Hazardous Waste Drop-Off This Weekend

The city of Baltimore will hold its first Hazardous Waste Drop-Off event at the new containment facility at the Northwest Citizen Convenience Center this weekend. On Friday, November 4th, and Saturday, November 5th, city residents can drop off hazardous materials from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The new Center is located at 2840 Sisson Street:



Hazardous household materials that will be collected include:

• oil-based paints
• pesticides
• herbicides
• household batteries
• drain cleaners
• gasoline
• pool chemicals

 (They remind us that latex paint can be dried up and the cans put out for regular trash collection.)

The site will not be collecting: asbestos, ammunition, fire extinguishers, industrial and medical wastes and radioactive materials, including smoke alarms with a radioactive symbol. You'll need to show proof of city residency, such as a driver's license, telephone bill or tax bill, before you'll be allowed to drop off items.

Oh for art's sake!

I am shamelessly posting the following information verbatim from the School 33 Art Center Facebook page.

Art galleries, restaurants & pubs will be open for business to help feature some of the local artists in the community. Plan to spend an evening on Harford Road to visit a gallery, enjoy dinner at one of our award winning restaurants (many require reservations), attend a live performance or warm up to a fire while enjoying some outdoor music at 4500 Harford Road!

Gallery Walk
6:00 Wine & Cheese reception at Performance Workshop Theatre 5426 Harford Road, 410-659-7830

6:30 Dance demonstration at Mid-Atlantic Center for the Performing Arts 5543 Harford Road, 443-438-4525

7:00 Gallery walk begins - visit several art events at:

•  Studio 55 - 5529 Harford Road - 410-444-0022
• Hamilton Gallery - 5502 Harford Road
• Hamilton Arts Collective - 5440 Harford Road
• Hamilton Bakery - 5414 Harford Road, 410-254-0797
• Charmed Life Studio - 4505 Harford Road, 443-962-4634
• Live music at 4500 Harford Road

For dinner, please make dinner reservations prior to October 21st :

• Koco's Pub, 4301 Harford Road, 410-426-3519
• The Chameleon, 4341 Harford Road, 410-254-2376
• Clementine, 5402 Harford Road, 410-444-1497

No reservations required at:

• Chef Mac and All That Blues, 4709 Harford Road, 410-319-6227
•  Lauraville House, 4528 Harford Road, 410-444-6664
•  Zeke's Coffee, 4607 Harford Road, 410-254-0122
•  Hamilton Tavern, 5517 Harford Road, 410-426-1930
•  Los Amigos, 5506 Harford Road, 410-444-4220
•  Lost in the 50's, 5512 Harford Road, 410-254-1639
• Big Bad Wolf, House of Barbeque, 5713 Harford Road, 410-444-6422

On the Number 19

Last evening on the 19 Express. Twigs and a rubber band ball. I think the twigs are from a Sycamore tree. Why? Oh, why not.

Shouldn't they know ...

... who it is that keeps stealing their letters?

Fire Pit? Did someone say Fire Pit?

Yesterday morning I was sitting on the #19 bus, waiting at the light at Harford Road and Hamilton Avenue, when I noticed a sign in the window of the Hamilton Gallery that read "Putting the Charm in Charm City." That made me smile, because we really do have a nice little neighborhood here in Northeast.

And one of the really exciting things is that there's such a creative energy here, in all kinds of directions. From art, to food, to music, to crops. And everything in between. Next Friday, October 21, there will be an evening-long event which should have something for just about everyone. The "Art Crawl and Party" is part of Baltimore City's annual citywide event, going on for over 20 years. But this year, the Lauraville-Hamilton neighborhood has the honor of kicking off the whole dang thing. The Hamilton - Lauraville Main Street News has more info, including a schedule of events. Starting at 6 pm, there is a wine and cheese reception at Performance Workshop, followed by a gallery walk (please stop by the Chop Shop to see my friend Mary's artwork!), followed by an "Art Pit Party" at the Connection 4500 Harford Road.

See you there?

Are you ready for your close-up?

Calling all future homeowners:  Here's your chance to get on teevee!

From the press release that landed in my mailbox:

MY FIRST PLACE, HGTV’s hit series, is coming back for an eleventh season and we’re looking for first-time homebuyers (and their agents!) in the Baltimore area RIGHT NOW!

We are looking for fun, high-energy people who are just starting the home-buying process for their first place and would like to share their story with HGTV

You've seen the shows, I'm sure. Usually they seem to be set in sunny L.A. But wouldn't it be fun to watch a young naive buyer stumble onto some of the treasures in our neighborhood?! So if you have friends or family who might be interested, please spread the word. All they need to do is contact Lauren Miles at HGTV for an application:

lmiles@highnoontv.com
or call Lauren Miles at (303) 872-874

And if you do apply, please let me know -- we would love to follow your adventure!

Sunny Day in Lauraville!

Here, this may help

I tried to remember what this day felt like as I was just out walking the dog. It's kind of hard to remember on this hot July afternoon, but you can almost feel the ice if you close your eyes and imagine real hard ...

Hamilton Street Festival: Musical Lineup Announced!

