You can take in an art exhibit, tug your heart out in the annual “Slaughter Across the Water” or listen to jazz classics from 100 years of Disney films. Those are just some of the best things to do in Annapolis through Wednesday Nov. 8.
’Twixt Spa and Back
6-9 p.m. Friday
Art Between the Creeks is a show featuring Annapolis-area artists who live or work between Spa and Back creeks. The list of artists includes Channing Houston, Laurie Nolan, Keith Fletcher, Matt Stone, Sigrid Trumpy, Merrilyne Hendrickson, Leonard Koscianski, Charles Lawrence, Kendyl Lawson, Cindy Fletcher Holden, Sandy Travis Bildahl, Neil Harpe, Jeff Halpern, Dimitri Fotos, Juliana Phung, Camila Schwarz, Jason Duden, Mike Brown, Eric Roberge, John Bildahl, Jeff Huntington and Lorraine Ellerson.
After the opening reception, the exhibit will remain on display at Backyard Boats through Nov. 12. Check the website for hours. Free admission. All artwork will be for sale, with tips and donations benefiting the Annapolis Maritime Museum’s Box of Rain youth program.
Festival kickoff
6 and 8 p.m. Friday
The Annapolis Jazz & Roots Festival kicks off two weekends of music with sets by Halley Shoenberg’s Hot Gumbo Swingtet at the historic Peerless Rens Club in Eastport, a celebration of New Orleans Jazz and Swing. The first weekend also includes Nyame Nti performing West African drumming at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Eastport Annapolis Neck Library, and Grammy-nominated lutenist Ronn McFarlane at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Eastport United Methodist Church. Tickets for Halley’s Hot Gumbo are $25 plus fees, other first weekend performances are free. Check the website for second-weekend acts.
A little Spanish
7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Famed Spanish guitarist Pepe Romero comes to Annapolis for two concerts with the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, part of the Masterworks concert series “A Taste of Spain.” The performance of Joaquín Rodrigo’s “Fantasia para un gentilhombre” comes four months after the orchestra toured Spain with Romero. Other pieces in the performance include works by Gioachino Rossini, Silvestre Revueltas and Maurice Ravel. $33.50-$91 plus fees, with $10 discounted tickets available for students.
Tug it
10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday
There are a lot of quirky events in Annapolis, but this is the only one involving 1,600 feet of rope.
Way back in 1997, the Spa Creek Bridge closed for repairs and businesses in Eastport suddenly found themselves cut off from lots of their customers. The solution: secede, create the “Maritime Republic of Eastport,” declare war and challenge Annapolis to a tug-of-war to settle the dispute. The idea stuck, and the “Slaughter Across the Water” is now a must-see event for many.
Registration, music, vendors and food are set up on both sides of the creek (or the “Gulf of Eastport,” depending on your loyalties) at City Dock and on Second Street. Each team needs 33 people, and there is space for groups and individuals. The first match starts at noon. Free to register Saturday morning (spaces go quickly, 18 or older, bring your own gloves), free admission to watch. Donations benefit the MRE charitable foundation.
Open a book
8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday
Thousands of used books are on sale Saturday for The Parole Rotary Club of Annapolis’ monthly BIG (Books International Goodwill) sale at the BIG Warehouse at 451 Defense Highway. Proceeds benefit the club’s long-running literacy project, which distributes books to 40 countries. Free admission; books range from 50 cents to $3, with a Bag O’Books for $35.
One Last ‘First Sunday’
11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday
The First Sunday Festivals wrap up every November with the Holiday Market. The first block of West Street and part of Calvert Street close to make space for more than 100 vendors, music and other entertainment. Restaurants are open and, if the weather permits, there is outside dining. December brings the Annapolis Chocolate Binge Festival on the first Sunday, a ticketed event. Free admission.
Disney Jazz
7:30 p.m. Sunday, 10:30 a.m. Monday
Sean Mason and The National Jazz Museum house band bring their “When You Wish Upon a Star: A Jazz Tribute to 100 Years of Disney!” tour to Maryland Hall, featuring vocalists Kim Nalley and Sasha Dobson. The program includes live renditions of animated classics such as “The Bare Necessities” and “Let It Go.” $35-75 on Sunday, $25 for the Monday morning performance.
