This weekend there just might be a local festival for everyone you know: the clean living enthusiast, the Chesapeake Bay afficionado, the wine connoisseur, the cosplay nerd, the local music lover and the oyster fanatic. (There are two fests for them.) Below you’ll find festivals for cinephiles, Poeheads and burlesque fans plus plenty of events that — gasp — are not festival-related.
Thursday, Oct. 1
New/Next Film Festival
New/Next Film Festival kicks off Thursday and spans four days, with more than 100 films from all over the world. These include dozens of shorts, with a whole category devoted to Baltimore’s underground scene and another to Maryland documentaries. The feature films are equally diverse, and there are both opening and closing night parties. If you somehow need even more films, check out the Final Girls Film Fest, a screening of horror shorts from the Berlin Film Festival, on Friday at 6:30 p.m. ($10-$15; Le Mondo, 406 N. Howard St., Baltimore).
Time: Various
Price: $20 for individual screenings; about $35 for opening and closing night parties; $213-$235 for all-access passes (includes entry to parties on Friday and Saturday nights as well as opening and closing events)
Location: The Charles Theatre (1711 N. Charles St., Baltimore)
Family friendly? Check individual listings.
Friday, Oct. 2
The International Edgar Allan Poe Festival
Take in Poe-centric readings, performances, a Costume POErade and a beer garden (serving RavenBeer, naturally). Free shuttles will ferry visitors to and from ticketed events, which include the world premiere of a documentary about the actor Vincent Price, tours of the Poe House and Museum, bus tours exploring the mystery of Poe’s final days, an exhibit celebrating Poe’s role in the invention of detective fiction and a masked ball.
Jonesing for more Poe? On Saturday at 5 p.m., the Hippodrome hosts a ballet, “The Curious Life of Edgar Allan Poe” ($65-$111; 12 N. Eutaw St., Baltimore). And The Voxel presents “a water-drenched fever dream of Edgar Allan Poe” on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. ($35; 9 W. 25th St., Baltimore). The latter runs through Oct. 18.
Time: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday; see individual ticketed events for times
Price: Festival is free; see individual ticketed events for prices
Location: Main festival is at Lexington Market (112 N. Eutaw St., Baltimore); see individual ticketed events for locations
Family friendly? Depends on your kid’s tolerance for the macabre.
Charm City Burlesque and Variety Festival
If you’re looking for a sexy, off-kilter weekend, here’s your gig. The festival kicks off on Friday with the Filthy Gorgeous Variety show, a celebration of the bizarre headlined by acrobatic burlesque performer Evil Hate Monkey. On Saturday, come back for the Tell-Tale Masquerade, where you are invited to wear your finest duds and explore the dark side of burlesque. Calamity Chang headlines, and there will be a post-show dance party. Classes during the day on Saturday include a workshop with Chang on making your own latex bra, and theater games with the Evil Hate Monkey himself.
Related: The Pansy Hour, an immersive theatre experience inspired by Baltimore’s 1930s “pansy craze” at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday or 2 p.m. on Sunday ($37-$155; location revealed upon purchase). Runs through Nov. 15.
Time: 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday; classes at various times on Saturday
Price: $51 for each night or $92 for both; classes are $25-$100
Location: The Creative Alliance (3134 Eastern Ave., Baltimore)
Family friendly? Need you ask?
Jonathon Heyward conducts Stravinsky and Prokofiev
In a letter just before the premiere of his Third Piano Concerto in 1921, Sergei Prokofiev wrote that he was practicing three hours a day because the composition turned out to be “devilishly difficult.” Come to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s season opener to watch acclaimed pianist Bruce Liu grapple with the piece alongside the orchestra. The program also includes Stravinsky’s “Firebird Suite,” a piece by Jonathan Leshnoff — the BSO’s composer-in-residence — and a short overture by Mikhail Glinka.
If you’re more of a traditionalist, the Bach in Baltimore season opener takes on the Baroque on Sunday at 4 p.m. ($33, children under 18 are free; Roland Park Presbyterian Church, 4801 Roland Ave., Baltimore).
Time: 8 p.m. Friday; 3 p.m. Sunday
Price: Starting at $47
Location: Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (1212 Cathedral St., Baltimore)
Family friendly? Yes
‘Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now’
Marissa Jaret Winokur, Kerry Butler and Laura Bell Bundy met while originating the roles of Tracy, Penny and Amber, respectively, in the musical “Hairspray.” Afterward, the trio of performers went on to storied careers on Broadway, performing in everything from “Beetlejuice” to “Mean Girls” to “Wicked.” This weekend they come to Baltimore to revisit the show that launched their careers. Join them for a night of stories and hit songs.
Time: 7:30 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday
Price: Starts at $40
Location: Baltimore Center Stage (700 N. Calvert St., Baltimore)
Family friendly? Yes.
Saturday, Oct. 3
Civil Rights Week
Baltimore’s civic leaders will gather for a week of events meant to be a call to action. Events this weekend include a resource fair on Saturday put on by the Mayor’s Commission on Disabilities (noon-4 p.m., The League for People with Disabilities, 1111 E. Cold Spring Lane, Baltimore) and a block party on Sunday (noon-4 p.m., Matthew A. Henson Elementary School, 1600 N. Payson St., Baltimore).
Time: Through Oct. 9, various times
Price: Free
Location: Varies
Family friendly? Check individual events.
Fell’s Point Fun Festival
Sixty years ago, this festival began as a way to fight a link-up of I-83 and I-95 that would have destroyed Fells Point as we know it. Now a huge party, the six-block fest includes several stages and a host of performers, food, artists and vendors, craft cocktails and beer galore.