Make plans to be at the Hamilton Street Festival on Saturday, July 30th. In addition to ample food, drink, and crafts, there will be two stages with musical performances happening from noon to 6. We have out-of-town guests coming, and I can't wait to show them what Hamilton is all about!  The musical lineup, posted over at Hamilton-Lauraville Mainstreet News includes something for everyone:

HAMILTON STAGE:
12-The Fifty Sevens
1-The Sketties
2-Pirates For Sail
3-My Useless Self
4-Monger
5-Puddle
6-Almighty Senators

GIBBONS STAGE:
11:15-The Pakiva Blues Band
12:15-Northernmost
1:15-Garnet Hearts
2:15-Breakfast Club
3:15-Nights Bridge
4:15-Sean K. Preston
5:15-Big Hillbilly Bluegrass Band
6:15-The Pescatones

I linked to a web presence where I could find one.  If you're in one of these bands and I didn't link to your site, please feel free to add it in the comments!

Did you lose something?

Um, yeah, we kind of thought those bottle rockets were coming a little close to the house last night. Front doormat is a little close, I'd say. Not my favorite part of 4th of July in Baltimore. The dog's not especially fond of it either.

Hello voters. Are you ready?

I won't tell you how to vote, but you know I'm gonna tell you to vote! And fortunately, (or unfortunately, depending on how the robocalls go), we've got plenty of time to get to know the candidates for all the upcoming elections. There are several announced candidates for Mayor of Baltimore, all of them worth listening to. (Well, except for that goofball Baltimore City Circuit Court clerk Frank Conaway, "the perennial mayoral candidate," as the Baltimore Sun politely calls him.)

One serious candidate worth listening to is Otis Rolley. He's said some interesting things about promoting neighborhood revitalization and sustainability, and making city government more accountable.  BmoreLocal will be hosting a "meet & greet" with Rolley tomorrow, July 1 at Atomic Books in Hampden. I don't like to send people out of the neighborhood on First Friday, but maybe we can sneak to Hampden at 7 pm and make it back for a drink at Hamilton Tavern afterwards?

Now, if only there was a serious candidate running against Councilman Curran, maybe we would actually see those road improvements in Westfield that he always promises at the neighborhood meetings, instead of  living in the limboland that exists on Harford Road between the revitalized sidewalks and roadways of Hamilton and Parkville ...

18th Annual Hamilton Street Festival & Car Show Set for July 30

Hard to believe it's been a year already since the last festival, but the good folks down at the Hamilton-Lauraville Main Street are gearing up for another great time. If you're interested in signing up to be a vendor, there are forms to fill out -- you can download them at the Hamilton-Lauraville Festival Forms page.

Last year I got there a little late in the day, but there were still plenty of choices for food and beverage, and lots of great music on stage. 

Make plans to attend -- you won't regret it!

UPDATED:
Hamilton-Lauraville Main Street News has the flyer on their website with more details and some, um, "interesting" patrons. Click here to see the flyer.

Hamilton Bakery!

We went this weekend and it was great! It will re-open on Wednesday. I highly suggest you stop by. Awesome bread.

Hamilton Bakery

Tuesday Market...

coming soon! There is already a list of vendors up.

Thinking of Spring makes me hungry!

Sorry about the lack of posting the past month. Between work/school/weather/ and the flu, I haven't felt much inspiration. But fortunately for us, others have, and we can look forward to some exciting new places to appear in Hamilton this Spring.

The first new business is Hamilton Bakery. Go their website and sign up to get on their mailing list for updates and invites to special events. They are currently getting all their permits finalized and finishing up construction, so hopefully we'll be deep in doughnuts soon! (You can also follow them on Facebook by searching under "Hamilton Bakery" to find out the latest updates.) They will be next to Clementine, at 5414 Harford Rd.

Speaking of Clementine, owner Winston Blick is opening a green grocery in Hamilton this Spring as well, to be called Green Onion. Described as a "bona fide food market," and write on their blog:

Soon, amazing local cheeses will appear in two grand cases, and crisp, ripe produce will fill the bins at Green Onion. The folks at Fresh McKenzie are ramping up their egg production to accommodate us. And we’re meeting with our meat purveyor to choose the best-tasting all-natural, hormone- and antibiotic-free meats for our butcher shop. Forever Endeavor Farm will supply grass-fed organic beef and milk-fed pork, which has a sweetness and fullness that can be explained by science but is better to think of as magic.

I don't know about you, but I'm hungry! Green Onion will be located in the old Hamilton Vacuum store, at the corner of Hamilton and Harford. (Again, you can stay up-to-date on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/greenonionmarket.)

image from the greenonion website

Hon -- It's Your Turn to Speak

You may have noticed that we haven't really commented on the "Hon" story here at Harford Road. It seems the story keeps evolving, with details and facts dribbling out in the press. Does Denise Whiting have a trademark on the word "hon"? Can she have a trademark on the word "hon"? Or is it on "hon" in an oval? So then what about that Outer Banks guy? The best article I've read to date is from the blog Welcome to Baltimore Hon! The author provides a rational and reasoned explanation of whether, why, and how the trademark story is possible. I encourage you to read it.

I've been to Cafe Hon a couple of times in my life, but not in years. My personal boycott has simply been due to food that I found overpriced and nothing special. And I admit that I've also been to HonFest a couple of times, but I always felt a little uncomfortable about whether this was "celebration" or "ridicule" of Baltimore.  Not being a native, it seemed to me that a line was often crossed. Or at least approached. Closely enough to be cringe-worthy, in my opinion.

No, I'm not originally from Baltimore, but I have lived here for 13 years. The reason why I thought up the title for this blog is that "hon" seemed to embrace the sense of neighborliness and community that I have felt since I moved to my current home in 2003. It's what drew me here and what keeps me here, despite the break-ins, lack of snowplows, and massive potholes that killed my car.

But what do you think about all this "hon" business? Please tell me in the comments.