Calling all Fitz residents and community!

Join us tonight for a Happy Hour sponsored by Urban Hanger dry cleaning & laundry service.

Location you ask? Conveniently located in The Fitzgerald Zelda lounge from 5-7pm!

There will be wine and light fare, so please stop on down (or over!), grab a drink to take the stress off of a busy work week off, and sign up for a GREAT laundry and dry cleaning service!

Fitzgerald Community: Please join The Fitzgerald in helping to provide thousands of new books for four renovated Baltimore City Public School libraries as well as classroom and home libraries!

They are asking for new and slightly used books for kids ages 3-14 years old. If you would like more information, visit www.baltimorelibraryproject.org.

All of your help and donations would be greatly appreciated! The drive ends on March 30th, so hurry in and drop off your books at The Fitzgerald (it is so convenient with Barnes and Noble right next door!)!

Looking for something to do this weekend? Check out the Rockfish Celebration in Downtown Baltimore. Click here for restaurants participating as well as their delicious menu’s including Maryland’s very own state fish, Rockfish.

Also visit DineDowntownBaltimore.com for all the latest events and restaurant deals in Downtown Baltimore. If you are looking for a fine dining meal, Dine Downtown Baltimore is great place to start your search. You’ll find that Downtown Baltimore’s food revolution has infiltrated every level of the dining scene.

The Downtown Partnership is a great resource for old and new Baltimoreans alike. If you’re looking for a family event, to a night on the town, the Downtown Partnership is the place to look.

Now that the holidays have passed, and our jeans are a little tighter, you often see people using their new gym memberships to get those bodies back in shape. Well take some time out of your busy work and exercise regime to reward yourself, and discover some great restaurants that gives Baltimore it’s “Charm City” name!

Baltimore Winter Restaurant Week  starts January 20th, and lasts until January 29th. Take advantage of this awesome culinary event, and check out some of the great restaurants participating.

Not only do you get to consume the finest eats of Baltimore, but restaurants participating have committed to support The Journey Home, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s plan to make homelessness rare and brief in Baltimore City (and we’re all about philanthropy here at The Fitzgerald). Don’t know about her plan? Check out more information here: www.endinten.org.

So next time you’re hitting that mile marker, think about which restaurant you’re daring to try to reward yourself for a happy and healthy 2012!

Join Baltimore in the “Monumental Occasion” of the 40th Annual Lighting of the Washington Monument! It takes place Thursday, December 1, 2011 with pre-event festivities hosted by MIX 106.5 at 5:30pm in Mount Vernon. The official ceremony begins at 7pm with the official lighting at approximately 7:45pm. This should be a great event, to kick of the 2011 holiday season!

Please take note: 

In preparation for the event, the following streets will be closed to through traffic on Thursday, December 01, 2011 with detours in effect:

• 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. – West Mt. Vernon Place from Charles to Cathedral Streets 
• 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. – West drive of North Charles Street from Centre to Madison Streets
• 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. – East drive of North Charles Street from Centre to Madison Streets and East Mt. Vernon Place from Charles to St. Paul Streets

In addition, parking will be restricted in the following areas as well: 

• 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. – West Mt. Vernon Place from Charles to Cathedral Streets and along the west drive of North Charles Street from Centre to Madison Streets 
• 4:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. – East drive of North Charles Street from Centre to Madison Streets, East Mt. Vernon Place from North Charles to St. Paul Streets and the north side of Centre Street from Cathedral to Calvert Streets

It should be a great way to start the holidays, if you have any other questions, concerns, or need information on the Lighting of the Washington Monument, call 1-877-BALTIMORE or visit http://www.godowntownbaltimore.com.

The holidays are a time for us to reflect on what we are thankful for. This holiday season, The Fitzgerald has adopted a family from The House of Ruth. Please join us in giving this family the holiday they deserve! We are welcoming all gifts, unwrapped and new to give to this well deserving family.  

Residents and all of those who are willing to donate throughout the community, please contribute- it would be so appreciated by this special mom and her 5 children! Again, donated gifts need to be new and unwrapped and this is their profile:

Mom
Pants- 4
Shirt- Small
Wishlist:
Pajamas
Full Size Blanket
Camera

Child A
Age- 14
Gender- Male
Pants- 14
Shirt- Medium
Shoes- 7.5/8
Wishlist:
Loves playing and watching soccer. Favorite team is Barcelona.
Jeans
Sweaters
Shoes

Child B
Age- 16
Gender- Male
Pants- 16
Shirt- Medium
Shoes- 8
Wishlist:
iPod headphones
Jeans
Shirts
Shoes

