Baltimore

CFG Bank Arena

Baltimore Arena or Royal Farms Arena

Baltimore city's largest indoor venue is host to frequent sporting and other major performances. It's an old clunker, and they're looking to replace it, but it's still fine to bring your family here.

Creative Alliance

The Creative Alliance is a vibrant arts center with over 200 events a year ranging from costume dance parties, to folk music performances, rap, world music, and indie film screenings. The space holds two art galleries, a theater, classroom, media lab, live/work studios for 8 artists, and a bar/restaurant.

Current Gallery

Current Gallery is a neat place to see and perhaps purchase some local artists' work, but its best reputation (among locals) is as a DIY indie music venue by night. Check local listings and their website to find out what's going on.

Sat Sun noon-4PM

Hammerjacks

Home to Baltimore's premiere events and house parties. They're a bit infrequent, so check the website.

Harbor East Cinemas

This former Landmark location was (and likely will remain) a nice movie theater with comfy leather seats, good drinks and good food, with no cell phone reception. The theater changed hands and is closed for renovation.

Hippodrome Theatre

This is a beautiful 1914, former vaudeville and early movie theater. It is the biggest performing arts venue downtown, and hosts frequent Broadway productions.

Honfest

Hampden's big neighborhood celebration, which grew over the past 14 years from a little pageant created by a few eccentrics on a lark to a major city festival that draws even international visitors. The "hon" is a certain local style of lady that developed in the early 1960s, featuring dresses with flamboyant prints, very large and brightly colored horn-rimmed glasses, spandex pants, leopard pants, heavy eye-shadow, and as-tall-as-possible beehive hairdos. If you have seen Hairspray in any of its incarnations, you know what the Baltimore hon looks like.

One weekend in summer (in 2023: Sat Jun 11 noon-9PM and Sun Jun noon-6PM)

M&T Bank Stadium

Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore's new football team, in the form of the former Cleveland Browns, is wildly popular with locals, especially following their Superbowl wins in 2000 and 2013. As for the stadium itself, known unimpressively as "M&T Bank Stadium," but better referred to "The Bank", "The Nest", "The Asylum," or just "Ravens Stadium," is new as of 1998 and quite nice. For food, be sure to pick up some boardwalk fries. For parking, just don't. It's $40 and game day traffic is emphatically not fun.

Miracle on 34th Street

Hampden's premiere attraction, bringing in suburbanites all throughout December, is the Miracle on 34th Street in Hampden—an out of control Christmas decorations bonanza, all just on one block of 34th. Strands of lights are strewn across the street from house to house, plastic and inflatable reindeer wander the lawns, and the glare from the displays turns the night sky orange. Over the top or not, it really is magical and worth whatever difficulty you have in getting here. Traffic around this block in December approaches a stasis, in which cars may approach or leave, but the ones in the center may not ever move.

Mobtown Ballroom and Café

The city's home for swing/blues/lindy hop dancing. Come single or in pairs, and expect to be dancing. Lessons are offered at all levels, and are usual followed by social dancing. Music is often live.

Hours vary—call or check the calendar online

Mt Pleasant Ice Arena

Open year round, this indoor ice rink is too far away for your average city visitor, unless they have a car, but it's a good escape for a family from touring the sights.

Mon-Thu noon-2PM, Fri 8:30PM-10:30PM, Sat 3PM-5PM,8:30PM-10:30PM, Sun 3PM-5PM·$4, $2 skate rentals

Oriole Park

Baltimore Orioles

The local baseball team plays at Oriole Park, better known as Camden Yards. It's often considered one of the nicest in the nation, with a retro style, but modern facilities (constructed in 1992). No name is better associated with the stadium than Cal Ripken Jr., who set the world record for playing 2,131 consecutive games on 6 September 1995, (a little less well known, but still historic, was Eddie Murray's 500th home run, exactly one year later to the date). Avoid trying to park here, for the same reasons as below for Ravens Stadium. Even when a game is not being played, the team still offers tours of the ballpark starting in March (though check their website for times).

Parkville Bowling Lanes

Similarly remote, and a similarly fun escape from the city center. It is Maryland style duck-pin bowling, so it's especially great for kids who aren't yet ready to wield the big balls. They also have a video arcade, pizza and beer, and easy parking.

