Robert’s Picks | May/June 2017

1. It’s a good idea to remind ourselves of how fortunate we are to have the Chesapeake Bay as the defining feature of Greater Annapolis and to have Washington, DC nearby, with all of its extraordinary art and cultural programs. One great event that takes place in D.C. over this summer is the Smithsonian Institution’s Folklife Festival. Each year the festival offers cultural heritage programs, with this year’s themes being “Circus Arts” and “On the Move: Migration across Generations.” Festival director Sabrina Lynn Motley says that the circus is “where the expansiveness of the imagination and the limits of the physical body meet in all sorts of really astounding ways.” In addition to the regular programming, there will be a circus performance each night. Exotic animals will not be included in the performances but they will most certainly be part of the discussions about the history and future of the circus. The festival runs June 29–July 4 and July 6–9 on the National Mall, between Seventh and Twelfth streets. For more information, visit festival.si.edu.

2. The Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre is a fun way to spend an evening. The first performance, the musical comedy Sister Act, opens May 25 and runs through June 17. To see the full summer season, visit summergarden.com.

3. The Annapolis Shakespeare Company, under the leadership of the talented Sally Boyett, is a wonderful organization that advances the arts in Annapolis. This summer you must attend The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) at the outdoor courtyard at Reynolds Tavern. This type of event is what makes Annapolis a great place to live. The abridged Shakespeare takes place from May 23 through September 26, 2017. For exact dates and times, visit reynoldstavern.org.

4. The Annapolis Shakespeare Company will also present William Shakespeare’s The Tempest in the gardens of the Charles Carroll House July 7–23. For more information, visit annapolisshakespeare.org.

5. The first lady of Maryland, Yumi Hogan, who is featured on the cover of the April/May issue of Looking Good Magazine, is having an exhibition of her art at the Maryland Hall of the Creative Arts from May 4 through June 10. Art is a central part of her being and we are certainly excited to see her exhibition. To read the interview in which she discusses her art, see the digital version of Looking Good at lookinggoodmagazine.com.

Photo Credt:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival presents “Circus Arts,” summer 2017.
Photograph of St. Louis-based Circus Harmony, who will perform at this summer’s festival.

Robert Haywood has a Ph.D. in art and architecture history from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His book, Allan Kaprow and Claes Oldenburg: Art, Happenings and Cultural Politics, is forthcoming from Yale University Press, London. To order, visit yalebooks.com.