Spring Festivals & Activities In And Around Baltimore
Winter is finally over, which means that it is time to put away your coats and jackets, and enjoy the warm spring weather. If you live in the Baltimore area, or in communities around the city, there are a lot of outdoor activities to enjoy by yourself or with family and friends, some of which are listed below.
The spring season is when a lot of flowers bloom, and if you want to spend a quiet day enjoying the beauty of nature, the Sherwood Gardens is a must visit destination. Sherwood Gardens started as a hobby of John W. Sherwood, a local conservationist and a petroleum pioneer in the 1920s. At the time, he planted some tulips which he had imported from the Netherlands, and over the years, the gardens grew bigger. Today, Sherwood Gardens is known as the most popular tulip garden in North America, and it covers over six acres of land.
A lot of Baltimore residents and tourists visit the Sherwood Gardens around this time of the year, because it is when the tulips bloom, and with over 80,000 tulips planted in the gardens, it is quite a sight to behold. There is also the annual tulip dig, where tulip bulbs are removed from the gardens at the end of the blooming season, and are replaced with new bulbs that will bloom next season. The event occurs on the Saturday morning during the Memorial Day weekend, visitors can buy tulip bulbs for 30 cents, and they are required to bring their own shovel and bag for the tulip bulbs. Sherwood Gardens is a private park, but it is open to the public, and there isn’t an admission charge or a reservation required to visit.
With Mother’s Day around the corner, the annual FlowerMart festival is a great way to spend your weekend, and pick up some flowers and gifts for your mom. The event takes place on the 1st and 2nd of May, with over 100 vendors selling flowers and other unique gifts to buy for friends and loved ones. The FlowerMart festival also offers a lot entertainment, because there are plenty of activities that are fun for the whole family, which include an art contest, dance contest, pet contest, and a hat contest. There is also a raffle draw, where you can win some cash, and they also have musical entertainment and performance acts. If you have never been to the FlowerMart festival, you should definitely check it out, because it is a very entertaining event, the admission is free, and it is a great way to spend your weekend with the whole family.
Another great way to spend the day outdoors in Baltimore during the spring is by going to the Towsontown Spring Festival. The festival takes place on May 2nd and 3rd, and the admission is free. There will be over 450 vendors, who will be selling a variety of things, like clothes, unique jewelry, food, and art. There will also be free live music featuring some of the best local bands, and famous performers like Rod Stewart.
The Towsontown Spring Festival also offers a lot of activities to do (check out their Facebook page for photos,) they have two family fun areas, where families can enjoy rides like the Ferris wheel, and any of the other fun rides that they have. There is a freedom fun zone which has a rock climbing wall, and other fun activities like Basketball Shoot, and the Minute Man HUMVEE. For the car enthusiasts, the festival has an antique classic car exhibit that will have dozens of classic cars on display, taking you on a trip down memory lane.
For adults who want to enjoy outdoor activities, the Baltimore Zoo has its annual Brew at the Zoo festival, which is Baltimore’s biggest beer festival. The festival takes place at the Baltimore Zoo during the Memorial Day weekend, on May 23rd and 24th. Visitors get to enjoy the regular zoo activities and see the different animals that are in the Zoo, and they also get unlimited beer and wine samplings from over 80 local and national breweries. The Brew at the Zoo festival is also going to have live bands over the two days, and there will be plenty of vendors on hand, selling food and other items. Unlike the previous activities that have been mentioned, the Brew at the Zoo charges an admission fee that ranges from $25 for people under 21, to $65, and the proceeds from the festival support the Baltimore Zoo.
With the beautiful weather outside, and lots of local activities for the whole family to enjoy, there is no reason to be indoors, you should take advantage of the opportunity, and enjoy the best of what Baltimore has to offer this spring.
Sources
http://www.flowermart.org/index.html
http://www.towsontownfestival.com/
http://baltimore.org/events/brew-zoo-0
