EAT

Oct. 24: The Great Baltimore Oyster Fest

West Shore Park, Inner Harbor, 501 Light St. 1-5 p.m. Free-$20. 443-743-3308. baltimorewaterfront.com.

After Ryleigh’s Oysterfest in Federal Hill two weeks ago and the U.S. Oysterfest in St. Mary’s last weekend, the bay’s bivalves are now coming to the Inner Harbor—and for the very first time. At the inaugural Great Baltimore Oyster Festival, celebrate our estuary’s fall harvest with a bounty of local oysters from Harris Seafood Company, the nearly 70-year-old family-run shuck house in Kent Island, and Hoopers Island Oyster Company, who taught us the ways of the water in our July “Seafood Spectacular.” While you slurp back your shells, get down to live, finger-pickin’, feel-good tunes from Them Eastport Oysters Boys and The High & Wides, and enjoy boat tours, family activities, and interactive displays by the Waterfront Partnership and Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

DRINK

Oct. 24: Baltimore Craft Beer Festival

Canton Waterfront Park, 3001 Boston St. 12-6 p.m. $35-50. 410-252-9463. baltimorecraftbeerfestival.com.

By now, you’re probably drinking more than Bohs when bellied up at the bar. For a while, you’ve probably been waving your Maryland flag with old faithfuls like Heavy Seas Loose Cannon, Flying Dog Raging Bitch, The Brewer’s Art Resurrection, Union Craft Duckpin, or one of the many Oliver Ales. Likely, you’ve also become adventurous, reaching for newbies like Monocacy Riot Rye, Monument City 51 Rye, and RAR Chopdank from the Eastern Shore. (And soon enough, you’ll be tapping some Waverly Brewing, too.) Over the last few years, the Land of Pleasant Living has shown the craft beer world what’s up, and come this weekend, you can celebrate and sip them all at the first-ever Baltimore Craft Beer Festival. Enjoy dozens of local drafts, catch or compete in the homebrew competition, and soak up your suds with food truck snacks from Kooper’s Chowhound, Smoking Swine, and Gypsy Queen Café. Once you’re feeling rightly sauced, you can challenge your friends to a game of cornhole, too.

SEE

Oct. 24: The Great Halloween Lantern Parade & Festival

Patterson Park, Pulaski Monument, Eastern & Linwood Aves. 3:30-9 p.m. Free. 410-276-1651. creativealliance.org.

As the sun begins to set this Saturday, the slopes of Patterson Park will be illuminated by a procession of spooky lights. But fear not: the glowing objects aren’t ghosts or ghouls but rather the little homemade lanterns of the Great Halloween Lantern Parade. For the 16th year, follow its eclectic caravan as local puppeteers, marching bands, and costumed families and friends weave their way through the Highlandtown hills in celebration of Halloween. Before it all begins, imbibe in its beer garden, feast on food truck favorites, let the kids compete in the costume contest, and do your best happy baby pose during free pop-up yoga. After you’ve pass the finish line, hop over to the Creative Alliance for a festive Glow Ball dance party.

HEAR

Oct. 24: Baltimore Folk Fest

Ottobar, 2549 N. Howard St. 6:30 p.m.-1 a.m. $20-60. 410-662-0069. baltimorefolkfest.com.

With its proximity to Appalachia and position below the Mason-Dixon Line, Baltimore has deep roots in folk music. Now more than ever it seems to be having a resurgence, with the Charm City Bluegrass & Folk Festival coming out bigger and better than ever for their third concert this April, and the Baltimore Folk Fest returning for its fourth year this weekend to champion present-day pastoral finger-pickers from Baltimore and beyond. After three years of being spread across Station North venues like The Windup Space, Joe Squared, Penn Station, Charm City Art Space, Liam Flynn’s, the Crown, and Hour Haus, the BFF now consolidates at the one and only Ottobar in Remington. Taking over the upstairs and the downstairs, stop in to hear more than 10 Americana troupes, including local darlings like Letitia VanSant, Bumper Jacksons, The Manly Deeds, Sweet Saro, and Haint Blue.

DO

Oct. 23-25: Fells Point Fun Fest

Fells Point, S. Broadway at Thames St. Fri. 5:30-9 p.m. Sat.-Sun. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Free. 410-675-8900. fellspointfest.com.

After being rescheduled because of Hurricane Joaquin, the Fells Point Fun Fest finally returns to the historic, harborside neighborhood this weekend for its 49th year. Rain or shine, head to the cobblestone block party, grab a souvenir cup, and hit up the booze gardens for brews, wine, and hopefully blue skies overhead. Once you’ve been beered, eat your way through the streets with local treats from Kooper’s, Slainte, Mare Nostrum, Alexander’s Tavern, Ekiben, and Thames Street Oyster. (Anyone remember those little bitty Thames Street lobster rolls from last year? We fondly do.) While you’re down there, browse local vendors, treat the kids to face painting and balloon animals, and listen to over 10 bands on two different stages. Afterwards, in true Fells fashion, swing through the local watering holes to continue your night, with various discounts at participating bars.

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Each year, 150,000 spat—as baby oysters are called—raised in the Inner Harbor will be supplemented by an additional 850,000 spat from Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Oyster Restoration Center in Anne Arundel County.

It’s all part of a broader plan to restore the Inner Harbor. Adult oysters filter water, removing harmful excess nutrients while searching for food. A single oyster can filter as much as 50 gallons of water a day. The oyster population, however—while rebounding slightly in recent years—remains at an estimated 2 percent (at best) of its original level. A University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science research paper several years ago had put the oyster population in the upper Chesapeake Bay at .3 percent of its population levels of early 1800s due to overfishing, disease, and habitat loss.

“Oysters once thrived in the tidal portions of the Patapsco River,” Adam Lindquist, director of the Healthy Harbor Initiative, said in a press release announcing the initiative. “Given the oysters’ unique natural ability to filter pollution from the water, this is one of many efforts to restore the health of the Baltimore Harbor so that it can once again be safe for swimming and fishing.”

The Great Baltimore Oyster Partnership has attracted volunteer oyster “gardeners,” who raise thousands of oysters, learning about their role in creating a healthy harbor ecosystem, said Terry Cummings, director of Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Baltimore Initiative. Great Baltimore Oyster Partnership volunteers grow spat in cages hung off piers throughout the Inner Harbor as well as at the Downtown Sailing Center and Baltimore Marine Centers’ Lighthouse Point.

In late spring, the oysters are “harvested” and then transported to the reef at Fort Carroll—a practice that promotes a higher survival rate for the spat because the cages protect them from predators and keeps them close to the surface where there is available food and oxygen, according to the Great Baltimore Oyster Partnership.

The 60-foot Patricia Campbell will transport its first shipment of spat next summer, placing hatchery-produced seed oysters onto sanctuary reefs throughout Maryland waters.

Check a clip of Patricia Campbell at work below. At about 1:20 mark, a close-up begins showing the vessel distributing baby oysters into the water off the rear of the boat.

The announcement of the initiative comes ahead of first-ever Great Baltimore Oyster Festival this Saturday at the Inner Harbor’s West Shore Park. The family-friendly afternoon event will include Chesapeake Bay-themed vendors and displays, oyster boat tours, educational activities, and live music by the Eastport Oyster Boys and The High & Wides.

Those attending, of course, will also be able to indulge in a variety of grilled and raw oysters raised throughout the Chesapeake Bay. (Free to attend; $20 for five oyster plates; $5 for one oyster plate.)

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