The Lantern Parade in Patterson Park, a free circus show, and a creature race in Wyman Park Dell

Saturday night, the Great Baltimore Lantern Parade comes through Patterson Park, and BARCStoberfest has the same park that morning. That afternoon, Keur Khaleyi's Free Fall Festival brings African drum and dance to the Eubie Blake Cultural Center, and In the Dark Circus Arts puts on Under the Big Top, a free circus show, at 5:00 PM ET.

There's also a creature race in Wyman Park Dell, a $2 haunted house in Fells Point, a Winnie-the-Pooh day at London Town, kids' jazz and an instrument petting zoo at the Northwood library, free open houses across the city for Doors Open Baltimore, and SIX opening at the Hippodrome on Sunday.

Top Pick

Great Baltimore Lantern Parade & Día de los Muertos Festival — Patterson Park (Pulaski Monument), Baltimore City Saturday | 4:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET | Free

Creative Alliance and the Friends of Patterson Park have made this night for more than 20 years. It starts as a Día de los Muertos festival in the afternoon, and after dark the big homemade lanterns come through the park. The kids & family costume contest is at 4:00 PM ET (sign-in from 3:30), parade line-up starts at 6:30 PM, and step-off is 7:00 PM ET.

That morning the same park hosts BARCStoberfest, the shelter's 22nd annual fundraiser, from 8:30 AM to 2:00 PM ET. It's free to attend, with a pet parade, the Howl-o-Ween pet costume contest, and kids' activities.

If you'd rather carry a lantern than watch one, the Walters' group marches too. It's free, registration is required, and the group meets at 6:30 PM ET.

Quick Weekend Wins

1. Keur Khaleyi's Free Fall Festival — The Eubie Blake Cultural Center, 847 N Howard St, Baltimore City Saturday | 2:30 PM – 7:00 PM ET | Free (Free Fall Baltimore) The African drum and dance classes are for kids and grown-ups alike, and a guest master dancer is on the bill. In between there's storytelling, crafts, a chance to make African instruments, plus food and an African marketplace.

2. Under the Big Top: A Celebration of Traditional Circus — In the Dark Circus Arts, 861 Washington Blvd, Baltimore City Saturday | 5:00 PM ET | All ages | Free; RSVP on Eventbrite Students and professional circus artists share the show, with aerialists, wheel artists, and the classic acts.

Ticketed This Weekend

SIX — Hippodrome Theatre, 12 N Eutaw St, Baltimore City Sunday | From $57 Henry VIII's six wives tell their side as a pop concert. The Hippodrome run opens Sunday and goes through Nov 1, so Sunday is the only performance this weekend.

SPCA Trick or Treat Trail — SPCA of Anne Arundel County, 1815 Bay Ridge Ave, Annapolis (Anne Arundel County) Saturday and Sunday, 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM ET | All ages | $5 per person, under 5 free A Halloween trail through the woods with costumes, games, and activities, and leashed pets are welcome on it. It's a benefit for the shelter.

Fall Harvest Days at Weber's — Weber's Cider Mill Farm, Parkville (Baltimore County) Friday–Sunday | Ages 2 and up need a ticket | $18.50 per person on weekends; timed tickets online The farm's fall season, with hay rides, fresh cider, and the hillside slide. Saturday and Sunday add live music from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM ET.

Budget-Friendly Finds

Doors Open Baltimore — Open houses at 40-plus buildings citywide, Baltimore City Saturday | 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM ET | Free open houses The Baltimore Architecture Foundation opens dozens of the city's buildings to walk through for one Saturday. Hours vary from building to building.

Angela DiTerlizzi: A Very Scary Book — Enoch Pratt Patterson Park Branch, 158 N Linwood Ave, Baltimore City Friday | 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET | Ages 3–8 | Free; tickets on Eventbrite Angela DiTerlizzi, who wrote it with Tony DiTerlizzi, brings the picture book about a scary-looking book in the attic who just wants a friend. In-person registrants take home a copy while supplies last.

Julie House of Horrors — Julie House, 100 S Washington St, Fells Point, Baltimore City Friday 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM, Saturday 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM ET | All ages | $2 per person, 5 and under free The Julie Community Center's haunted house rates itself "medium, light spooky fun." It opens again Friday, Oct 30.

For Toddler Families

Jazz for Kids Concert + Musical Instrument "Petting Zoo" — Enoch Pratt Northwood Branch, 4420 Loch Raven Blvd, Baltimore City Saturday | 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM ET | Free (Free Fall Baltimore) Kids clap, sing, and scat through a jazz concert of kids' songs and follow a New Orleans-style parade, and then the instruments come out for them to try.

