MSN lists things to do in Baltimore

So, the travel writers at Microsoft News have compiled a list of “10 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do in Baltimore” and it’s actually more comprehensive than I was expecting while also being relatively safe.

The first item on the list is The Book Thing of Baltimore, which I vaguely remember hearing about them closing a few years ago but was unaware they reopened… for one day per month (second Saturday of every month). All books are donated and available for free, as such visitors are strongly discouraged from reselling or re-donating them (unless it’s to a library).

Their store at 3001 Vineland Lane is directly across from the Charles Village Goodwill (3101 Greenmount Ave) and only a few blocks to Guardian Angel (335 W 27^th St) and Get Shredded Vintage (411 W 29^th St) thrift stores. All three are open on Saturdays, plus you pass directly by their FOURTH suggestion The Papermoon Diner (227 W 27^th St) so if you like thrifting then you can make an entire day of it if you want.

In case you’re wondering, the THIRD item on their list is “Graffiti Alley,” while theoretically on the way to the stores listed above, is EXACTLY what it sounds like – an alleyway covered in graffiti. It’s good for a single Instagram selfie of you pretending to be all “hardcore” and whatnot, but not worth going ten blocks out of your way to do.

They correctly mention AVAM as a “must-do” attraction, this story specifically mentions the Kinetic Sculpture Race in May as a “quirky Baltimore attraction.” I agree with them on both counts, but I’m disappointed they didn’t mention the museum’s equally “quirky” Sideshow museum store which takes far longer than 15 minutes to browse through.

Their #7 pick is the National Dentistry Museum (31 S Green St). If you want a smaller museum try either the Baltimore Streetcar Museum (1901 Falls Rd) or Baltimore Civil War Museum (601 Old President St) conveniently located directly behind the Baltimore Public Works Museum (751 Eastern Ave, also open second Saturdays of the month). The former option is across the bridge from the MICA/Mt Royal light rail station ($2 per person each way), while the latter two are on the same free Circulator route as the dental museum.

The last item on the list is Fleet Week & Flyover Baltimore which involves various ships pulling into Inner Harbor/Fells Point for a weekend of ship tours, military displays, food vendors and, of course, the namesake flyover. It gets more than a little crowded there, but the influx of visitors brings some much needed life to the usually barren Inner Harbor.

A largely empty promenade

Since this IS a primarily Baltimore blog, I decided to head out for the annual “pedestrian take-over” of Midtown/Mount Vernon known as The Charles Street Promenade (which I first attended in 2021). That and I’ve been battling a rather annoying stomach bug all week, so I was looking forward to the chance to actually leave the apartment.

This, like many things on this blog, was probably a mistake, but as they say “content doesn’t create itself.”

Unfortunately, a block into the 1.4 mile journey from Saratoga to North Avenue the once defeated bug bit. Thankfully, there was a public restroom on Charles St… in Penn Station (only a mile away). The myriad dogs on display here had it easy, they could find a patch of grass and fertilize it.

However, I was there as a photographer, so that was to be my main focus. I chose to focus said focus on the streetscape, but for the most part, there wasn’t any. Literally, entire blocks were just empty. That’s why I kinda wish I’d focused on small details, local color (as there was plenty of orange/grey on display) or even cute dogs.

I probably could have eaten at Penn Station, but I decided to stop at the Potbelly on Biddle Street. They wouldn’t let me use their restrooms, but it was enough to just sit down, edit the photos on my phone and rest for a while. This gave me a massive headache, but still better than a public accident.

I post the photos to Facebook (literally the easiest way to get them off my phone) and walk to the Circulator stop at Preston/St Paul. As there was no way I was walking back, but after waiting ten minutes I was walking back (as the jerky ride would only upset my stomach more).

Thankfully, it’s nearly all downhill, so that makes it slightly easier. I did try to get something to drink at the 7-11 on Center Street, but they were out of what I wanted (making the fact that their refrigerators weren’t working a moot point). I left the store, walked out into the middle of the street and could see my building in the distance. It might be close, but I figured I could probably make it if my headache persisted.

