EAT

March 30: Latinx Market

Baltimore School for the Arts, 712 Cathedral St. 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. Free.

During this first-ever collaboration between the Baltimore School for the Arts and the Roots and Raíces Festival, celebrate all things Latinx with some of the best authentic cuisine the city has to offer. In between sampling eats from top-notch local vendors like La Calle, Cocina Luchadoras, and Te Conte Bolivian Empanadas, browse through handmade goods that take a modern spin on traditional styles. Stick around after the market closes to hear live Latinx-influenced music accompanied by a dance performance by BSA students.

DRINK

March 30: Fancy Clancy Pilsner Draft Launch Party

Sliders Bar and Grille, 504-506 Washington Boulevard. 1 p.m. Free.

If you’ve ever sat in the first-base section of Camden Yards, you know Fancy Clancy. This beloved vendor has dedicated 45 years to slinging drinks during Orioles games, and now Escutcheon Brewing and Sliders Bar & Grille are celebrating Fancy Clancy with his own Pilsner. Stop by the stadium-side bar on Saturday to watch the O’s take on the Yankees in New York, play a few rounds of corn hole, and raise a glass to the king of Orioles beer sales.

SEE

March 30: The Big Baltimore Kite Fest

Patterson Park, 12 p.m.-4 p.m. Free.

With cloudy skies in the forecast for Saturday, there’s never been a better time to brighten up Patterson Park with colorful kites. During this inaugural high-flying festival, participate in a plethora of fun activities like make-your-own kite workshops, face painting, and the “Will It Fly” competition. Whether you view the festivities from a picnic blanket or from the top of the Pagoda, spend the afternoon watching nontraditional kites inspired by cultures from across the city dance in the wind.

HEAR

March 29: Chaunter

Metro Gallery, 1700 N. Charles St. 8 p.m. $12-30.

Chaunter’s debut album, Dream Dynamics, has only been out for two weeks and it already has the city’s music scene busting at the seams to hear the dream-pop duo perform it live. This Friday, pack the Metro Gallery to hear Station North stalwarts Brooks Kossover, on vocals and flute, and Jenghis Manning-Pettit, on guitar, take their one-of-a-kind sound to a whole new level. Get there early to hear fellow rising acts Nerftoss, Infinity Knives + Randi, Frogohmine, and Matmos start off what sure to be a can’t-miss night of creative sounds.

DO

March 29-31: Asia North Festival

Motor House, 120 West North Ave. Fri. 5-11 p.m., Sat. 12-9:30 p.m., Sun. 3-8 p.m. $10.

This weekend, the Charles North neighborhood will put the spotlight on its past and present history as “Koreatown” with a three-day food, arts, and cultural extravaganza. On Friday, check out the Asian Arts & Culture Center-curated art exhibition Intricate Layers at Motor House along with sets by musicians Ami Dang and EN’B. Then, spend Saturday watching performances by acts like Korean percussion group Washington Samulnori and Baltimore-based beat boxer Shodekeh, and rally for Night Market Underground, with tons of authentic eats by the likes of Daikaya, Lei Musubi, and Old Boy in Graffiti Alley.

You know when certain genius ideas come along and you wonder, “How did nobody think of this sooner?” Well brewing a beer for the king of all Orioles beer sales is definitely one of those ideas.

Clancy Haskett, or Fancy Clancy as he’s lovingly called, has been a Baltimore Orioles vendor for the past 45 years—starting out selling sodas at Memorial Stadium when he was just 15. Now he’s best known for slinging suds in his first-base section and has befriended a lot of his customers.

One of them is Art Major, who’s been a partial-season ticket holder for the past decade and makes the trip up from Winchester, Virginia, to Camden Yards nearly 30 times a season. He also happens to own Escutcheon Brewing.

“Clancy isn’t just your beer vendor, he’s also your friend,” Major says. “Sliders is my favorite place in the world and we were all there one night when I thought why don’t we brew a beer for him. I can make it, they can sell it, and Clancy can be on it. Who wouldn’t want to drink that?”

Haskett, who often frequents Sliders Bar & Grille since co-owner Mark Sheubrooks is an old classmate of his from Lansdowne High School, remembers it a little differently.

“I was saying, ‘Man, nobody is gonna buy my beer,’” he says with a laugh. “People know me on the first-base side, but I don’t know how many people care about me beyond that point. But when we brought the idea to Mark and [his daughter] Rachel, they were like, ‘Hell yes, let’s try it.’”

For the past year, Major has been tinkering with the recipe, as well as working with Miami-based design firm the Alison Group on the perfect tap handle.

