Five things to eat, drink, see, hear, and do with your Fourth of July and Charm City weekend.
EAT
July 3: Atomic Books & The Charmery Ice Cream Social
Atomic Books, Eight Bar, 3620 Falls Rd. 7-10 p.m. 410-662-4444. atomicbooks.com.
Why do kids get to have all the fun? This Friday, it’s the grownups’ turn, and Atomic Books and The Charmery have a pretty sweet solution—an adults-only ice cream social. That’s right: I scream, you scream, we all scream for boozy ice cream. As part of Hampden’s First Fridays, sip on hard root beer floats and dabble in ice cream and beer pairings (think Blue Mountain’s Hopwork Orange with a scoop of vanilla or DuClaw’s Sweet Baby Jesus porter with a scoop of chocolate). And the cherry on top? The Charmery’s brand-new Atomic Books Eightbar flavor, made with eight (yes eight) different candy bars. On Fourth of July eve, celebrate America with its best summertime traditions: Beer and ice cream. There’s no better way to beat the heat.
DRINK
July 2: Gertrude’s Fluid Movement Water Ballet Fundraiser
Gertrude’s Restaurant, 10 Art Museum Dr. 3-9 p.m. 410-889-3399. facebook.com.
Gertrude’s? Crab cakes? Cocktails? A good cause? Okay, go ahead—twist our arms. Drink and dine at the BMA on Thursday and a portion of the proceeds go to the Baltimore-based performing arts troupe, Fluid Movement. This summer, its 14th annual water ballet takes place on July 25-26 and August 1-2 at the Patterson and Druid Hill park pools, respectively. Swimming in synchronized choreography, colorful lighting, and lots of glitter, this year’s fictional tale follows the film career—Jurassic Park, Independence Day, and The Grand Budapest Hotel—of our beloved, bespectacled actor, Jeff Goldblum. To stick with the liquid theme, indulge in John Shields’ Chesapeake Bay crab cakes and get a Goldblum-themed cocktail—“The GertBLUm” mule—made with blueberry vodka, blueberry-infused ginger beer, Meyer lemon peel, and picked blueberries. Cheers to a perfect sip for a summertime night.
SEE
July 3: Moonstruck
Da Mimmo’s Parking Lot, 217 S. High St., Corner of High & Stiles St. 7 p.m., live music, 9 p.m., film. Free. littleitaly.md.
Gather your friends, your lawn chairs, and head to Little Italy on Friday to watch the best Nicolas Cage film ever made. (Seriously though…) Now in its 16th year, the Cinema al Fresco outdoor movie series is back with its first summertime screening, and, per tradition, they’re playing the 1980s Italian classic, Moonstruck. In the Oscar-winning flick, Cher plays Loretta Castorini, who, tangled in a funny Brooklyn love story, tries to snap out of it and follow her heart. These open-air movie nights are one of Baltimore’s very best, so have some free popcorn, soak in the warm summer breeze, and lay back under the bright night sky, beneath la bella luna.
HEAR
July 5: The Grateful Dead’s Fare Thee Well Concert
Ottobar, 2549 N. Howard St. 5 p.m.-1 a.m. $11. 410-662-0069. theottobar.com.
Wrap up your Fourth of July weekend with one of America’s national treasures: the one and only Grateful Dead. In 1965, Jerry Garcia and friends banded together in San Francisco, noodled out some psychedelic music, and created the prototype for what we now call “the jam band.” Thousands of concerts and millions of Deadheads later, boy, what a long strange trip it’s been: “Touch of Grey,” “Sugar Magnolia,” “Box of Rain,” “Casey Jones.” Dancing bears bumper stickers and Ben & Jerry’s “Cherry Garcia.” Now, 50 years later, the four remaining original band mates—Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann—are reuniting in Chicago for their last-ever live show. It should be one for the books, but don’t worry, you can hear it for yourself at the Ottobar on Sunday, with a simulcast screening, pre-show music by Jordan August Band, and Union Craft beer specials, like 2-for-1 Anthems.
DO
July 1-5: Fourth of July Celebrations
Locations, times, and prices vary.
Happy birthday, old girl. Damn, 239 years. Throughout it all—the ups and the downs, the sunny days and the dark ones—we’re still so proud to call you home. I mean, think of everything you’ve accomplished. You invented the light bulb, the telephone, the airplane—the Internet and the Model T. On your soil, men like Mark Twain and Martin Luther King Jr. were born. Albert Einstein and Ernest Hemingway. Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, and Muhammad Ali. What about rock-and-roll and the blues: Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Elvis—Motown! Walt Whitman and Walt Disney. Saturday Night Live. The cheeseburger, the iPhone, Oprah. Gay marriage is now a constitutional right, and soon, there will be a woman on our $10 bill. Remember when we landed on the moon? Yes, there have been dark days, old girl, but here’s to the bright ones ahead, and all the good they bring. In the meantime, with fireworks and parades, cookouts and concerts (Heart is even playing in Dundalk!), get out there and celebrate. Happy birthday, America.