The Ultimate Guide to Fall Fun in Baltimore – 2019 Edition

Fall is a beautiful time in Baltimore. The leaves change, the air is crisp, and the city comes alive with sports fans as well as events showing appreciation for the arts. Our city also embraces the paranormal, which is celebrated this time of year. That’s why we’ve made a huge list of all the best things to do in Baltimore this fall. After reading this, you’ll want to throw on some boots and a flannel and head out of the house to fun fall events!

Free Fall Baltimore and Other Events

This year is Baltimore’s 13^th year celebrating Free Fall Baltimore, where different businesses, parks, and museums hold events that are free for visitors. There are over 300 events scheduled for the month of October, and below are some bigger ones for families to enjoy. Along with free events, we also listed some activities that cost money, like Ravens games!

• Spooky Tuesdays in the Dell. Head down to Wyman Park Dell for two free screenings of Halloween-themed movies. On Oct. 8, Coco will be shown, and on Oct. 15, Beetlejuice. Both showings will begin at 7 p.m., but you can find a spot to sit starting at 6 p.m. Bring a blanket, chair, and snacks, and enjoy the show! Popcorn will be available for purchase. Tickets are free, but you can reserve a spot here.
• Baltimore Museum of Industry. As part of Free Fall Baltimore, the Baltimore Museum on Industry will open its doors with free admission on Oct. 12 from 12 to 3 p.m. Other than exploring the museum, visitors can stop by the Children’s Business Fair to meet young entrepreneurs of the city.
• AVAM’s Free Fall Halloween Celebration. The American Visionary Art Museum presents their Free Fall Halloween Celebration on Oct. 30 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. You get free admission into the museum as well as face painting and crafting your own paper monster! Bring your kids for a fun and free afternoon at the museum.
• Puppets in the Garden. Black Cherry Puppet Theater is putting on Puppets in the Garden on Oct. 20 and 27. There will be performances as well as free puppet-making workshops. Bring your children for these fun and crafty events!
• The Walters Art Museum Walk-in Tours. The Walters Art Museum is offering free Walk-in Tours and Drop-in Art Activities on weekends in October and November. Stop by on Oct. 12, 13, 20, 26, and 27 as well as Nov. 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, and 30. The tours are from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., and art activities are from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Free Fall Night at the National Aquarium. On Oct. 25, you can visit the National Aquarium for free! Bring your family in to learn about aquatic life and protecting our oceans starting at 5 p.m. As mentioned, tickets are free, but you can reserve your spot that day at the box office.
• Charm City Fringe Festival. The Charm City Fringe Festival’s goal is to highlight the growing fringe theater community and expand their audience by showcasing new artists. The festival takes place from Oct. 10 through 20. Between 80 and 100 percent of ticket sales go to the artists, and you can buy them here for this amazing showcase of the arts.
• Baltimore International Black Film Festival. Part of the Charm City Fringe Festival, the Baltimore International Film Festival presents culturally significant films that are directed, produced, and star African Americans and members of the African Diaspora. This year’s BIBFF takes place on Oct. 9 through 14 and tickets can be found here and start at $15.
• Brilliant Baltimore. A mixture of two events for the first time, Brilliant Baltimore combines The Baltimore Book Festival and Light City. Over the course of this amazing festival from Nov. 1 through 10, there will be book events, performances, food, drinks, and light art all over Baltimore. You can find a schedule of events here.
• NFL. Come down to M&T Bank Stadium to watch the Baltimore Ravens play! Named after a short story by Baltimore’s own Edgar Allen Poe, you can find their schedule here and tickets are available there as well. Wear your purple and black to cheer on the Ravens and join the Flock!

Harvest festivals and events celebrating the arts are great, but it’s October. That means spooky season has arrived, and we are here for it.

Celebrate Spooky Season

If you enjoy getting spooky during the Halloween season, then Baltimore has plenty of haunts for you to experience. You could go on a paranormal ghost walk through the city’s most haunted streets or creep through a staged haunted house, but both are guaranteed to be equally as scary. If you want a good scare, check out any of these frightening events.

