We’ve all been pretty much living in T-shirts and sweats lately, so why not wear a stylin’ T-shirt that actually helps some folks who are struggling financially during the pandemic? These local vendors are making helping your fellow Baltimoreans both comfy and fashionable.

EAT

Aug. 9-11: FishScale Pop-Up

R. House, 301 W. 29th St. 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Free.

We love R. House—Remington’s modern, industrial-style food hall—for many reasons, but especially because it provides a space for up-and-coming chefs to test new recipes and engage with the community. This weekend, D.C.-based restaurant FishScale will take over the rotating stall to introduce local foodies to its chef-crafted burgers made from wild caught fish or true-blue Maryland crab. The best part? The fish sandwiches (served with housemade sides like grilled corn and romaine salad), are sustainably sourced in accordance with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program.

DRINK

Aug. 10: Barks, Brews, and Views

Canton Waterfront Park, 3001 Boston St. 12-3 p.m. $15-18.

If you’re tired of paying for a dog sitter while you’re out and about, BARCS Animal Shelter is here to help with the perfect Saturday day drink. Kick off the afternoon with this waterfront bar crawl beginning at Canton Waterfront Park, which will benefit the locally loved animal care center. Enjoy views of the harbor while downing Raw Bar’s bottomless mimosas, Raw & Refined’s house sangria and margaritas, and Bo Brooks’ specialty cocktails. As you sip on summertime libations, your furry sidekicks can indulge in pup-friendly ice cream. End the day with a ride on the water taxi, where non-alcoholic dog “beer” will be served.

SEE

To Aug. 17: SuperHeroes

Y:ART Gallery and Fine Gifts, 3402 Gough Street. Fri. 12-6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Free.

What is a superhero? Is it someone with supernatural strength? Is it a cape-wearing figure? Or maybe just someone with immense courage? Those are the questions that more than 80 area artists explore through varied mediums in this group exhibition at Y:ART Gallery and Fine Gifts. This weekend, illuminate your senses and consume fascinating 2D, 3D, and performance art that highlights each artist’s unique interpretation of an extraordinary being. Don’t miss your last chance to visit the successful summer exhibition in the Highlandtown contemporary gallery before it closes on August 17.

HEAR

Aug. 9: Songs of 1969 with Fractal Cat

Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave. 8 p.m. $15-18.

Shortly after it was announced that Woodstock 50 would take place at Merriweather Post Pavilion later this month, the co-founder cancelled the anniversary concert. But local rock fans don’t need to be too disappointed, because this Friday local psychedelic band Fractal Cat is hosting a commemorative show to honor the legendary festival. Hear a set of original material along with the septet’s selection of 1969 hits by the likes of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix. In between sets by special guests Jax Martone of Psycho Killers, Quinton Randall, James von Lenz, and Kim Gravatt, the musicians will share stories and visuals inspired by the cultural and political events of that momentous year to round out this truly nostalgic evening.

DO

Aug. 10-11: AFRAM Festival

Druid Hill Park, 3001 East Drive. Sat. 12-8 p.m., Sun. 12-6 p.m. Free.

AFRAM, one of the largest African-American festivals on the East Coast, returns to Charm City this weekend for its 43rd year. The two-day festival in historic Druid Hill Park will feature tons of noteworthy musical acts including “Aston Martin Music” rapper Rick Ross, R&B singer-songwriter Sevyn Streeter, local favorite Dru Hill, and actor-turned-singer Quincy. Between sets, curb your appetite with local fare and engage in a little retail therapy at the open-air marketplace. This family-oriented event will also have a designated kids zone with games, sports, and crafts for your little ones.

We’ve all felt that familiar tug on our heartstrings when we see an animal in need; especially out in the cold this time of year. And as much as we wish we could adopt every single animal, life gets in the way. Maybe you already have a house full of pets and can’t spare room for another, perhaps your apartment doesn’t allow them, or maybe your allergies have forced you to only admire animals from afar.

