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

 EAT

Feb. 10: Clues, Brews and BBQs

Blue Pit BBQ & Whiskey Bar, 1601 Union Ave. 5-8 p.m. Free. 443-948-5590. 

It might be the dead of winter, but nothing will warm your heart like downing a plate of Blue Pit’s coffee-rubbed brisket or bourbon-glazed ribs to support local rescue pups. This Saturday, Hampden’s dog-friendly bar will donate 10 percent of your final bill to Baltimore Bully Crew, a grassroots organization that helps rescued pit bulls. Come for the melt-in-your-mouth barbecue and local brews and stay for the themed escape game from Charm City Clue Room, where participants will solve a short series of puzzles to “save” a stuffed blue pit bull.

 DRINK

To Feb. 9: Sip & Shine

American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Hwy. 6-9 p.m. $30-35. 410-244-1900.

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and what’s more romantic than a night filled with wine, a scavenger hunt, and mosaic magnets? Nothing, really. The American Visionary Art Museum’s twist on a sip-and-paint night lets guests compete in an after-hours scavenger hunt through The Great Mystery Show, their current exhibit on mystical investigations and curious subjects. Grab another glass of wine or beer and dive into the museum’s treasure chest of craft supplies to make a take-home mosaic magnet for you and your valentine.

 SEE

Feb. 9-11: Constellations & Crossroads

Arena Players, 801 McCulloh St. Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 5 p.m. $20. 410-728-6500. 

In a theatrical collaboration like no other, Arena Players, Baltimore’s historic African-American community theatre, and Baltimore Rock Opera Society, the city’s rock theater powerhouse, present Constellations & Crossroads, a double-feature production filled with American history and live rock music. “Determination of Azimuth” follows the story of Katherine Johnson, a black NASA mathematician who performed calculations that made space flight possible. The second musical, “The Battle of Blue Apple Crossing,” depicts a fictionalized account of the legendary blues guitarist Robert Johnson. If you miss the first three shows, don’t worry, they’ll be back on the West Baltimore stage again next weekend.

 HEAR

Feb. 10: Roses

Showroom Café & Bar, 120 W. North Ave. 9 p.m. $8-10. 410-862-0930. 

We’ve watched them grow and rise in the local music scene over the past few years, and this weekend some of Baltimore’s up-and-coming artists are giving a little love back to their city. Micah E. Wood, Joy Postell, Al Rogers Jr., and Bobbi Rush will serenade the Saturday night crowd at Station North’s Showroom with their heartfelt energies and a performance that is sure to sweep you off your feet. Lose yourself in Wood’s trademark talk-sing, fall for Postell’s neo-soul rhythms, admire Rogers Jr.’s honest rap, and relish in Rush’s dreamy melodies. If you need a preview, follow The Big Baltimore Playlist on Spotify where we’ve featured our favorite songs by these talented artists.

 DO

Feb. 10: Frederick Douglass Day

Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E. Pratt St. 12-4 p.m. Free. 443-263-1800.

Among the many legends born in the Baltimore region, few are more revered than Frederick Douglass. Raised on a plantation on the Eastern Shore, the freed slave turned iconic abolitionist became one of the country’s most widely-read authors and famed orators. Throughout his lifetime, he preached about universal human rights, educated other slaves, and became the first African American to receive a nominating vote for president. Celebrate his 200th birthday and honor his historic legacy at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum this Saturday with lectures by historians Dr. John Stauffer and Dr. Lawrence Jackson, readings of Douglass’s speeches by history re-enactors, and a children’s art and story hour with illustrator London Ladd.

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.

Chilled rosé has always been a popular summer sip, but now, Frosé—the frozen iteration of the pink pleasure—has escalated the wine to another level.

While some oenophiles might be quick to compare the wine slushy trend to that of the pumpkin-spice latté (social media maven Josh Ostrovsky’s White Girl Rosé pokes fun at the “basic” stigma), there’s no denying that the icy treats are ideal for cooling off during summer scorchers.

“There are definitely people who take one look at it and say, ‘Oh no, I’m not interested in that at all,’” explains veteran bartender Doug Atwell, who serves the frozen drinks at Blue Pit BBQ in Woodberry. “I don’t know where that comes from, but I don’t make excuses for my guilty pleasures. If you enjoy something, you shouldn’t apologize.”

A handful of bartenders and restaurant owners seem to agree, as Frosé begins to surface on beverage menus all over Charm City.

Bill Irvin, a local restaurateur and early pioneer of the trend, first thought of freezing his wine while kicking back outside on a torrid afternoon last summer. He remembers plunking ice cubes into his rosé in an effort to beat the heat, and later attempted to freeze the wine in a baking dish. 

“It ended up splashing all over my freezer,” Irvin remembers, mentioning that he also tried using ice trays. “It was a mess.”

After getting his hands on a commercial-sized Slurpee machine, Irvin tried again, mixing the wine with a bit of strawberry pureé to add sweetness to the famously dry blend. This time, he was happy with the consistency: “I tried it and was like, ‘Oh man, this is good.’”

Irvin—who is now finalizing the process of trademarking the term Frosé—later introduced the product to Canton hotspots La Folie Steak Frites & Wine Bar and The Dockbar at The Boathouse Canton. He says that any rosé works well, but a blend with a bit of a deeper color is ideal so that it maintains its vibrancy after it’s frozen. 

“We were averaging 12 liters a day at La Folie,” says Irvin, a former partner in the Canton restaurant. “It’s become such a gigantic rage not only in Baltimore, but all over the world.” 

Local bartenders have different ideas about what makes the drink so intriguing. Kevin Curley, the chef/owner of RegionAle in Ellicott City, says that the wine slushy trend piggybacks off of the popularity of its frozen predecessors. 

“Frozen drinks have always been such a big thing in the summer, most people are just used to it being a piña colada or strawberry daiquiri,” he says. “But wine is becoming more popular, so mixing the two together has really caught on.”

As a Cornell grad who spent a lot of time exploring wine country in upstate New York, Curley enjoys putting his own spin on the trend, experimenting with different house-made purée flavors, herbs, and juices. He notes his coconut-lime concoction, blended with basil and lemon, as a recent customer favorite.

Atwell, who has been mixing up boozy slushies at Blue Pit BBQ since last month, is a firm believer that diners eat (and drink) with their eyes first. 

“There’s a visual element to seeing the machine running behind the bar,” he says, adding that the cold drinks have also been a good way to complement the restaurant’s outdoor patio. “A lot of times when people ask what’s in it—before we even get through the description, they’re like, ‘Yup, I’ll have that.’” 

Atwell’s unique take on Frosé fuses Vinho Verde rosé, house-made strawberry pureé, and tequila. He has also recently debuted an icy version of the traditional Pimm’s Cup, which features lemon, mint, and his signature cucumber-infused vodka. 

Irvin is going more of the commercial route, planning to unveil freezable bags of Frosé and FroBlanc (a white wine iteration that fuses Riesling with peach purée) in retail markets in 2018. 

“It reminds people of the Slurpees they drank when they were kids,” he says. “And it’s a great way to introduce wine to people who have never been into it before.”