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

 EAT

March 17: St. Paddy’s Day Block Party at Parts & Labor

Parts & Labor, 2600 N. Howard St. 11 a.m. Free. 443-873-8887. 

From the takeoff of new businesses and foodie spots (think R. House and Clavel) to the announcement of the first-ever Remfest in May, Remington continues to blend its rich neighborhood history with its bold plans for the future. This weekend, two of the area’s mainstays are teaming up to celebrate the greenest day of the year with Irish classics like corned beef and Shepherd’s Pie from beloved butcher shop Parts & Labor and Old Oriole Park suds from Peabody Heights Brewery. Get to the shop early for beat-the-clock beer specials (beers start at 25 cents at 11 a.m., then increase to 50 cents at noon, and so on until 4 p.m.) and spend the afternoon devouring happy hour-priced snack specials around the fire pit.

 DRINK

March 17: Official Rye Whiskey Release Party

The Baltimore Whiskey Company, 2800 Sisson St. 1-5 p.m. Free. 443-687-9099. 

Since opening its doors in 2015, The Baltimore Whiskey Company has been preparing for the official return of rye whiskey distilling to Baltimore. And now, after three years of aging, the Remington-based company will release its first batch of Epoch Straight Rye to commemorate the first rye whiskey made in Baltimore in more than 50 years. With feature notes of clove, vanilla, honey, cinnamon, and tropical fruit, try this 100-proof spirit at its release party on Saturday, accompanied by eats from Well Crafted Pizza and Sugarvale.

 SEE

March 17: Torrey Smith Family Fund Charity Basketball Game

Royal Farms Arena, 201W. Baltimore St. 6:30 p.m. $15-100. 410-347-2006. 

NFL wide receiver Torrey Smith will wear a Carolina Panthers jersey next season, but after being drafted from the University of Maryland in 2011 and helping The Baltimore Ravens win a Super Bowl title in 2012, we’ll always claim him as one of our own. This Saturday, Smith and a group of his former and current teammates will return to Baltimore for the eighth annual charity basketball game to support his foundation, The Torrey Smith Family Fund, which benefits local after-school and teen mentoring programs. Watch these pro-football stars show off their basketball skills and enjoy giveaways and live entertainment during halftime.

 

 HEAR

March 17: Zip Into The Yellow Light

The Motor House, 120 W. North Ave. 8 p.m. $7-12. (410) 637-8300. 

Since his early years on the Baltimore club scene, Abdu Ali has hustled to create spaces—like live performances and DIY collectives—for marginalized members of the music community. This weekend, following the release of “DaWon” from his upcoming FIYA!!! mixtape, Ali will headline “Zip Into The Yellow Light,” a performance dedicated to using music as a transportation device into a metaphysical abyss where othered people can access every entity needed to fully live as themselves. International DJ BEARCAT, instrumental rock quartet Horse Lords, and legendary local voguer Marquis Revlon will open the show before Ali debuts new music on The Motor House stage.

 DO

March 16: TRÖEG-A Toga Party

American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Hwy. 8-11 p.m. $25-30. 410-244-1900.

It’s like that party from the movie Animal House, but with Tröegs beer, better snacks, and handmade crafts. This Friday, don your best bedsheet and head to the AVAM for a night of toga-filled fun to benefit the upcoming Kinetic Sculpture Race. After hitting the dance floor and sampling snacks from local restaurants like Encantada and Handlebar Café, make a keepsake craft using Tröegs Independent Brewing’s bottle caps, labels, and packaging. Don’t forget to enter to win killer raffle prizes like a behind-the-scenes tour of Oriole Park at Camden Yards and gift cards to places like Thames Street Oyster House and Race Pace Bicycles.

Anyone who has driven on 83 these past several months has seen a giant black-and-white sign sprawled across the former Sears Roebuck warehouse that reads “Future Home of Union Craft Brewing and the Union Collective.” Now that future is looking much more present.
 

With beer tanks in, climbing walls erected, and nearly all eight vendors confirmed, the 138,000-square-foot makerspace and brewery home of Union Craft is becoming a reality.  

“It’s been amazing to see the level of hard work, passion, and creativity it has taken from all involved to get to this point,” says Union co-owner Adam Benesch. “We are excited to see the impact the project is going to make on our community and businesses that make up the collective.”

The collective is made up of Union Craft Brewing and eight other local vendors, some using the space as their main headquarters, others as a manufacturing location, and almost all as a storefront. There are still two open slots left and owners are excited to complete the roster. 

“We continue to search for the best and brightest growing Baltimore-based businesses,” Benesch says. “We look forward to finding the perfect fit for the last of the available space.”
 

Until then, though, these confirmed vendors have plenty in store for tenants as they gradually begin to open throughout the spring and summer.
 

Well-Crafted Pizza: The mobile pizza business, which was started by two couples, is known for its kitchen built on the back of a 1949 Dodge truck. Coinciding with the brewery’s opening this summer, Well Crafted will have a new 920-square-foot kitchen in the taproom itself serving its signature wood-fired pizzas, as well as kabobs, sausages, stuffed potatoes, and soft pretzels.  

Earth Treks: Most likely the first to open in the space, this rock-climbing mecca will be the first of its kind in the city include an exclusive space for bouldering, and also have a yoga studio for patrons.
 