• Fells Point Ghost Walk. Back in the day, Fells Point was full of struggling sailors, immigrants, and others trying to start a new life. It only makes sense that spirits were left behind after all of their struggles in this life. Tours start at 8 p.m. and you can get tickets online or onsite outside of Max’s sidebar.
• Vernon Ghost Tour. This ghost tour covers the spirits of Mt. Vernon who include guests who never left the Belvedere, homeowners who still oversee their properties, and people who performed a séance that did not go as planned. The tour runs every Saturday in October at 8 p.m. and meets at the sidewalk outside of the Belvedere. Tickets can be bought onsite.
• ZooBooo. The Maryland Zoo is holding their 36^th annual ZooBOOO! Festival from Oct. 25 through 27 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Activities at the festival include games, costume contests, a hay maze, free crafts, free trick-or-treating, and tons more! Wear costumes! This event is free with Zoo admission.
• The 20^th Annual Great Halloween Lantern Parade & Festival. On Oct. 26 when the sun goes down you can join in celebrating 20 years of The Great Halloween Lantern Parade. Past themes have been eek, rise, and Dia de los Muertos, but this year’s theme is the 20^th  anniversary. Go down to Patterson Park and celebrate diversity in our community through the lantern parade.
• Día de los Muertos Community Celebration. The Walters Art Museum celebrates Día de los Muertos on Nov. 2 from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. There will be traditional dance performances and art-making activities for families as part of one of the largest Día de los Muertos celebrations in the region. Visitors can bring contributions for a community altar and take tours of the art collection in English or Spanish.
• Bennett’s Curse. After 19 years of this family operation, Bennett’s Curse has taken up a notch again! This year’s haunted house compiles the scariest scenes and monsters from all of their previous shows and puts them all together into a single haunt for you to attend. Visit at your own risk on these dates.
• Haunted Dungeons at Fort Howard Park. All ages are allowed at this walk through the Haunted Dungeons at Fort Howard Park. There are waiting areas and bypasses for children who find the dungeons too scary to walk through. There will also be trick-or-treat night on the final Saturday of operation. Kids should wear a costume and bring a bag to fill up with free candy! The haunted walks are Fridays and Saturdays until Nov. 1, start at dark, and cost $17 per person.
• Poe-tober. Baltimore was home to Edgar Allen Poe, a writer who composed macabre and spooky tales, poems, and essays. Not only was his writing mysterious, but his death was as well. Explore Poe House and Museum to learn more about Poe this spooky season.
• Historic Savage Mill Ghost Tours. This old textile mill has a haunted history, and the tour goes through its halls and seeks out the spirits who are trapped there. Through Nov. 30, on Fridays and Saturdays, you can take a Ghost Tour through Historic Savage Mill from 8 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. Tickets start at $15.
• Fright Fest at Six Flags. Even though it’s about an hour’s drive outside of Baltimore, Six Flags America holds a Fright Fest that is sure to get your blood pumping from terror. There are attractions, shows, rides, and scary people just wandering the grounds to ensure you’ll be met with your worst fears. On select dates through Nov. 3, you can experience Fright Fest!

Not every haunt is meant for the whole family. Sometimes adults need to get out and celebrate Halloween on their own!

Boos for Adults

Halloween is known to be a great time to party. Leave the kids at home, and come out for scary films, raunchy shows, and great bar crawls. Make sure you bring your ID and wear a costume for these crazy Halloween events for adults only.

• Fells Point Haunted PubWalk. If a Ghost Walk through Fells Point isn’t enough, you can take a Haunted PubWalk through Fells Point’s most haunted pubs, bars, and taverns. There have been ghost sightings all around these bars, so be on the lookout for a specter or two. These tours are for people 21 and over, and tickets cost $21.
• Vernon Haunted Pub Crawl Tour. If you’re too scared to do the Ghost Tour sober, then the Mt. Vernon Haunted Pub Crawl Tour will have twice the spirits so you can get through it. Since this crawl is in the part of the city where the elite once lived, the bars are filled with classy ghosts. Tickets are $21 and can be found here.
• Hitchcock Film Fest. At the Maryland Science Center this October, you can view movies by the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, on the biggest indoor screen in Maryland at the Hitchcock Film Fest. On Oct. 11, Rear Window will show at 6 p.m. and The Birds will play at 8:30 p.m. On Oct. 12, North by Northwest will play at 6 p.m. and Psycho will play at 8:30 p.m. Tickets cost $10.95 for each movie screening.
• Rocky Horror Picture Show! Interactive Movie Night. Costumes are encouraged, but please don’t throw food at these Interactive Movie Nights of Rocky Horror Picture Show! at Creative Alliance. On Oct. 17’s showing, Betty O’Hellno guides you through the show with traditional callbacks for a PG-13 viewing. On Oct. 18 and 19, the showings are for adults 18 and over, and have burlesque, drag, tap, and raunchy performances throughout the movie. Tickets are $15. There are showings at 7:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
• Halloween Rally: Glow Edition. Captain Morgan presents the 7^th annual Halloween Rally: Glow Edition at Power Plant Live! From 10 p.m. on Oct. 24 until 1 a.m., there will be music, confetti canons, a photo booth, glowsticks, inflatables, and your ticket includes five drink tickets good at nine participating bars. Ticket prices begin at $35, and you must be 21 and over.
• Burlesque-A-Pades Halloween Spooktacular. Knock three times to enter the Burlesque-A-Pades Asylum at Creative Alliance on Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. The acts will be spooky! Tickets are $25, but if you come in costume, you could with a grab-bag with $500 worth of prizes in it.
• Casey Cares 17^th Annual Rock ‘N’ Roll Halloween Bash. At the 17^th Annual Rock ‘N’ Roll Halloween Bash at Rams Head Live, money is being raised for the Casey Cares Foundation, which is a program that helps critically ill children and their families. On Oct. 26 starting at 6:30 p.m., enjoy a night of music, dancing, an open bar, food, auctions, and raffles, all for a good cause! Wear Rocker attire or a Halloween costume. Tickets start at $40.
• Halloween Moonlight BOO Cruise. Cruise around the Inner Harbor this October on the Halloween Moonlight BOO Cruise that sets sail on Oct. 27. Board at 11:30 p.m. donning your scariest costume to try to win the contest and be ready to dance all night to the DJ playing Halloween favorites. Tickets start at $44.90 and include light bites and entrees.
• Federal Hill-O-Ween Bar Crawl. Lindy Promotion and the federal Hill Hospitality Association present the 11^th Annual Federal Hill-O-Ween Bar Crawl. Ticket prices start at $15 and get you access to the best of Baltimore’s bars where there will be costume contests, drink specials, and plenty of other spooky fun. Registration starts at 5 p.m. at Mothers Grille on Oct. 26.