Once Upon… A Hundred Acre Wood — Historic London Town & Gardens, 839 Londontown Rd, Edgewater (Anne Arundel County) Saturday | 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM ET | Free with registration; $5 suggested donation London Town marks Winnie-the-Pooh's 100th with crafts and activities from partner organizations out in the woodland gardens.

Baby & Toddler Storytime — Enoch Pratt Central Library, Baltimore City Friday | 11:00 AM ET | Under 2, with a favorite adult Stories, songs, and movement for babies in arms and toddlers together, with playtime after.

Tween-Approved

Freakness — Wyman Park Dell, Baltimore City Saturday | 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET | Free Teams of two in creature costumes run a footrace and a silly dressage obstacle course, with a Best in Show costume contest and proceeds going to Empact Art. Spectators are welcome.

Strange Stories & Curious Collections — Maryland Center for History and Culture, 610 Park Ave, Baltimore City Saturday | 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET | Ages 10+ | Free A guided tour of the eerie objects and odd stories in Maryland's collection. Everyone makes a Halloween postcard to take home.

During the Week

• Playdate in the Library — Enoch Pratt Canton Branch, Baltimore City. Monday, Oct 26, 10:00 AM ET. Birth to 3. A drop-in playtime with age-appropriate toys for babies, toddlers, and their grown-ups.
• Family Day at the Farmers Market — Plantation Park Heights Urban Farm Fall Market, 3100 Swann Dr, Baltimore City. Wednesday, Oct 28, 3:30 PM – 7:30 PM ET. Baltimore Family Alliance brings kids' activities, food trucks, a DJ, and performances to the farm's fall market.
• Halloween Toddler Time — B&O Railroad Museum, 901 W Pratt St, Baltimore City. Thursday, Oct 29, 10:00 AM ET. Included with museum admission; members free. A Halloween toddler morning among the locomotives.
• Trick or Treat Belvedere Square — Belvedere Square, 529 E Belvedere Ave, Baltimore City. Thursday, Oct 29, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM ET. Free; the costume contest (18 and under, plus pets) is $5 to enter. Candy while it lasts, White Marsh Ballet Academy dancing "Thriller" at 6:00 PM ET, and the Maryland SPCA's kitten van.

Mark Your Calendar

• Tuesday, Nov 3 is Election Day, and Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Howard, and Anne Arundel schools are all closed.
  • $10 Community Day — Port Discovery Children's Museum, Baltimore City. 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM ET. $10 per person for all three floors and the museum's drop-in activities.
  • School's Out: Safe Communities Workshop — B&O Railroad Museum, Baltimore City. 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM ET. Pre-K through 3rd grade, included with museum admission. Kids design a community out of craft paper, fire stations and hospitals included.
• Kaiser Kids' Day — The Maryland Zoo, Baltimore City. Friday, Oct 30, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM ET. Included with zoo admission ($33, ages 2–64). Chalk art, jump ropes and hula hoops, a scavenger hunt, crafts, and the Kaiser Spin Art Bike. It's the only Kids' Day until April 2027.
• ArBOOretum — Cylburn Arboretum, Baltimore City. Friday, Oct 30. $5 online, $10 at the door. Cylburn's no-candy Halloween evening, with the historic mansion decorated and a hike after dark.
• Trick o' Treat on Highlandtown Main Street — Eastern Ave and the 400–500 blocks of S Conkling St and S Highland Ave, Baltimore City. Saturday, Oct 31 (Halloween). Free. The kickoff party at Filippo's (418 S Conkling St) has photos and candy.
• Children's Theatre of Annapolis — 1661 Bay Head Rd, Annapolis (Anne Arundel County). The Frozen Halloween matinee is Saturday, Oct 31, at 1:00 PM ET, with costumes encouraged and a photo op with Anna and Elsa. The Heroes vs. Villains school's-out workshop for ages 8–14 runs Monday, Nov 2, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM ET, when Anne Arundel elementary and middle schools are closed.

Also This Weekend

• B&O Unlocked: B&O No. 3528 — B&O Railroad Museum, Baltimore City. Through Sunday, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM ET. Included with museum admission.
• Trunk or Treat and Costume Contest — Kinder Farm Park, Millersville (Anne Arundel County). Saturday, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM ET.
• Navy Homecoming vs. North Texas — Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis (Anne Arundel County). Saturday, 3:30 PM ET.
• Coco Live to Film Concert — Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Baltimore City. Sunday. Orquesta Folclórica Nacional de México plays the score live while the film runs.
• Sensory Sensitive Halloween — Chuck E. Cheese (Baltimore County). Sunday.