For many people it can be hard to say goodbye to Summer. For the Chop though, there’s no better time than October to be a Baltimorean. Today marks the start of Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts’ annual Free Fall Baltimore celebration, when many of the city’s pre-eminent cultural institutions offer special programming and events and/or open their doors for free to the public.
But like most things in life, it’s not just as simple as showing up and enjoying the proverbial free lunch. If the Constellation or the Theater Project just decided to stop selling tickets for a month they’d be out of business and that would be that. So the culture vulture seeking to take full advantage of Free Fall has to mark their calendar carefully, and in some cases call ahead to make reservations.
What’s more, with 19 pages of event copy to read through on the Free Fall site listed alphabetically it can be a chore to get through. (Although there is a PDF calendar with chronological list at this link.) Trust us, because we have, and a lot of it is for people with kids and bad taste. What you need, gentle Chop reader, is a good old fashioned “insider’s guide.” And we’ve got you covered. Listed below are our picks for Free Fall 2013. We’re going to try to get to as many of them as possible, and we’d encourage you to do likewise. (An astersisk indicates that space is limited and advanced registration is required.)
Beginning today and running all month long, the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Walters Art Gallery offer free admission. These two museums are free year round, but this month access to all exhibitions is free, not just their permanent collections. Additionally the Walters is featuring special programming on some dates.
The Jewish Museum of Maryland is free this month as well.
Additionally, the Maryland Zoo is free to visit today only. But fair warning- we went to a free day at the zoo about 2 months ago and it was a horrible experience. We didn’t even see any animals save 1 sad overheated polar bear. All we saw were thousands of gridlocked cars and screaming sweaty whining children being carted around by miserable parents. Maybe since today is a school day the crowds will be bearable. 10am-4pm.
The Constellation has a free ship tour and educational program beginning at 6 pm.
Single Carrot Theater presents A Beginner’s Guide to Decide.* 7:30pm
Single Carrot Theater presents A Beginner’s Guide to Decide.* 7:30pm
Mount Clare Museum, Free Admission 11am-4pm.
Mount Clare Museum, Free Admission 11am-4pm.
Current Gallery- Wormsbook Opening Reception, 7-10pm.
Mount Clare Museum, Free Admission 11am-4pm.
Chicken Box Presents Zero Hero Yolo Solo Closing Reception, 7pm-10pm.
Edgar Allan Poe House, Open with Free Admission. 12pm-4pm.
Edgar Allan Poe House, Open with Free Admission. 12pm-4pm.
Mount Clare Museum, Free Admission 11am-4pm.
Single Carrot Theater presents A Beginner’s Guide to Decide*, 2:30pm.
Iron Crow Theater Company presents Apartment 213 at Theater Project* 7pm.
Baltimore Museum of Industry- Free Admission 10am-4pm.
B&O Railroad Museum- Free Admission 10am-4pm
Historical and Literary Walking Tour of Mount Vernon. Meets at Main Library entrance. 11 am.
Single Carrot Theater presents A Beginner’s Guide to Decide*, 7:30pm.
Tour the submarine USS Torsk for free at 6pm.
An Evening of Dead Baltimore Authors, readings from literary icons with Baltimore connections at UB. 7:30pm.
EMP Collective presents Pop-Up Lit Shop. 6-10pm.
Edgar Allan Poe House, Open with Free Admission. 12pm-4pm.
Reginald F. Lewis Museum of African American Culture- Free admission, 11am-4pm.
New Mercury Reading Series at the HL Mencken House, 2-4pm.
Sunday, October 13
Reginald F. Lewis Museum of African American Culture- Free admission, 11am-4pm.
Historical and Literary Walking Tour of Mount Vernon. Meets at Main Library entrance. 11 am.
Single Carrot Theater presents A Beginner’s Guide to Decide*, 2:30pm.
Edgar Allan Poe House, Open with Free Admission. 12pm-4pm.
Single Carrot Theater presents A Beginner’s Guide to Decide*, 7:30pm.
Tour the USCG Cutter Taney- Free at 6pm.
School 33 Open Studio tours in Highlandtown (not at School 33). 6pm-1am. link
BSO open rehearsals* 10am. link
School 33 Open Studio Tour. 10am-6pm.
Shot Tower- Free Admission 10am-4pm.
Edgar Allan Poe House, Open with Free Admission. 12pm-4pm.
510 Readings Series at Minas Gallery, 5pm.
The BIG DRAW in Wyman Park Dell, 6-9pm.
School 33 Open Studio Tour. 10am-6pm.
Museum of Industry- Free Admission 10am-4pm.
Edgar Allan Poe House, Open with Free Admission. 12pm-4pm.
Single Carrot Theater presents A Beginner’s Guide to Decide*, 2:30pm.
B&O Railroad Museum- Free Admission 10am-6pm.
Tour the Historic Lightship Chesapeake for free, 6pm.
Baltimore Playwrights’ Festival Presents Falling Off the Edge, Scenes from 10 New Plays at Vagabond Theater* 8pm. baltplayfest.org and click on the link for Brown Paper Tickets.
Chris Matthews discusses his new book Tip and the Gipper at the Central Library. 7:30pm.
Edgar Allan Poe House, Open with Free Admission. 12pm-4pm.
The Great Halloween Lantern Festival and Parade in Patterson Park. Lantern Building starts at 3:30pm. Parade at 7pm.
Hauntingdon Ave block party in Remington. 5-8pm.
Edgar Allan Poe House, Open with Free Admission. 12pm-4pm.
Free Happy Hour in Center Plaza. Up to 2 free beers per person. 5:30pm
Tour the Constellation, free at 6pm.
American Visionary Art Museum, Free admission from 4-7pm and a free screening of Beetlejuice on the Hill at 7pm.