9th Annual African American Heritage Festival

It's another hot summer Baltimore! Time for the FREE festivities to begin. What better way to start than with the African American Heritage Festival (AAHF)?

The 9th Annual African American Heritage Festival is a 3-day event that brings together a diverse group of people to experience the history, culture, heritage, and arts of African Americans. The festival includes divine dining from multiple food vendors, local and mainstream talent showcasing their skills, and countless pavilions with educators set up to serve the community information about issues such as Health, Wellness, and Finances.

According to the AAHF website, the festival "attracts 500,000 people from Baltimore, Washington, and other neighboring states."

Check out the flyer above for more details! Hope to see you there!

*A little tip for all those wondering: The AAHF is a TOTALLY different event from the AFRAM, as so many of us old schoolers used to call it. I, too, thought that the title "AFRAM" had just been retired. Howeverm the acronym is used for other festivals such as the one being held in Norfolk, VA this summer.

IT'S TIME FOR CRABS!

O yes Baltimore, the time has come.

Time to break out the newspapers, mallets, and beers. Time to crack those legs and get moving towards your favorite crab shack in town. Time to snap open your wallets and count those nickels and dimes for an order of a dozen of your favorite sea creature. (or one BUSHEL, if you're really hungry). Time to dig deep through the guts, the mush, the dead man, and mustard, and find the hidden treasure that reminds you every time of why you risk the smell of your hands to have this one thing when summer hits:

CRABS!!!










Everyone knows that Baltimore is notorious for it's wonderful crab addiction. So if you plan to visit this the city known for getting it's fix from the bay, or if you are already conveniently located here for the summer, here are a few tips that I found from the website of one Baltimore's most superb crab shacks, O'brycki's (and a few comments of my own in bold):

1. Break off the claws. (good for soup!)
   
2. Lift apron and grip shell. (there's a name for that sharp thing in the middle?!)
3. Peel off shell. (here comes the good part!!!)
4. Clean out "mustard" (yellow fat which can be eaten) and "devil" (cellulose-like gills, don't eat. (Contrary to popular belief, you will not die if you eat the dead-man (or devil). However, the yellow fat (or mustard) is the devil...don't eat it, it's GROSS!!)

You can find more of O'brycki's instructions here. Warning: they get a little proper towards the end. My edited version: dig those fingers in that shell and FEAST!!!



I also found this fun video of a Marylander who has their own special way of eating crabs. ENJOY!!!