Holiday Adventures: Joyful Jams and Holiday Hauls

I left Fells Point around 3pm, and walked into Joyful Jams (despite not looking for it), and took a free hot chocolate from the neighboring table. It tasted like lukewarm bilge water, but the important thing is it was around the corner from the newly reopened Harbor East Cinemas (in the basement of the Hilton Garden Inn). If I wasn’t on a schedule, I would stop in for a show. I haven’t seen a real movie in ages.

I pass another half dozen singers, guitarists and drummers (most of whom wanting tips) and a guy “guarding” the bridge between Pier VI and the National Aquarium who shook his coffee can aggressively at anyone who dared pass him before finally reaching my second destination of the day: the Holiday Makers Fair in the abandoned H&M store in the Light Street pavilion in what’s left of Harbor Place.

The event was smaller than I expected (as the former H&M was pretty big), but there was a DJ and a food booth, so it wasn’t all bad. I got a shirt from one of the vendors and passed the official Waterfront Partnership Store (not sure if it was also a one-day-only or if it was there for the duration of the month) next to the surprisingly popular ice rink (as my phone said it was 51 degrees outside) on my way to the Circulator (Purple route) stop on Pratt Street outside the vacant Gallery Mall.

The stiff harbor breeze was getting stiffer and colder as I waited for my bus to arrive. It eventually did as the sun slowly sank behind the fort, and I got off to the sounds of Christmas music in the Central Plaza. It was the opening night of Candy Cane Lane in the park across the street from my apartment, but like the Christmas Village downtown, that event would have to wait for a warmer night…

Holiday Adventures: The holiday that wasn’t

I left the apartment shortly after noon. I would have left earlier, but it was raining for most of the morning. I was heading towards the Green Line, which is a Circulator route I rarely take, and I can tell you the stiff harbor winds made it feel it like a lot longer of a walk than five blocks.

After waiting for ten minutes, the bus finally arrives. The driver lets me on, goes one stop, pulls over, opens his COVID door, and says “I’ll be back in five” and proceeds to cross one of the busiest streets in the city without looking and come back several minutes later with a plastic carry-out bag.

After he resumes, his route, I keep vigilant watch to avoid missing my stop just so the driver could zoom past it anyway either because he wasn’t paying attention or his stop ringer or whatever wasn’t there. Thankfully, he determined it must’ve been MY fault for “not pulling the pull cord” that I had in fact pulled. Silly me, I thought it was because I was on an unfamiliar route which had the stop announcements turned off.

It does turn around and take largely the same route back, but I was going to have to sit and watch him eat his take-out before we went anywhere. According to my phone, there’s only five southbound stops between JHU-Hospital and Fells Point, but with neither the ringer or stop announcement system working, he once again passed it. Fortunately, someone stopped him before he got TOO far past my intended stop.

So, I pass the band playing holiday music in the Choptank courtyard and make my way to the Old Tyme Christmas in Broadway Park to find… absolutely nothing. Okay, fine, their tree was up and they had an old mailbox painted red and green with white lettering reading “Letters to Santa” and a second band playing across the street at the Admiral’s Cup. I asked a Guide from the Waterfront Parnership who was conveniently standing at the edge of the park, and he told me the event was “cancelled due to the rain.”

Okay, then, I guess this leaves me with one option: Find lunch somewhere. A slightly late lunch (as it was nearly 2pm), but still lunch…

Holidays in Baltimore: December

Thursday, December 1, 2022

Baltimore Christmas Village, West Shore Park, 11am-7pm

Lighting of the Monument, Mount Vernon, 5pm-8pm

Made in Baltimore Holiday Pop-Up Store (5718 York Rd), 11am-7pm

The Voices: Motown Christmas, Fells Point, 7pm-9pm

Friday, December 2, 2022

Baltimore Christmas Village, West Shore Park, 11am-7pm

Beau & Tinsel’s Winter Wonderland, Cockeysville, 5:30pm-9pm

Made in Baltimore Holiday Pop-Up Store (5718 York Rd), 11am-7pm

Polar Express Train Ride, BO Rail Museum, 11:30am-4:30pm

Winter Wonderland, Cockeysville Fire Dept, 9am-noon

Saturday, December 3, 2022

Baltimore Christmas Village (German-American Weekend), West Shore Park, 11am-7pm

Beau & Tinsel’s Winter Wonderland, Cockeysville, 5:30pm-9pm

Candy Lane, Charles Plaza, 7pm-11pm (through Dec 16^th)