With an estimated 185,000 stray cats in Baltimore City alone, it’s a harsh reality that without proper shelter, heavy snow and low temperatures kill many of these cats each winter. So, what’s the average animal-lover to do, to help our furry friends this season?

There have been tremendous efforts to humanely control Baltimore’s stray cat population in recent years, through a method called Trap, Neuter, Release (TNR). This allows feral cats to peacefully live out the remainder of their lives, while keeping the population in check. BARCS Community Cats project continues to provide TNR services to an estimated 3,000 cats per year. Despite these incredible efforts, thousands of these cats still need help after being returned to the streets.  

The good news is that there is a low budget and easy way to help keep your neighborhood strays warm this season: kitty condos. By that, we mean building winter cat shelters. Using materials from your local hardware store, as well as some common household items, you can build an insulated cat shelter to keep your feline friends happy and healthy throughout the winter. 

You will need:

• Rubbermaid-style storage container with a fitting lid (18 gallons or larger)
• Roll of Reflectix Insulation (found at hardware stores)
• Sheet of foam board (optional, for extra insulation)
• Roll of Gorilla Tape
• Sharpie
• Ruler or measuring tape
• Hairdryer
• Box cutter
• Pair of scissors
• Straw (not hay!) from a hardware store or nursery
• Catnip (optional)

Step 1: Using the Sharpie and ruler, draw a 5-inch square entrance on one side of the storage container.  The bottom line should be at least 4-5 inches from bottom of the container. 

Step 2: Using the hairdryer, warm the lines of the square on the container. This will make the material easier to cut through.

Step 3: With your box cutter, carefully cut the left, right, and bottom sides of your square, leaving the top intact, to create a flap. Fold the flap upward so that it will jut open a few inches. (Yes, cats will squeeze through this tiny opening!)

Step 4: Cut your foam board to the size of the bottom of your container and place inside.

Step 5: Cut your Reflectix Insulation to completely line the sides and bottom of your storage container (covering the foam board on the bottom). Also cut a piece to cover the inside of the lid. Be careful not to place the insulation too close to the edges of the lid, or the lid will not close securely. Secure all edges and overlapping areas with tape.  

Step 6: Cut an opening in the insulation to match the opening of the flap you created in Step 3. Place tape all around the edges of the entrance, to secure the insulation to the flap, and to cover any sharp or messy edges to make the cat’s entry/exit safer.

Step 7: Fill with straw, not hay! Straw is warmer and dries more quickly, while hay is more likely to retain water. Fill the straw about 4-5” from the bottom of your container. Even if it appears to be blocking the entrance, the cat will burrow their way inside. Optional: Sprinkle catnip inside, to entice the cats to come check out their new condo.

Step 8: Secure the lid and place your finished shelter outdoors, in an area that is accessible to your neighborhood cats. To find out if your shelter is being used, you can open the lid and see if there is a cat-sized indentation in the hay–if so, that means it’s being put to good use. If you find that your shelter isn’t being used after one week, try sprinkling more catnip, and/or moving your shelter to a new location.

This activity is family friendly, though kids should be supervised while handling the materials for safety.

Five things to eat, drink, see, hear, and do with your Charm City weekend.

 EAT

July 29: Fort McHenry Crab Feast

Fort McHenry, 2400 E. Fort Ave. 4-8 p.m. $45-75.

With summer almost halfway over, be sure to get BBQ fix this weekend with cookout fare, local brews, and Chesapeake Bay crabs at the fourth annual, all-you-can-eat feast. Located on the historic grounds and breathtaking waterfront of Fort McHenry, experience Maryland at its finest with live bluegrass tunes by the Eastport Oyster Boys, kids’ activities, and neighborhood vendors from Locust Point. Proceeds benefit education and youth employment at this hallowed national monument.

 DRINK

July 29: BARCS & Brews

Blue Pit BBQ & Whiskey Bar, 1601 Union Ave. 4-8 p.m. Free. 

We don’t know about you, but our favorite drinking buddy just happens to have four legs. This Saturday, beat the heat (though luckily it’s going to be a cool low-80s compared to last weekends high-90s) with cold brewskis, grilled meats, and happy-hour specials for you and your pooch on the back patio, all while helping homeless cats and dogs. With raffles and giveaways, the evening will support the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) in its mission of rescuing thousands of animals each year.  

