Football Training Camp Time for the Redskins and Ravens

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Football Training Camps for the Redskins and Ravens

 

Mid July brings the dog days of summer, heat, humidity and professional football training camps! It’s the time of year to start looking ahead to tailgating, football rallies and trips to the Super Bowl! Both the Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens open up their training camps this week. The first official football training camp day for both teams is today, July 24th. All members of the teams need to be in camp and on the field ready for practice. During training camp, there are no winners or losers, there is only learning the playbook and becoming a team. These skills will be in full force during training camp for both teams.  Fans can attend practices and special events at training facilities as well as at special events at their perspective stadiums.  Both teams have some great events lined up for fans for training camp this year!

Baltimore Ravens Training Camp

The Baltimore Ravens had an average 8-8 2013 season. They were plagued by injuries and listless offense.  They are hoping to improve and head back to the Super Bowl this season. The Ravens hold their training camp at Under Armour Performance Center in Owing Mills, Maryland. The training facility includes practice fields, strength-training areas, full indoor practice field and the corporate headquarters for the team. Up to 300 people can attend a training camp session. There was a lottery for tickets for fans to get a chance to get on the field for one out of 12 open training camp sessions. There will be special showcases at M&T Stadium in Baltimore and Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis during training camp. The Ravens will host their first ever Fireworks Night on July 28th starting at 7pm at M&T Stadium.  The Baltimore Ravens training camp practice will include post-practice autographs for children, interactive fan events, cheerleader and mascot meet and greets and a laser and fireworks show. The Ravens will have a practice on Monday, August 4th starting at 7pm at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.  This event will feature a youth football clinic on the field before practice starts, cheerleaders and mascots, Baltimore’s Marching Ravens and an autograph session after the practice.  The Ravens will also be practicing for 4 days against the San Francisco 49ers starting August 7th. Check out the Baltimore Raven’s training camp schedule.

Ravens manager, John Harbaugh and the team are ready to put the 2013 season behind them and work hard in training camp. In fact, the Baltimore Ravens football training camp is known to be the toughest in the NFL. The majority of the team is full of veteran players with some great rookie prospects. The defense is young and fast and the offense has the veteran leadership of Joe Flacco. The first game of the season is at home at M & T Stadium on September 7th against AFC North rivals, Cincinnati Bengals.

Washington Redskins Training Camp

The Washington Redskins unfortunately did not have a good 2013 season with a 3-13 season, which resulted in the firing of head coach Mike Shanahan and his coaching staff at the end of the season. Jay Gruden was chosen as the new coach and his staff will lead the Redskins with a new offense when players report for training camp on July 24th.  The Washington Redskins training camp is held at Bon Secours Washington Redskins Training Center in Richmond, Virginia. This state-of-the-art facility opened for the 2013 season. There are many training camp practices open to the fans free of charge.  Saturday, August 2nd is Fan Appreciation Day. There are also preseason practices against the New England Patriots from August 4th to 6th cumulating in a game on August 7th at Fed Ex Field at 7pm. Tickets are available for this event via a special lottery system. You can register up to July 25th for the randomly selected lottery. You can find more information about training camp on the website. Check out the Washington Redskins training camp schedule for practice time and information.

New manager, Jay Gruden, former offensive coordinator at the Cincinnati Bengals, and his staff welcome back a majority of veteran players to the 2014 training camp. There will be a lot of pressure on quarterback, Robert Griffin III to return to his 2012 form. The offense added three new starters in receiver DeSean Jackson, wideout Andre Roberts and left guard Shawn Lauvao. The defense hopes to improve with draft choice Trent Murphy and off-season pick, Jason Hatcher. The Redskins start the season at Houston on September 7th. The first Redskins home game is September 14th versus rival Jacksonville Jaguars.

 

ezStorage is proud to have locations that are in Ravens and Redskins territory. Stop into our Washington D.C. storage and Baltimore storage facilities to find out how ezStorage can make personal and business storage easier!

Storage for Your Many Life Events

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Life events and self storage

 

Throughout our lives, we experience many life events from getting our first apartment to getting married to eventually downsizing our homes. Self storage can be a great storage solution for life’s major changes. Placing your personal items in self storage will give you peace-of-mind that your belongings are in a safe and secure place as you tackle your life events.

