So many great things are happening this weekend that it’s tough to choose which to highlight. How can I not acknowledge, for instance, the world’s largest pickle party or the festival celebrating fantastical sea creatures? Or the Puppet Slamwich, the Alt Art Market and the Butchers Hill Flea Market, not to mention the boxing event featuring local sluggers. And what a shame it would be not to include the tour of a Baltimore neighborhood local American Indians called “the reservation” or to omit the screening of a documentary chronicling the work of Dr. Leslie King Hammond, champion of artists of color. But such is life. See below for the events that made the cut.
Thursday
Anne Arundel County Fair
Here’s one last chance to make yourself sick on funnel cake. While you’re digesting, watch the pig races, the quilting show, the chainsaw carving demo, the pie- and watermelon-eating contests, the hog-calling contest or the tractor pull. You might also visit the dinosaur show, which features “a live T-Rex encounter,” or the firefighting training show, which allows kids to suit up, crawl through a “smoke house” and shoot a water cannon. Don’t forget to visit the alpacas, goats, cows and bunnies, and check out the array of arts and crafts. And, of course, you gotta hit the carnival midway.
Time: 5-10 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 9 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday; 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday
Location: Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds (1450 Generals Highway, Crownsville)
Family friendly? You know it.
Historic Ellicott City Inc. Decorator Showhouse Fundraiser
The setting for this fundraiser is a 19th-century house known as Valhalla, a term that means “hall of the slain” in old Norse. But you shall not be slain — except maybe metaphorically, by the killer decor. Local designers were each given a room or outdoor space on the site to do with as they pleased. Proceeds benefit Historic Ellicott City’s preservation and restoration efforts. And, if you spot a lamp or a rug that you simply must have, you may be able to purchase it. Gifts, art, decor and specialty items are for sale throughout.
Time: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday; more dates and times through Oct. 11
Price: $40
Location: 1575 Marriottsville Road, Marriottsville
Family friendly? Yes (but they’d probably prefer the county fair).
Then and Now: Maryland’s Blue Crab
Crack into the history of the blue crab with a program aimed at illuminating the stories of the people who bring them to our tables. Conceptual artist Nia Hampton will share her short film “The Labor/The Luxury,” an unconventional look at Black female crab pickers on the Eastern Shore. Styles Bond will provide live music, and Ekiben is bringing the soft crab sandwiches. Plus, listen to a conversation about the legacy of crabbing with Hampton and historian Kate Livie, founder of This Old Shore, a digital platform about the Chesapeake Bay.
Time: 6-8:30 p.m.
Price: $25 for nonmembers
Location: Baltimore Museum of Industry (1415 Key Highway)
Family friendly? Yeah, but young kids may be crabby.
Friday
Goats on the Slope
Goats are agile and they eat leaves and shrubs, which make them ideal candidates for clearing the steep slope at Wyman Park Dell leading up to the Baltimore Museum of Art. Every fall, the Friends of Wyman Park Dell brings in a herd and creates a weekend of events around it. “We’ve been pleasantly surprised by the number of people who just want to see goats eating,” one board member told Baltimore Magazine. Should you require more stimulating entertainment, check out the bluegrass concert, movie night, kids story time or yoga with a view of the goats. And buy yourself a limited-edition Goats on the Slope T-shirt, designed by local illustrator Alex Fine.
Time: Various times on Friday, Saturday and Sunday
Price: Free
Location: Wyman Park Dell (North Charles and 29th Streets, Baltimore)
Family friendly? Yes! Goats!
Jake Blount
Jake Blount is a performer of Black folk music and a scholar of the same. He’s a virtuoso at banjo and fiddle who has played at Carnegie Hall, served as a music consultant on the movie “Sinners” and performed on the soundtrack of Ken Burns’ “The American Revolution.” He is working toward a Ph.D. in musicology and ethnomusicology and teaches widely. But Blount does not limit himself to the past. He considers himself an Afrofuturist and often seamlessly blends genres with the aid of the electric guitar and synthesizer, which he also plays.
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Price: $40
Location: Creative Alliance (3134 Eastern Ave., Baltimore)
Family friendly? Yes.
Laura Benanti
Perhaps best known for her Melania Trump impersonations on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Laura Benanti is a longtime Broadway actress and comedian. Now she is coming to Baltimore with her 65-minute solo show, “Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares.” The Guardian called the show — in which Benanti casts an acerbic eye on her younger self, motherhood, people-pleasing and the joys of aging — “eyebrow-raising cringe comedy.” Grab a ticket while they remain.
Time: 7:30 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. Saturday; more dates next weekend
Price: $40-$60
Location: Baltimore Center Stage (700 N. Calvert)
Family friendly? No.
