EAT

April 26: Big Softy Pop-Up at Wet City

223 W Chase St. 3-9 p.m.

Helping Wet City kick off its new Sunday service (the bar will now be closed on Tuesdays and open on Sundays) is none other than Big Softy himself. This Sunday, chef Craig Falk’s crab-themed pop-up is taking over the kitchen at the Mount Vernon craft beer bar with mouthwatering favorites like cheesy crab dip, Maryland lump crab cakes, and, of course, the signature soft shell crab sandwiches while supplies last. To wash it all down, grab a boozy (bottled to-go) concoction from Wet City’s drink menu, like the Mercury in Retrograde cocktail or Strawberry Mezcalita Slushie. Place pre-orders by emailing craig@thelunchboxlady.com and head to Wet City’s Facebook page to choose from six pick-up time slots.

DRINK

April 25: DuClaw Brewing Co. Sour Me Three’s Company Virtual Launch

Zoom. 6-8 p.m. $12.99

This weekend’s virtual happy hour just got sweeter with the launch of DuClaw Brewing’s “Sour Me Three’s Company” sour ale. Whitey’s Liquors and local beer blog Slightly Sour collaborated with DuClaw to bring fans this refreshing kettle sour brewed with plum, passionfruit, and pomegranate. The best part? There’s a Zoom Meeting ID printed on the bottom of each six pack, available starting this Friday at Whitey’s and curbside at DuClaw. Once you have the code, hop on to Zoom on Saturday at 6 p.m. for a virtual toast with the brewers to celebrate the launch and show your support for Maryland beer.

SEE

April 25: Baltimore Improv Group Virtual Taco Night

bigimprov.org. 8-11 p.m. Free

This Saturday, let Baltimore Improv Group (BIG) supply the laughs that we all need to survive the prolonged cabin fever. This live-streamed smorgasbord of comedy and hot takes from the performers with Taco Night, BIG’s spiciest improv team, is guaranteed to serve up some much-needed quarantine fun.

HEAR

April 26: Charm City Bluegrass Digi-Fest

Facebook Live. 12-5 p.m. Free

Crack a cold one, fold open a lawn chair, and tune in to Facebook Live for an afternoon of foot-stompin fun. Presented by WTMD, The Hamilton, and Union Craft Brewing, this digital version of one of the city’s favorite music festivals, typically held at Druid Hill Park, features a lineup of local favorites including Caleb Stine, The Honey Dewdrops, Ken & Brad Kolodner, The High and Wides, and the 19th Street Band. All will be performing live from the Gordon Center at the Owings Mills JCC, where bands will, of course, be social distancing with different sets of microphones and separate dressing rooms.

DO

April 24: Heal Yourself: Yin & Your Chakras (Online Edition)

Zoom. 7-9 p.m. $20-25

After a long week at home, we all deserve a breather. This Friday, join The Movement Lab on a two-hour healing journey through your seven main energy centers (the chakras) and emerge ready to start the weekend refreshed. Although you’ll need your own props (yoga blocks, blanket, and bolster) no prior yoga experience is required. Once you’ve pre-registered, check for a Zoom link, which will be sent 30 minutes prior to class.

Accomplish your New Year’s fitness resolutions while supporting the world around you. This selection of athletic gear is made by socially responsible and environmentally friendly brands.

Throughout the past few years, the brick exterior of the shop stationed at the corner of West 34th Street and Chestnut Avenue in Hampden has boasted many different colorful murals. Locals might remember the red tricycle that graced the facade when it operated as kid-friendly Play Cafe, or the most recent funky wall design that welcomed neighbors into New York City-style bodega Prime Corner.

Now, the entrance is decorated with hand-painted trees and vines that represent the ethos of Treehouse Cafe and Juice Bar—a new holistic concept that features an entirely gluten-free menu of juices, smoothies, soups, salads, wraps, and pizzas.

