EAT

Nov. 7: Heavy Seas Chili & Cheese Festival

Heavy Seas Beer, 4615 Hollins Ferry Rd. 12-4 p.m. $39. 410-247-7822. hsbeer.com.

It might be oddly warm this week, but as the cool fall breeze begins to blow in this November, there’s nothing like the solace of a hot crock of chili. Head to Halethorpe on Saturday for Heavy Seas Beer’s annual chili-and-cheese festival. (No need to twist our arm). At the local brewery, indulge in a pint’s perfect complement with all-you-can-enjoy spicy stew—be it your classic tomato standard, a pit-smoked lamb variety, hot pepper-riddled, or a version served over tots—as well as more than eight kinds of international cheese. When you’re finished, abate the heat with a bevy of house beers from over 12 different taps and enjoy music from pop-rock band Sub-Radio Standard.

DRINK

Nov. 7: WTMD Homebrew Competition

WTMD, 1 Olympic Pl., Towson. 1-5 p.m. $30. 888-996-4774. wtmd.org.

You might have noticed: Craft beer is all the rage in Baltimore right now. With the inaugural Baltimore Craft Beer Fest last month and new breweries opening every few weeks (or so it feels), there are a lot of badass brews bubbling up in and around the city. This weekend, take the obsession to the next level at WTMD’s inaugural homebrew competition. At the Towson studio, spend your Saturday afternoon sampling unlimited beers from more than 30 area home brewers with Americana music by Baltimore’s own The Manly Deeds. Rain or shine, judge the suds to see who will end up getting their blend brewed by The Brewer’s Art..

SEE

Nov. 3-15: The Book of Mormon

Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center. 12 N. Eutaw St. Times vary. $58.50-162.50. 800-982-2787. france-merrickpac.com.

Simply put, The Book of Mormon is not for the faint of heart, but we heartily recommend you see it. Hailed “the best musical of this century” by The New York Times, the nine-time Tony winner and Broadway smash hit follows two young missionaries on their quest to convert African citizens to the Mormon faith. Throwing politically correctness to the wind (naturally, as it’s co-written by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone), it tackles religion, race, and sexuality through satire, song-and-dance, and a dash of explicit language. Opening this weekend at the Hippodrome, it’s a bold, witty show unlike anything on the stage before it. Just leave all austerity and prudishness at the door.

HEAR

Nov. 7: Stoop Storytelling at the BMA

The Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Dr. 7-9:30 p.m. $25-30. 443-573-1700. stoopstorytelling.com.

Everybody has a story to tell, and we all know that in Baltimore they’re a dime a dozen. That’s the beauty of Stoop—they take the local tradition of front-porch hangouts and give them a fresh spin under an actual spotlight. Now in its 10th season, the storytelling series takes the stage this weekend at the Baltimore Museum of Art for a “haven”-themed show. In conjunction with the museum’s new Imagining Home exhibit, hear mother and grandmother Bonnie Moore, West African native and new Baltimorean Adoté Ghandi Akwei, Goucher theatre professor Alvin Eng, affordable housing advocate Betty Bland-Thomas, WBJC DJ Judith Krummeck, lifelong Cherry Hill resident and Blacksauce Kitchen biscuit-slinger Michael Singleton, and Mars One astronaut candidate Laura M. Smith-Velazquez all ruminate on the idea of home.

DO

Nov. 7: Kahlon Two Year Anniversary Party

The Crown, 1910 N. Charles St. 9 p.m. $8. 410-625-4848. bmorekahlon.tumblr.com.

Two years ago, Abdu Ali started something that would change the Baltimore music scene. Kahlon, his sort-of-bi-monthly, underground dance party not only championed his hometown genre of Bmore club—that raw, energetic, breakbeat blend of hip-hop, house, and chopped-up samples—but also welcomed all walks of city life and celebrated homegrown talent of every genre. In the packed crowds, you find the young, old, black, white, gay, straight, and everything in between. On stage, you see rappers, singers, DJs, indie acts, and rock bands, from Dan Deacon, TT The Artist, and Gurl Crush to Natural Velvet and Al Rogers Jr., with Ali himself weaving his way through the crowd like a party-starting priest whose infectious gospel you can’t help but follow. There is nothing else like it and it has sparked a wave of other underground programs and collectives throughout the city. He has since taken the show across the country, but this weekend, with the help of True Laurels editor Lawrence Burney and DJ Genie, Ali heads back to where it all began—The Crown—to throw Kahlon’s second birthday bash. Don’t miss this celebration of Baltimore’s music and people, as Deacon returns and a medley of locals perform, like rapper Phizzals, goth-pop duo Blacksage, and DJ Angel Baby.

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Using works from throughout the museum’s collection, the exhibit was designed to simulate a home—an elaborate bronze, French door knocker is one of the first works visitors encounter. One section explores domestic interiors, as paintings and photographs mingle with objects such as a cutting board and a shower curtain—which you can touch—that have been elevated into art. Above certain works, speakers play sounds recorded in the place where the art was made—street noises outside of a house, for example.

“Home is something you don’t have to be an expert at,” says Gamynne Guillotte, the BMA’s director of interpretation and public engagement. It’s ideal to get people thinking about questions such as, “How do I define home?”

The exhibit opens Sunday, and is a part of new education center that is the last piece in a $28 million renovation that aimed in part to connect the museum with a larger audience. The museum’s board of trustees chair announced Tuesday that the new center would bear the name of benefactors Patricia and Mark Joseph, who have given $3 million to the museum—one of the largest gifts in the BMA’s history.

The senses are further stimulated in an adjoining room, where visitors are encouraged to interact with a work resembling a room divider, which the museum calls a “shed.” Here, various common household objects are arranged, all colored a pristine white.

On Tuesday, as visitors at an exhibit preview used a broom to sweep imaginary dirt and picked up a frying pan off a pretend stovetop, curators remarked that they couldn’t wait to see how visitors would interact with art that seemed so familiar.

Such a universal topic is ideal to unlocking each person’s creativity, and to further stimulate that, the center and exhibit will continue to evolve, says Jay Fisher, deputy director of curatorial affairs, and one of the BMA’s interim co-directors.

“It will always be a changing space, a vital space where you can’t say, ‘Oh, I’ve seen that before.’”

Hear the sounds recorded at the home that was once Sophia’s Dairy in Harford County, pictured below in Frances Benjamin Johnston’s gelatin silver print from 1936-1937.

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