Some of the city’s most fun gatherings happen around Halloween. But, as is the case with many annual traditions, sometimes you see an event is coming back around and it gets pushed to the back of your brain.
The internal dialogue typically goes something like: “I really do want to catch the Great Halloween Lantern Parade this year!” Or “I should really buy a ticket for Halloween at the Science Center before they sell out…” Then, of course, life happens, and poof, like Casper vanishing into thin air, the big day is gone again until next October.
Let’s flip the script this spooky season. Below, we brew up a cauldron of some of the very best ways to get into the spirit this month. Whether you pick one event, or go to many, these pumpkin-filled parties are worth carving out time in your social calendar for.
10/15-18: Garden Glow
Lucky ticketholders will marvel in the magic of hundreds of jazzed-up jack-o-lanterns designed by the community. Ladew’s annual event also features nightly live music, family-friendly fun, and eats and drinks for sale. Ladew Topiary Gardens. 3535 Jarrettsville Pike, Monkton. 5-9 p.m.
10/23-24: Arbooretum
Dress the little ones up in their costumes and head to Cylburn Arboretum’s two-night spooky soiree—which offers moonlit nature walks, seasonal crafts, free face painting, and a chance to see the Cylburn mansion decked out in its famous Halloween decor. Cylburn Arboretum, 4915 Greenspring Ave. 5:30-7:30 p.m. Prices vary.
10/25: The Great Halloween Lantern Parade
For more than 25 years, this illuminating Patterson Park procession has been beloved for its larger-than-life lanterns and inclusive community feel. (Read all about its history, here.) Before it marches off after sunset, get parade-ready with the afternoon Dia De Los Muertos festival—highlighting arts and crafts, pop-up performances, and a kids’ costume contest. Patterson Park. Festival: 4 p.m. Parade: 7 p.m. Free.
10/25: Halloween Baltimore
The city’s biggest annual Halloween fete brings costumed Baltimoreans to the Maryland Science Center for nonstop live music in five of the museum’s spaces—including its planetarium, IMAX theater, and rooftop. This year’s lineup highlights faves like Talking Heads cover band Psycho Killers, James Nasty of Save Your Soul, DJ duo RaceCarBed, and singer-songwriter Caleb Stine paying tribute to the legendary JJ Cale. Maryland Science Center, 601 Light St. 7 p.m.-1 a.m. $61.65-110.62.
10/25: Harford Road Spooktacular
Get the party started one week early in Hamilton-Lauraville, whose Main Street businesses will host trick-or-treating for families before a community bash with crafts and dancing at The Lot. 4500 Harford Rd. 4-9 p.m. Free.
10/25-26: Nepenthe Halloween Party
Halloween in this tricked-out Hampden taproom is always a hit. Throw on a costume, snap pics in the photo booth, grab candy at the bar when you place your order (the themed cocktails are a can’t-miss), and catch horror films on a loop in the background all weekend long. A special murder mystery trivia game is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. Nepenthe Brewing Co. 3626 Falls Rd. 12-8 p.m. Free.
10/26: Ryes Up Against Cystic Fibrosis Cocktail Competition & Charity Gala
Join the Baltimore Bartenders’ Guild for signature drinks, eats from local restaurants, a costume contest, and a silent auction at its 14th-annual cocktail competition benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Maryland. Be sure to stick around until the end of the night to find out which local bartender’s rye-centric potion takes home the gold. Pendry Baltimore. 1715 Thames St. 4-8 p.m. $130.
10/31: Ekiben Baolloween
Ekiben loyalists wait all year for this one. Once again, the owners of the beloved Asian-fusion spot are selling mega-discounted $5 buns and $8 bowls to patrons on Halloween night. The only catch? You have to show up in costume. Yes, the lines are going to be long at all locations (Fells Point, Hampden, and South Baltimore), but people-watching—and rating your favorite get-ups—makes the wait breeze by. Multiple locations including 1622 Eastern Ave. 4:30 p.m.-close. $5-8
10/31: Trick or Treat with Trains at The B&O
For the first time, the B&O is opening its doors for a family-friendly fright fest on Oct. 31. Bring the kids for special crafts, a seasonal scavenger hunt, and killer costume prizes. Among them: four bronze tickets to the holiday favorite Polar Express train ride in December. B&O Railroad Museum. 901 West Pratt St. 5:30-7:30 p.m. Free for members. $1 with SNAP/EBT. $5 for non-members.
10/31: Hampden Halloweenfest
If you’ve never walked the Avenue in Hampden on Halloween, it’s truly a sight to behold. Storefronts illuminate with festive decor, kids criss-cross the street to trick-or-treat at shops and businesses, and neighbors gather for the famous 50-year-old costume contest. W. 36th St. 5-8 p.m. Free.
10/31: A Tell-Tale Halloween
Nothing says scary like our own master of macabre. View artifacts, manuscripts, a short film, and more from the Pratt’s Edgar Allan Poe Collection at this daytime event. Enoch Pratt Free Library, 400 Cathedral St. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free.
10/31: Sweet Spot Gay Halloween Party
If belting to bangers is your Halloween vibe, this deadly dance party—among the most popular of the year from the Sweet Spot crew—is creeping back into Station North. Strut into the crowd to show off your costume while shaking your bones all night long. Metro Baltimore. 1700 N. Charles St. 10 p.m. $20.
10/31: Bmore Horror Club Halloween Party
Who better to party with on All Hallow’s Eve than the Bmore Horror Club? Start the evening with a potluck (might we suggest contributing a nice spider web dip, or a platter of finger foods?) before heading into an epic evening dance party with DJ Nicholai Metroshock. Peabody Heights Brewery, 401 E. 30th St. 6-10 p.m. Free.
10/31: Baltimore Bike Party: Halloween Ride
Beware! The city streets will see sets of wheels wandering from downtown to Highlandtown on Halloween night in conjunction with this fan-favorite community ride. Wear your costume, decorate your bike, and pedal with the pack before descending into an after-party (complete with a dance-off and costume contest award ceremony) at Monument City Brewing. St. Mary’s Park. 606 N. Paca St. 7 p.m. Free.
11/1-2: Haunted Hall: Halloween Film Favorites at the BSO
Cap off your Halloweekend with live performances of some of the most recognizable scary scores out there—including John Carpenter’s theme from Halloween, John Williams’ “Devil’s Dance” from The Witches of Eastwick, and Bernard Herrmann’s Suite for Strings from Psycho. (Yes, that one. Do you have shivers up your spine like we do?) Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. 1212 Cathedral St. Sat.: 8 p.m. Sun: 3 p.m. $39+
Of course, no Halloween bucket list would be complete without pumpkin-picking, leaf peeping, apple cider-sipping, trunk-or-treating, candy shopping, ghost tours, and haunted houses. We’ve got guides for all of this and more, here.