“What we’ve seen more than anything else is how much the neighborhood wants something to succeed in the space,” says Kirsten LaPointe, a fitness instructor at Movement Lab in Remington who co-owns Treehouse with fellow yoga teacher Shariff Roberts. “Everyone has come by and been so kind and supportive. Even the people who came in and weren’t so sure they wanted only healthy choices were willing to roll with them.”

As a certified nutritionist, Roberts had always wanted to open his own juice bar. And LaPointe, who worked as an art teacher before joining the local fitness scene, had long envisioned opening a bed-and-breakfast where she grew her own ingredients. Together, they came up with a menu that fuses the two ideas while incorporating superfoods—including turmeric, flax seeds, cacao, and MCT oils—that are medicinal to the body.

“Both of us are coming from the same angle of nurturing people,” LaPointe says. “We want our customers to feel like they’re having a treat, even though it’s all healthy.”

A few of LaPointe’s favorite dishes include the gluten-free pizzas made with vegan cheese, savory hand pies that resemble empanadas, a vegan charcuterie board highlighting smoked hummus and caper berries, and a roasted root salad topped with orange and purple sweet potatoes.

After trying to make the concept work in another space for a number of months, the owners switched gears when they learned that the former Prime Corner store was available.

“Oddly enough, all of the equipment that I had collected for the other location fit into this space just like a puzzle,” LaPointe says. “I got it all in, and I couldn’t even stick a nickel in between two things.”

Once all of the equipment was in place, the team got to work decorating the 50-seat cafe with steel chairs, reclaimed furniture from Second Chance, and new countertops made with live wood collected by local arborists.

“That’s what makes it Treehouse,” LaPointe says, mentioning that she hopes to add ficus and fairy lights soon. “Our name originally came from the beautiful yard and tree at the first location we attempted, but I think it also works here because it hints at the story that everything is made of fruits and vegetables. We’re also using sustainable packaging.”

Though the space is currently operating in soft-opening mode, an official grand opening party is scheduled for Wednesday, October 30 from 5-9 p.m. The pre-Halloween bash will feature free wine and card readings by Bonnie Tarantino.

Overall, LaPointe says she’s looking forward to getting to know the neighborhood—especially those who might be skeptical about making a healthy lifestyle change.

“The joy I get is when someone feels better because of something that I served them,” she says. “What I’ve been saying is, ‘It’s our party and everyone is invited.’”

This month marks the third anniversary of your wellness and fitness studio, Movement Lab.
What do you think draws people to it?

Everything we carry emotionally is in our bodies. We can process that mentally, but until we move a heavy emotion out of our bodies, it’s still stuck somewhere. Anytime we’re opening our bodies, it’s like we’re digging deep into those places and we don’t have to hide anymore, the emotions
just come on up. And our students come back. That’s how we know that they’re understanding—it’s physical. A class can be a deep, deep experience, but it doesn’t have to be. It can be a girl’s night out and you sweat it out and grab a beer downstairs later. Whatever people need in
that moment, we got you.

What aspects of your hometown, Florianópolisi, Brazil, have influenced your vision for the lab?
If you watch Brazilians, there’s a lot of freedom in their bodies. I think that’s the biggest gift—their authenticity as a culture. If I am to be in Baltimore, it’s about how I can bring as much of that experience here. I grew up free on the island Florianópolisi, where our movement was running in the dunes and jumping on trampolines. There’s always much more fun in the movement that we do there. I never feel like I’m getting a workout. I think by now [Movement Lab] is known for offering unique classes. We don’t have conversations about weight loss, and it’s not even fitness—it’s like this is your playground. We want everyone to come in and belong somewhere, feel like a part of something bigger than themselves, and work, dance, sweat, and do good.

