A list of upcoming events organized or supported by Baltimore Sister Cities and our sister city committees (Changwon, South Korea; Gbarnga, Liberia; Kawasaki, Japan; Luxor & Alexandria, Egypt; Piraeus, Greece; Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Xiamen, China) and our affiliates. Events include:
Lead-up to Census Day on April 1
Outreach to Baltimore’s immigrant communities
MIMA (Baltimore Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs) has released a website in preparation for Census 2020, with information available in multiple languages.
The site contains Census outreach materials in multiple languages as well as opportunities to get involved. You can help promote the census in your community by requesting MIMA to share Census info at an upcoming event or signing up to attend one of MIMA’s Census Ambassador trainings in February.
With Census Day (April 1) less than 100 days away, MIMA is looking to our community partners (YOU!) to help ensure that every Baltimore resident is counted.
March 2020
MSU architecture student trip to Rotterdam
Led by Assistant Professor Cristina Murphy, students and faculty from Morgan State University School of Architecture + Planning (MSU SA+P) will visit Rotterdam in the Netherlands, with side trips to Amsterdam and Antwerp. In Rotterdam, the delegation tours the city’s architectural landscape, meets with architecture and urban design firms, visits TU Delft and Independent School for the City, and attends a lecture and a streetscape design workshop at Rotterdam Academy of Architecture and Urban Design (RAvB). A big thanks to the sponsors that helped cover the students’ travel costs: Penza Bailey Architects, Quinn Evans, Twopoint Studio, BCT Architects, Hord Coplan Macht, Vertical Architecture Enterprises, and Jerome C. Gray Architect LLC.
Supported by Baltimore-Rotterdam Sister City Committee (BRSCC).
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Culinary Health and Egyptian Cuisine
Location: Middle East Institute, 1763 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
Time: 5:30-8pm
Admission: Ticketed. Advance registration required.
Award-winning author, chef, television personality, and Mediterranean diet advocate Amy Riolo will share the secrets of culinary medicine while gourmet chef entrepreneur Aida Mady will introduce you to the world of Egyptian spices and cuisine. Evening includes presentation/demonstrations, pastries and cookbooks to take home, and a silent auction to benefit Baltimore Luxor Alexandria Sister City Committee. PLUS treats from Koshary by Misteka and Fava Pot.
More info & to register: Event page
Organized by Baltimore-Luxor-Alexandria Sister City Committee (BLASCC).
Saturday, March 28, 2020
Enoch Pratt Free Library’s Imagination Celebration
Location: Enoch Pratt Central Library, 400 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
Time: 10am-2pm
Admission: Free
Pratt Library hosts Imagination Celebration (formerly known as the Fairy Tale Festival). This signature event will celebrate creativity and honor diverse voices and experiences within children’s literature and our communities.
Baltimore Sister Cities will have a table at this event with fun activities for kids from the countries of our sister cities around the world!
More info: Event page
Sunday, March 29, 2020
Maryland Greek Independence Day Parade
Colorful, traditional costumes and ethnic pride of both young and old fill the streets of Baltimore each spring when the Greek-American Community commemorates Greek Independence Day with an annual festive parade in Baltimore’s historic Greektown.
More info: Parade organizer’s website
Supported by Baltimore-Piraeus Sister City Committee (BPSCC).
Monday, March 30, 2020
Dutch Drinks DC networking “borrel”
Details to come.
Supported by Baltimore-Rotterdam Sister City Committee (BRSCC).
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
WTCI’s 2020 Maryland International Business Leadership Awards
Location: American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Highway Baltimore, MD
Time: 5-8pm
Admission: Ticketed
World Trade Center Institute (WTCI) hosts this annual event with Maryland Governor Hogan and 70+ presidents and CEOs to honor 2020′s award winners that have guided their companies and the state of Maryland to new global heights.
More info: Event page
Saturday, April 4, 2020
April 4 is full of Baltimore Sister Cities activities! Stop by the Hanami Community Picnic for lunch in Middle Branch Park, then head to Station North Arts District for the Asia North Festival in the evening!
Hanami Community Picnic
Location: Middle Branch Park, 3301 Waterview Ave, Baltimore MD 21230
Time: 11am-3pm
Admission: Free. RSVP recommended (event registration page to come)
Parking: Available for free at the park
Hanami is a time to sit under cherry blossoms and join your neighbors in the park. The Baltimore-Kawasaki committee and Flowering Tree Trails invites you to bring a picnic lunch to a festive afternoon, based on Japanese tradition. Activities will include origami workshops by master teacher Jeff Raab, tea ceremony with an Urasenke instructor, Kendo and Naginata kata demonstrations, J-Pop, kite flying, craft vendors and Japanese food sales. We hope you will kick back, avoid the Cherry Blossom crowds in DC, and come sit by the river to enjoy some community spirit! Kayaking will be available through Baltimore Department of Recreation & Parks.