Time: 5-9 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday
Price: Free
Location: Along Thames Street from Caroline Street to Wolfe Street, Baltimore
Family friendly? Yes.
Wizarding Weekend on Magical Main
This weekend, Ellicott City’s Main Street transforms into Diagon Alley, of Harry Potter fame. Details on this year’s event have yet to be released, but judging by prior years, visitors can expect costume contests, a scavenger hunt, themed treats and a showing of one of the Harry Potter movies. Muggles welcome.
Time: Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m.
Price: Free
Location: Main Street, Ellicott City
Family friendly? Yes.
‘Titus/Meat Loaf’
Believe it or not, this is what it sounds like: a combo of Shakespeare’s “Titus Andronicus” and the music of Meat Loaf. If you find gothic rock opera too melodramatic for The Bard, know that “Titus” is by far the bloodiest of his plays. Tongues and hands are cut off, and characters are raped and murdered. At one point a mother is served her own children, baked into a pie. This troupe, Motte and Bailey, prod., has transformed the play into campy rock horror, complete with a Splash Zone for those who would like to get drenched in “an absurd amount of stage blood.”
Time: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 7 p.m. Sunday; more performances through Oct. 10
Price: $20-$40
Location: Baltimore Theatre Project (45 W. Preston St., Baltimore)
Family friendly? Not remotely.
The Capsule: A BXB Homecoming
Come out to celebrate the legacy of the harbor and five years of Baltimore by Baltimore festivals ahead of Harborplace’s potential demolition. This all-day send-off is the last of this year’s BXB events, bringing together local artists, performers and vendors. Performers will include DJ and stiltwalker 7G Bümin; Latin-inflected ’90s grunge band The Ragdollz; multidisciplinary performing artist Greeyo; and Soroche, who play danceable music across cultures. Local makers and vendors will sell their wares.
Time: Noon-7 p.m.
Price: Free
Location: The Inner Harbor Amphitheater (201 E. Pratt St., Baltimore)
Family friendly? Yes.
Eliot Bronson
Singer/songwriter Eliot Bronson grew up in Baltimore, performing at local coffeehouses. He has gone on to become internationally renowned, playing his own brand of country-inflected folk. Rolling Stone described his style as “sad and fragile but impossibly massive all at once.” On Saturday, Bronson takes the stage at Manor Mill, not far from where he began. Callum, an 18-year-old recording artist from the Eastern Shore, opens.
Time: 7:30-9:30 p.m.
Price: $30
Location: Manor Mill (2029 Monkton Road, Monkton)
Family friendly? Yes.
Days End Farm Horse Rescue Benefit Concert
Days End has been rescuing severely malnourished and abused horses for nearly three decades. Examples include the mare that spent 10 years in a stall without access to the outdoors, and the horse found standing in many feet of his own manure, hooves curling and uncut. Rehabilitating animals like these isn’t cheap, so come out to support the farm. Enjoy music, food trucks, lawn games and a beer garden. Visitors can also take a tour to meet the rejuvenated horses.
Time: 4-9 p.m.
Price: $35-$40; kids 12 and under are free
Location: Days End Farm Horse Rescue (1372 Woodbine Road, Woodbine)
Family friendly? Yes
Sunday, Oct. 4
Lifeline 100 Bicycle Event
Nearly 1,000 bicyclists, from casual riders to serious roadies, typically attend this annual event. The 15- and 30-mile routes are on flat, paved trails away from traffic. The 65- and 100-mile tours are on open roads but pass some of the most scenic areas in the county, including the Severn River, the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis and the Chesapeake Bay. All routes include supported rest stops. A 2.6-mile Family Bike Safari Ride will include hidden safari animals along the course for kids to find, and they can attend a bike “rodeo” with a safety orientation and obstacle course. All proceeds go to county nonprofits.
Time: Start times vary depending on route length. Family Bike Safari and Bike Rodeo are open 10 a.m.-noon.
Price: $55-$75; Family Bike Safari and Bike Rodeo are free
Location: Kinder Farm Park (1001 Kinder Farm Park Road, Millersville)
Family friendly? Yes
The Big Flea Antiques Market
Despite the name, this vast market is more of a vintage and antiques show than a flea market. But if you’re a collector or just like to browse, you’ll find thousands of items to gawk at here: jewelry, coins, furniture, art, clothing and tchotchkes of all varieties.
Time: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday
Price: $10, good for both days; kids 12 and under are free
Location: Maryland State Fairground Cow Palace (2200 York Road, Lutherville-Timonium)
Family friendly? Yes.
Brandon Woody’s Upendo
Trumpeter, composer and bandleader Brandon Woody has performed all over the world and received too many accolades to list here. Yet he remains a Baltimorean through and through, and this afternoon he performs in town for free along with his band Upendo. (That’s Swahili for “love.”) The group includes pianist Troy Long, Woody’s longtime friend. The two met and started playing together at Baltimore School for the Arts after failing to get into the high school jazz combo.
Time: 3:30 p.m.
Price: Free
Location: Second Presbyterian Church (4200 Saint Paul St., Baltimore)
Family friendly? Yes.
The big names
Here are a few touring acts making stops in local venues this week:
Chelsea Handler at The Lyric on Saturday, Smashing Pumpkins at CFG Bank Arena on Saturday and Tom Jones at The Hall at LIVE! on Sunday.
Andrea Appleton is a Baltimore-based writer and journalist.
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