Sizzlin’ Summer

Just because it didn’t really get cold this winter doesn’t mean it won’t be getting hot this summer. That’s just not how climate change works. So brace yourselves for the usual pit-stain-inducing mess that is a Baltimore summer. But despite everything that kind of sucks about summer, we can’t help loving it—kind of like the love you might have for a sweet dog that isn’t house-broken or an old friend who still gets so drunk he routinely has to call you to apologize for something he did the night before.

The weather might be terrible but we can’t wait to get outside to drink under the scorching sun during festivals and block parties and watch movies under stars we can’t really see because of the light pollution. We eat glorified sugar bombs called sno-balls and accidentally grind Old Bay into the cuts on our fingers we get from cracking steamed crabs. We go listen to bands play in the open air despite the inevitably muddy sound quality. And we love every goddamn minute of it because it’s summer.

To help you get the most out of the season, we’ve compiled our annual Sizzlin’ Summer calendar full of places to go, things to see and hear, and stuff to do. Along with the enormous calendar, check out our guides to local fishing, mini golf, urban farms, non-embarrassing beach reads, picnicking, and, perhaps most importantly, finding a seriously cold beer. Find out who has the best crustaceans at Crab Corner, visit a West Virginia resort where the bears aren’t animals, and take a moment to ponder the unsung glory of that classic Baltimore pastime, stoop sitting. Just don’t forget the sunscreen.

The 2012 Sizzlin’ Summer calendar was woven together like a friendship bracelet at sleep-away camp by Erin Gleeson with help from Andrea Appleton, Michael Byrne, Laura Dattaro, Edward Ericson Jr., Andrew Holter, Joe MacLeod, Phillip Walters, and Baynard Woods.

Sizzlin’ Summer 2012