“I had a very, very specific idea of what I wanted the tap handles to look like,” Major says. “I wanted Clancy with his beer tray, sleeveless shirt, his arms bulging out. We gave him a little more muscle.” (Haskett says he’s very appreciative and should probably “hit the gym a little extra” before the season starts.)

As for the beer style, Major knew he wanted to play off what is most commonly drank at sports games, the American pilsner, and felt that something more crafty like an IPA just wouldn’t work as well. Haskett agreed.

“Nowadays, the IPA types of beer are real popular and I sell a lot of those,” he says. “But the best is when you get that beer right in the middle—not too heavy, not too light. I tasted this one a couple of weeks ago and it’s a really good beer.”

Fancy Clancy Pilsner will be released at a party on March 30 at Slider’s during the Orioles away game against the Yankees. Of course, you can also try it down at Escutcheon Brewing.

“This is going to be something pretty epic,” says Slider’s owner Rachel. “Clancy is so popular, so kind, and obviously has a great work ethic. He’s just the kind of character that loves to brand himself.”

With that in mind, Haskett has big plans for the Fancy Clancy Pilsner. He’d like to see it end up in cans at the stadium, a real full-circle moment for the long-time vendor.

“As you get older, you think about what you’ve done in the past,” Haskett says. “After 45 years, this makes you feel appreciated—people are really giving me a little respect. If this beer takes off, hey look out.”

Rachel Sheubrooks started serving Orioles fans when she was 14, and she hasn’t stopped since. Throughout high school—when she wasn’t doing schoolwork or playing field hockey for the Catonsville Comets—she worked at Boog’s BBQ inside Camden Yards.

“That was my first job,” she recalls. “I have such great memories there. My son’s second birthday was in September, and Boog [Powell] signed every single one of his invitations.”

After a brief move to South Carolina after college, Sheubrooks returned to Baltimore and found herself managing Sliders Bar & Grille on Washington Boulevard. The famed Orioles headquarters opened in 1990—the same year that Camden Yards was starting to be built—and became known for its location 771 feet away from home plate. (Sheubrooks says that the exact proximity was measured by construction workers who built the stadium.)

In the spring of 2007, Sliders’ previous owner was readying for retirement and offered to sell the bar to Sheubrooks. The sale officially went through at the end of March that year, giving Sheubrooks and her team just over a week to make the necessary preparations for opening day.

“The previous owner had already been halfway out the door,” she says. “So we basically had 10 days to get our lives together. At the time, my cousin was running Luckie’s Tavern at Power Plant Live, and he sent all of his workers over to help me. We just kind of banged it out. It was scary, but really fun at the same time.”

Though now they are certainly less rushed, Sheubrooks’ team puts the same attention and precision into preparing for opening day at Sliders currently as they did 11 years ago. In anticipation for March 29, staffers have already begun cleaning the entire space, polishing Sheubrooks’ 400-piece bobblehead collection, and scheduling the necessary plumbing and electrical inspections.

“You always want to know ahead of time if something is on the brink of breaking,” she says. “That’s not what you want to happen on opening day. And each year you learn from your mistakes. We always have meetings before and after opening day with all of our staff, and everyone has to go around the room and say one thing that worked and one thing that has to change next year.”

Sheubrooks likes to keep things fresh for every opener, whether that means introducing new signage, windows, or menu items. This time around, the pub has a fresh coat of paint.

Fans can also look forward to additional outdoor bars, as well as a revamped game-day menu with eats including house-made Old Bay chips, loaded tots, and a “Crack of the Bat” wrap filled with spicy barbecue chicken.

Of course, there will also be Sliders’ signature 32-oz. “bird bowls” filled with Orange Crush, and plenty of Natty Boh to go around. The pub became a full-blown Boh bar last year, and now boasts a colorful mural of Mr. Boh sliding into home plate on the outside of the building.

In order to accommodate the swarms of fans that show up to celebrate, Sheubrooks schedules more than double the amount of staff that is needed at Sliders on any typical day of service. On opening day, she employs nearly 22 security guards and nine bar-backs. (Each position usually requires a maximum of two people on a regular day.) And the number of bartenders increases from six to 42. 

Though Sheubrooks herself doesn’t typically work nights, she is planning to work a 24-hour shift starting at 2 a.m. on opening day. 

“This year we’re going to set up the night before so that everyone can just keep the momentum going,” she says. “I’ve been taking Emergen-C every day—I’ll have an extra Red Bull. It’s one day a year, so you have to be pumped.”