Child C
Age- 15
Gender- Female
Pants- 12/14
Shirt- Medium
Shoes- 6
Wishlist:
Loves soccer. Favorite team is Manchester United.
Jeans
Shirts
Shoes

Child D
Age- 5
Gender- Male
Wishlist:
Go Diego Go Toys
Go Diego Go Pillow / Pillowcase
Twin Blanket
Target Gift Card

Child E
Age- 6
Gender- Female
Wishlist:
Dora the Explorer Pillow / Pillowcase
Dora the Explorer Toys
Twin Blanket
Target Gift Card

December 11th is the last day, so please do your best to donate whatever you can! This wonderful family, and The Fitzgerald would greatly appreciate it!

We at The Fitzgerald would like to take a moment to thank all of the veterans who have proudly served and protected The United States in times of war and peace. Without you, we wouldn’t have the great freedoms that we are able to take part in today.

Go out and enjoy this gorgeous Autumn weather at Fort McHenry, and discover the birthplace of the National Anthem and Veteran’s Day! There are a variety of events from parades, live music, and living history lessons!

Also, please take a moment to realize what great troops we have, and how lucky we are that they are willing to give their lives for our freedom!

Fun Veteran’s Day Facts:

• In 1968, the Uniform Holidays Bill was passed by Congress, which moved the celebration of Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. The law went into effect in 1971, but in 1975 President Ford returned Veterans Day to November 11, due to the important historical significance of the date.9.2 million veterans are over the age of 65.
• 1.9 million veterans are under the age of 35.
• 7.8 million veterans served during the Vietnam War era (1964-1975), which represents 33% of all living veterans.
• There are approximately 23.2 million military veterans in the United States.
• Veterans Day originated as “Armistice Day” on Nov. 11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 for an annual observance, and Nov. 11 became a national holiday beginning in 1938. Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day–a common misunderstanding, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Memorial Day (the fourth Monday in May) honors American service members who died in service to their country or as a result of injuries incurred during battle, while Veterans Day pays tribute to all American veterans–living or dead–but especially gives thanks to living veterans who served their country honorably during war or peacetime

THANK YOU TO OUR VETERANS!!!

With organics being such a hot topic around the country, farmers markets have popped up all across America. Here in Mt. Vernon, we have several right around the corner!

The Charles Street Friday Market offers a variety of options from fresh ginger, local  honey, local lettuce, mustard greens, swiss chard, collards, kale, leeks, and fresh herbs to fresh goat meat, veal, filet mignon, hamburger patties, and chicken. They even have meals-to-go such as Woodberry Kitchen inspired pumpkin soup, Woodberry Kitchen inspired fresh extruded spelt pasta with a pumpkin caramelized onion cream sauce! The Charles Street Friday Market is open through November 18th, so stop on by and get fresh, straight from the farm goodies for your festive fall meals!

The Fell’s Point Farmers Market (FPFM) is located right on the waterfront area of Fell’s Point! The market will be held on Broadway Square on Broadway and Thames Street. This premier location is easily accessible by foot, bicycle, car and water taxi. The local, farm fresh items in Historic Fell’s Point helps bring back the days from the 1700′s where the original Farmer’s Market took place!

These are just a few of the many farmers markets in the Baltimore area. Click here to view all of the markets in Maryland!

So next time you’re wondering what to plan for dinner this weekend, or next week, stop on by a farmers market and support your local farmers and neighbors. Fresh goods can never hurt the body!

As many of you may know, Under Armour is sponsoring the Baltimore Running Festival this weekend, starting downtown on October 15th at 8 a.m. Don’t feel out of the loo0p if running isn’t really you’re thing, there will be numerous activities to cater to all types!

“The running festival includes many different events, including the Baltimore marathon, a half-marathon, a 5K race, a team relay and a kids’ fun run. Other planned activities include a free health and fitness expo at M&T Bank Stadium, a celebration village with award ceremony and a carbo-load dinner for runners.”

If you’re looking to avoid the marathon, click here for closures throughout the weekend.

Enjoy the great atmosphere and the beautiful fall weather!

As The Fitzgerald is Art In Itself, we’re delighted to be partnering with Nana Projects and Artscape this weekend.  Please join your neighbors and Artscape spectators outside in the front plaza to enjoy one of the performances of projected shadow puppetry on The Fitzgerald bridge!  Performances will take place on Friday from 9:30-10PM, Saturday from 9:30-10PM and Sunday from 7:30-8PM.  Please check out the below link for more information on this amazing performance and Artscape!

NANADU – A Panorama of Parades and Spectacle