AN EAGER CROWD HAD GATHERED IN the Baltimore Convention Center's Charles Street lobby to watch a ribbon cutting. It wasn't the ribbon cutting itself that excited this group. It was what came right after -- the Preview Night Party for the Baltimore Boat Show. That meant having first crack at the 700 boats on display inside the center. It also meant that perusing all the vessels and their accoutrements came with drinks, hors d'oeuvres and even Chesapeake cruising tunes provided by Them Eastport Oyster Boys.
And best of all, proceeds from the event were going to Baltimore's own Living Classrooms Foundation.
Living Classrooms senior vice president Parker Rockefeller may have been on hand to represent his organization, but even he couldn't help eyeing a few of the fishing boats.
"I know Hinckley is here. They have some beautiful boats," he said. Then, he quickly added, "[I'm] not really in the market for a boat right now. ... I'm here to help kids."
So were John Hutchinson, Verizon Connect Solutions president, and Trip Bailey, BalTerm president. But Hutchinson was admitting to a certain not-so-hidden agenda -- looking for a new boat. And he, too, was finding himself drawn to the upscale Hinckleys.
"I understand they're one of the finest boats made, so I'm here to shop around and support a great cause," said Hutchinson.
And Bailey?
"His wife made me come to keep him from buying that Hinckley."
A DRINK WITH ELLIS MARSALIS III
ELLIS MARSALIS III, 43, IS -- YES -- one of the Marsalis family. He is the third of six sons (including Wynton and Branford) of famed jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis Jr. He grew up in New Orleans, went to New York University, and ended up settling in Baltimore in 1990. A photographer and poet, with the nom de plume of t.p. Luce, Marsalis also works as an IT engineer "to pay the bills." He is divorced and lives in the Belair-Edison neighborhood. He has three children: son Django, 16; daughter Maria, 15; and daughter Ella, 2 1 / 2 .
How do you describe yourself?
I consider myself a modern urban vagabond. I live cheaply. I have a minimal lifestyle. I don't have a fancy car. I live in a rowhouse in East Baltimore and I have a working-class existence in an increasingly professional-class world. I always lament a little when I hear [something] that denigrates working-class people. I'm a son of a jazz musician. There's a certain element of it that seems glamorous. But a jazz musician is a worker.
What do you do to relax?
Watch football. I'm a big New Orleans Saints fan. That'll generate sympathy. I'm a long suffering New Orleans Saints fan.
When people realize you're one of the Marsalises, what questions do you hear the most often?
I have five brothers, and they're all musicians. [So, I get] a variation of this question: "What happened to you?" Almost like I escaped from Alcatraz. I tell them, "I broke out. I'm free! I'm free!"
ONLINE Read more of the conversation with Ellis Marsalis at baltimoresun.com / drink
ONLINE Sloane Brown takes you to the party with a calendar of coming events and video reports at baltimoresun.com / scene