Moving Storage Solutions

One of the number one reasons to rent a self storage unit is because you are selling your home or moving to a new home. Over 35 million people move a year and a good portion of these people need a moving storage solution to store excess household items. Staging a home, or storing excess items from your home to make it more “neutral” to potential buyers is becoming more and more popular with real estate companies and home owners. If you are moving to a new city, but do not know the size of your new home yet, then it is a good idea to place your belongings in a self storage unit until you get settled into your new home. This is especially true for recent college graduates or people who are moving to new cities for their jobs.

Storage for Life’s Events

Two more major life events are actually related: getting married and starting a family. When you are getting married, you are combining two households into one. There could be duplicates of furniture, kitchen items, appliances and linens. Place the excess in storage until you can use them or you decide to sell or donate the items. Self storage is a great option for storing wedding gifts and other items that you have collected along life’s journey. Once you have settled down and decided to start a family, you might need to transform a “man cave” or office into a nursery. If there is no other storage option in the home, place these extra items in a self storage unit until you might be able to use them again.

Empty Nesting and Self Storage

As children grow up and go to college, parents can start to go through an “empty nesting” phase and decide to redecorate or repurpose a child’s room into an office, multi-media room, workout room or craft room. Place the child’s “stuff” in a self storage unit and have them decide if they want to keep their childhood memorabilia. After college is over, the graduate might end up moving back home, so the room could have to be changed back to a bedroom yet again!

Self storage is also an option for some of life’s more difficult such as divorce, placing a loved one in assisted living or even a family death. As we get older, we do not need as much “stuff” in our lives. This is when we decide to downsize your home to a smaller place or apartment. If you have to clean out a home after a loved one has passed away, it is a good idea to place the items in self storage until you are able to decide what to do with them.

ezStorage has storage solutions for all of your life’s events from just starting out after college to downsizing after a long life. Stop in to one of our 46 Baltimore, Northern Virginia or Washington D.C. area locations to see how we can help with storage for any of life’s many events!

 

 

Artscape Baltimore 2014

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Artscape

Photo courtesy of articles.baltimoresun.com.

 

 

Baltimore is a vibrant city that supports its art and culture. There are many art galleries, museums and performance halls throughout the city where you can see artwork on display from famous artists from around the world or take a stroll through smaller art galleries to see the local Baltimore art. One of the great ways to see and hear Baltimore’s art and culture in action is at the yearly Baltimore art festival, Artscape. Artscape, America’s largest free arts festival is sponsored by the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts and has over 350,000 annual visitors to the show. Baltimore’s Artscape runs July 18th to 20th along Mt Royal Ave and Cathedral Street, Charles Street, and Bolton Street. There are galleries, performance areas and food venues up and down each of the streets in the Station North Arts & Entertainment District neighborhoods.

What to do at Baltimore’s Artscape

Baltimore’s Artscape art festival features a wide variety of art from visual art to musical performances. The festival spotlights over 150 artists, fashion designers, craftspeople, visual art exhibitions, outdoor sculpture and photography exhibits. There are also great live concerts on outdoor stages throughout the festival area as well as indoor performances, including performances by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. You can also get a behind-the-scenes tour of Joseph Myerhoff Symphony Hall, home of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.  Local, regional and national rock, jazz, and R&B acts will be performing on three stages (MEA Energy Stage, Station North Stage and Festival Stage) over the weekend. There are theater, dance, opera, film, and experimental music performances. The Aerial Arts Arena will showcase aerial artists, dancers, and circus performers during the festival and will also be the venue for a variety of DJ’s during the weekend.

 Family entertainment is also a central part of Artscape. There will be children’s entertainers as well as hands-on projects for kids, face painting, arts and music demonstrations specially designed for children. For the older kids, there is Gamescape, a showcase of video games with a focus on the people who create them. You can discover tips and the inside story on how video games are developed and produced.

Artscape has a variety of food vendors during the show featuring traditional festival food to international cuisine. There are food courts and food vendors placed around the streets of the event.  There will also be a Food Truck Rally on Preston Street during the Baltimore art festival.

In order to get the best experience for Baltimore Artscape, you can download the Artscape app for Android or iPhone for your phone. You can get the latest schedules and event information via the app. You can also find the schedule of performances and competitions via the website.

ezStorage is very proud to be part of such a vibrant arts culture in Baltimore. Stop by any of our 15 Baltimore storage locations to find out how we can help you with all of your storage needs.

