EAT

April 13-15: Baltimore Food Truck Week

Times & locations vary. Free.

When temperatures finally crack 70 this weekend, stay outside to snack on eats from 25 food trucks that will be stationed throughout Baltimore and its surrounding counties. During this celebration of four-wheel restaurants, track down some of the city’s best mobile kitchens, which will be rotating between various hotspots throughout the weekend. Try on-the-curb specials like waffle cones filled with crab cakes and French fries from Gypsy Queen, made-to-order ice cream sandwiches from Quinn’s Ice, and veggie burgers from GoGanics.

 DRINK

April 14: Dumpster Dive II

Baltimore Community ToolBank, 1224 Wicomico St. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. 410-224-5565.

Four years ago, the brilliant minds behind the local nonprofit program Volunteering Untapped discovered that 20 and 30-somethings are more motivated to spend their Saturday mornings volunteering if the do-gooding is accompanied by a solid day-drink. This Saturday, the monthly initiative returns to the Baltimore Community ToolBank to sort out the recyclables found in Professor Trash Wheel’s dumpster, followed by a trek to MaGerk’s Pub in Federal Hill for a well-earned after-party. Make new friends and celebrate your hard morning’s work with deals on mimosas, beer, and the pub’s signature Philly cheesesteaks.

 SEE

April 13: Out of Order

Maryland Art Place, 218 W. Saratoga St. 7-10 p.m. $25-45. 410-962-8565.

Maryland Art Place’s annual benefit checks off all of the boxes for a can’t-miss art event: an wall-to-wall exhibit with works from more than 250 local and regional contemporary artists, a silent auction for your chance to purchase your own masterpiece, and, of course, an open wine-and-beer bar all to support the local gallery’s programs and future exhibitions in the Bromo Arts District. This Friday, come for the local art and stay for the epic after-party featuring the soulful sounds of local singer-songwriter Joy Postell.

 HEAR

April 14: CityLit Festival

University of Baltimore, William H. Thumel Sr. Business Center, 11 W. Mount Royal Avenue. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 410-271-8793.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the CityLit Festival, the signature event from CityLit Project that celebrates reading, writing, and creativity in and around Baltimore. To tie into this year’s focus on poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, The New Yorker writer Philip Gourevitch will headline the event with conversations about his National Book Critics Circle Award-winning work of nonfiction, We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda. Make time between editorial and speaker sessions to participate in guided discussions about motherhood, the #MeToo movement, and local funding for the literary arts. 

 DO

April 14: Under Armour Sole of the City 10K

Charm City Run, 1713 Whetstone Way. 9 a.m. $50-75. 410-645-8266.

With sunny skies and warm temperatures predicted for Saturday morning, this annual 6.2-mile race through the streets of downtown Baltimore could not have fallen on a more picture-perfect day. Hit the ground running in this 10K trek that starts and ends in Locust Point and features scenic views of the city skyline along the way. If you need extra motivation, think of the complimentary snack box and Natty Bohs that will be waiting at the finish line.

Standing in an open warehouse, surrounded by aisles and aisles of shovels, rakes, and wheelbarrows, Noah Smock sifts through a thick stack of papers, each representing a charitable organization that has borrowed tools from his South Baltimore supply in recent weeks.

Smock is not a manager at Lowe’s. He is the executive director of the Baltimore Community ToolBank, an inventory of some 5,000 tools that can be rented by schools, churches, charities, and other local organizations for a mere three cents on the dollar. The cost-effective strategy helps these do-gooders and underserved communities take on projects that they can’t afford. “The people we serve are often tasked with solving difficult problems with very few resources,” says Smock. “These tools allow them to realize impossible dreams.”

Since launching in 2012, the local nonprofit has partnered with some 500 organizations, including the Y of Central Maryland, Parks & People Foundation, and Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, which used the tools for everything from daily tasks to large-scale projects, such as tree plantings, playground restoration, and urban farming.

This past summer, with the help of the ToolBank, the South Baltimore Partnership conducted major neighborhood cleanups, which president Betty Bland-Thomas says would have otherwise been impossible. “I couldn’t afford to buy shovels, power tools, gloves, and weed whackers for 25 people,” she says. “The ToolBank has been a blessing.”

The nonprofit was once “promise rich and cash poor,” as Smock puts it, but it now has two full-time employees, a 20-person board, and plans to empower some 50,000 volunteers in 2017. The work is sustained by grants and donations from the likes of DeWalt, Home Depot, and other foundations, but mostly, the community.

In return, Smock and his team do their part to beautify their own somewhat gritty South Baltimore neighborhood, having added bright blue murals and two rain gardens to the warehouse-lined Wicomico Street. “We want to strengthen and celebrate our communities,” says Smock. “To me, tools are empowerment.”