Events

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.

A festive evening unfolds with Creative Alliance Resident Artist Melissa Hyatt Foss, whose clay instruments are an experiment in sophisticated sound. After sharing a meal of empanadas, beans, rice, tortillas, and more, guests are invited to participate in a guided interactive flute-happening, using a set of clay ocarinas that Melissa sculpted herself. The event culminates in an immersive musical experience, where the group is treated to the unique sounds of ancient and rare instruments like polyphonic flutes, horns, and whistling bottles, woven together seamlessly with live electronics.

If you believe, as hosts Susan Gould and Bo Willse do, that food and dining can be art—part performance, part sensational experience—this is the party for you! Stroll their gardens, the meadow maze, and carefully managed woodland paths. Enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, followed by a seven-course home-grown, locally sourced, farm-raised feast! Susan and Bo are adventuring towards a sustainable way of bountiful living and invite you to come along!

Abbondanza is more than a full belly; it is a celebration of fullness and abundance of the soul. This year, Creative Alliance resident artists, HOPE & FAITH, join Chef Fran in the kitchen and at the table. Together they explore food and gathering as artistic expression and serve it up family style at the beautifully renovated Fox Den in Patterson Park.

Take a multigenerational glimpse into the culture, art, cuisine, and storytelling of Palestine. Enjoy delicious traditional Palestinian foods prepared by Chef Laila ElHaddad, an award-winning author and journalist, who frequently speaks on her journey as a Palestinian mother. Meet Hannah Atallah, an up-and-coming Palestinian-American Artist from Washington, DC, who now lives in Baltimore. Hannah is a muralist, mixed-media artist, and art teacher with a focus on large scale public art projects, in which she prioritizes community and cultural histories. Surrounded by historical images, experience the sounds, aromas, tastes, and artistic influences of Palestine.

John Kyle and Peter Satten are back … with Fluid Movement! Join John and Peter, obsessive collectors for over 30 years of all things they love and are curious about, including art pottery, vintage toys, and religious objects, in their new Roland Park home. Enjoy an evening of Fluid Movement’s eclectic water performance art in the garden pool. Wear your silliest, sequiny-est, most favorite outfit as you take in the quirky, splashy stylings of Baltimore’s synchronized swimming sensation! The incredible Donna Crivello, of Cosima and Donna’s, provides a hearty Sicilian spread.

In this hands-on experience, artist/illustrator Annie Howe shares her knowledge and talent as she guides you through the delicate art of papercutting. Enjoy treats from Found Studio and local Harford Road corridor restaurants and tour Annie’s personal studio. Found Studio is a lovingly restored rowhome that has been reborn as an art gallery and gift shop full of art and gifts by local makers. Draw inspiration from this whimsical shop as you make your very own papercut artwork to take home.

Come vibe with spoken word artist, poet, and author Tony Keith, Jr. PhD at the hip and tranquil setting of Hampden’s good neighbor, a coffee and design shop. Tony performs and is then joined by visual artist Blu Murphy for an intimate conversation about their 30-year friendship and how creating art has enabled them to embrace their truest, fullest selves. Enjoy Chef Ben Lefenfeld’s Basque cuisine from La Cuchara with Blu's artwork on display. Receive a signed copy of Tony’s debut book, How the Boogeyman Became a Poet—a young adult memoir in verse from HarperCollins—with cover artwork by Blu.  

Keith Timmons shares his personally curated art collection acquired from across the globe, including works from Kara Walker, Derrick Adams, Sam Gilliam, Jerrell Gibbs, and other emerging artists. Mr. Timmons leads you through the collection as you enjoy light hors d'oeuvres and engaging discussion about each piece.

Join us for an afternoon of light fare and drinks at the Ruxton home and studio of internationally renowned photographer Connie Imboden. Connie gives a studio tour and in-depth look at her inimitable technique that employs a black swimming pool and distressed mirrors. Her groundbreaking, multi-refracted photographs are in major collections worldwide, including MoMA, Bibliothèque Nationale, and the Baltimore Museum of Art. This fall, she will be presenting a 50-year retrospective at the American University Museum in Washington, DC.

Oletha DeVane is a way finder and a storyteller. Over the last five decades, as she has traveled in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean, she has been inspired by the stories and characters she encounters, bringing the unexpected to light, while finding new nuances in the old and familiar. Her aesthetic impulses are driven by what critic and curator Angela Carroll describes as “anticolonial liberation efforts, Juneteenth, the legacy of her father, and humanity’s tireless existentialism.” Join her for an intimate artist talk as she shares stories from her life as a traveler, artist, and activist. Enjoy a feast of chicken wings while you bask in the presence of this legendary artist!

Ed and Ann Berlin host a literary and arts salon in their home centered on the book City of Artists, BmoreArt's first full-length book, featuring 220 pages of personal reflections from leading writers alongside portfolios from Baltimore city’s most celebrated visual artists. Enjoy a drink and small bites among Ed and Ann's collection of 20th Century art and design, as sparkling discussion unfolds with some of the artists and writers from the book, as well as Rachel Castedo, the designer of the book. You'll leave with a copy of City of Artists to take home.