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Baltimore arts briefs: July 27

Hippo celebrates the Olympics, Otakon festival comes to town and more

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Olympic opening celebrations

Club Hippo is having a viewing party for the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics tonight at 7 p.m. The club is at 1 West Eager Street in Baltimore.

The opening ceremonies begin at 7:30 and Club Hippo is offering drink specials all night long: $6 for Absolut Drinks, $3 for Miller Lite Draft and Yuengling Draft and $2.25 for Natty Boh Draft.

Admission is free. For more information, clubhippo.com.

Celebrate Christmas while the weather is warm

Grand Central (1001/1003 N. Charles St.) hosts its “Christmas in July” party Saturday night starting at 10 p.m. Cover is $6 and goes to benefit the Gay and Lesbian Community Center.

The Center is a group that provides numerous services to the LGBT community as well as publishes Gay Life and produces Baltimore Pride. This year, it’s celebrating 35 years of service.

Grand Central offers $2.50 drinks from 10-11 p.m. For more information, visit centralstationpub.com.

Last year’s Otakon. (Photo courtesy Otakon)

The Otaku generation returns to Baltimore

Otakon, a yearly festival that celebrates anime, manga and other elements of Asian pop culture, starts today at 10 a.m and ending Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m at the Baltimore Convention Center (1 West Pratt St.).

Otakon is called the “convention of the otaku generation: by fans, for fans.” Since 1999, the festival has taken over a large area of the Inner Harbor, attracting millions of fans dressed as their favorite characters. Activities include art shows, concerts, film screenings, autograph signings and dancing.

Online registration has closed but tickets can still be bought at the door for $80. Children under 8 have free admission. For more information, visit otakon.com.

A summer evening with sculpture and jazz

Baltimore Museum of Art (10 Art Museum Dr.) hosts “Jazz in the Sculpture Garden” Saturday night at 7 p.m. with the Steven Kroon Latin Jazz Sextet.

Kroon brings to the concert sultry Latin sounds developed from a 35-year career that has included other great jazz musicians. He was requested back to the Sculpture Garden event by popular demand.

The event will also include twilight hour tours starting at 5 p.m., which include a glass of wine. Attendees are encouraged to pack their own picnic or purchase wine, beer and soft drinks at their concessions.

General admission for a concert is $25 and with a tour is $35. Member tickets are $18 and with a tour is $23. For more information, visit artbma.org.

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Photos

PHOTOS: World Pride March

LGBTQ rights demonstration held in Amsterdam

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A scene from the 2026 World Pride March in Amsterdam. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The 2026 World Pride March was held on Saturday, Aug. 8 in Amsterdam. Tens of thousands of participants marched from Martin Luther Kingpark to the grounds of the Pride Village at Museumplein.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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PHOTOS: Daddy Issues at Kiki

Evry Pleasure, Tiara Missou-Sidora, Indiana Bones perform

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Evry Pleasure performs at the 'Daddy Issues' drag show at Kiki on Wednesday. (Washington Blade photo by Landon Shackelford)

The weekly drag show “Daddy Issues” was held at Kiki on Wednesday, Aug. 5. Performers included Evry Pleasure, Indiana Bones and Tiara Missou-Sidora.

(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)

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Books

Something’s off about Dad. When is it time to step in?

‘When Memory Fades’ can help when families face dementia

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(Book cover image courtesy of St. Martin's Essentials)

‘When Memory Fades’
By Nathaniel Chin, MD
c.2026, St. Martin’s Essentials
$30/422 pages

Mom called you in a panic the other day.

She’d lost her keys and by the time you arrived to help, she’d found them. In the refrigerator.

These kinds of things keep happening, not often but often enough, and you don’t know quite what to worry about. But in the new book “When Memory Fades” by Nathaniel Chin, MD, you’ll learn about the journey ahead, for both of you.

You can’t remember why you walked into a room. You got lost last week, going to the bank. Popular wisdom says that things like that are normal as we age, but Chin says that’s not true – although the answer may not be a worst-case scenario, either. Yes, memory problems could just be signs of stress, dehydration, or lack of sleep – or is it time to see a doctor?

Chin says maybe, yes.

He was working his way through medical residency when his father, a geriatrician in Madison, Wisc., was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Chin, now a geriatrician, was blindsided, but that diagnosis also changed his life.

Here, he writes about the brain, and how Alzheimer’s and dementia are diagnosed, explaining that dementia has many faces and, depending on a doctor’s evaluation, memory problems might be slowed or improved. He shares his father’s illness with readers, but he also writes about his mother, a steadfast, steady caretaker.

Her story reminds reader-guardians to care for themselves, too.

Know how to talk the talk, so that you can have “a more productive” conversation with your doctor. Understand that there’s nothing “normal” about dementia or Alzheimer’s. Know the statistics – African Americans are affected with dementia twice as much as whites – and know how to lower your risks. Learn here what questions to ask, how to break the news to everyone, and any legal matters that will be important soon. And know how to tend to you.

Says Chin, “The best action you can take is to educate yourself… The more you understand, the better equipped you are to make sound judgments.”

Something’s off about Dad, just a lot of little things that don’t add up. When is it time to step in? “When Memory Fades” can help you decide.

Wise, wide-spread, comprehensive, and compassionately helpful, this is a book you can read and then take it to the doctor with your loved one. It’s a book that makes sense when nothing else does, and its biggest feature is that it smoothly transitions from easy-to-grasp science and charts, to gentle coaching for caregivers. Author Nathaniel Chin, MD writes with storytelling, humility, grace, and experience from both sides of the Alzheimer’s/dementia issue, and his words are reassuring but also urgent. Learn, but don’t wait, he says. Know how to safeguard yourself. See your doctor, and don’t fear testing. Watch for signs of depression. And never, ever stop asking for help.

Read those last seven words, and find “When Memory Fades” now. It’s a book to have on your shelf, whether you’re 45 or 95 because, as you’ll see, dementia happens and knowledge is key.

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