WHO WOULD'VE THOUGHT THAT A great way to end the work week and kick off a three-day weekend would be an event at the Baltimore Convention Center? Dozens of folks made that discovery Friday night at the Third Annual Jazz Soiree, the kick-off party to the 13th annual Black Heritage Art Show. They could sip a little wine as they wandered the aisles of the art show, chatting with different artists and vendors.
"We want people to unwind. But we also want people to see everything this show has to offer," said the show's founder and organizer, Glenda Boone.
"Maybe I can find something for my living room," said Tara Hicks, a Provident Bank registrar, as she scanned the room.
"We're specifically looking for art for our new home," said Melissa Wesby, a registered nurse at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.
"I also wanted to meet [emcee] Raquel from WEAA [Radio], hear some jazz and taste some as well," added husband John Wesby, a BET producer and director.
Wesby wasn't alone in finding the evening's soul-music headliners a big draw.
"That's why I'm here," said John Powell, a senior information systems security engineer for Chiron Technologies.
His wife, however, had disappeared into the aisles of show vendors.
"She's somewhere. She's got her purse with her, so you know what that means."
A DRINK WITH BARBIE HARGRAVE
IN THE PAST TWO YEARS, TIMONIUM resident Barbie Hargrave has seen a career as a model flourish -- some 20 years after she first gave it a try. In between, Hargrave worked as a teacher and as a nonprofit's development director, received her master's degree, married Realtor Lindsay Hargrave, had daughter Noelle (now 6) and twin boys, Reeve and Gus (now 2). Hargrave models on QVC and in fashion shows from Washington to Philadelphia, acts in commercials and hosts several Web shows. She recently appeared on her first magazine cover, the January / February issue of Healthy Aging.
Modeling careers are usually over in your 20s. What happened to make yours reblossom in your mid-30s?
First of all, it's the day and age. Products for women in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s have exploded. A 50-year-old woman doesn't want a 20-year-old selling her skin cream. ... Also, when I was in high school and modeling, I didn't have the drive I have now. ... And I'm vain. A little bit of vanity never hurt anybody. If a model tells you she's not vain, she's lying.
On many of your jobs, are you the oldest model present?
On QVC, no. They have a full range of ages because they're appealing to middle America and a wide range of women. But in [D.C. Fashion Week] shows, I was -- by far -- the oldest. I don't ever tell anyone how old I am. I don't even tell my daughter. I just say I'm old enough to drive.
As a model, do people expect you to be empty-headed?
Yes. So, I always throw in that I have a master's degree.
ONLINE Read more of the conversation with Barbie Hargrave 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