Lather on the sunscreen and check out Artscape in Baltimore this weekend -- hyped as the nation's "largest, free public arts festival."
It rocks. Think art exhibits, fashion designers, craftspeople, live demos and concerts, "art cars," public sculpture on Mount Royal Avenue, freshly squeezed lemonade, funnel cakes and a pink ferris wheel.
The hours are noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday.
Pace yourself! The plethora of activities can quickly exhaust you, especially with the mercury predicted to top 90. MetroMix has good suggestions here.
Artists set up their wares in little white-tarp booths along the blocks of midtown Baltimore near the University of Baltimore and the Maryland Institute College of Art, selling, among other things, high-quality ceramics, jewelry, glass, sculpture, handmade prints, fine art, hand-decorated clothing and photography.
Free live concerts include Roberta Flack (8:30 p.m. Friday), the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (3:30 p.m. Saturday) and Rusted Root (8:30 p.m. Saturday), Caleb Stine & The Brakemen (5:30 p.m. Sunday) and The Wailers (6:30 p.m. Sunday).
The schedule of performing arts also lists dance, opera, theater, experimental music and more.
Got kids? Family events like hands-on projects, competitions, children's entertainers and street theater will keep them hopping.
Don't want to park? The Light Rail stops at University of Baltimore/Mount Royal Avenue in the center of Artscape activities, and the Cultural Center stop on Howard Street is adjacent to the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.
If you do drive, beware of street closures galore.
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