Take a walk with the Wanderers
Start off the new year on a good foot by taking a walk with the Freestate Happy Wanderers. You have your choice of a 10K (6.2 miles) or a 5K (3.1 miles) on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. Both begin at the Owen Brown Community Center, 6800 Cradlerock Way in Columbia. Start anytime between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. and finish by 4 p.m. Along the way, take a Harry Potter trivia quiz, if you're so inclined. After the trek, return to the center for refreshments, including homemade soup, bratwurst, hot dogs and beverages. Call 410-437-2164.
Closing the book on 'Book of Kings'
Holidays kept you too busy to visit the Walters Art Museum's exhibit of one of the greatest manuscripts from 13th-century France? Well, here's your post-holiday chance to view it, but you've got to get there fast -- the show closes on Sunday. The book of Kings: Art, War, and the Morgan Library's Medieval Picture Bible depicts great stories from the Bible, in the setting of 13th-century France. The locale is not surprising because the Bible was created at the order of King Louis IX of France about 1250. The brilliantly colored book is supplemented by related objects and manuscripts from the Walters' collection. The museum is located at 600 N. Chales St. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today through Sunday. Admission is $5 - $8. Call 410-547-9000.
'Miss Saigon' lands at the Lyric
An American serviceman and his Vietnamese girlfriend are torn apart in the final days of the U.S. evacuation of Saigon in 1975. He returns to the States, not knowing she is pregnant with his child. Over the next few years, she struggles mightily to find her ex-lover, who seems to have abondoned her. Such is the emotionally charged tale of Miss Saigon, the hit musical that opened on Boadway in 1991 and won a number of Tony Awards. A new touring production of the show arrives today at the Lyric Opera House, 140 W. Mount Royal Ave., and remains through Jan 5. Show times vary. Tickets are $26.50 - $69. Call 410-481-SEAT.
Stars on Ice
What do ice-skating stars and a leading jelly/jam maker have in common? Smucker's Stars on Ice, of course. The touring ice show features such Olympic and world champions as Kurt Browning, Jamie Sale, David Pelletier, Todd Eldredge and Katarina Witt. The Baltimore Arena, 201 W. Baltimore St., is the venue for the production's local stop. Show time is 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $35 - $55. Call 410-481-SEAT.
Kwanzaa celebrations get under way
Today marks the beginning of Kwanzaa, the seven-day African-American harvest festival, and public celebrations abound. Here's what four places are offering, in adddion to the Kwanzaa ceremony: Ther Great Blacks in Wax Museum (1601 E. North Ave., 410-563-7809) has a program of dance performances, choral music and jazz from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. today. $3 - $5. The Eubie Blake Center (847 N. Howard St., 410-225-3130) offers music, dance, open-mike poetry, arts and crafts and an African marketplace from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday. Free. The Baltimore Museum of Art (10 Art Museum Drive, 410-396-6314) presents storytelling, a dance performance, a museum tour and craft-making from 2 p.m. to 5p.m. Sunday. Free. The Unity United Methodist Church (1433 Edmonson Ave., 410-664-9352) offers song, dance, music and drumming from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Bring a potluck dish. Free.
Music at the Meyerhoff
If orchestral rock music sounds intriguing to you, check out the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's show at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall today at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. The program combines yuletide rock music with laser lights, smoke machines and narration. Tickets are $34 - $58. Call 410-481-SEAT. At 3 p.m. Sunday at the same venue, you can enjoy "Salute to Vienna," a show featuring 75 musicians, singers and dancers, including the Strauss Symphony Orchestra of America and the Hungarian National Ballet. Works include Johann Struass' The Blue Danube Waltz and excerpts from Die Fledermaus. Tickets are $35 - $69. Call 410-783-8000. The Meyerhoff is located at 1212 Cathedral St.
All aboard for museum's Holiday Train Garden
The Fire Museum of Maryland invites all to see its Holiday Train Garden today through Sunday. Hours at the museum, at 1301 York Road in Lutherville, are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The display, desigend by volunteers, includes 1940s -style O27 trains going through a minature American village on O-gauge track. Visitors also can enjoy the museum's collection of 40 antique fire engines, museum store and children's Discovery Room. Admission is $4 - $6. Call 410-321-7500.