 SEE

July 29-30 & Aug. 4-6: Fluid Movement

July 29-30: Druid Hill Park, 800 Wyman Park Dr. 5 & 7 p.m. Aug. 4-6: Patterson Park, 148 S. Linwood Ave. Fri. 9 p.m., Sat. 7 & 9 p.m., Sun. 5 & 7 p.m. $10. 

One of the city’s most weirdly wonderful summer events is the Fluid Movement water ballet. This summer, the avant-garde group delves into the 16th-century Renaissance with “Sharkspeare,” where the aquatic ballerinas re-imagine Shakespearean classics such as Hamlet, Macbeth, The Tempest, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Expect loads of glitter and good times as the local troupe fuses Old English prose with Baltimore swimming pools.

 HEAR

July 29: Fleet Foxes with Animal Collective

Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia. 6-11 p.m. $41-56.

When we heard about Fleet Foxes’ new album—their first in some six solid years—we knew what would be on our Spotify all summer long. The indie Seattle group delivered with a wide, lush, folk-driven feat, and a few songs that are almost too pretty to listen to (“Third of May/Odaigahara”). And then when we found out about their mid-summer concert at Merriweather, we didn’t think things could get better until we heard they were performing with Baltimore’s very own Animal Collective. The experimental indie-pop stars will be performing their latest as well, The Painters, full of Day-Glo trips and the rattling rhythms we’ve come to know and love. 

 DO

July 29: Trifecta Food Truck Festival

Maryland State Fairgrounds, 2200 York Road, Timonium. 11 a.m. Free-$60. 

The area’s best food trucks will all converge on the Maryland State Fairgrounds this Saturday for the second annual Trifecta Food Truck Festival. There’s a stellar lineup of mobile kitchens where guests can enjoy gyros from Greek on the Street, pulled pork sandwiches from The Smoking Swine, slices from Dizzy Cow Pizzeria, tacos from Mexican on the Run, cupcakes from Icedgems Baking, and burgers from Kooper’s Chowhound, and shucks from The Local Oyster. To wash in all down, there will be craft beer from Dogfish Head and Evolution Brewing. But that’s not the only thing on the menu, as the event will feature a pie-eating contest, dunk tanks, moon bounces, a mechanical bull, and music from local acts like the All Mighty Senators and Cris Jacobs.

When a spate of animal cruelty cases rocked Baltimore five years ago, Sande Riesett was horrified, especially because much of the violence had been perpetrated by teens. In response, the former advertising exec co-founded Show Your Soft Side, a public service campaign of photos of macho celebs cuddling with animals, accompanied by the slogan “Only a punk would hurt a cat or a dog.”

“It was really obvious that these kids aren’t going to listen to me,” says Riesett. “The people they look up to are big, strong athletes, rappers, rockers. So I just kept wondering if we could get them involved would [that] maybe [make] the kids take more notice.”

More than just the kids took notice. “Our big goal was to maybe raise enough money to put posters in city schools,” says Riesett. “Within weeks, we had over $200,000 worth of free media.”

Participating “softies” include everyone from Adam Jones of the Orioles and MMA fighter John Rallo, to Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee and former Raven Torrey Smith.

On May 13, Show Your Soft Side will host Pawject Runway, a cocktail party/fashion show at Royal Farms Arena in which softies will “model” adoptable pets from Baltimore Animal Rescue & Care Shelter (BARCS). All proceeds will benefit BARCS and Riesett promises a good time. “How can you not have a good time when you’ve got a glass of wine in one hand and a kitten in the other?”

In May, Adele, a 6-month-old pit bull, was found alone in an alley, barely able to walk, likely from being hit by a car. A passerby brought her to the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS), where she was found to have two broken femurs. She was sent to one of BARCS’s veterinary-hospital partners and is now undergoing a series of orthopedic surgeries. Adele is in casts now, but there’s hope she’ll walk again—and be adopted.

