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WAR MEMORIAL
- June 15, 2012
- on 6/15/2012
- MoJo: Maggie Wolff Peterson
It’s hard not to hear the Star Spangled Banner playing inside your head as the water taxi pulls up to Fort McHenry in Baltimore. After all, our national anthem was written here, by American lawyer and poet Francis Scott Key, as he watched from offshore while British cannons besieged the fort during the War of 1812.
This year, the bicentennial of that conflict is being celebrated in Baltimore with a variety of events and memorials. Activities this week began on June 12, as more than 40 tall ships from around the world sailed into Baltimore Harbor, docking in the Inner Harbor, and at Fell’s Point, Canton, and Locust Point. Ship tours this weekend for vessels berthed at the Inner Harbor and Fell's Point are from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. and naval vessels at North Locust Point will be open for tours from 1 to 5 p.m.
All-day events on Friday, June 15, include a free outdoor concert at Power Plant Live, located a block from the Inner Harbor. Also free, with a website download (go to www.gofobo.com/rsvp and input the following code: BLTB77S to download tickets) is an advance screening of the new movie, “Rock of Ages,” starring Tom Cruise, Julianne Hough, Russell Brand and Alec Baldwin, at the Harbor East Theater.
Ongoing events include an exhibition of paintings, prints and photographs in honor of the 1812 victory, divided between the lobby gallery of the World Trade Center, and the Crystal Moll Gallery on South Charles Street. Marathoners may take part in the fifth running of the Baltimore Ten-Miler (baltimoretenmiler.com), that begins and concludes at Druid Hill Lake Park near the Maryland Zoo, traveling along the north side of town to Lake Montebello and returning to Druid Hill for post-race festivities.
Other ongoing events include Fighting To Be Free, a history of African-American efforts during the war. This tour includes stops at the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum, Black Soldier Statue, Battle Monument, Hampton Historic Site, Star-Spangled Flag House, Phoenix Shot Tower Fort McHenry, Douglass/Myers Maritime Park and Wells-McComas Monument.
And events on both Saturday and Sunday will be punctuated by The Star-Spangled Air Show, featuring five high-precision aviation acts from the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and U.S. Coast Guard from 1 to 4 p.m. The show may be viewed from Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine and the grounds of MedStar Harbor Hospital.
A complete listing of events is at baltimore.org.
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