Fells Point Krampuslauf, Fells Point Square, 6pm-10pm

Holidays by the Falls, Hampden (3300 Clipper Mill), 11am-4pm

Holiday Farmers Market, 32^nd Street Market, 7am-noon

Holiday Makers Fair, Harbor Place (Light St Pavilion), 3pm-8pm

Joyful Jams, Harbor East, noon-4pm

Made in Baltimore Holiday Pop-Up Store (5718 York Rd), 11am-7pm

Olde Tyme Christmas, Fells Point, 9am-6pm

Parade of Lighted Boats, Fells Point, 6pm-8pm

Polar Express Train Ride, BO Rail Museum, 11:30am-4:30pm

Sock Creature Saturday, AVAM, 9am-1pm

Winter Wonderland, Cockeysville Fire Dept, 9am-noon

Sunday, December 4, 2022

Baltimore Christmas Village (German-American Weekend), West Shore Park, 11am-7pm

Candy Lane (Family Night), Charles Plaza, 2pm-5pm

Made in Baltimore Holiday Pop-Up Store (5718 York Rd), 11am-7pm

Mayor’s Christmas Parade, Hampden (36^th Street), 1pm-4pm

Polar Express Train Ride, BO Rail Museum, 11:30am-4:30pm

Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Nutcracker Magical Christmas Ballet, Hippodrome Theatre, 7pm

Thursday, December 8, 2022

Baltimore Christmas Village, West Shore Park, 11am-7pm

Candy Lane (Christmas Karaoke Night), Charles Plaza, 5pm-8pm

Made in Baltimore Holiday Pop-Up Store (5718 York Rd), 11am-7pm

Nutcracker Magical Christmas Ballet, Hippodrome Theatre, 7pm

Friday, December 9, 2022

Baltimore Christmas Village, West Shore Park, 11am-7pm

Beau & Tinsel’s Winter Wonderland, Cockeysville, 5:30pm-9pm

CandyLane (“Frozen” Sing-Along), Charles Plaza, 5pm-8pm

Made in Baltimore Holiday Pop-Up Store (5718 York Rd), 11am-7pm

Polar Express Train Ride, BO Rail Museum, 11:30am-4:30pm

Saturday, December 10, 2022

Baltimore Christmas Village, West Shore Park, 11am-7pm

Beau & Tinsel’s Winter Wonderland, Cockeysville, 5:30pm-9pm

Candy Lane (Artmegeddon), Charles Plaza, 7pm-11pm

Food Trucks/Visit from Santa, Maryland Zoo, 5pm-8pm

Holiday Farmers Market, 32nd Street Market, 7am-noon

Holiday Heap Craft Market, Charles Village, 10am-5pm

Joyful Jams, Harbor East, noon-4pm

Made in Baltimore Holiday Pop-Up Store (5718 York Rd), 11am-7pm

Polar Express Train Ride, BO Rail Museum, 11:30am-4:30pm

Station North Holiday Market, North Avenue, 1pm-5:30pm

Sunday, December 11, 2022

Baltimore Christmas Village, West Shore Park, 11am-7pm

Candy Lane (Family Night), Charles Plaza, 2pm-5pm (through Dec 16th)

