Hey hon — it's a big one this weekend, October 2–4, and Baltimore is throwing a full-on birthday party for one of its favorite neighborhoods. Grab a jacket for the evenings, but the days are still shorts-and-a-pretzel weather. Let's get into it.
🎉 THE BIG ONE: Fell's Point Fun Festival
📍 Thames Street, Fell's Point (Caroline to Wolfe)
🗓 Friday 5–9pm, Saturday 11am–8pm, Sunday noon–5pm
FREE
Six blocks, one harbor view, and sixty years of Baltimore throwing itself a party. This is the festival's diamond anniversary, and it shows up as usual with local vendors, craft cocktails, live music on the CFG Bank Main Stage, and enough fried everything to ruin your diet for a good cause. Take the Water Taxi or the free Circulator — parking down there is rough on a normal day, let alone fest weekend. fellspointfest.com
🐦⬛ Poe Fest International
📍 Lexington Market, 112 N. Eutaw St
🗓 Friday–Sunday, Oct 2–4 (Movie Night kicks off Friday; festival grounds Sat & Sun, 11am–4pm)
FREE
The 9th annual Poe Fest lands at a new home this year — Lexington Market, since the Poe House is mid-renovation. Expect Poe-themed performances, booksellers, art, and a genuinely spooky good time honoring Baltimore's most gothic hometown hero, 177 years after his death here. Movie Night Friday screens the world premiere of a Vincent Price documentary, with his daughter Victoria Price in attendance. poefestinternational.com
🦇 The Black Cat Ball
📍 Westminster Hall & Burying Ground
🗓 Saturday, Oct 3, evening
Ticketed
Poe Fest's official after-dark party — a graveside toast to Edgar himself and a catwalk down the Gothic red carpet, held right next to where he's buried. Not for the faint of heart, but exactly the kind of thing Baltimore does better than anywhere else. Details here.
🎬 New/Next Film Festival
📍 The Charles Theatre
🗓 Through Sunday, Oct 4
Ticketed
Baltimore Public Media's showcase for what's next in film wraps up its fourth year with 160+ films across five screens. If you've been meaning to catch something outside the multiplex, this is your last weekend to do it.
🦒 ZooBoo Kickoff
📍 The Maryland Zoo, Druid Hill Park
🗓 Starts Friday, Oct 2 (runs through Halloween)
Included with zoo admission
Trick-or-treat trails, an inflatable corn maze, a pumpkin patch, and costume contests kick off this weekend and run all month. Great excuse to get the kids (or yourself) outside before it gets truly cold.
🎨 Glass Art: Crab Mosaic Tray
📍 Maryland Science Center
🗓 Saturday, Oct 3, 1pm
$75
A beginner-friendly mosaic workshop (ages 8+) where you make your own glass crab tray to take home — very Baltimore, very charming. Space is limited, so book ahead. mdsci.org
🥕 Markets This Weekend
Baltimore Farmers' Market & Bazaar — Sunday, 7am–noon, under the JFX at Holliday & Saratoga. Free to browse, hard to leave empty-handed.
🗓 Build Your Perfect Saturday
Time | Where to Be |
|---|---|
11:30am | Fell's Point Fun Fest opens — grab an early lap of Thames St before it gets packed |
1:00pm | Glass Art workshop at the Maryland Science Center (if you booked ahead) |
2:00pm | Poe Fest at Lexington Market — browse vendors, catch a reading |
4:00pm | Back to Fell's Point for live music on the Main Stage |
Evening | The Black Cat Ball at Westminster Hall, if you're feeling bold (and have tickets) |
Sixty years of Fell's Point Fun means sixty years of Baltimore refusing to be anything but itself. Get out there, hon — the harbor's waiting.
Have a great weekend, Baltimore. 🖤 — The Bmore This Week Team