This is the first issue of BmoreActivities, the guide to everything worth doing in Baltimore as an adult. This week that means Baltimore Improv Group's Saturday night lineup, a free ELO tribute under the trees at Lurman, a jazz matinee at An die Musik, and the Baltimore-Washington One Carnival taking over Druid Hill Park. There's also a Monday brewery double-header, a free Ottobar lunch show, and a run of arena tickets worth grabbing now. We read the whole week so you don't have to.
Top Pick
Baltimore Improv Group: BIG Time runs Sat 7/11 at 8:00 PM ET. BIG is a working improv theater: a resident ensemble plus a guest artist sitting in, nothing scripted and nothing repeated twice, more like a jazz club for comedy than a comedy club. BIG Time is the flagship show, general admission, and nobody's counting who came alone.
Weekend Highlights
Baltimore-Washington One Caribbean Carnival: the Parade of Bands steps off Sat 7/11 at 12:00 PM ET (Park Circle, Park Heights & Reisterstown), with the full festival Sun 7/12, 3:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET at Druid Hill Park. Admission is free for its 45th year; food and vendors are separate.
Asia in a Bite food truck festival lands Sat 7/11 at 12:00 PM ET. Forty-plus food trucks and live music, free to attend (food is à la carte), with a Baltimore meetup group doing a noon group walk-in if you want built-in company.
Charm City Jazz: A Night of Wonder (The Music of Stevie Wonder) plays Sat 7/11 at 7:00 PM ET, Gordon Center for Performing Arts. A live jazz tribute built for an actual dress-up-a-little date night.
Book This Week
Train — Drops of Jupiter: 25 Years in the Atmosphere, with Barenaked Ladies and Matt Nathanson, plays Fri 7/17 at 5:15 PM ET, Merriweather Post Pavilion (Columbia, about 20 minutes from the city). An anniversary amphitheater package, on sale now via Ticketmaster.
Free & Cheap
Atomic Light Orchestra (ELO tribute) plays Sat 7/11 at 6:00 PM ET, Lurman Woodland Theater (Catonsville, Baltimore County), free. Bring a chair or a blanket. The same free series runs it back Sunday with Sons of Pirates, a Jimmy Buffett tribute band, 7/12 at 6:00 PM ET. That's two free nights of live music under the trees, back to back.
WTMD Live Lunch with Caroline Rose runs Mon 7/13 at 11:30 AM ET, Ottobar. Free daytime show, no cover.
Bingo Night is Thu 7/16 at 6:00 PM ET, 29th Street Community Center, free.
After Dark
Queer City Sports — Cornhole League is Tue 7/14 at Union Craft Brewing, time TBA. An affirming queer rec-league night, low-stakes, and a solid walk-in-solo option since you're slotted into games.
Zen West Drag Brunch (Disney) runs Sun 7/12 at 1:00 PM ET, Zen West, 21+. An affirming drag brunch, ticketed.
Circus Purpose takes over the Current Space courtyard Sat 7/11, 2:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET. An outdoor DIY-venue afternoon that runs into the night, ticketed.
Culture Corner
Rhonda Robinson Quartet plays Sat 7/11 at 2:00 PM ET, An die Musik LIVE. A matinee jazz set paying tribute to Baltimore jazz greats in an intimate room, $10-$20.
Baltimore Clayworks: Fellowship Exhibitions Opening Reception runs Sat 7/11, 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM ET, free. Ceramic work from the current resident fellowship artists.
Current Space Gallery Hours are open Sat 7/11, 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM ET, free. Two shows on view, including a Baltimore quilting exhibition.
Sketching Sessions at The Walters runs Thu 7/16, 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM ET, free. Draw in the galleries with live music and light instruction.
Worth It Solo
Chess Night is Mon 7/13, 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM ET, Peabody Heights Brewery, a free drop-in. The board's your reason to sit across from a stranger, and the brewery's Monthly Pinball Tournament runs the same night, 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM ET, so Monday turns into one brewery, two things to float between. The Cornhole League above is worth a second look here too, same reason: walk in alone, get slotted in.
Get Outside
Yappy Hour dog-friendly paddle runs Thu 7/16, 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM ET, Capital SUP Eastport (Annapolis). A guided paddleboard or kayak session, bring a water-comfortable dog, ticketed. Sunset Paddleboard Tour with live music (Maryland Orange Crush included, 21+) runs on Chesapeake Paddle Sports' recurring schedule, so book any date, from $25.
Mark Your Calendar
J. Cole: The Fall-Off Tour hits CFG Bank Arena Thu 7/23. The big one to grab now.
Meghan Trainor: The Get In Girl Tour plays CFG Bank Arena Mon 7/20.
Trampled by Turtles plays Pier Six Pavilion Mon 7/20 at 7:00 PM ET.
O.A.R. Three Decades Tour closes the run Fri 7/24 at 6:30 PM ET, Merriweather Post Pavilion.
Mobtown Mixer is Thu 7/23 at 7:00 PM ET, Mobtown Brewing. A lightly-structured meet-people night, nametags and prompts, built for showing up solo.
That's the week. More next Thursday. Subscribe at bmoreactivities.com.
See you out there.