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March: March's masquerade - Travel Guide

Joy Bennett Kinnon

THE weather is "sometimey"--maybe warm, maybe cool. But seasoned travelers are prepared for inclement weather. Even though March is month of the great pretender, get in the spirit and take out your masks for that festive Mardi Gras season. The Mardi Gras holiday falls in March this year, so let the parades and masquerade balls begin. Check your city for special events that signal spring.

WHAT'S HAPPENING WHERE

ANAHEIM, Calif.

* National Society of Black Engineers Convention. Anaheim Convention Center. March 19-23.

ATLANTA

* The Lion King. Musical play. Atlanta Civic Center. Through March 16.

* St. Lucy's Eyes. Legendary actress Ruby Dee stars in this inspiring story set against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement. Alliance Theatre. Through March 9.

BALTIMORE

* African-American Photography. A mini-course at the Baltimore Museum of Art. 6-8 p.m. March 5.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.

* Mardi Gras Celebration. Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. March 4.

CHICAGO

* Winter Delights. Winter activities for individuals and families. Various venues. Through March 2.

* Homebound. Play on life in a detention home for young men. ETA Creative Arts Foundation. March 6-April 20.

* A Century of Collecting: African American Art in The Art Institute of Chicago. A major exhibition of work by Black artists spanning 200 years. The Art Institute of Chicago. Begins Feb. 15-May 18.

CLEVELAND

* Close-up in Black: African American Film Posters. This exhibit tells the story of Black film history through the graphic art of the American movie poster. Western Reserve Historical Society. Through April 6.

COLUMBUS, Ohio

* Harriet Tubman. Play in commemoration of Women's History Month. King Arts Complex. March 7.

DETROIT

* In Walks Mem'ry. Play by the Plowshares Theatre Co. Paul Robeson Theatre, Northwest Activities Center. March 20-April 13.

HOUSTON

* Mardi Gras! Galveston 2003. Annual festival in the Strand. Feb. 21-March 4.

MEMPHIS, Tenn.

* Madison Avenue Mardi Gras. A Memphis-style Fat Tuesday celebration. Madison Avenue from Tucker to Cooper. March 4.

* Fisk University Jubilee Singers. Bartlett Performing Arts & Conference Center. March 15.

NEW ORLEANS

* Fat Tuesday. Mardi Gras. Citywide celebration featuring parades and music. March 4.

NEW YORK CITY

* 14th Annual Black Church Week of Prayer for the healing of AIDS. Organized by the Balm in Gilead, it is the nation's largest AIDS awareness campaign for the Black community. March 2-8.

* Jazz Talk: Jazz and Social Protest. Poets Amiri Baraka and Sonia Sanchez, trumpet player/composer Cecil Bridgewater and moderator Professor Robert G. O'Meally discuss jazz history. Jazz at Lincoln Center. Stanley Kaplan Penthouse, Rose Building. March 18.

* Harlem YMCA Salute to Black Achievers. Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers. Keynote speaker, Dr. Maya Angelou. Dr. Leo B. Marsh Award Recipient: Lloyd Williams, Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce. March 20.

* Enterprising Women: 250 Years of American Business. Major national exhibition on women and American business features African-American business women, Madam C.J. Walker and Maggie Lena Walker, among others. Opens at the New York Historical Society, March 25-May 31.

PRICHARD, Ala.

* Prichard Mardi Gras Association Parade. This annual event starts at Prichard City Hall. March 3.

ST. LOUIS

* Fat Tuesday "Light Up the Night" Parade. Downtown St. Louis. 8 p.m. March 4.

* African-American Sounds, Young People's concert. Powell Symphony Hall in Grand Center. March 4.

* 146th Anniversary of the Dred Scott decision. A commemoration in the Old Courthouse where the Dred Scott case began in 1846. March 8.

SAN FRANCISCO

* SFJAZZ Spring Season 2003. Various venues. March 21-June 15.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

* National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB) 19th Annual Communications Awards Dinner. Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. March 27.

* Passages to Freedom: The Underground Railroad in American History and Legend. Exhibit. The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. Through March 1.

ISLAND DESTINATIONS:

BARBADOS

* Holders Season. A celebration of opera, music and theatre. Holders House. St. James. March 11-29.

BERMUDA

* 12th Annual Evening of Jazz. City Hall. Hamilton. March 7.

JAMAICA

* Spring Break 2003. Negril, Montego Bay-St. James. March 1-April 30.

* Fun in the Son-Gospel Spring Festival 2003. Ocho Rios-St. Ann. March 13-24.

* Jamaica Carnival 2003. Kingston, Montego Bay & Ocho Rios-Kingston. Through March.

NOTE: Sponsors may change dates or locations after the magazine has been published. Travelers should verify event information with local sponsors.

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