Maybe you’re more into chill events in the fall. We’ve compiled some of those for you, too.

Farmers’ Markets

If you want to spend your weekend milling around a farmers’ market and shopping for fresh produce, we get it. You can get more than produce, too, like meats, eggs, crafts, and already prepared foods from vendors and food trucks. The only downside is that you can’t bring your pets, according to city health department regulations. Leave your dog at home because if an officer sees your dog tied up outside the market, you’ll get a ticket. Here are some great farmers’ markets around Baltimore.

• Cross Street. Even though it was established in 1846, the Cross Street Market was recently fully renovated and revitalized. With 22 independent vendors inside, the Market’s doors are open every day. You can get a little bit of everything, so stop by and see for yourself.
• Pratt Street. Only open through the end of October, the Pratt Street Market is open every Thursday from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at Pratt & Light Plaza. There are 15 vendors this year, their cuisines ranging from pizza to Haitian to vegan. Visit the Pratt Street Market to get produce and try different foods!
• 32^nd Street Farmers’ Market. The 32^nd Street Farmers’ Market is located in the parking lot at the intersection of E 32^nd Street and Barclay Street, and is held year-long on every Saturday from 7 a.m. until noon. You can look at a vendor map and see what produce is in season online, so you know exactly what you’re getting when you go to this farmers’ market.
• Fells Point. Join history by visiting the Fells Point Farmers’ Market, which dates back to the 1700s as the location of the original farmers’ market! With over 30 vendors, there’s plenty of farm produce, food, and crafts to choose from at this market.
• Baltimore. The Baltimore Farmers’ Market & Bazaar takes place each Sunday until Dec. 22. You can peruse the bazaar full of over 40 vendors. Parking is provided by Mercy Medical Center, but you have to stop by the welcome booth to get your ticket validated before you leave. The market is from 7 a.m. to noon.
• Baltimore Museum of Industry. You can find produce, honey, meats, eggs, snacks, and flowers at the Baltimore Museum of Industry’s Farmers’ Market. Their list of vendors shows that there’s something for everyone. Come down on Saturdays through Nov. 30 from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. to buy some goods at the Market or just relax by the harbor.
• Druid Hill. Buy produce, crafts, or baked goods at the Druid Hill Farmers’ Market. There’s also programming that includes live music, free yoga classes, bike rides, and so much more! This market truly serves its community and provides them with fresh food and goods in an area where that might not always be available.

After shopping at markets, attending museums, taking a ghost tour, and bar hopping in your Halloween best, you’re going to need some rest. Get a warm cup of tea, coffee, or hot chocolate, curl up into a blanket, and enjoy the peacefulness of fall.

Belsky, Weinberg & Horowitz, LLC Wish You a Fun Fall!

Serving the people of Maryland is something we’re dedicated to as your local personal injury lawyers. While we want you to stay safe, we also want you to have fun! Make sure you get out and about this fall and partake in all our beautiful Baltimore has to offer!