Craftworks at Meadoworks, Charm City Meadoworks, noon-5:30pm

Food Trucks/Hot Apple Cider, Maryland Zoo, 5pm-8pm

Holiday Open House, Evergreen House/Museum (JHU), 11am-2pm

Made in Baltimore Holiday Pop-Up Store (5718 York Rd), 11am-7pm

Polar Express Train Ride, BO Rail Museum, 11:30am-4:30pm

Union Square Cookie Tour, Hollins/Stricklin Streets, noon-4:30pm

Thursday, December 15, 2022

Baltimore Christmas Village, West Shore Park, 11am-7pm

Candy Lane (Christmas Karaoke Night), Charles Plaza, 5pm-8pm

Made in Baltimore Holiday Pop-Up Store (5718 York Rd), 11am-7pm

Friday, December 16, 2022

Baltimore Christmas Village, West Shore Park, 11am-7pm

Beau & Tinsel’s Winter Wonderland, Cockeysville, 5:30pm-9pm

Candy Lane (Ticketed dance party), Charles Plaza, 7pm-11pm

Holiday Music/Ice Sculptures, Maryland Zoo, 5pm-8pm

Made in Baltimore Holiday Pop-Up Store (5718 York Rd), 11am-7pm

Polar Express Train Ride, BO Rail Museum, 11:30am-4:30pm

Saturday, December 17, 2022

Baltimore Christmas Village, West Shore Park, 11am-7pm

Beau & Tinsel’s Winter Wonderland, Cockeysville, 5:30pm-9pm

Holiday Farmers Market, 32nd Street Market, 7am-noon

Holiday Music/Ice Sculptures, Maryland Zoo, 5pm-8pm

Joyful Jams, Harbor East, noon-4pm

Made in Baltimore Holiday Pop-Up Store (5718 York Rd), 11am-7pm

Polar Express Train Ride, BO Rail Museum, 11:30am-4:30pm

Visit from Santa, Maryland Zoo, 5pm-8pm

Sunday, December 18, 2022

Baltimore Christmas Village, West Shore Park, 11am-7pm

Craftworks at Meadoworks, Charm City Meadoworks, noon-5:30pm

Festival of Lights, Maryland Zoo, 5pm-8pm

Made in Baltimore Holiday Pop-Up Store (5718 York Rd), 11am-7pm

Polar Express Train Ride, BO Rail Museum, 11:30am-4:30pm

Thursday, December 22, 2022

Beau & Tinsel’s Winter Wonderland, Cockeysville, 5:30pm-9pm

Made in Baltimore Holiday Pop-Up Store (5718 York Rd), 11am-7pm

Friday, December 23, 2022

Beau & Tinsel’s Winter Wonderland, Cockeysville, 5:30pm-9pm

East Baltimore Christmas Caroling, Fells Point, 6pm-8pm

Made in Baltimore Holiday Pop-Up Store (5718 York Rd), 11am-7pm

Saturday, December 24, 2022

Holiday Farmers Market, 32nd Street Market, 7am-noon

Monday, December 26, 2022

Holiday Week (Cardboard Village), Maryland Science Center, 10am-5pm (all week)

Saturday, December 31, 2022

Early New Years, Maryland Zoo, 5-8pm (event itself is at 7pm)

New Year’s Noon, Maryland Science Center, 10am-4pm (event is at noon)

Holiday Adventures: Rotten Apples

Today is the day I’ve been looking forward to all month – the unofficial start of the holidays in Baltimore. You can call last weekend’s comically mistimed opening of the Inner Harbor “Ice Rink” the start, but considering it was 72 degrees that day and everyone was walking around in shorts, I think a “do-over” is only fair.

Unfortunately, aside from the more seasonal temperatures, today was NOT that day.

It started shortly before dawn when my bladder decided to wake me up three hours before my alarm was supposed to go off (yes, I have an alarm on Saturdays), and continued as my neighbor decided to start her evening vocal exercises exactly as my head returned to the pillow and continued in rising intensity until the building’s newly restored HVAC finally drowned the ear-splitting noise out.

Once that stopped, it was quickly followed by a car alarm, a parade of firetrucks and then, once quiet finally resumed, my alarm went off. The good news is that with a start like that, my day can only get better… right?

