Spend an evening in conversation with Susan Magsamen, Assistant Professor of Neurology and Founder of The International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Co-Founder NeuroArts Blueprint; and co-author of The New York Times bestselling book, Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us. Discuss how artistic pursuits are far more than hobbies and are vital to the human experience. “I need for my soul and my health and my survival,” Magsamen says. “It’s not a nice to have, it’s a have to have.” Each guest will receive a signed copy of the book. The event takes place in the artful Mount Washington home, gardens, and orchards of Creative Alliance trustee and artist Julia Kim Smith and professor and orchardist Scott Smith. Video installations by Julia Kim Smith and Isaac Oliver will screen in the guest bathroom, and her “Baltimore: Actually, I Like It” sticker and bookmark will be available for guests to take home. Dine on Syrian-inspired cuisine from Mera Kitchen Collective and enjoy one of Mera’s specialty cocktails.

Break out your finest cowboy boots for a true night of Texas Honky Tonk with Two Step dancing. Music by the fabulous Arty Hill and the Long Gone Daddys will get you swinging in true Texas style. Take an introductory dance lesson to get your toes tapping and spend the evening in the party barn with authentic Mexican tacos and beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages. Hosted by Brian Flowers and Eliza Gould at Mistfield Farm in Butler, Maryland.

Usher in the Autumnal Equinox by soaking in a late morning Qi Gong session led by Diana Keener. Then, learn about the surprising benefits of everyday items in your spice cabinet, the medicine in your food, and how to up your diet's nutrition factor with Dr. Shari M. Youngblood DNC, CNS, LDN, Professor of Integrative and Functional Nutrition at Saybrook University. Enjoy a delicious, healthy, organic, fall vegetarian lunch by Quieona Lewis of Sweet Tasting BITES. This event is outdoors at Ruscombe Wellness Center and will move indoors in the event of rain.

Artist Erin Fostel and Councilman Ryan Dorsey invite you to their home for a hearty, family-style dinner surrounded by their collection of Baltimore art. Tour their home and engage in lively conversation about their love of Baltimore as they share tips on how to be a casual art collector. Experience the joy and enrichment of surrounding yourself with art in your everyday life, while you dine on a delicious home-cooked meal accompanied by ingredients right from their own backyard.

Feast your eyes on a cooking demonstration of paella, and savor other Iberian favorites like gazpacho and ceviche! Enjoy the food you just watched someone else prepare as you sip on wine pairings from Portugal and soulful fado music plays in the background. Gaze upon the stunning views of Harbor East and imagine yourself carried away to the Iberian Peninsula!

The mystic poets wrote centuries ago, yet their message is still fresh and enduring. Author Geoffery Moore reads and comments on poems that provoke us to think more deeply, more playfully, and more generously about what it is to be a human. Snack on Middle Eastern finger foods, sip Rakı (the national drink of Turkey), and savor melt-in-your-mouth baklava, as the wisdom of the mystic poets inspires and delights you.

Don’t miss this autumnal event of croissant making with Chef Idalee DiGregorio, who has been a cook since age nine and on the professional culinary scene for the past 20 years. Her career includes catering, head chef, pastry chef, and steward for the 14 West Hamilton Street Club, acupuncturist, food stylist, and chocolatier. Idalee is passionate about food made from scratch, making cooking fun, and using food as medicine for her patients, her family, and her culinary clients. Chef Idalee instructs you on how to make the perfect sourdough croissant in her Mount Washington kitchen, and you get to take a box of your creations home with you. After baking, relax with a delicious French lunch of Coq au Vin salad and chocolate mousse and enjoy art by painter Janna Morton, an award-winning illustrator and painter known for her vibrant and captivating artwork that explores themes of nature, inclusivity, overlooked beauty, grief, and joy.

Join Goya Contemporary Gallery and kinetic sculptor Paul Daniel for a tour of the artist’s spacious studio, as well as a demo on how to bend and solder metal. La Cuchara provides you delicious, Basque-inspired pintxos along with beer and wine. Paul’s expansive studio is where his large, public-scaled kinetic sculptures are created with an eye toward balance and movement. It will be a moving experience!

