Summer guide

Family

Summer days, drifting away

Summer's not officially over when Labor Day hits. But it may as well be. More than winter, more than autumn, more than spring, summer is a state of mind, existing not so much because of the calendar, not so much because of the temperature, but because we close our eyes, exhale and let it happen. After Labor Day, as we become about less vacation and more school, more work, more wearing shoes, summer fades. It evaporates like condensation on a glass of lemonade.

Frozen assets

Frozen desserts may not have any appeal in January, but in the dog days of August, they are exactly what we crave.

Burn notice

Are you about to embark upon the sunny, sultry open road? Don't forget to apply sunscreen, particularly on your left arm, even if you don't intend to stick it out the window.

Taste

Takeout: Vanilla milkshakes

When professional ice-cream tasters visit their franchise locations, they sample the vanilla. It is the benchmark ice cream, the one other flavors spring from. It is hard to hide flaws in vanilla.

Virgin Festival weekend is all over the map

Three years ago, it would have been another silent summer day at Pimlico Race Course.

Hole lot of fun

Any kid can splash-dive into a swimming hole. Gunther Byrd of Lutherville chose to go the way of a trapeze artist.

Jellyfish stings

Yuck! Jellyfish, the squishy bane of the late-summer swimmer, are back again. Although few people have severe reactions to jellyfish stings, those who encounter the creatures are unlikely to forget the meeting soon, says Dr. Roy Cragway, an urgent care physician at Atlantic ImmediCare in Ocean City.

Roomier Artscape peeks into the future

If necessity is the mother of invention, then Baltimore was a major beneficiary last weekend, as organizers of the annual Artscape festival took a pressing need for more space and turned it into a creative way to promote an emerging arts district.

Summer concerts draw crowds

When Michael Fiore visited local wineries in Long Island, he discovered that the owners had brought in bands and disc jockeys to entertain people with music as they drank their wine.

Taste

Takeout: Iced tea

On a sweltering day in 1904 a tea huckster, India Tea Commissioner Richard Blechynden, was having a hard time convincing visitors to the St. Louis World's Fair to sample his hot tea. So he put the tea in large bottles, flipped them upside down and let the tea flow through iced lead pipes.

Music festivals become more popular

In the past few years, shrinking album sales and illegal downloads have shaken up the music industry. But after a downturn in the late '90s, live music festivals are once again flourishing - offering some hope for a struggling industry.

'The Hons aren't dead'

Adorned in an Amy Winehouse-inspired black wig and dressed in a neon pink mermaid skirt, a matching feather boa, a pink-sequined T-shirt and dusty pink house slippers, Robert Glick stood out yesterday among the thousands of people crowding The Avenue for the 15th annual Honfest in Hampden.

No place like home for vacation in 2008

So you've all but given up on the idea of going on vacation this summer.

Wave of nostalgia

Fashion-savvy bathing beauties know that what was sexy yesterday can look a little tarty today. Especially when one of the hottest trends this summer is more conservative, vintage-inspired swimwear from designer lines like Betsey Johnson, Trina Turk and Juicy Couture.

Backlash against kitschy Honfest grows

Suddenly, it's hard out there to be a Hon.

Taste

Takeout: Lemon Italian ice

When hot weather hits and, man, has it walloped us lately, I want ice -- lemon Italian ice. Made with water, sugar, lemon juice and, sometimes, lemon rind, it is clean-tasting, frozen and refreshing. On a sweltering day, I found three to try, two of them very good.

Rob Kasper: Learning new tricks for old grills

As Father's Day approached, I looked for new grilling tricks that a smoky old dad, a fan of live fires, might employ. Leafing through a slew of new grilling books and testing recipes, I found several.

Bring it on

You've heard about the $15 fee that American Airlines begins charging later this month for your first checked bag and you're determined to avoid paying. Instead, you'll just cram so much into your carry-on luggage that the airline will wish it never dared you to bring it on.

Whole lotta music going on

Summer days filled with cookouts or escapes to the seashore are on the horizon.

Music

Season's sizzling sounds

Summer is the best time to experience the transporting power of live music -- especially at outdoor festivals. With the sun above, good food, drinks and fun-loving friends around you, the summer concert experience becomes indelible.

Summer isn't just for reruns

For half a century, fall TV has been a time of new series and original episodes, while summer was thought of as the doldrums of rerun programs.

Ticket to savings

With the weak dollar, record gas prices and fears of a recession, it's not surprising that many Americans are rethinking one of life's great pleasures: summer vacation.

Comedy to warm up the screens

Like many a movie lover and even some Hollywood insiders, Ron Shelton, a writer-director of classic sports comedies, found himself going through comedy withdrawal last fall and winter, when the studios left farce off their schedules and stuffed them instead with protest films and message movies.

Farmers' market medley

The Baltimore Farmers' Market, open under the Jones Falls Expressway on Sundays from May to December, offers deals on fruits, vegetables and other goods.

Area amusement parks offer new rides, special deals

As summer approaches, local amusement parks are opening their gates. Some feature new rides, like Six Flags' Tony Hawk's Halfpipe waterslide. Others are offering package deals; Hersheypark and Dutch Wonderland offer a combination ticket.

Ethnic festivals celebrate cultures of Baltimore communities

In addition to HonFest, Artscape and the Maryland Film Festival, Baltimore's summer festival season includes some smaller ethnic festivals. Celebrate the city's diversity, as you taste the food, hear the music and play the games of the many cultures that make up Baltimore's communities.