 

Ten Baltimore Area Farmers Markets

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Farmers Markets-Baltimore

Photo Courtesy of webblog.baltimoresun.com.

 

 

There are many farmers markets in the Baltimore area that cater to those who enjoy everything from organic produce to hand-crafted items. A few of the farmers markets in the Baltimore, Maryland area are open for the entire year and others open for the season starting in May and June. Farmers markets, which come in all shapes and sizes from road-side stands to very large indoor and outdoor institutions, help to provide consumers in Baltimore with great fresh locally grown produce. Below is a list of just ten of the Baltimore farmers markets.  There are many more to explore and share!

Baltimore City Farmers Markets

1. Baltimore Farmers Market and Bazaar

Baltimore’s Farmers Market and Bazaar, celebrating its 37th season, is Maryland’s largest producers-only market. The market is held every Sunday morning from April 16th through December 21st from 7am to noon underneath the Jones Falls Expressway at Holiday and Saratoga Streets. You will find many organic products, unusual finds and multi-cultural cuisines at the market every week. The products include fruits, vegetables, poultry, seafood, beef, pork, lamb, bison, goat, rabbit, fresh-baked goods, herbs and spices, organically raised and produced milk products and much more. There are also food stands selling everything from burritos to crepes!

 

2. 32nd Street Farmers Market

The 32nd Street Farmers Market is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1980. It offers baked goods, produce, fruits, prepared foods and flowers every Saturday from 7am to noon at the parking lot on East 32nd Street and Barclay Street. The market runs all year. The mission of the market is to provide a place for independent vendors to be able to thrive in the agribusiness world, while promoting produce, meat, bread and plant selections to an underserved city community. All money collected from vendor space fees or donations goes back towards improving the market and helping with expenses.

3. Fell’s Point Farmers Market

The Fells Point Farmers Market is located on Broadway Square in the highly visited and historic waterfront area of Fell’s Point every Saturday morning at 7:30am to 12:30pm. The market opens in May and runs to November 23rd.  The Fells Point Farmers Market, started in 2011, has over 40 vendors offering a variety of fresh, natural and organic products. Local chefs frequent the market to get the freshest produce for their restaurants. The market also offers craft vendors, children activities and artisans.

Farmers Markets Outside of Baltimore

4. Howard County Farmers Markets

There are 4 different farmers markets that take place in Howard County. The first is held every Wednesday at the Miller Library in Ellicott City from 2pm to 6pm. The second is held at Howard County General Hospital in Columbia every Friday afternoon from 2pm to 6pm. The third is held the 1st and 3rd Saturday mornings from 8am to noon at the Maple Lawn Medical Building in Fulton. The fourth market is held every Sunday morning from 9am to 1pm at the Oakland Mills Village Center in Columbia. All of the markets focus on locally grown produce, seasonal fruits and flowers. There are also baked goods, organically grown produce and specialty items. All of the markets are producer only markets, meaning the persons growing or making the items are those that are selling at the markets.

5. Catonsville Farmers Market

The Catonsville Farmers Market is located at the Bloomsbury Community Center every Wednesday from 10am to 1pm. The market, open rain or shine, runs from May 7th to November 26th each year. The market has special events during its season from chef demonstrations to wine testing and there is a Customer Appreciation Day on July 16th! The market is also a producer only market. The items that are bought at the market are grown, made and prepared by the vendor who sells directly to the customer. This is a great way to know the people behind the product. A variety of foods and produce are offered each week including beef, organic bread, eggs, chicken, honey products, fruits, and vegetables.

6. Severna Park Farmers Market

The Severna Park Farmers Market is held April through October in the parking lot at Ritchie Highway and Jones Station Road. It is run by the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation. The market offers locally grown fruits and vegetables every Saturday morning from 8am to noon.

7. Annapolis Freshfarm Market

The Annapolis Freshfarm Market is every Sunday morning from 8am to noon starting May 4th and running to November 23rd. The market is located in the Donner Parking Lot on Compromise St at the Harbor in Downtown Annapolis. There is a large variety of produce and goods from vendors from Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia. The produce includes fresh fruits and vegetables, baked goods, meats, eggs, cheese, flowers and much more.

