Members of the International Capoeira Angola Foundation of Baltimore parctice their moves several times a week at the Harlem Park Rec Center in West Baltimore

Many moves in the Capoeirista’s arsenal are ‘inverted,’ like this one

***THE SIGNAL AIRS FRIDAYS AT NOON & 7 P.M. ON 88.1 WYPR***

(Click here for mp3’s of some recent stories from the show. And PODCASTERS, click here for a link to subscribe to The Signal’s weekly podcast.)

• We’ll get a look inside a centuries-old martial art with roots that go back to Angola, Africa. Skher Brown, Denzel Mitchell, and Mari Gardner join us to talk about what it takes to hold your own in the Afro-Brazilian fight-dance of Capoeira
• Art lovers around the region will be flocking to Baltimore this weekend for the annual American Crafts Council Show, and this hour we’ll meet Ali Dryer – she’s one of the local artists whose functional modern art will be turning heads at the exhibit
• If you’re not feeling much like eating a hamburger this week, we’ll hear about some dietary alternatives when we talk with Charles Stahler and Debra Wasserman of Baltimore’s Vegetarian Resource Group
• Also, a story about a bug, an orange, and an unexpected friendship from Signal contributor Ben Shaberman

HELPFUL LINKS…

International Capoeira Angola Foundation of Baltimore

Info about the Viva Brazil! festival at The Creative Alliance

Ali Dryer’s Pistol Designs

The American Crafts Council Show

The Vegetarian Resource Group

Essayist Ben Shaberman

“Sweep the leg, Johnny!”

Break-dancers have nothing on these dudes…

Saturday morning (02.23) from 10 to noon the popular Rock-n-Romp concerts for kids and their grown-up friends brings humorist and writer Neal Pollock to town to read from his book “Alterna-dad,” which explores the ups and downs of trying to remain hip while practicing good parenting in the modern world. Thrushes will provide musical entertainment for all of the “Alternadads” and “Alterna-moms” who really came to dance. Rock-n-romp is at the 2640 Space at St. John’s Church at 2640 St. Paul Street, and you can find out more at www.myspace.com/rocknromp

Saturday evening (02.23) from 6 to 9pm Minas gallery will host a reception for “The Vantage Point,” a collection of new works inspired by the words of Robert Frost. The show runs through March 2nd, and gallery hours are 11am to 6pm Wednesday through Monday. Minas gallery is located at 815 West 36th Street in Hampden, and online at www.minasgalleryandboutique.com

On Sunday (02.24) afternoon from 2 to 4 pm the Jewish Museum of Maryland will host an opening reception for “Ours to Fight For: American Jews in the Second World War, an exhibition on loan from New York City’s Museum of Jewish Heritage. Ours to Fight For is based on the oral histories of over 400 servicemen and women, along with photographs, historic film footage, letters and objects that illustrate the special meaning that the war held for American Jews. The Jewish Museum of Maryland is located at 15 Lloyd Street, and you can find out more at www.jewishmuseummd.org