Where did your wellness journey begin?
We grew up in this natural world and my mom would take us to every shaman to heal us before we took aspirin. So, that was behind it all. When I studied natural therapies in college, that’s what I thought I’d do for the rest of my life until I found Nia. My sister-in-law had taken this [fitness] class in New York, she’s like “it had dance, and yoga, and martial arts,” so I Googled it and I discovered Nia. I immediately signed up for training. There were no classes here, so I went, and I fell madly in love with it and I knew I wanted to share that.

How has immigrating to America shaped your views as a business owner?
Part of my process in becoming a citizen was gaining so much gratitude. I moved to Florida in 2004 just to get work experience. I took jobs as a waiter, cleaned houses, and babysat. But I had finished college [in Florida] in natural therapies and, when it was time to go home, I decided to stay for massage school. Along the way, I just kept meet- ing the most amazing people who would open more and more doors to me. Everything that I’ve done and what has influenced me comes from a tremendous amount of gratitude.

Movement Lab also hosts some really cool events that branch away from fitness. What do these events and “playshops” bring to the experience?
As a culture here, it’s deeply ingrained that self-care is an act of selfishness and everybody else comes first. There’s an unequal weight of giving, giving, giving and not enough receiving. The massages and coaching are how can we support each human being to come back home from the disconnection to our bodies from various things: abuse, trauma, thinking “my body doesn’t look perfect.” It’s that idea of teaching that self-care is essential to a person’s wellbeing. The workshops we offer usually find ways of getting the mind, the emotions, and the spirit through the body.

How do the particular classes at Movement Lab promote a mind-body wellness connection?
When we go on vacation and we take those ten days, we’re rested. And then we come back and think of how to sustain those moments of feeling like you have yourself together. But days go by and life happens, and we forget. What if you can’t go to Costa Rica once a month, how do you get that experience? But it has nothing to do with Costa Rica—it has to do with how you felt there. It’s a feeling that we can get back to in some ways in our everyday lives. If we try to talk about it, it becomes mental, instead [I want my students to] feel it in their bodies. It’s physical. It’s not a conversation of “don’t forget to reach deep into yourself,” it’s “take the medicine and see what happens to your body.”

Reflecting on the journey of Movement Lab, what kind of growth have you experienced?
It’s teaching me what deep commitment looks like. I’ve always been a free butterfly and wherever the wind took me I went. So there’s a level of commitment and discipline that hasn’t really been a part of my DNA. It’s trusting the process. Surrendering more. Letting go of trying to control everything and micromanaging everything. Every time I find myself doing that, I lose track of the bigger picture.

What’s the bigger picture for you?
One of my favorite quotes is [by Howard Thurman]: “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” There are many moments where I wonder how I am contributing to the world by owning a studio. And then I had this realization last year that the way I am contributing is by having a space for people to come into their aliveness, so then they can be themselves. That’s my contribution here—reminding people who they are.

1. Under Armour Charged Bandit 2 women’s running shoes ($99.99) at Falls Road Running Store. 2. Live Lucid Skin 2 legging ($65) at Movement Lab. 3. Under Armour No Breaks infrared glove ($29.99) at Charm City Run. 4. The North Face Denali thermal headband ($25) at Charm City Run. 5. Nike black sports bra ($40) at Charm City Run. 6. Hydro Flask 32 ounce water bottle ($39.99) at Vita. 7. LOLE Gali hooded tunic ($90) at Vita. 8. lululemon Movement Lab tank ($45) at Movement Lab. 9. The North Face Fly-Weight tote ($40) at Vita. 10. Saucony Omni Reflex Tight leggings ($98) at Charm City Run. 11. Brooks PureFlow 5 men’s running shoes ($72) at Charm City Run. 12. Under Armour Undeniable small duffle bag ($39.99) at Princeton Sports. 13. Under Armour Storm water resistant jacket ($99.99) at Princeton Sports. 14. Under Armour Storm Trooper tee ($34.99) at Princeton Sports. 15. Flip belt ($28.99) at Charm City Run. 16. Route One Apparel Maryland beanie ($20) at Falls Road Running Store.