WONDERLAND BLOSSOMS
The Cheshire Cat, "wild" mushrooms and the interdimensional door from Alice in Wonderland await at the annual Spring Flower Show at the Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens of Baltimore in Historic Druid Hill Park. The event, which runs Saturday-March 30, features thousands of tulips, lilies, daffodils and decorations that fall in line with this year's theme, "Spring into Wonderland." Saturday's open house includes light refreshments, craft activities for children and guided tours.
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The open house runs noon-4 p.m. The remaining show hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays. The conservatory is at 3100 Swan Drive. Call 410-396-0008 or go to ci.baltimore.md.us / government / recnparks.
FREE
ART AND ALIENATION
Noel Carroll, internationally renowned scholar and professor of humanities at Temple University, gives a lecture, "Noel Carroll: Art and Alienation," tomorrow on how the actions of the art world have inadvertently led to the de-emphasis of its importance in society.
Carroll, the author of 15 books and hundreds of articles, delivers the program at the Maryland Institute College of Art in honor of Richard Kalter, a former philosopher-in-residence at MICA who died in 2004.
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The event begins at 7 p.m. in MICA's Brown Center, 1301 Mount Royal Ave. Call 410-225-2300 or go to www.mica.edu.
FREE
THE LADIES OF JAZZ
Pianist Liz Barnes and vocalist Barbara Martin pay homage to influential female jazz artists from the 1920s through the 1940s in their educational and entertaining presentation Earthy to Elegant: Great Ladies of Blues and Jazz.
The program includes live performances of songs originally performed by greats such as Billie Holiday and a lecture on the evolution of jazz. Barnes and Martin also tell stories about the lives of famous women from this musical genre.
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The event runs 12:20 p.m.-1:20 p.m. tomorrow at the Community College of Baltimore County's Essex campus, 7201 Rossville Blvd. Call 410-780-6726 or go to ccbcmd.edu.
FREE
VINYL TAP
More than 50 local and national based artists -- including comic book illustrators, photographers, sculptors and painters -- decorated blank vinyl toys (like Dave Sobel's, below) as part of Vinylmore!, an art show running through March 31 at Atomic Pop bookstore. The creations range from cutesy to macabre to flat-out bizarre.
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The exhibit hours are 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays. The store is at 3620 Falls Road. Call 410-366-1004 or go to atomic books.com.
FREE
SPRING ARTCARTS
WHAT / / Spring Break ArtCarts
WHEN / / 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday-March 21
WHERE / / the Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St.
WHY / / Kids can use ArtCarts to get books and supplies for various creative projects, which relate to the exhibition Maps: Finding our Place in the World.
CONTACT / / 410-547-9000
FREE
HAWAIIAN DANCE
WHAT / / An Evening of Polynesian Song and Dance
WHEN / / 7 p.m.-8 p.m. today
WHERE / / Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, 801 Chase St., Annapolis
WHY / / The members of a Hawaiian dance class, who have been preparing for more than two months, perform a song and dance recital with a live band.
CONTACT / / 410-263-5544 or go to mdhallarts.org
FREE