Enjoy a Chinese fusion family-style feast in the private upstairs dining area of the newly renovated NiHAO restaurant on Boston Street! Try the delightful bijou cocktail, hear about their newest expansions and the inspiration behind the delicious food of James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Award winner, Chef Peter Chang. Master Chef Dong Liu visits directly from the kitchen to share his favorite dishes as they arrive at the table. As a special gift, Chef Peter sends you off with a never before shared and signed recipe!

Nothing to fear at this spooky jewelry-making workshop with the Artist and Towson University Lecturer, Luci Jockel. Jockel’s work explores the life, death and rebirth of animals in the unique medium of jewelry. Her work seeks to give voice to the voiceless in the hopes of rebuilding a lost interconnectivity between humans and animals. Learn techniques such as torch-enameling and fold-forming to create your own special wearable art. Take a brief tour of the pre-revolutionary grist mill turned creative hub and gallery, and its unique transformation, while you raise a glass of cider to the old artisanal cidery and enjoy hearty fall hors d’oeuvres. Age 18+

Cartoonist Kevin “KAL” Kallaugher and former Walters Art Museum Director and author Gary Vikan join forces for an afternoon of Spanish-inspired noshing and art-inspired conversation. Gary and KAL will take the stage to explore the sources and science of their artistic endeavors, drawing from their decades of experience. KAL will lead attendees in a humorous drawing lesson featuring a prominent politician or two!

Did you know that just around the corner from the Creative Alliance is a little shop filled with over 130 jars of spices, flowers, and herbs just waiting to be discovered? Don your favorite over-the-top hat for a whimsical Mad Hatter’s Tea Party with Bettina Perry of Charmington Holistics, an herbal apothecary in the heart of Highlandtown! Wet your whistle with wine from Off the Rox and charcuterie from Boards in a Box, and then savor three tea and sweets pairings prepared by Bettina. Bettina will demonstrate how to blend an herbal tea, talk about all the herbs in those jars, and give you ideas on how to use the ingredients as she shares her experience of becoming an herbalist and eventually opening an apothecary after her stint as a professional pastry chef.

Enjoy a private concert by renowned conductors Blake Clark and Leo Wanenchak of the world-class Baltimore Choral Arts Society as the sun dips below the horizon of a beautiful home in historic Cedarcroft. Gaze upon the autumnal splendor of lovingly tended Native gardens, as you sip on beer or wine, and enjoy delicious hors d’oeuvres. This event is hosted by Neal Naff and Nate Hubler in their 19th Century home, boasting 1.3 acres of lush gardens.

Come to a relaxing countryside gathering and a chance to reconnect with nature at the contemporary home of Dawna Cobb and Joe Meyerhoff. Newly renovated, the wall-to-wall glass doors invite the outside in, creating a panorama of surrounding gardens, fields, and woods. Take in their collection of art posters, paintings (several by local artists), a new dining table (made by local woodworker, Kate Christian), and beautiful artisan light fixtures. Meet interdisciplinary artist Bridget Parlato for an environmentally inspired exhibition including poetry readings, upcycled jewelry and cause-related art. Attendees will be able to purchase jewelry just in time for the holidays! Enjoy BBQ from the famous York Road BBQ joint, Andy Nelson’s, and soak in the bucolic atmosphere of the county.

Join us for a celebration of Baltimore's Black history and its burgeoning future. Tour two Cross Street Partners projects of great significance to Baltimore history while enjoying some delicious soul food. Tour the Upton Mansion, the future home and research center for the 131-year-old AFRO American Newspapers Archives, then visit PS 103, a segregated elementary school for African American children, notably attended by Justice Thurgood Marshall. After 17 and 25 years vacant, respectively, both buildings are being restored as vibrant centers for the celebration of Black history and culture. Get a sneak peek at both of these incredible projects before they are complete!

Chris Ryder and Lisa Summers invite you to their Bolton Hill Grand Dame house to experience their collection of contemporary Haitian art acquired over the four years they spent living in Port-au-Prince. Lisa and Chris purchased metal work from the artists of Croix-des-Bouquets, paintings from artists of the Movement Saint Soleil in the mountains of Soisson-la-Montagne, and paper mache from artists in Jacmel. Learn about these artists and their work while you sip a cold Prestige (the national beer of Haiti) or rhum punch. Enjoy soup joumou, a traditional pumpkin soup, awarded protected cultural heritage status by UNESCO, and other Haitian delicacies. Leave with the best reusable shopping bag you could ever want, made in Haiti from recycled sachés dlo.