Editor’s Pick: Edgar Allan Poe Festival
Actors, artists, scholars, merchants, and fans of Edgar Allan Poe converge on Baltimore to celebrate the legacy of the famed American writer.
Actors, artists, scholars, merchants, and fans of Edgar Allan Poe will converge on Baltimore this weekend to celebrate the legacy of the famed American writer on the 173nd anniversary of his death.
Organized by Poe Baltimore, the 5th Annual International Edgar Allan Poe Festival and Awards offers a virtual presentation, but the priority is on in-person events and activities, including the return of the RavenBeer Garden.
The weekend offers a free, daytime lineup of events in front of the Poe House & Museum, with a few supplemental offerings off-site requiring a ticket purchase.
The latter includes a week-long “Poe Funeral, Virginia Poe Bicentennial Death Exhibit,” which explores the mysteries surrounding the author’s death as well as the hidden history of his beloved wife and muse, including how she shaped her husband’s work “from beyond the grave.”
The exhibit is at Westminster Hall (519 W. Fayette St.), which is also the site of the festival’s official Black Cat Ball, a “Til Death Do We Start” masquerade and costume party, on Saturday, Oct. 8.
Tim Beasley, a Las Vegas-based celebrity impersonator, will serve as Master of Ceremonies in character as Poe for the events at the museum.
Highlights on Saturday, Oct. 8, include a “Baltimorgue” concert by the Dan Meyer Choir, a community choir focused on songs about Baltimore history and culture, a preview of “Blood, Sweat, and Fears” by the National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre, and The Benn Experience, a music collective featuring several of Maryland’s finest musical talents including Rob Ax and Dom Ellis.
Also on the schedule: selections from Edgar Allan & Eddie Poe, a musical inspired by Poe’s youth and writing from Coldharts and a dance adaptation of Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Ballet Embody.
Sunday, Oct. 9, offers POE-etry in the Parlour, a production from the Half Light Theatre featuring adaptations of classic Poe stories and poems alongside original music; The Pit and the Pendulum, a dramatic recitation of Poe by Stephen Smith presented by Threedumb Theatre, and a concert by The Embalmers, a four-piece band focused on playing “spooky tunes.”
Saturday, Oct. 8, and Sunday, Oct. 9, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Poe House, 203 N. Amity St. Daytime events are free, with donations encouraged. Visit www.poeinbaltimore.org.
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