8. Towson Farmers Market

The Towson Chamber of Commerce sponsors the weekly Towson Farmers Market at Allegheny Avenue between York Road and Washington Ave. The market is held every Thursday from 10am to 3pm. There are fresh vegetables and fruits, fresh-cut and potted plants and flowers, home-baked goods and fresh roasted coffee.

9. Baltimore County Farmers Market

The Baltimore County Farmers Market is held every Wednesday morning from June to October at the main gate of the Maryland State Fairgrounds. The market is open from 10am to 1pm. Ten local Baltimore County farmers and producers came together to create the market and present the best of their local in-season produce, meats, milk, ice cream, eggs, flowers and much more.

 

10. Carroll County Farmers Market

The Carroll County Farmers Market is held every Saturday morning from 8am to 2pm starting in June and running until December 13th. The market is held at the Agriculture Center and Arena and is the oldest farmers market in Carroll County opening in July 1972! There are between 80 to 100 vendors featuring locally grown fruits, vegetables, fresh farm eggs, cheeses, homemade baked goods and cut flowers and plants each week at the market. There are also handmade juried crafts and gourmet foods!

There are so many great farmers market in the Baltimore area! Head out and support the local farmers and producers and taste some great food! ezStorage is very happy to be part of a community that is so rich in great food, local produce, customs and culture! We have 15 locations around the Baltimore area where you can rent a variety of storage unit sizes. Stop by to see how we make storage easy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Self Storage for Contractors

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Self Storage for Contractors

 

Self Storage is a great storage solution for both homeowners and businesses. For businesses, a self storage unit can be used to store retail inventory overstock, pharmaceutical samples, business documents and office equipment and tools. In past blog posts, we have shared that self storage is a perfect storage option if you are doing a home renovation or remodeling project. But, where do many construction workers, contractors, plumbers, electricians, and painters store their tools and equipment? They store it at a self storage facility! ezStorage makes it easy for contractors, painters, and plumbers to store their equipment with our construction storage solutions.

Contractors, plumbers and painters work out of their vans, trucks or out of their homes; most do not have “brick and mortar” locations or buildings to store their equipment.  The cost of renting a storage unit can be significantly lower than paying rent and utilities for a storefront or a warehouse. Using a self storage unit for storing building materials and tools helps contractors keep their overhead low and their budget in check. And the right size self storage unit is a convenient place for storing building materials as well.

Building Material Storage

Some self storage facilities have drive-up storage units, which allows for easy access for contractors to load and unload their equipment. Some self storage facilities also have computerized gate access hours starting at 6am for contractors, painters and plumbers to access their tools early in the day. And some facilities even offer 24 hour gate access. Security amenities such as video surveillance, individually alarmed storage units  and key coded gate access gives contractors peace-of-mind that their equipment will be safe while in storage.

Stop in to any of our 46 Baltimore, Northern Virginia and Washington D.C. ezStorage locations to find out more about how we can help construction companies, contractors, painters and plumbers keep an eye on their bottom line by storing their equipment, tools and materials with ezStorage..

7 Tips for Having a Successful Garage Sales

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7 Tips for Having a Successful Garage Sale

 

It’s the prime season for garage sales across the country. The spring organizing and cleaning projects have been completed leaving some boxes of items that could be sold or donated. Now it’s time to gather these items and get ready to have a garage or yard sale. If you had stored the garage sale items temporarily in a storage unit until you had time to have a garage sale, now is the time to remove the items from storage and get organized for the sale day. Do your research and find out if there are other homes in your neighborhood doing garage sales the same time that you are. Saturdays are the best day of the week to hold the garage sale. The most bought items at a garage sale are collectibles, tools and sports equipment. Below are some great tips on how to have a good garage sale:

1. Advertising Garage Sale Tips

Make sure to use all of the available outlets for advertising your garage sale such as social media, local newspapers, Craigslist, and putting flyers up in local businesses. There are quite a few websites that will list garage and yard sales in the Baltimore area including: Yard Sales Baltimore or Garage Sales Baltimore. If you are selling larger, more expensive items, place their photos, descriptions and cost on Craigslist the week before your sale.

