Happy New Year!! Creative Alliance hosts its annual First Day Poetry and Performance Bash, with skits by Baltimore Improv Group troupes, words and music by Rafael Alvarez and Rahne Alexander, and poetic/musical numbers by Blaster Al Ackerman, Yao, Aware and Outraged (Ron Kipling Williams and Moziah), Chezia Thompson Cager, Mary Azrael, Kendra Kopelke and others. A hot brunch will be available (reservations required). Proceeds benefit CA’s Open Minds art programs for kids. 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; $5 cash bar (brunch sold separately). Creative Alliance at the Patterson, 3134 Eastern Avenue, Baltimore. 410-276-1651; www.creativealliance.org
WHO’S IN TOWN
Maryland’s hottest hammered-dulcimer player Maggie Sansone, playing tonight with friends, churns out tunes that remind one of Renaissance festivals and Celtic folklore. Grab a ticket if you like enchanting musicians like the new age Loreena McKennitt. 7 p.m. $15. Rams Head OnStage, 330 West Street, Annapolis. www.ramsheadonstage.com
MUSIC
Pete Kanares Blues Band kicks off Day 1 of 2009 with a rowdy, rockin’ set. 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Cat’s Eye Pub, 1730 Thames Street, Baltimore. 410-276-9866; www.catseyepub.com
DC Latin Sound Band, formed by Washington, D.C., dweller and musician Kris Diaz In January 2006, is composed of international musicians that represent the new culture being developed in our nation’s capital. Check them out at a late-night set. 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. $10. Latin Palace, 509 S. Broadway Street, Baltimore. 410-522-6700; www.latinpalace.com
Local Maryland band Oedipus, Age Sixteen and Pianos Become the Teeth kicks off their winter tour with a home show. With Ezra Joyce, Vikings. 8 p.m. $7. Talking Head Club, 407 E. Saratoga Street, Baltimore. 410-207-8011; www.talkingheadclub.com
ART
Don’t miss Minas Gallery “Realm of the Spirit,” an exhibit featuring the newest paintings from local artist Kate Norris; through January 4. Details: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday; Minas Gallery, 815 W. 36th St., Baltimore; free. 410-732-4258; www.Minasgalleryandboutique.com
“The Greatest Game Ever Played” honors Baltimore’s first football champions, the 1958 Baltimore Colts, and the 50th anniversary of “the greatest game ever played.” In addition to profiling the team and its historic season, the exhibit will include a look at the people that made football in Baltimore special: the fans, cheerleaders, band and team owner, Carroll Rosenbloom. Items on display include Johnny Unitas’ 1958 Championship ring. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; $5.80 and up. Sports Legends at Camden Yards, 301 W. Camden Street, Baltimore 410-727-1539; www.baberuthmuseum.com
Maryland Art Place’s “Framed Reality” exhibit features work of four figurative painters who draw inspiration from various sources, including childhood memories, folklore and narrative. Although different in their approach and painting styles, each artist’s work evokes a highly personal response from viewers. Through January 31. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday; Maryland Art Place, 8 Market Place, Baltimore. www.mdartplace.org
FITNESS
Welcome the New Year with a group stretch-a-thon of sorts at Charm City Yoga Fells Point’s 90-minute Community Yoga class. 8:30 Thursday; 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. Sunday; 8:30 p.m. Monday. $6. Charm City Yoga, 107 E. Preston Street, Baltimore. 410-234-8967; www.charmcityyoga.com
EVENT
If watching sports could be called a sport, the TV lovers competing in ESPN Zone’s Ultimate Couch Potato Competition would be Olympiads. Watch four contestants battle it out to see who can watch the most sports television in a single sitting. The rules: Contestants watch “all sports all day and night” and are allowed unlimited food and drink but only one bathroom break every eight hours (and they aren’t allowed to sleep, either!). Every hour they get a five-minute stretch break. It’s the first time this contest done in Baltimore in honor of ESPN Zone’s 10-year anniversary here. 11 a.m. Free. ESPN Zone, 601 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore. 410-685-3776; www.espnzone.com/baltimore
PERFORMANCE
Mellow out at Red Maple’s Sol y Luna. Deejays spin a night of salsa, reggaeton and rhumba. 9:30 p.m. $5. Red Maple, 930 N. Charles Street, Baltimore. 410-547-0149; www.930redmaple.com