The Charmery: This beloved Hampden corner ice cream spot (with a location in Anneslie on the way) will have its 5,500-square-foot factory headquartered inside Union Collective. The additional room will allow for more production, as well as themed events and famous “guest scoopers.”
 

Baltimore Whiskey Company: On the heels of releasing its 100-proof Epoch rye whiskey, which has been aging in oak barrels for three years, the BWC will be moving into Union Collective this spring. The facility will use a sustainable, geothermal system to cool its pipes using ground water, the first of its kind in the region.  

Huckle’s: Also opening this spring will be a test kitchen and storefront for beloved local hot sauce company Huckle’s. Besides making its signature spicy sauces like Fire-Roasted Habanero and Original Honion, the company will be co-packaging with other small-batch businesses in town.  

Vent Coffee Roasters: With her first brick and mortar location opening at Union Collective in early spring, longtime barista Sarah Walker is eager to have a permanent home. Vent will feature a small-batch roaster and espresso bar with seating for up to 45 people to enjoy espresso drinks, nitro cold brew on tap, coffee mocktails, and options for Aeropress and Chemax. Look out for homemade pastries and other drinks from local Wight Tea Co.  
 

Union Craft Brewing: Of course, the pièce de résistance of the collective will be Union Craft Brewing, which is looking to triple the capacity of its current Woodberry home. There will also be a 7,500-square-foot taproom with a stage for live music, a private event space, and a glass wall that looks through to the brewing equipment. There will also be an outdoor beer garden with a living wall, modular walls to reconfigure the space, and games like bocce.  
 
 
 

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

 EAT

April 21: Well Crafted Pizza’s 1st Birthday Bash

Union Craft Brewery, 1700 Union Ave. 7-10 p.m.  

We’ve never met a pizza we didn’t like, but Well Craft Pizza takes pies to a whole new level. After revamping a 1949 Dodge Ram truck from a farm in Alabama (complete with a 1,000-degree wood-fire oven and four built-in draft taps), these mobile pizza purveyors decided to hit the Baltimore food scene, serving their cheesy creations at food festivals, breweries, pop-ups, and catering events around town. People instantly fell in love with their creative combinations like Radical Radish, Spinach Chorizo, Chana Masala, and dessert pies like S’mores Please. On Friday, the Best of Baltimore-winning pie-makers will celebrate their one-year anniversary with a bash full of dollar slices, pints of Union Craft beer, and live music at the local brewery.

 DRINK

April 22: Monument City Brewing Company Grand Opening

Monument City Brewing Company, 1 North Haven St., 12-7 p.m. 

Brothers Ken and Matt Praay started Monument City Brewing by taking growlers bar to bar in hopes of spreading the word about their Maryland-inspired 51 Rye. Before long, that very beer began to take over taps around town, and now, three years later, they have finally opened a place of their own in Highlandtown. On Saturday, catch the grand opening of the new space, which features a taproom with communal seating, rustic exposed brick walls, a Ping Pong table, and their signature custom wood tap handles by next-door neighbor Mark Supik and Co. Sample snacks from The Local Oyster and other local eateries, listen to live music from The Manly Deeds, and drink down their growing selection of brews. We’ll certainly cheers to that! 

 SEE

April 21-23: Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

Royal Farms Arena, 201 W. Baltimore St., Times Vary. $23-93.

This weekend, join “The Greatest Show on Earth” for what may be their final curtain call. After 146 years of performances, the human-cannonball-ing, lion-taming, tightrope-walking exposition is coming to an end. While the circus has become somewhat controversial with animal rights activists in recent years, this spectacle will go down in history as a family tradition, one that captivated audiences of all ages with a score of fearless daredevil stunts and a cast of charming characters. 

 HEAR

April 22: WTMD’s Brews & Bands

1 Olympic Pl., Towson. 12-4 p.m. $30. 

WTMD is on quite the winning streak. From expanded First Thursdays concerts to epic live lunches to a new children’s concert series, the local radio station is embracing its love of Baltimore and bringing us awesome events along the way. This weekend, the station is joining forces with 15 of our favorite local breweries for unlimited tastings and tunes at their Towson studio. Beloved beer makers like The Brewer’s Art, Heavy Seas, Flying Dog, and Diamondback will be onsite with everything from tropical saisons to rich double IPAs. But no WTMD event would be complete without an emphasis on local music so while you soak up the suds, jam out to live music from gypsy jazz groups Ultrafaux and Hot Club of Baltimore as well as rabblerousing rock-and-rollers PLRLS.

 DO

April 23: Baltimore Farmers’ Market & Bazaar Opening Day

E. Saratoga St. & Holiday St., 7 a.m.-12 p.m. Free. 

With 48 farms, 45 vendors, and an average of more than 120,000 attendees each year, Maryland’s largest producers-only market has become a Sunday staple in Charm City for the past 40 years. Nestled under the Jones Falls Expressway, the beloved weekend ritual is a vibrant, fragrant microcosm of Baltimore—teeming with crisp fruits and seasonal vegetables, craft beer and local wine, ice-cold crabs and farm-fresh meat, and, of course, the buttery smell of breakfast biscuits wafting from the grill of Blacksauce Kitchen. Back for its 40th year, don’t miss the chance to hawk local treats from the likes of Hex Ferments, Zeke’s Coffee, The Mushroom Stand, and newcomers like Ekiben and The Baltimore Whiskey Company.