Frank Zappa Ceremony

Seventeen years after the rock legend’s death, Zappa drew a large, fittingly eclectic crowd to a ceremony in the city where he was born.The festivities included a concert by Zappa’s son, Dweezil, and his band, Zappa Plays Zappa; a library exhibit, "Zappa’s Baltimore: Rebels and Iconoclasts in the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave," and a temporary name for the street in front of the library, "Frank Zappa Way."The bronze bust of the mustachioed Zappa — one of rock’s great iconoclasts — was donated by Zappa fans from Lithuania, which has had its own Zappa sculpture in its capital of Vilnius since 1995. Although Zappa never visited the Baltic country, he was admired there for his advocacy of free expression as well as for his music.Zappa’s widow, Gail, attended the ceremony, along with Dweezil and two other children, Ahmet and Diva. A group of Lithuanians flew to Baltimore for the event.