But just a decade ago, Adele would have been euthanized without a moment’s hesitation. Prior to 2005, 98 percent of the animals received by what was then the city-run Bureau of Animal Control were euthanized. They were animals like Adele or Sophia, who arrived at the shelter with bite marks on her face and missing her lower jaw, and Petunia, a puppy who was burned. Today, though, there are myriad dogs with physical and psychological wounds from dog-fighting rings and pets that need a leg or eye removed, but they’re patched up and go on to be healthy, adoptable animals.

So how did the shelter go from being a death mill to actually trying to save abandoned pets? In large part, the animals and their new adoptive owners have Jennifer Brause to thank for that.

“When I first saw the shelter, I was horrified,” says Brause, 40, a one-time marine mammal trainer at the National Aquarium, who, 10 years ago, somewhat unwittingly became BARCS’s founder and executive director. A marine sciences major who’d also been a veterinary tech, she loved the aquarium but felt called to work with animals in need.

The need was great. As the city’s only open-admission shelter, BARCS, under the terms of its charter, may not turn away any animal, including those picked up by Animal Control or seized by law enforcement. That makes BARCS the largest intake shelter in the state, taking in more than 12,000 animals a year. Yet in 2004, when the city ran it, only 90 animals were adopted.

“Nobody had a chance to survive,” Brause recalls. “If it was an owner surrender, the animal was euthanized immediately upon intake and strays were put down at the end of their legal, five-day hold period, regardless of age or health.”

When public sentiment pushed for a better system, the city converted operations to the nonprofit BARCS in summer of 2005. The shelter gets a $1 million grant from Baltimore and pays $1 rent for its building on Stockholm Street, near the stadiums, which also houses the city health department’s Office of Animal Control (which now focuses on enforcement only). Today, though challenges remain, the BARCS euthanization rate has dropped to 23 percent. Brause, however, remembers vividly that life at BARCS was once far more grim. “The floors were wet all the time and they were peeling,” she recalls. “One trough went from cage to cage so animals sat in others’ pee and poop, and the roaches were like a horror show.”

Initially, Brause was brought on board to begin making changes until the nonprofit status came through. “We made up the title of director of animal welfare programs, since I started off with creating a volunteer program and working on other programs such as adoption and rescue,” she recalls.

That first year of transitioning to a nonprofit was not easy. At the end of it, Brause gave her notice.

“BARCS only houses cats and dogs, but it gets all kinds of animals.”

“I was running into a lot of stumbling blocks, and I wasn’t going to be part of what was still going on here,” she explains. “It was against my soul.”

Brause still gets tears in her eyes remembering how animals were euthanized indiscriminately in a room with other dead animals and tossed onto a pile to be taken away at the end of the day. Some of her employees seemed to be working against her, euthanizing animals they knew Brause was trying to save.

But instead of accepting her resignation, the city made her the acting executive director in 2006, giving her authority to do what was necessary to move the shelter forward as a nonprofit. That included cleaning house: Ten employees were cut from the staff and Brause initiated programs essential to BARCS’s survival, particularly its 500-strong volunteer force.

“I started a volunteer program because, clearly, they didn’t have enough staff here,” she says. “There were only 10 employees, so when you’re talking about 12,000 animals annually, it’s almost an impossible job to keep up.”

She got rid of subjective hold periods after which animals would automatically be euthanized, and a medical fund was created to pay for vaccines and spay/neuter operations, as well as specialized operations like removing embedded collars, a common problem with neglected dogs. She started doing off-site adoption events, which got easier last year when BARCS got its first mobile adoption van.

Brause, who lives in Timonium with her husband, two young sons, two cats and one dog, describes BARCS as being like an emergency room where animals are always coming in, usually 35 a day (that can spike to 80 to 90 in the summer), while others need to move out (the shelter only has 250 cages). When something big happens, like Animal Control’s recent raid of a dog-fighting ring that brought 86 dogs to the shelter—animals that must be kept as evidence—there’s obvious overcrowding. To keep euthanization rates low, BARCS uses foster homes and partners with about 100 rescues, shelters, and pet stores in the region to help manage the overflow.