I get dressed, grab my coins (I have just enough for a day pass), my keys, wallet and phone… which wasn’t quite charged enough for a day of adventuring, so I got a half hour of free social media time that suddenly became an hour and now I’m behind schedule. Fortunately, I got to the light rail station just as the northbound train was approaching.

See? My luck is already improving. Naturally, it’s at this exact moment that I remember that my mask is still on the counter, and, conveniently enough, the only parts of me that are cold are my nose and mouth. O(h), an(d) th(is) pen (is) n(ot) wor(king).

Anyway, I bought my ticket and the noontime train was still approaching… because a car was parked on the tracks, and the train couldn’t pass until it moved. Sadly, this won’t be the last travel glitch in this story. On the plus side, this one is not my fault (but I’ll probably get blamed for it anyway).

The train had an additional unscheduled stop (for a driver change) as it lumbered along its route, but I eventually alighted at Woodberry in what Google Maps calls the “District of Freedom.” I followed Union Ave until I got to 41^st Street or should I say UNDER 41^st Street which means I have to backtrack and find a way to loop my way up there.

My first destination of the day was something called “Apple Fest 2022” which was at a business park at the bottom of a long service road next to the highway and consisted of two bars (one indoors, one outdoors), a pair of food trucks, three or four tables of pet themed holiday crafts, a thrown-together pet photography area with Santa and the Grinch (though I doubt they paid Universal for use of the word “Grinchmas” on their backdrop), a stage with speakers, and some house merch.

What they didn’t have was, well, apples or ANYTHING Fall related – crafting or otherwise. However, the place was packed with kids (which, aside from the photos, there was nothing else for them to DO there that I could tell) and dogs, so their marketing clearly worked. Yes, it attracted me to their event, but as soon as I finished my cold “hot” sandwich, I made the loop back to the light rail station as their parking lot was now backed nearly all the way up their narrow service road.

It didn’t take long to get back to the station or for the 2pm train to arrive, b(ut) t(his) (pen) is st(ill) N(ot) (work)ING.

Holidays in Baltimore: November 2022

Note: This list of “holiday events in Baltimore” (cobbled mainly from the Downtown Partnership and Waterfront Alliance) is NOT meant to be comprehensive. I’m aware there are a legion of events in the city/county, but these are the ones I’m most likely going to try to get to (weather permitting).

I will be updating with new events as I learn about them and posting links to any photos/blog posts I write about these events. I should have the December listings up shortly after Thanksgiving. Updated: November 12, 2022.

Saturday, November 12, 2022

Fall Pop-up Shop, Maryland Arts Place, 3pm-6pm

Holiday Market Bazaar, Belvedere Square, 10am-2pm

Kids Ornament Workshop, Maryland Art Place, 1pm-3pm

Shop Small, Holiday Crawl, Mt Royal Soap Co., 10am-4pm

Thursday, November 17, 2022

Mingle at the Mill, Clipper Mill, 5pm-8pm

Friday, November 18, 2022

Zoo Lights, Maryland Zoo, 5pm-8pm

Saturday, November 19, 2022

Apple Fest 2022, Union Collective (1700 W 41^st St), noon-5pm

Fox Building Holiday Art Sale, Hampden, 1pm-5pm

Lighting of the Christmas Village Tree, West Shore Park, 11am-5pm

Preview weekend – Christmas Village, West Shore Park, 11am-8pm

Sunday, November 20, 2022

Preview weekend – Christmas Village, West Shore Park, 11am-7pm

Friday, November 25, 2022

Baltimore Christmas Village, West Shore Park, 11am-7pm

Bizaart Holiday Marketplace, AVAM, Noon-5pm

BRRR Fest, Maryland Zoo, 5pm-8pm

Holiday Haul, Harbor East, 11am-4pm

Polar Express Train Ride, BO Rail Museum, 11:30am-4:30pm

Tree Lighting Ceremony, Hunt Valley, 5:45pm-6:30pm

Wacky, Tacky Sweater Worksop, AVAM, 11am-1pm

Saturday, November 26, 2022

Bizaart Holiday Marketplace, AVAM, Noon-5pm

BRRR Fest, Maryland Zoo, 5pm-8pm

Grand Opening of Christmas Village, West Shore Park, 11am-8pm

Polar Express Train Ride, BO Railroad Museum, 11:30am-4:30pm

Photos: Maryland State Fair

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

So, the day started off slowly – even by my standards – as due to a “lack of drivers” in the ENTIRE HAMPTOM ROADS AREA, the wait for rideshare vehicles to get to the park was over an hour! Yes, I get I’m going to a theme park, so some waiting will be expected, but not BEFORE I get there.

