Guinness Open Gate Baltimore: St. Patrick's Day + Radio Hero

It’s only once or twice a year I really get to celebrate the Irish half of my heritage, and last year after briefly meeting up with a friend catching a flight, I decided to treat myself and finally go check out the Guinness Open Gate Baltimore brewery which I was nearby.  I’m not a huge beer person, but when I do go for one, Guinness is typically my first choice, or other stouts - not surprising as a daily coffee drinker.

My main goal was to get lunch and relax a little while I was out near Baltimore since I’m not out that way very often, but I saw online that the brewery had St. Patrick’s Day celebrations scheduled all weekend even though this was a few days before the actual holiday.  Going in blind and not knowing what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised that not only was there a live band playing, but there were multiple spots and a vendor fair indoors and (tented) outdoors to check out and choose from.

Since I was mainly there to eat something, I didn’t even see if any brewery tours were available the day I was there - I suspect not, and would prefer seeing that as more of it’s own dedicated day.  Outside, with my fish and chips and my first selection of Guinness — a brew I had never even heard of them making before — I enjoyed the band playing a selection of Top 40 covers from the last couple decades; lots of millennial hits.  The band was fittingly titled Radio Hero.

World Oddities Expo - 2023

For the four years it was on, and the several years of reruns we got to enjoy, I always loved watching Discovery’s Oddities TV show, which followed the staff and antics of patrons of the Obscura Antiques & Oddities shoppe in Manhattan’s East Village.  I have a love of antiques, and the grim and spooky and offbeat, and I’ve sadly never been able to make it to Obscura Antiques & Oddities (which has since closed their NYC location and shifted to online-only after the COVID-19 pandemic) so naturally when I heard about the World Oddities Expo, I made sure not to miss it!

The World Oddities Expo is apparently not the only oddities expo on the scene, but it was the first I heard about, and is one of two that visit semi-locally.  The event itself wasn’t quite what I expected based on the website, but I was still very pleased - the WOE is more of a flea market than anything else.  But when the vendors are offering posed taxidermy, embalming supplies, obsolete medical instruments, steampunk treasures, and relics of the spooky and supernatural, of course I’m in love.

See a few photos of some of the offerings - out of respect, I didn’t photograph everything I saw.  At the end of the day, I had picked up a witchy gift for one of my best friends, an emerald green pinned butterfly in a frame for my own wall, and some smaller specimens in vials - the beginning of a collection I hope to slowly grow.

The World Oddities Expo visits the Baltimore-DC region at least once a year, and in 2025 will be here twice, and this isn’t counting other similar expos with many of the same vendors - I sadly was busy the day of 2024’s expo, but can’t wait to add to my collection in 2025!

Ilana and Chris: Married April 28th, 2022

In my blog post about Ilana and Chris’ engagement session, I explained my history with film; how I have never shot on it professionally, and only reached for it for fun, finding novelty in its charming imperfection, and how this appreciation of film for fun and interesting cars is what ultimately brought us all together.

For Chris and Ilana’s wedding, however, like their engagement session, I changed this history, if ever so slightly.  Just like Chris and Ilana love the artistry classic, quirky, and quick cars, they also appreciate share my appreciation of analog’s allure.  So while their big day wouldn’t be the first time I snapped Polaroids at a wedding, it would be the most film I’ve ever shot at any professional session, even if it was a few handfuls.

After getting prepped, and strategically keeping the wedding parties separate, Ilana had a first look with her family on the Anchor Inn’s dock immediately before the ceremony began.  In the refreshing breeze on the Patapsco River, Chris and Ilana took their turns going down the aisle, finally letting Chris choke up seeing Ilana in her dress; a tradition Chris was adamant to keep.

After the breaking the glass (mozal tov!), Ilana and Chris danced on a cloud to kick off their reception.  After dinner and toasts, they cut the cake to the tune of some zany TV theme songs that perfectly fit their silly personalities; King of the Hill, South Park, The Simpsons, and more.  Now it’s officially party time!

Winding down the evening, Chris and Ilana slow danced solo, just them and the music on the dance floor… and maybe a few excited guests who peeked inside through the portal window.  Under an arch of fiber optic sparklers, Ilana and Chris departed, but not before dipping for a kiss one more time, and one more Polaroid.