Organized by Baltimore-Kawasaki Sister City Committee (BKSCC). Event partners include Flowering Tree Trails and Baltimore Department of Recreation & Parks.
Asia North Festival
Location: Historic Korean Senior Daycare Center at 1915 Maryland Ave next to the North Avenue Market, with a night market in the Graffiti Alley next door.
Time: 4-10pm
Admission: Free. RSVP recommended (event registration page to come)
Parking: Available for free at the park
This annual festival, organized by the Towson University Asian Arts & Culture Center, promotes visual and performing Asian and Asian-American artists in the Station North Arts District area of Baltimore. Baltimore-Kawasaki committee will present Aco Tomine, a singer of Japanese traditional Japanese folk songs as well as her own compositions on her accordion. Baltimore-Changwon and Baltimore-Xiamen committees will also provide cultural activities.
Organized by Towson University Asian Arts & Culture Center and supported Baltimore-Kawasaki (BKSCC), Baltimore-Changwon (BCSCC), and Baltimore-Xiamen (BXSCC) Sister City Committees. Event partners include Central Baltimore Partnership.
Monday, April 6, 2020
Hermes International Expo
Location: Capital Hilton, 1001 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC
Time: 4-8:30pm
Annual Greek-American international business networking trade show. Baltimore-Piraeus committee represents Baltimore and State of Maryland at this annual event, promoting tourism and business and economic development.
More info: Hermes Expo website
Promoted by Baltimore-Piraeus Sister City Committee.
Thursday, April 30, 2020
Seagull Mamma — A Performance Piece about Trash and Recycling
Location: Enoch Pratt Library’s Brooklyn Branch, 300 E. Patapsco Ave., Baltimore, MD 21225
Time: 1st show at 10:15am; 2nd show at 11:00am
Audience: Geared to kids 4 – 6 years old, but fun for the whole family!
Admission: Free.
Performed by theatre artist & educator Kathie diStefano from Rotterdam’s Avalanche Arts.
This interactive show takes young audience members on a journey through the eyes of a seagull mamma who mistakes trash for fish while hunting for food for her young. How do our waterways get so polluted with plastic trash? The term ‘plastic soup’ is introduced; lakes, rivers, and seas that have so much plastic trash that no fish can live there. This presentation also uses physical theatre techniques to provide comic relief. Learning through laughter is Ms. Kathie’s favorite way of introducing theatre to young audience members while sharing important social messages. In the show finale, Ms. Kathie teaches the audience a Dutch song from the country she immigrated to 35 years ago.
Supported by Baltimore-Rotterdam Sister City Committee.
Saturday, May 30, 2020
Baltimore’s annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) Celebration
Location: Enoch Pratt Central Library, 400 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
Time: 11am-4pm
Admission: Free.
Baltimore’s Asian sister city committees (Xiamen, China; Kawasaki, Japan; and Changwon, South Korea) host our annual event to celebrate Asian-American and Pacific Islander (APA) cultures and the contributions of APAs to Baltimore. Enjoy Asian food, cultural performances, book talks, and much more.
Details to come.
Organized by Baltimore-Xiamen (BXSCC), Baltimore-Kawasaki (BKSCC), and Baltimore-Changwon (BCSCC) Sister City Committees.
September 2020
Xiamen China International Fair for Investment & Trade (CIFIT)
Details to come.
Promoted by Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee (BXSCC).
September 28-30, 2020
ISWA World Congress
Location: World Trade Center, Beursplein 37, 3011 AA Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Admission: Ticketed.
ISWA World Congress is an international annual conference about sustainable solid waste management. It was held in Baltimore in 2017, and in 2020 it will be held in Rotterdam, which is the new location of ISWA’s offices. Landfill, marine litter, and circular economy solutions are among the major themes in 2020. Port of Rotterdam is one of the sponsors.
Baltimore-Rotterdam committee is promoting this event to Maryland waste management professionals, with the goal of having Maryland send a delegation to this conference.
More info: ISWA Congress website
Promoted by Baltimore-Rotterdam Sister City Committee
October 2020
23rd annual meeting of the International Friends of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (IFBA)
Members of Baltimore-Luxor-Alexandria Sister City Committee plan to attend this meeting in Alexandria, Egypt.
Supported by Baltimore-Luxor-Alexandria Sister City Committee (BLASCC).
October 7-12, 2020
Baltimore Black International Film Festival
The annual Baltimore International Black Film Festival (BIBFF) provides a venue for independent films for, by and about African Americans, the African Diaspora, and members of the SGL-LGBT community locally, nationally and globally.
Baltimore Sister Cities encourages filmmakers from its sister cities to submit their films to the festival organizers for consideration to include in this festival.
More info: Call for submissions | About the festival
November 18–21, 2020
Sister Cities International (SCI) annual conference
In 2020, SCI plans to merge its annual conference into National League of Cities’ annual City Summit. It will be held in Tampa, Florida.
Details to come.
