UniverSoul Circus
There will be hip-hop under the big top when the UniverSoul Circus comes to town this weekend. The UniverSoul is the first circus in history owned, produced and performed entirely by African-Americans. This year's tour includes a trapeze act, contortionists, acrobats, a magic act and exotic animals. Performances are 7:30 p.m. tomorrow; noon, 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday and June 22; noon, 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday and June 23; and 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through June 21. Tickets cost $10 to $40 and can be bought at the box office, which is next to the Big Top at Mondawmin Mall, Liberty Heights Avenue and Gwynns Falls Parkway. Call 410-481-SEAT or visit www.ticketmaster.com.
A 'Magnificent' collection at the Walters
It's been a long wait, but for art fans, it will be worth it. After four years, the Walters Art Museum's collection of 19th-century European and American art reopens in refurbished galleries that trace the developments in philosophy and technique from Corot to Monet. When "A Magnificent Age: The Walters' 19th-Century Collection" opens on Saturday, it will signal the completion of the museum's three-year, $24 million renovation. Hours for the museum, 600 N. Charles St., are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays to Sundays, and until 8 p.m. the first Thursday of each month. Admission is $5 to $8. Children 17 and younger and museum members are admitted free. Call 410-547-9000 or visit www.thewalters.org.
The BSO's season finale
We've all been awed by the wonders of nature, but few of us have expressed our awe as beautifully as composer Gustav Mahler. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra will close its season this weekend with a performance of Mahler's momentous ode to nature -- his Symphony No. 3. BSO music director Yuri Temirkanov will join forces with acclaimed mezzo-soprano Nancy Maultsby, the women of the Baltimore Symphony Chorus (in their final appearance) and the Children's Chorus of Washington. Performance times are 8 tonight and tomorrow and 3 p.m. Sunday at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St. Tickets cost $26 to $68 and can be bought by calling 410-783-8000 or by visiting www.baltimoresymphony.com.
KID STUFF AT THE SCIENCE CENTER
Your kid can shake Cal Ripken's hand -- well, at least a bronze cast of it -- when the Maryland Science Center, 601 Light St., reopens its enhanced and renovated Kids Room tomorrow. The 5,000-square-foot room -- for youngsters up to age 8--- also has a multilevel area where kids can play with and learn about water; a miniature harbor with a fireboat, submarine control room, lighthouse and fishing pier; a "green screen" where kids can don colorful costumes and watch themselves on monitors as they swim with manatees, fly with bees, jump with penguins and walk in space with astronauts. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays. Admission is $8-$12. Children 2 and younger are admitted free. Call 410-685-5225 or visit www.mdsci.org.
John Witherspoon at the Improv
Only John Witherspoon's Web site would offer "biography, photos, and hints on how to coordinate your wardrobe." Funnyman Witherspoon, who made a name for himself as David Allen Grier's fashion-challenged dad in the movie Boomerang, is coming to the Baltimore Improv this weekend for seven performances. Witherspoon has appeared more than a dozen times on The David Letterman Show and has been featured in such films as The Ladies Man and Friday. Show times at the Improv, 6 Market Place, are 8:30 tonight; 8:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. tomorrow; 7 p.m., 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Saturday; and 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets cost $22 and $25. Call 410-727-8500.
Flag Day festivities
Flag-waving sometimes gets a bad rap. But that practice probably will never be more honored than it will be tomorrow, National Flag Day. This year, there are several options in the area to choose from:
* Fort McHenry, end of East Fort Avenue. Friday, 6 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Includes a patriotic concert, a jet fly-over, a parade of state flags, the National Pause for the Pledge of Allegiance at 7 p.m. and fireworks. Free. 410-962-4290.
* Pickersgill Retirement Community, 615 Chestnut Ave., Towson. Friday, 5:45 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Includes a parade, a performance by a fife-and-drum corps, the Pause for the Pledge at 7 p.m. and a concert. Free. 410-842-0420.
* U.S. Naval Academy, Armel-Leftwich Visitor Center, Annapolis. Saturday, 10:20 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Includes the raising of the U.S. flag, a patriotic concert and tours. Fee for guided walking tour: $5-$6. Call 410-263-6933.
* The Star-Spangled Banner Flag House and Museum, 844 E. Pratt St. Friday, 9 a.m. Features the presentation of colors and the Pledge of Allegiance. Saturday, 2 p.m. The fifth annual Star-Spangled Singing Contest. The winner will perform at a Baltimore Orioles game this summer. $3-$5. 410-837-1793 or visit www.flaghouse.org.
Arthritis Foundation ride
Some health organizations sponsor benefit runs and walks. Others sponsor benefit bicycle races. But to our knowledge, the Arthritis Foundation is the only local organization to sponsor a benefit motorcycle ride to help improve children's health. The sign-up for the second annual Kids Get Arthritis Too Ride 2002 begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at the Harley-Davidson store, 8845 Pulaski Highway, Rosedale, and ends at Union Hotel and Tavern, 1282 Susquehanna Road, Port Deposit. There is a minimum donation of $25. Call 410-521-2679, Ext. 105.