For Immediate Release
March 7, 2005

GIANT CRABS TO INVADE BALTIMORE CITY
(Baltimore, MD) - This spring, nearly 200 five-foot crabs will be crawling, creeping, and clawing their way through Baltimore City as The Crabtown Project gets underway to raise money for badly needed physical repairs in Baltimore City Public Schools.

Beginning in April, the five-foot fiberglass crab sculptures decorated by local artists - will be on display during the spring and summer months in public spaces throughout Baltimore City. In the fall, the colorful crustaceans will not be steamed, but will instead be auctioned at an event to raise funds for lavatory renovations, carpet replacement, groundswork, reglazing of school windows, replacement of exterior doors and floor tiles, and other renovations in Baltimore City Public Schools.

"What better way to support our city's schools than by incorporating four city favorites -- crabs, arts, schools, and fun," said Mayor Martin O'Malley, a top supporter and honorary chair of The Crabtown Project.

Artists are being encouraged to collaborate with local schools and after school programs to incorporate the imagination and creativity of Baltimore City students in their designs of the crab. To date, Crabtown has received 346 submissions from local artists, and of those, 172 designs have been approved.

Some of the crab titles/themes include:

• "Lenny Crabitz" by Kelly Ames Legs, claws, and torso of the crab multicolored, each in a variety of designs
• "Have A Nice Bay" by Scott OatmanBlue and green crab with small pictures of ocean life on the body and crab's title written across the front
• "Bee-Lieve in Our Children" by Megan Hoffmann & students Predominantly green crab with bumble bees depicted throughout and BEE-LIEVE inscribed across the front
• "Annabel Lee" by Beppi Isbert Description of Annabel Lee from famous Edgar Allen Poe poem, includes excerpts from the poem's text as well as a rendering of its namesake
• "King Crab" by Duane LutskoCrab painted with portrait of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., includes excerpts of his "I Have A Dream" speech
• "Crab Ripken, Jr." by Jonathan WestOrange crab with white and black on claws and legs, torso with a giant number eight
• "Alpha-Crab" by Harold Smith, Jr. Multi-colored alphabet on crab

The Crabtown Project combines public art with fundraising as the fiberglass crab sculptures will be available to sponsors at various levels with proceeds benefiting the Believe In Our Schools Fund at the Baltimore Community Foundation. Several levels of sponsorship opportunities are available to crab-lovers as follows:

• Sponsorship of a decorated crab for $3,000 (on display through the summer; available for purchase at auction in the fall)
• Sponsorship of a bushel of four crabs for $10,000 (on display through the summer; available for purchase at auction in the fall)
• Ownership of a crab for $7,500 (on display through the summer, not auctioned in fall)

CitiFinancial is the Program Sponsor and Legg Mason is the Auction Sponsor of the Crabtown Project. Other Sponsors include the Abell Foundation, Abernathy MacGregor, ABM Janitorial Services, Advertising.com, AEGON Transamerica Foundation, Alex Brown Investment Management, Alex Brown Realty, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Baltimore City Community College, Baltimore Community Foundation, Baltimore Curriculum Project, Baltimore Development Corporation, Baltimore Life Companies, Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor, Baltimore Ravens, The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Window Factory, Bank of America, Bank of America Foundation, Bradford Bank, Brown Capital Management, Inc., Bunting Family Foundation, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield of Maryland, Charlesmead Foundation, Chesapeake Habitat for Humanity, Charleston Group, Chesapeake Partners, City Wide Management, Clark Construction, Classic Catering People, Nathan and Suzanne Cohen Foundation, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Comcast Cablevision of Maryland, Constellation Energy Group, Cordish Company, Design Collective, Inc., Deutsche Bank Alex Brown, Doracon Contracting Incorporated, Eddie's of Roland Park, Ellis and Tucker, Chartered, Ferris, Baker Watts, First Mariner Bank, Fox Industries, France-Merrick Foundation, Franklin Morris, LLC, Friends School, Gallagher, Evelius and Jones, LLP, General Growth Properties, Gilman School, GWWO, Inc. Architects, Hampton Inn & Suites Inner Harbor, Harbor Bank of Maryland, Harborplace, Heery International, Hill and Company, Holiday Inn Inner Harbor, Hyatt Regency, Johns Hopkins Hospital, KPMG, LLP, Kramon and Graham, P.A., Lafarge-NA, Laureate, Lexington Market, Linehan Family Foundation, Inc., Little Italy Restaurant Association, Live Baltimore Home Center, M&T Bank, M&T Charitable Foundation, Inc., McCarthy for Planned Parenthood, Magna Entertainment, Manekin, LLC, Maryland General Hospital, Maryland Zoo, Mercantile Safe Deposit and Trust, Mercy Medical Center, Merritt Properties, LLC, Morton and Sophia Macht Foundation, MuniMae/MMA, Municipal Art Society, National Aquarium in Baltimore, Pearlstone Family Fund, Beth Pepper, Piper Rudnick, LLP, Planned Parenthood, The Pleasure of Your Company, Radisson Plaza Lord Baltimore, Regional Management Incorporated, Louisa Rettew, Ryan's Daughter, Ryland Homes, Safe and Sound Campaign, Safeway, Senator Theater, Shapiro, Sher and Guinot, Shelter Development Group, Jean and Sid Silber, Snyder Foundation, Struever Bros. Eccles and Rouse, Inc., SunTrust Bank, Swirnow Corporation, Tremont Suite Hotels, T. Rowe Price Associates Foundation, Tatum Partners, Time Group, Caplan Family Funds, Trammell Crow, UMBI, University of Baltimore, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Veneable, Baetjer and Howard, LLP, Verizon, The Walters Art Gallery, The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Inc., Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, Inc., Whitman, Requardt and Associates, LLP, Whole Foods, Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale and Door, LLP, Zurich America Insurance, Co.

Baltimore artist Charles Winkler provided the vision for the 5' x 5' crabs that will be used in the production of the hundreds of full-scale models. Fox Industries, based in Baltimore City, is generating the molds and manufacturing the unfinished fiberglass sculptures that will be turned over to select artists for design and decoration. The Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance (GBCA) released a call for artists in early January to solicit design proposals, and selected artists will receive a stipend for their work to cover expenses in decorating the sculptures.