Anyway, I arrived at the park… or should I say the bus stop on the far side of the parking lot where the cab driver (who took 25 minutes to arrive, on top of the 45 I’d already waited for Lyft) lazily dropped me off around 11:30am, and I found the long line for security moved surprisingly quick. This means I need to find food… unfortunately, like their non-coaster rides, most of their restaurants are still closed due to COVID.

There is, conveniently enough, a built-in solution: Busch Gardens F&W (as all theme parks are legally required to have a “food & wine festival” these days). Unlike BG Tampa which hosts all of their special event food kiosks in ONE tiny centralized area, BGW takes a page from Universal Studios’ Mardi Gras and tucks them into far flung niches throughout the twisty park (sadly, no, F&W “Tribute Store,” lol).

This means I ended up lost trying to find food not once but TWICE. I eventually did find all of them, but because of they’re the ONLY food around (remember, their restaurants are closed), the lines were almost as long as for the coasters.

On the plus side, I got more than enough exercise for one weekend. I also found out that I missed their grand “hiring event” by ONE DAY!!! I could’ve gotten a job and settled the whole “where ya moving this summer” question right there…. but not if I’m waiting over an hour to get to/from work three or four days a week!

Okay, that last part wasn’t fair. It only took Lyft 35 minutes to pick me up on my way out of the park…

Review: Epcot’s inaugural International Festival of the Arts

First off, today is Saturday. I never go anywhere NEAR the parks on a Saturday unless I absolutely have to…or unless I’m super bored and the event only happens on weekends like the inaugural Epcot International Festival of the Arts.

Theme Park Tourist couldn’t recommend it highly enough – even going so far as to suggest making it a multi-day event for art\food lovers. I wouldn’t that far, but I do see it’s appeal… as a way to draw attendance to the park between the phenomenally popular Flower & Garden Show and the overpriced pub crawl know as Food & Wine Festival. Nothing wrong with that – Busch Gardens hosts its own Food & Wine Festival during their slow season.

The problem (and you knew I’d have one) is Disney is trying too hard to make what little they’re offering sound like a lot more than what it is (kind of Hollywood Studios). I’ve been to arts festivals in Miami (Beaux Arts), Harrisburg (Kipona), Baltimore (Artscape), Tampa (Gasperilla Festival of the Arts) and, yes, even Shamokin has one (Anthracite Heritage Festival of the Arts) and none of them were like this.

It’s like the people planning this had never been to an arts festival.

I get this is mainly about drawing people into the park so they can spend their money in DISNEY’S stores and restaurants (so no blocking paths leading to attractions or restaurants) so even though they also advertise this as a “culinary festival,” those tasty “seminars” were tucked safely behind Disney’s trademark paywall.

To be fair, this was one of the weak complaints TPT made of the event: Little food, big prices and long lines. At Artscape, I couldn’t walk 50 feet without running into a food vendor, here the closest thing to fest food was the existing Funnel Cake House at the American pavilion (and, yes, it had a line too). In fact, there were times where I completely forgot I was walking through an “Arts Festival” rather than an overcast day at Epcot.

As I was walking through the various “Art areas,” I noticed they were dominated by house booths with house merchandise. Don’t get me wrong, ALL of the festivals above had their own merch tents – Artscape had several of them spread throughout their festival – but they had other vendors there. Some of them varied in price\quality (see early years of Heritage Fest), but they weren’t all house booths.

Normally, I’d give them some slack for being an inaugural event, but this is DISNEY and I know they can do better than this. Well, there’s always next year…