramen Utsuke, with its bright bold letters outside of a brand spanking new building, caught my eye as I drove along Key Highway with my new furniture and an empty stomach.
Last week I went to Sky Zone in Timonium for my friend Sophia’s birthday. I hadn’t been to a trampoline park in years — not since my friend Naomi’s fourth grade birthday party, when I met Anne and didn’t like her. I remember having fun at the time, but it was normal. I used to go to Kira’s house all the time to jump on her trampoline, and I remember doing somersaults on Ivy’s during late night dinner parties. This was normal.
This weekend, Mobtown Ballroom, Baltimore’s own hub for swing dancing, will celebrate its eighth anniversary. I myself am a regular there, frequently going to their weekly dances and trying to convince other Hopkins students to go with me. While I would love to use this article to coax others into joining me for the festivities Mobtown has planned — live bands, contests, drinks, dancing the night away — I instead decided to speak with one of the owners about how the ballroom changed from an old church into the beautiful institution it is now.
It would take years to fully explore the food culture of all of Baltimore’s neighborhoods (there are over 100!), but last week I did my best to experience the best food that Federal (Fed) Hill has to offer. A fairly young neighborhood populated with many recent college grads, Fed Hill is always busy and has a lot of offer.