In 2008, BARCS joined the Maryland SPCA, Baltimore Humane Society, and Baltimore City Animal Control in the Baltimore Animal Welfare Alliance. Aileen Gabbey, former executive director at MSPCA, a nonprofit appointment-based shelter in Hampden, says they’ve collaborated with BARCS on everything from events to grants, but the heart of their partnership is animal transport. BARCS sends roughly 1,000 animals to the MSPCA annually. Gabbey, who had been at the MSPCA for 18 years, has known Brause for more than a decade.

“Getting everything off the ground was hard work, but she had a lot of energy and the willingness to tough it out and make it better,” says Gabbey. “[Brause] goes to work every day thinking, ‘How can we save more lives?’ and that’s the mindset you need in this line of work.”

Elmo and Zoe, two kittens rescued from the street by a restaurateur in Mt. Vernon, got their second chance in 2012 when Amanda Krosney adopted the bonded pair. The Brooklyn Park resident says she was amazed that when Elmo proved to be sick, BARCS took him into foster care for weeks until he was well enough to be reunited with his sister and owner.

“The people are so friendly and they were so willing to take Elmo back and patch him up,” she says. “I would have kept him anyway, but they said, ‘We want you to have a great experience and we’re going to get him better for you.’”

As a nonprofit, BARCS can fundraise for the money it desperately needs. Its $2.9 million operating budget and staff of 57 are roughly half what it needs for operational efficiency, says Brause. (Donations to MSPCA, which adopts more than 3,500 animals a year, allow a $4 million budget.) But even if BARCS got what it needed—employees, industrial washer-dryers, more and better cages—there’s nowhere to put them. It has literally run out of room. Dog intake and the cat spay/neuter program are run in trailers in the parking lot. Every closet in the building has been converted to an office, so hallways are lined with neat rows of rubber tubs filled with toys, pet food, and supplies.

“[Brause] goes to work every day thinking, ‘How can we save more lives?'”

Last year, City Councilman Robert W. Curran called for $18 million to build a new shelter, but Brause says no plans are imminent.

In the meantime, BARCS has enacted programs to stop intake before it happens. Through a grant from PetSmart Charities and Best Friends Animal Society, BARCS traps, spays/neuters, and returns about 3,500 feral cats.

But some obstacles remain: Pit bulls and pit-bull mixes are prolific among the surrendered, seized, or abandoned animals they take in, and BARCS is using public education to try to cope with those numbers. “We take our pit-bull type dogs [and all other dogs] to offsite events and educate people as they come over to our adoption booth and see their wagging tails,” says Brause.

Despite its challenges, the job certainly isn’t dull. Although it only houses cats and dogs, BARCS gets all kinds of animals, from ponies, pigs, and possums to alligators and a litter of chinchillas—even four emus. In those cases, it works with rescue partners that include zoos, aquariums, and wildlife sanctuaries.

“When this opportunity came up, I was skeptical. The shelter had so many problems and they seemed so insurmountable,” says Brause. “But as soon as I started to do it, I knew it was right.”

Exhibit A of the group’s success: BARCS went from those 90 adoptions in 2004 to 8,663 in 2013. Despite its shoestring budget and beat-up building, BARCS is a little like the cats and dogs it tends to: It has no shortage of heart.

“It’s a tough job because we see the happiest of happy, wonderful stories like when families send us photos of happy dogs with them on their boat,” Brause says. “On the other end, you get situations where, even if it’s the right thing to euthanize an old or sick animal, it’s still sad. But every year, the number of lives saved is going up.”

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Hundreds of critically ill or injured animals turn up at BARCS needing emergency treatment. The Franky Fund for Emergency Care, which is dependent on public donations, pays for treatment that is offered to BARCS’s animals at a lower cost by its veterinary partners. Without the fund, the most severely neglected, abused, and disabled pets would not survive.

For information on how to donate to the cause, go to baltimoreanimalshelter.org.