Saturday
Baltimore Book Festival
An array of local literary stars will be at the annual book festival, among them Lawrence Brown, D. Watkins, Lawrence Burney, April Ryan and Betsy Boyd. Nationally famous figures such as artist and writer Molly Crabapple, public intellectual Ibram X. Kendi and Tarana Burke, founder of the #MeToo movement, will be in attendance. Yet such lists do nothing to capture the breadth of this vibrant festival, which features nine stages showcasing everything from African storytelling to romance to poetry as a tool for conservation. Shake off all the big thoughts Saturday night with a dance party featuring DJ Oji.
Time: 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday
Price: Free
Location: Waverly (on 30th, 31st and 32nd streets west of Greenmount Avenue, Baltimore)
Family friendly? Varies. Visit the Children and Teen Stage for family friendliest.
Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival
It ain’t cheap, but now and then you really do get what you pay for. This ecofriendly festival takes place on the shores of the Chesapeake. You might go for a swim, eat crab cakes, learn to shuck oysters and knock back a microbrew before you’ve even wandered toward the stages. But the lineup is sweet too: Little Feat, Sam Bush, Béla Fleck, Yonder Mountain String Band and more. For a festival with more of a Parrothead vibe, check out the Boatyard Beach Bash from 4-10 p.m. ($150, Annapolis Maritime Museum, 723 Second St.). And, for a much cheaper Saturday, try the Malachi Water Wind Woods Music & Arts Festival (noon-5 p.m., $10 donation, Lurman Woodland Theater, 425 Bloomsbury Ave., Catonsville).
Time: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Location: Sandy Point State Park, East Beach (1100 E. College Parkway, Annapolis)
Family friendly? Yes. The KidZone hosts activities all day, both days.
African American Cultural Festival
Baltimore County’s African American Cultural Festival typically draws thousands of attendees. A DJ tent provides the soundtrack for the day as visitors stop by zones set aside for children and for youth, as well as a health-and-wellness pavilion and a historical village. In the latter, visitors learn about African American history through oral history, visual artifacts, cultural demonstrations and guided conversations. Pair with the free Voices of History Street Fair, a celebration of Black history and culture from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., featuring both a gospel and a dance hour (the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum, 1601-03 E. North Avenue, Baltimore)
Time: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Price: Free
Location: 400 Washington Avenue, Towson
Family friendly? Yes.
Oktoberfest
Once upon a time, Oktoberfest started in October. But wiser heads prevailed and now we get to drink outside while it’s still warm. At the Guinness Open Gate Brewery, you can listen to live oompah bands over a hearty German breakfast, play traditional games and christen your new commemorative stein with any of six new beers. For a free Oktoberfest option, head over to Heavy Seas Beer Taproom on Saturday from 2-7 p.m. (4615 Hollins Ferry Road, Halethorpe). Wear a costume if you like, take a guided brewery tour, eat at Kooper’s Pit Stop Food Truck and watch the second annual Wiener Dog Wunderdash. Should you happen to own a dachshund, corgi or other shortie, sign ’em up.
Time: Friday 4-10 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; continues on weekends through Oct. 4
Price: $28
Location: Guinness Open Gate Brewery (5001 Washington Boulevard, Halethorpe)
Family friendly? Nein.
Mortified Baltimore: Back to School 2026
When I was 13, I dressed as a baby for Halloween: oversize diaper, bonnet, dangling pacifier. I did not realize how deeply uncool that was ... until I got to school. For more than a decade, producers Alex Hewett and Adam Ruben have coaxed embarrassing teenage stories like these from brave locals, who’ve shared them onstage, typically by reading from diary entries, poems, love letters and locker notes. This time, the theme for the most loving cringefest in town is Back to School.
Time: 7 p.m.
Price: $35 for nonmembers
Location: Creative Alliance (3134 Eastern Avenue, Baltimore)
Family friendly? Probably best for teens and up.
The Budos Band
What genre is the Budos Band? Who knows. Funk-afrobeat-psychedelic doom rock hyphen hyphen? The group may not be entirely sure itself. One news release said this instrumental group from New York sounded “as if Quentin Tarantino was the music supervisor for a Bond film.” Whatever the case, the Budos Band is indisputably high energy, rowdy and hypnotic. And they’re here! See you at the show.
Time: 7 p.m.
Price: $39
Location: Union Craft Brewing (1700 W. 41st St., Baltimore)
Family friendly? No.
Festival of India
Some 20,000 people typically visit this festival, which features Indian art, music, dance, clothing, jewelry and handicrafts including henna and rangoli. Cuisine from all over India will be available, and DJs will perform, along with classical and folk musicians. Bollywood dance performers will take the stage, and crowds will no doubt gather for the much-anticipated fashion show. The festival is a great way to prepare for Diwali if you celebrate it and to immerse yourself in the myriad aspects of a vibrant culture if you don’t.
Time: 12-8 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday
Price: Free
Location: Howard County Fairgrounds (2210 Fairgrounds Road, West Friendship)
Family friendly? Yes.
Andrea Appleton is a Baltimore-based writer and journalist.
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