Author Allison Robicelli and Photographer John Dean launched our new guidebook, 111 Places in Baltimore That You Must Not Miss, at the Baltimore Book Fest hosted by Visit Baltimore -- with a little help from Allison's son, Toby, and Baltimore's own Lou Catelli, who moderated the conversation.
The conversation was lively, with lots of questions from the crowd. Allison's enthusiasm for Baltimore, its history, culture, art, and diverse community can't and shouldn't be contained. She told stories about researching all the places in her book and the agony over deciding which ones merited full chapters, which would be tips, and which ones wouldn't make the cut. She dug deep into Baltimore's history and talked about the fact that the first fatalities of the American Civil War happened in the Baltimore's Inner Harbor tourist district.
John Dean, who was referred to 111 Places by the Johns Hopkins University Communications Department, wrote a rap song about his experience traveling to the furthest corners of his home town to capture the intriguing images in the book. He waited and waited and waited until an actual dog stepped into the frame of his image of the spot where that iconic scene with Divine in John Waters' Pink Flamingos film took place (you know the one). He also talked about the photo shoot with Waters for the chapter about his favorite bar. (We are grateful to Mr. Waters for his participation and for supporting our Baltimore team!)
Some of Baltimore's finest food purveyors contributed mouthwatering treats for everyone at the event. Everyone knows that calories do not count at book parties. Our thanks to Avenue Bakery, BAMF, the Charmery, Hoehn's, and Culinary Architecture for their incredibly delicious and generous contributions. Look for their chapters in the book!
And thanks to The Ivy Bookshop for providing the books for the event!
Finally, Andrea Seiger, our author for 111 Places in Washington, DC That You Must Not Miss came to support her neighbors in Baltimore. Our DC guidebook comes out in spring 2018!
Pick up your copy of 111 Places in Baltimore That You Must Not Miss at your local bookshop or enjoy 20% off every single purchase from our distributor's site in the US and the UK.