Mon-Thu 9AM-10PM, Fri 9AM-midnight, Sat 3PM-midnight, Sun noon-6PM (8PM in winter)·~$2/game

Poe found in streets drunk

Edgar Allen Poe was found in the streets near Ryan's 4th Ward Polls In Gunners Hall (October 3, 1849).

Poe taken to hospital

Poe was taken to Church Hospital (Now owned by Johns Hopkins.) and then died.

Preakness Stakes

The second of the U.S. Triple Crown series of Thoroughbred racing is one of the single biggest horse racing events in the United States. The crowds are pretty huge, but the numbers are not driven by the family-friendly stands in the outfield, but rather the insane orgy of drunkenness in the infield. If you want a wild experience to remember and have virtually no compunctions of any sort, the infield is the place to be. The Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, held the afternoon before, while not as popular as the Preakness, is an important race held for 2-year-old fillies. However, Pimlico has now closed for a complete reconstruction. All races held there, including the Preakness, have moved to Laurel Park before returning to the rebuilt Pimlico in 2027.

Third Sat of May

Toby's Dinner Theatre

A great musical theatre which has presented musicals from Joesph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to Les Miserables and Nunsense.

Urban Pirates

A swashbuckling adventure on a pirate ship in the Inner Harbor! As you might expect, this is very popular with younger kids.

African-American Festival

Afram

This festival to celebrate African-American culture is held every June at M&T Bank Stadium at Camden Yards. It features carnival rides, vendors selling lip-smacking soul food specialties, and musical performances by African-American artists.

Artscape

America's largest free festival dedicated to the arts is held every July in Mount Vernon. You'll have the opportunity to experience and purchase arts and crafts produced by Baltimore artisans and tailors, as well as concerts by both local and national talent.

Baby New Years

New Years viewed through the warped lens of Baltimore's funkiest neighborhood approaches the bizarre in a way that any John Waters fan would recognize. The lights are still up on 34th St, and the block is packed with people waiting to see the ball drop and the "appearance" of Baby New Years. The ball is a lighted ball that someone somehow rigged up with a garage door opener to fall down a lamppost at midnight; "Baby New Years" is a large forty-something mustachioed man wearing nothing but a bonnet and a diaper, who comes out of his house to thunderous applause at the dawn of the new year.

Baltimore Book Festival

3-day book festival with over 100 exhibitors/booksellers, author signings, cooking demos and other events and activities held in late September at the Inner Harbor in downtown Baltimore (it used to in Mt Vernon) to celebrate reading. Cancelled for 2023, set to return late September 2024.

Free admission

Baltimore Comic-Con

Not quite as big as the Comic-Con held in San Diego, this comic book convention has grown since its humbler beginnings in 2000. It hosts the Harvey Awards presentation ceremony, honoring the best comic book professionals as voted by their peers.

Fall weekend, every year

Baltimore Ghost Tours

A one hour walking tour of historic and haunted Fells Point in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Also has a 2 hour haunted pub tour. Reserve by phone or email.

March-Nov: Fri-Sat 7PM·$13, $8/kids under 13

Baltimore Heritage Walk

Guided and self-guided three-mile tours departing from the city's Visitor Center, and covering territory through Downtown, and historic Jonestown, Little Italy, and Fells Point. Free guided tours, 1 May-2 November, departing 10AM.

Films on the Pier

Two months of free outdoor blockbuster films on the Fells Point pier.

July-Aug: Wed 8:45PM

Gwynns Falls Trail

An enormous bike trail through Gwynns Falls Park from the edge of the city straight into the Inner Harbor. This is truly "underground Baltimore" at its best. If the creek is at high water Gwynns Falls is the best whitewater run in the city. Put in at the dam in Dickeyville.

LatinoFest

A two-day festival celebrating Latino culture for one weekend in June of each year since 1980, with food, dancing and live music. It draws a multicultural crowd, so if you're not Latino you won't feel out of place, although a basic knowledge of Spanish would help with some of the vendors.

$5 admission for adults, children under 12 free

Light City Baltimore

Annual festival featuring light art installations and free concerts, held in late March/early April. Free admission. Check website for exact dates. Cancelled for 2023.

Little Italy Outdoor Film Festival

No shortage of outdoor films in this area in the summer! Two months of free Italian-themed outdoor films right in the heart of Little Italy.

July-Aug: Tue 7PM