Leisure is the section where we highlight the intriguing, exciting and all-around fun events and activities happening in Baltimore over the weekend.
It’s spooky season, and no, I’m not referring to midterms that are just around the corner. You see, spooky season is nearing its fantastic conclusion. Also known as the month of Halloween (or by some as October), this time of candy, ghosts, carved pumpkins and trickery only lasts a month. Midterms, according to Hopkins standards, last forever.
This weekend, I made the trek off campus out to Samos Restaurant in Greektown. Located in southeast Baltimore, it is conveniently located right next to the Bayview Medical Campus (if you ever happen to be there).
On Sunday, Oct. 14, Baltimore’s Immigrant & Refugee Food Festival brought together a diverse selection of food and art vendors to celebrate immigrant culture. The event took place at the Canton Waterfront Park.
Thursday Queer Qrush Ottobar 9 p.m. - 2 a.m. Hit up an LGBTQ dance party where everyone feels welcome. Special guest poutyface.xo will perform. The Halloween-themed night will also feature tarot card readings. No cover. 21+.
Last weekend, The Gathering Food Truck Fest brought local bands and food trucks to Harbor Point Plaza to celebrate the ongoing Fleet Week festivities.
October began last week, and spooky season is here. Along with the usual pre-Halloween traditions — haunted houses, scary movies, pumpkin spice (that’s all I want from fall, really) — a new event arrived to the city this year. Last Saturday and Sunday, the International Edgar Allan Poe Festival and Awards was held.
Thursday Hey You, Come Back The Crown 8 - 9:30 p.m. The Crown’s reading series returns this weekend in a new venue and with new hosts. Listen to Armen Davoudian, Laura Grothaus and Wallace Lane read from their recent works. Free.
As an undergraduate student at Hopkins, it becomes far too easy to get stuck within the Hopkins bubble, going weeks without leaving Charles Village. As a first-semester freshman, I made it my goal to do something off campus at least once a week so as to not fall into this trap.
Thursday Queer Curiosity The Walters Art Museum 7 - 8 p.m. Baltimore artist Alexander D’Agostino presents a “part séance and part dance,” as described by the museum website. Inspired by the Walters’ rare book collection, the performance incorporates queer history and art. Free.
A famous line in the Hamilton soundtrack comes in a somber song, “It’s Quiet Uptown,” after the death of Alexander Hamilton’s son: “They say he walks the length of the city” to mourn and reflect.
Baltimore is no longer officially known as “The City That Reads,” but this weekend, it may as well revert to its old slogan. That’s because it’s finally the time of year that we (or at least, I and 17,000 other people, according to Facebook) have been waiting for. No, it’s not fall break quite yet, but it’ll still be an exciting few days — the Baltimore Book Festival is this weekend, taking over the Inner Harbor from Friday to Sunday.
I’m normally the type of person who likes to have a set schedule for the day. I don’t like it when plans change unexpectedly and I don’t like taking trips without knowing where I’m going and what I’ll be doing. That being said, when I went on an unplanned excursion to Ellicott City, Md. a few weekends ago with a group, I found myself learning to love the unexpected.
Thursday Taking Liberties: Sexual Misconduct and Abuse of Power in the Age of #metoo MICA Brown Center 7 - 9 p.m. Listen to a panel, headlined by artist Carolee Schneemann, discuss women’s rights in relation to government, sexual harassment and more. Sponsored by MICA and ACLU of Maryland. Free.
You’d think that being a student at a school like Hopkins would dry up my intellectual curiosity (obviously not the school’s intention, but they aren’t known for skimping on the work demands). And I definitely need a break from learning on the weekend — my Netflix and snack hours with my roommate are sacred.
This past Saturday, I decided to try out a restaurant known as Dick’s Last Resort. If you haven’t heard of it before, it’s a humorous restaurant chain where the staff is rude to you on purpose. I had been wanting to pay it a visit for a while, and I heard that they have a location in the Inner Harbor.
Thursday Fell’s Point Wicked History Pub Tour 735 S. Broadway 7 – 9:30 p.m. Explore the intriguing and scandalous history of one of Baltimore’s most famous neighborhoods while on a guided pub crawl. 21+. $22.
I found out about the Madonnari Arts Festival in a pretty unusual way. I was just trolling around online looking for gay stuff happening in Baltimore to include in LGBTQ Life’s weekly email. I’m not sure why Madonnari, an annual street art festival in Little Italy, was listed on an LGBTQ calendar, but it piqued my interest.
There’s an epidemic at Hopkins, and, no, it’s not the freshman plague. It’s something even deadlier. You might wonder, given our proximity to a prestigious medical school, why this illness remains so rampant. Well, my friend, this sickness is one that even a highly qualified doctor can’t fix.
Would any of us particularly care about Baltimore were we not Hopkins students? Despite recent promotion as a fun, exciting destination, our city has yet to appeal to the masses like Los Angeles or New York. And if you had previously visited Baltimore, it probably wasn’t to our neighborhood. For those who are tourists, the main draw of Baltimore is the Inner Harbor.