2. How to Set Up a Garage Sale

It is important to start prepping as early as possible for your garage sale. You do not want to scramble to find things the day of the sale. Start gathering materials that you will need for your sale such as poster board, colored price stickers, masking tape, Ziploc bags, markers and a money box. Save newspapers for wrapping fragile or delicate items. It is also good to have plastic bags and boxes on-hand so your customers can carry away their new items.  On the day of the sale, make sure that you have plenty of ones, fives and change for your money box. Have one person designated to be in charge of the money box, but also have other helpers carry change for instant sales.

3. Create a “Free” Box

People like free items. Set aside one box for free items like posters, smaller photo albums or frames or small children’s toys. This will help get rid of smaller items that you no longer need or want.

4. Appearances are Important

An easy to do garage sale tip is to make sure that your garage sale items are clean and organized. Put like items together in a group, such as all of the kitchen items together on a table. Put the larger, better looking items in the front of the sale, closer to the street, so people can see them as they drive by. Use nice crates, sturdier boxes and shelving units to display your items. Do not use ripped up or damaged boxes for your sale. Use bags to place loose parts of toys, games, collections together.

5. Priced the Items to Sell

Do not over-price your sale items. The whole purpose is to try to make some money off of these items before they will be donated or thrown out. The average price of an item bought at a garage sale is $.85. You want to make sure that you price the items with a bit of “wiggle” room for those people who want to haggle, but still low enough to entice buyers. If it is late in the day on the last day of your sale and you still have a lot to sell, then try slashing the prices to 50% off for the rest of the sale.

6. Give Good Customer Service

Being friendly with the people who are shopping at your garage or yard sale is crucial to having a successful garage sale. Greet people when they walk up to the sale and say “Thank You” and “Goodbye” when they leave. The best time to open for the early morning shoppers is at 7am. Greet these shoppers with coffee or doughnuts. If you are selling children’s items, have a table for the kids to color or do crafts while their parent’s shop the sale. If it is a hot day, have lemonade on hand to purchase.

7. What To Do With Leftover Items

Remember that you were having the garage sale to help clear out the clutter in your home! After the sale, donate or throw away any of the items that you did not sell. You do not want to put the items back into your home. As you know, self storage is great for home storage options. If you do still have some items that you want to keep, then put them back into your storage unit.

If you follow these easy tips, then you can have a successful garage sale!

 

Baltimore’s July Cultural and Ethnic Events & Festivals

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Baltimore July Ethnic and Cultural Festivals

 

The ethnic and cultural festivals continue to be major events for the Baltimore July event calendar. There are two major ethnic festivals taking place in Baltimore in July: The Baltimore/Washington One Caribbean Carnival and the Maryland Polish Festival.  ezStorage has compiled Baltimore cultural festival information for the “Ultimate Guide to 2014 Ethnic and Cultural Festivals” as an easy guide for all of the fun ways to celebrate Baltimore’s diverse culture throughout the summer.

Baltimore Caribbean Festival

The Baltimore/Washington One Caribbean Carnival is a combined event between Baltimore and Washington D.C. The Caribbean Festival is being held in Baltimore on July 12th and 13th at Lake Clifton Park.  The event kicks off with a parade at noon on July 12th. The colorful Caribbean flavored parade starts at 900 E. 33rd Street and travels along Alameda Street to St. Lo Drive and ends at the festival at Lake Clifton Park. There is an admission fee for each day of the festival. There will be entertainment all weekend including local, regional and national performers including steel drum orchestras and West African dancers and drummers. There will be Caribbean food, art and crafts and music for the entire family. The Baltimore Caribbean Festival started in 1993 with 9 bands and 150,000 spectators. Today, there are over 25 bands participating in the parade and events and the parade and festival have over 300,000 spectators. The participants of the parade are all from the Metro D.C. area and they represent every Caribbean country from the Bahamas to Grenada.

Maryland Polish Festival

The Polish Festival is held July 19th and 20th at the Exhibition Hall at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium. There will be live Polish music and entertainment, Polish and American food and beer, Polish crafts, vendors and other craftsmen and Polish cultural heritage displays and activities. There are scheduled performances throughout the two-day event.  So, get ready to polka to your heart’s content! The Maryland Polish Festival is sponsored by the non-profit organization, The Polish Community Association of Maryland. Their goal is to preserve Polish culture, customs and history by sharing Polish pageantry, folklore and food with the community.

ezStorage is proud to be part of Baltimore’s ethnically diverse community! Visit one of the 15 self storage locations in Baltimore to find out how we can help you with your storage needs.