Sign up for our newsletters   

Baltimore City Paper home.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Frank Hamilton

Cruel Summer

City Paper's Sizzlin' Summer 2009

In Feature

Easy Pickings

Feature: Local pick-your-own farms offer memories as well as fresh produce [5/20/2009] by Lee Gardner

Broke-Ass Summertime Fun

Feature: Hey you with no money maybe you could use some ideas? [5/20/2009] by Emily Flake

Dancing in the Ruins

Feature: Exploring the area's not-so-hidden crumbling gems [5/20/2009] by Michael Byrne

Lost in Place

Feature: If travel isn't a vacation option, try letting a book take you away [5/20/2009] by Bret McCabe

Break Out Another Thousand

Feature: Cheap boating might be possible, but not, alas, for the ignorant [5/20/2009] by Edward Ericson Jr.

Factory Girl

Feature: Greetings from York County, Pa., the factory tour capital of the world [5/20/2009] by Michelle Gienow

Shades of Green

Feature: Small ways you can make your city home more environmentally friendly [5/20/2009] by Erin Sullivan

Balls Up

Feature: Let's hear it for Baltimore's favorite (but perhaps not homegrown) summer treat [5/20/2009] by Henry Hong

Stay Frosty

Feature: The City Paper I-Team™ once again searches for the coldest beer in Baltimore [5/20/2009]

Sizzlin' Summer Calendar

Sizzlin Calendar: Our 2009 guide to great fun in the summer sun [5/20/2009]

Parks/Hiking and Biking

Sizzlin Calendar: We may live in a concrete jungle, but Baltimoreans are lucky to have such a wide range of options for outdoor adventuring so close to home. Below is a list of some of our favorite places to spend th [5/20/2009]

Gardens

Sizzlin Calendar: Brookside Gardens, 1800 Glenallan Ave., Wheaton, (301) 962-1400, brooksidegardens.org. Free is a very good price for access to 50 acres of gorgeous gardens, although the butterfly exhibit costs a min [5/20/2009]

Downy Ocean, Hon

Sizzlin Calendar: Stuff to See Art League of Ocean City, 502 94th St., (410) 524-9433, artleagueofoceancity.com. Family friendly, non-profit art center hosts events, workshops, and exhibits year-round. And it's alway [5/20/2009]

Get Wet and Wade

Sizzlin Calendar: When you're looking for an escape from the hot, hot heat of Baltimore in the summer, sometimes an air-conditioned bar or movie theater just doesn't cut it. You want some fresh air, damn it, even if i [5/20/2009]

Pools

Sizzlin Calendar: Baltimore City's Department of Parks and Recreation operates wading pools, indoor swimming pools, and full-size outdoor pools for city residents to use all summer long. Admission is a bargain: $1 per [5/20/2009]

Sports

Sizzlin Calendar: Orioles Promotional Nights, through Oct. 3, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, theorioles.com. Even if the birds are likely struggling through the summer and early fall, there are still good reasons to go [5/20/2009]

Art

Sizzlin Calendar: AIA Baltimore Bookstore and Gallery, 11 1/2 W. Chase St., (410) 625-2585, aiabalt.com, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays. Intimate gallery space sits underneath the excellent architecture book store [5/20/2009]

Festivals and Extra-vals

Sizzlin Calendar: Sowebo Arts Festival, May 24, around Hollins Market, soweboarts.org. With three stages of live music, a salon art show, non-profits representing, arts and crafts, food, and drink, the Sowebo neighbor [5/20/2009]

Kids

Sizzlin Calendar: Stuff to See Clark's Elioak Farm, 10500 Clarksville Pike, Ellicott City, (410) 730-4049, clarklandfarm.com. This place might be as much for the grown-ups as the kids, 'cause Clark's is where the out [5/20/2009]

Zoos

Sizzlin Calendar: Adventure Aquarium, 1 Riverside Drive, Camden, NJ, (856) 365-3300, adventureaquarium.com. Just across the river from Philly sits a worthy rival for our own harborside fishtank. No dolphin show, but s [5/20/2009]

Fourth Of July

Sizzlin Calendar: Accident's Fourth of July Homecoming, 9 a.m.-10 p.m., South Street Complex, Accident, (301) 746-6346. Alexandria Fireworks, 4 p.m., Oronoco Bay Park, 100 Madison St., Alexandria, Va., (703) 838-484 [5/20/2009]

History

Sizzlin Calendar: Midnight in a Haunted House, 10:45 p.m. through Nov. 2, Jennie Wade House Museum, 548 Baltimore St., Gettysburg, Pa., gettysburgbattlefieldtours.com. Jennie Wade, the only civilian fatality during th [5/20/2009]

Stage

Sizzlin Calendar: Pillow Talk, through May 24, comedy, Laurel Mill Playhouse, 508 Main St., Laurel, (301) 617-9906, laurelmillplayhouse.org. Souvenir, through May 24, comedy, Centerstage, 700 N. Calvert St., (410) 3 [5/20/2009]

Music

Sizzlin Calendar: May 21: Trey Anastasio with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (Meyerhoff) Coldplay (Nissan Pavilion) May 22: Summer Sounds at the Square (Belvedere Square, 6-9 p.m. Fridays through Aug. 28) May 22- [5/20/2009]

Outdoor Dining

Sizzlin Calendar: Plenty of restaurants have a few table set up outside in warm weather, but here are some of the sweetest spots to dine in the open air. Arcos, 129 S. Broadway, (410) 522-4777, arcosrestaurante.com. [5/20/2009]

Food Festivals

Sizzlin Calendar: Summer is really about taking our favorite activities al fresco, and there are few things Baltimoreans--or, you know, human beings--like more than eating and drinking. Below is a list of food and dri [5/20/2009]

Farmers' Markets

Sizzlin Calendar: BALTIMORE CITY Baltimore Farmers' Market, 8 a.m.-noon Sundays May 3-Dec. 20, Holliday and Saratoga streets, (410) 752-8632, bop.org. Harbor East Freshfarm Market, 8 a.m.-noon Saturdays June 6-Nov. [5/20/2009]

Useful Info

Sizzlin Calendar: Maryland Maryland Office of Tourism Development, visitmaryland.org Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, choosemaryland.org Portal to Maryland, portaltomaryland.com Baltimore [5/20/2009]

OC Alternatives

Sizzlin Calendar: Assateague Island National Seashore, 7206 National Seashore Lane, Berlin, (410) 641-1441, nps.gov/asis. It's Ocean City--the same water, sand, wind, and surf--but with wild ponies and campgrounds in [5/20/2009]

Calendar

Restaurants